(Cross posting from the Fredericton thread, for national interest and regional representation as suggested by MonctonRad - thanks! Fredericton really is a gem and does get the details right in general.)
First time back in Fredericton in eight years! Very pleasantly surprised and reassured to see the Downtown doing fairly well.
The three storey red brick building on Queen and Regent was my place for six years in the late 2000s (1 bedroom, $650/month, never raised the rent all that time). Nice to see it still there intact and occupied
and all the storefronts full too! In fact it seemed like Downtown storefronts were all filled, with most stores that were around back then still alive and kicking. Clippermens where I got haircuts (Fox's was fine, just that it was always closed), River Valley Footwear for shoes, Savage's for my bike, Urban Almanac for my couch, Jonnie Java for java and Coffee and Friends for coffee and friends, Westminster Books... plus so many new ones opened up. Really seemed like things are thriving!
The Hilton Garden Inn was still a promise unfulfilled eight years ago - the parkade of course went in but many of us were cynical that the hotel would actually be built. But there it is! And it seems the Crowne Plaza and the Delta aren't hurting for business.
Fredericton always had a good variety of architectural styles and it's wonderful to see new additions to the mix downtown
The new Beaverbrook gallery under construction really does provide some interesting compelling contrast in the Legislative quarter
Again with most storefronts occupied and open, Queen St is still a great street
and really looking complete on the west end, with apartments/condos peeking out where there was one just an abandoned pigeon-filled warehouse
When I was on PAC back then we'd just approved the first brick building here on the right. I was at the time disappointed that the ground floor was just parking and not commercial space, but then again it made sense as it was still liable for flooding. Further development west on Queen was very much just theoretical, and it really is a pleasure to see it all worked out. The newer additions further west seem to have managed to fit in a restaurant and patio - I assume those few metres down the road provide enough standoff from the river?
On Regent, where the two storey older building with the wine bar was, the infill looks to have turned out well and completes that facade nicely, how the protrusion on the second and third floors line up with the taller building to the north and the older three-storey building to the south
Didn't see enough of the Officers Square plan to say if I like it or not, but I appreciate that it is a high profile location for a joint development between the City and First Nations, as a matter of reconciliation.
I also appreciate that the signage is all in plain language and not in bylaw jargon or planning gobbledygook
Transit seemed somewhat busier than I remember it for a Saturday afternoon (i.e. I actually saw people boarding). Still a mismash of branding and fonts and cases ("FREdERiCTON TRANSiT" - why?!). Putting the electronic destination signs in Sentence Case instead of yelling in ALL CAPS would be an easy fix though.
I like these new parking signs: instead of telling me when I
can't park, tell me when I
can. Much more clear; though what happens between midnight and 0700? (Aside: I used to park on Queen St overnight all the time. I remember one night they were snow ploughing, and the police did the courtesy of calling me at 3 am before they were going to tow my car! Super kind, and indeed faster than getting their tow truck down anyway.)
Water truck - super handy, and branded "H2O" so it's bilingual!
Skate park done and looking well used
And finally all those planned roundabouts are in. They got the application down just right I think: better than where I am now in Ottawa, where they do put the lane markers on the pavement, but not overhead. Essential for winter time when the road is snow covered!
Overall super impressed with Fredericton, it was a pleasure to come back after so long!
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