C5 MARY-ELLEN SAUNDERS TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
ROTHESAY - An engineer and former Kennebecaisis Valley resident has suggested a town centre with space for shops and restaurants on the land be built on the corner of Campbell Drive and Millennium Drive.
"Imagine taking an evening stroll down a bustling cobblestone street to browse the shops and boutiques of the Kennebecasis Valley and bumping into your neighbours, who are enjoying a latte on a small patio with jazz music filling the air," David Hook said.
"Feeling like you're miles away from home, yet you're just down the street. And if you live further away in Gondola Point or K-Park, a short wait and a bus will be along to bring you home."
Hook grew up in Quispamsis, studied civil engineering at the University of New Brunswick and now lives in Ottawa, where he works as a transportation planner.
Hook said even though he does not live in New Brunswick, he follows local news and is interested in seeing his hometown prosper. Which is why, when given the opportunity, he submitted a proposal to the Town of Rothesay during its municipal plan review. Hook suggested a town centre be built on the site where a Wal-Mart was once proposed in Rothesay.
"As a former resident, I have always wondered why this town had no traditional core," Hook wrote in his letter to town council.
"Since these towns evolved with no distinct commercial sector, it would be an interesting idea to build a town centre complete with a traditional main street, brick-faced buildings, streetfront shopping, on-street parking, restaurants with patios, boutiques and residential units above."
Hook said commercial development in the valley has been mostly on Hampton Road, which is not a very pedestrian friendly area. He said the development on Hampton Road is spread out and the road is also used as a thoroughfare for traffic. He said travelling the road to do shopping is a bit stressful and not ideal for the area's commercial district.
The civil engineer suggested a town centre similar to the ones in Pearland in Houston, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, or Kanata Centrum in Ottawa could transform the area from a bedroom community to a vibrant town.
Rothesay Mayor Bill Bishop said the land is owned privately and to date the town has not had any proposals that look at that approach.
"Our town centre is the Rothesay Common, it has been for decades and it will continue to be," Bishop said.
"Rothesay is sort of unique in that we concentrate more on the residential aspect. We realize there are needs for services but we're not interested in developing a great number of commercial outlets. We are interested in keeping land for residential development."
Phil Brodersen, president of the Kennebecasis Valley Chamber of Commerce, said a project such as the one Hook suggested would be quite an investment and while it is easy to make the suggestion, there isn't someone stepping forward who is prepared to do it.
"Hampton Road is already established and to try and get businesses to relocate might be a challenge," Brodersen said. "I think it's going to be a hard sell."
Hook said he would love to invest in a town centre such as the one he has proposed but is too early in his career to have the assets to do so. He suggested the centre could be built by a private business or on a private-public partnership with Quispamsis and Rothesay jointly working on the project.
"I think investors would be very interested, provided the concept was presented in a way that makes it look like an exciting opportunity to do something different and is backed by community support," Hook said.
source: maps.bing.com
source: David Hook
source: David Hook
source: David Hook
Public comments from Canadaeast.com:
"I love this idea! Make it happen!" 10 Thumbs Up, 0 Thumbs Down
"An approach like this will get people to mingle and take more pride their neighbourhood. The town centre reminds me of places in Europe I have been where on Saturdays you have an outside market set up in conjunction with the existing store fronts (note - not big box) and the cafés and brasseries. As an added bonus, I believe a bus service to town centre would reduce overall traffic as people will realize it isn't 'that bad' and start taking the bus not only within KV but also to Saint John.
Great idea - we need more forward thinkers like Mr. Hook!"
3 Thumbs Up, 0 Thumbs Down
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