[Saint John] Amalgamation w/ Suburbs

[JHikka]

There are a number of amalgamations which should take priority over SJ's already too large landmass:

• Sussex & Sussex Corner, with some surrounding areas currently taken up by parishes
• New Maryland & Fredericton
• Fredericton Junction & Tracy
• Woodstock increasing its size
• Florenceville-Bristol increasing its size
• Grand Falls & Drummond
• Campbellton & Atholville & Tide Head
• Balmoral & Eel River Crossing & Charlo
• Beresford & Nigadoo & Petit-Rocher & Pointe-Verte
• Caraquet & Bas-Caraquet
• Saint-Leolin & Grand-Anse
• Shippagan & Le Goulet
• Richibucto & Rexton
• Petitcodiac expanding its size
• Salisbury expanding its size
• St. Stephen expanding its size
• St. George expanding its size
• McAdam expanding its size
• Moncton & Riverview & Dieppe

[saintjohnirish☘]

I think my point of changing the footprint of SJ keeps getting overlooked here.

I know the city is geographically large. That's why I proposed losing much of the boundaries that have very little population and then adding KV. The city would still roughly have 300 sqaure Km's or less.

We need to consider what is good for Saint John, and think outside the box. 30 years of declining population requires us to do so.

[MonctonRad]

The issue is ultimately a political one. Municipalities are creatures of the provincial government. Ultimately, for forced amalgamation to occur, the government of the day will have to make the decision whether or not they want to expend the political capital to make it happen. I'm pretty sure the denizens of the valley have no interest in joining the city of Saint John. any provincial government will therefore have to be willing to face the enraged citizenry and the risk of losing several seats. I don't think it'll ever happen.

Similarly in Moncton - Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview already are part of a unified POPCTR and have shared transit, policing, garbage collection and water commission. Amalgamation could be accomplished fairly easily except for the tremendous cultural and linguistic differences of the three communities. As the Capitale de l'Acadie, Dieppe would never consent to amalgamation with largely anglophone Moncton. Similarly, Riverview prides itself on its Englishness, and the fact that their municipal employees (even at the upper levels) don't have to speak French. Forced amalgamation in Riverview would mean forced bilingualism and loss of power for the English community. Again - nope, never going to happen. No politician would touch this with a 100 foot pole...........

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by saintjohnirish☘

I think my point of changing the footprint of SJ keeps getting overlooked here.

I know the city is geographically large. That's why I proposed losing much of the boundaries that have very little population and then adding KV. The city would still roughly have 300 sqaure Km's or less.

We need to consider what is good for Saint John, and think outside the box. 30 years of declining population requires us to do so.

Again, i'll reiterate the questions I asked previously:

What would Saint Johners gain by adding suburbanites to a city that is already geographically too large?

What do suburbanites gain by being annexed into a city still trying to get its act together?

Additionally, how can you reasonably defend the decision to remove areas potentially including the Lorneville Industrial Park, Saint John Airport, or Canaport from City boundaries?

I can't feasibly see a scenario where residents of KV would willingly join with the Saint John proper, and if GNB is going to be heavy-handed in forcing amalgamations i'd rather see them swing that hammer at rural communities and smaller towns and villages which refuse to upgrade their municipal status' for a plethora of various reasons.

The problem-solving aspect of this is what I take issue with. Has SJ had systemic issues during those 30 years of population decline? Absolutely; but rather than looking outwards for solutions SJ should be looking inwards. Give people a reason why they should want to move within City limits rather than forcing them to. Create your own growth rather than looking elsewhere for it, potentially dragging them down, too. Create better public policy. Create better scenarios and a better environment for growth. Create that opportunity that other areas excel in. KV and GBW still contribute to a larger SJ metropolitan area (whether some want to admit it or not) and their growth is just as good for SJ as much as residents within city limits don't want to admit it, too.

SJ has all the opportunities and chances to create its own destiny - and slowly but surely people in the City are starting to realize that. Positive growth in the urban core is the first step to a rejuvenated City.

[Wolkenkratzerliebhab]

Originally Posted by thefishingnut

I don't actually know where the border between Saint John and Rothesay is along the river route, neither entity seems to have bothered with a sign...

But that being said, a train bridge, gravel pit, rock cut and swamp are really stretching the continuous development context IMO.

The gap is so small, maybe 1,000 ft or so, I don't consider it noteworthy at all.