[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[BlackYear]

Decided to bring the mother to the 2nd opening day of the MR21 (Monument of Recognition in the 21st Century) or rather, the newly renovated Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption Cathedral on St. George Street.

I got to say, I was truly impressed and blown away from the 25 minute immersive 360° projection show. This is a must go for anyone interested in the history of the Acadians, New Brunswick, the railroad, the Catholic church history of the region. You can attend an English or French video version every 30 minutes. The production itself is worth the price of admission.

There were only two other exhibits (interactive video panels) which were available to touch and play with. However, these video panels are no joke. Lots of money invested in these exhibits. An from what I saw on a large placard, there are many more futuristic interactive exhibits on the way.

I can see where they're going with this and I suspect this is going to be a major tourist attraction in the next few years. With the Moncton Museum, old Moncton High School under renovations all within walking distances, you're definitely looking at something big here folks!

More info here: www.mr21.ca

Photo from my iPhone which does no justice.

[MonctonRad]

A little colour for the page from Mayor Dawn Arnold's FB page - Boats on the Petitcodiac!!!!!


Photo by Daniel St. Louis

I'd say that the Skipper and Gilligan really got lost this time!

[BlackYear]

Here's an update on the Centennial Park Pool. Nice to see the solar panels on the south side of the roof. A little bit more work to be done before ribbon cutting.

[BlackYear]

And here's the ongoing work being done around the east side of Centennial Park lake trail. This is a significant upgrade to what we had before.

[BlackYear]

The apartment behind the upcoming Pomodori Pizzeria has completed the underground garage and now working on first floor. Since construction will be all 2"x6"s, this should up fairly quickly.

[Nashe]

From Daniel St. Louis FB page:

[tmacdougall]

Looks impressive BUT I hope they got a discount on that sod. 3/4 of it is dead.

Originally Posted by Budyser

Here's an update on the Centennial Park Pool. Nice to see the solar panels on the south side of the roof. A little bit more work to be done before ribbon cutting.

[habs33]

Some more info on that boater in today's T&T

Two boaters piloted the Petitcodiac River on Tuesday, making it all the way to downtown Moncton.

Don McLellan of Fredericton and Saint John's Dana Glew departed Dorchester shortly after low tide, which was 9:30 a.m., and made it to the Hub City at about 11:20 a.m.​​​​

The expedition fulfilled a "crazy notion" the duo had on their bucket list for years

[Good2go]

Originally Posted by Budyser

Hilton Garden Inn foundation coming along. As suspected, they are using the old pool for something other than swimming during breaks.

It looks like the pool is now on the back of a flatbed trailer parked at the corner of Highfield and Gordon.

[MonctonRad]

A few pictures of the soon-to-be-established Gerald LeBlanc Park adjacent to the plaza in front of Moncton City Hall (images from Mayor Dawn Arnold's FB page).

[BlackYear]

Changes in floor plans for this project? Not sure what's going on with the back end (left side) of the building



Here's the last known plans for this project, posted be MonctonRad several thousand pages backwards on this thread.

[Taeolas]

Hmmm they have that marked as a Shared Patio. Maybe it's covering more basement/underground parking and will just be a concrete patio space. Looks like there's a lip at both ends of the building beyond the middle spot.

[MonctonRad]

Big dust-up over the Rouge nightclub on Robinson Court.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/rouge-robinson-court-moncton-council-1.5253306



This little throwaway at the end of the article was interesting:

He also said the city's plan to connect Robinson Street south through the courtyard to Main Street in the near future would result in the patio being removed anyway.

"It only makes sense to allow for the status quo up until this alignment takes place," Gallant wrote.

A Moncton spokesperson said the change to Robinson Street will happen within five to seven years.

I was aware of the city's intent to reconnect Robinson Street before, but now we have a time frame (5-7 years).

I appreciate that the city intends to strengthen the downtown street grid, and reconnecting Robinson Street is part of this, but Robinson is pretty narrow, and once vehicular flow is reestablished, I imagine that things would be pretty tight for any pedestrian walkways on this block. This would impact on the businesses on Robinson Court.



I wonder if the city is planning a "shared space" approach to this block, similar to what they have established on Downing Street?

[MonctonianSentinel01]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Big dust-up over the Rouge nightclub on Robinson Court.

I appreciate that the city intends to strengthen the downtown street grid, and reconnecting Robinson Street is part of this, but Robinson is pretty narrow, and once vehicular flow is reestablished, I imagine that things would be pretty tight for any pedestrian walkways on this block. This would impact on the businesses on Robinson Court.

I'd say it might be a one way street if it's too narrow. Just like Downing street.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MonctonianSentinel01

I'd say it might be a one way street if it's too narrow. Just like Downing street.

Downing will eventually be two way (a boulevard). They just didn't have enough money to do this in phase one.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by MonctonianSentinel01

I'd say it might be a one way street if it's too narrow. Just like Downing street.

My first thought when I read the story was one way street for Robinson. Not sure if they'll do that though. But if so, which direction would be best?

[newguy]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Big dust-up over the Rouge nightclub on Robinson Court.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/rouge-robinson-court-moncton-council-1.5253306



This little throwaway at the end of the article was interesting:



I was aware of the city's intent to reconnect Robinson Street before, but now we have a time frame (5-7 years).

I appreciate that the city intends to strengthen the downtown street grid, and reconnecting Robinson Street is part of this, but Robinson is pretty narrow, and once vehicular flow is reestablished, I imagine that things would be pretty tight for any pedestrian walkways on this block. This would impact on the businesses on Robinson Court.



I wonder if the city is planning a "shared space" approach to this block, similar to what they have established on Downing Street?

Why would the city want to remove one of the only pedestrian friendly areas it has? I find it strange based on the fact that they spent millions on the plaza next to the Avenir Center and just passed a by-law on climate change. What am I missing?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by newguy

Why would the city want to remove one of the only pedestrian friendly areas it has? I find it strange based on the fact that they spent millions on the plaza next to the Avenir Center and just passed a by-law on climate change. What am I missing?

1) - They want to reestablish the street grid in the downtown area to encourage development in areas north and south of Main Street in order to give the city more "depth"
2) - They want to improve access to the west end of the parking lot, next to the railway tracks between Main & St. George. Galco received this land in a swap with the city for the land in front of Castle Manor so the trees there could be saved. Without street access, this bit of land would be difficult to develop.
3) - Robinson Court has developed a bit of a reputation for late night altercations and public drunkenness. By making the court a thoroughfare again, this might alleviate this problem.

[jonny golden]

I drive by the corner of King & Main often. Lately there hasn't seemed to be much happening with this project. However, today I was walking by the site and was able to look in through an open door. There is a lot happening inside the building. There was a lot of activity and several workers inside. I guess this redevelopment is progressing just fine.

[MonctonianSentinel01]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

My first thought when I read the story was one way street for Robinson. Not sure if they'll do that though. But if so, which direction would be best?

I would guess heading south into Main street. I would think that it would be better to funnel traffic into Main street for businesses rather than away from it.