The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[CdnEh]

Ahh interesting, thanks.

Has anybody else noticed that the conditions of the highways seems especially bad this year? Route 7 near Grand Bay is absolutely crumbling and heaving in some spots. It's like driving on the moon.

First it was city roads that were poorly maintained, but they seem to be better this year - now it's provincial roads that are problematic. I've seen better conditions in Botswana.

[Ire Narissis]

I drove to Moncton on the weekend and found highway 1 to be in pretty good shape; better than the TCH between its terminus and Moncton, in fact.

Highway 7, on the other hand, is my daily commute (between Westfield and Saint John), and it's like driving a slalom trying to dodge all the holes. The first Grand Bay exit (by the landfill) is particularly bad; the road has just disintegrated at the turn-off lane. And then there's that sunken culvert just up the hill where they had to post a reduced speed limit...

I think the blame for this year's exceptionally bad conditions lies with the crazy freeze/thaw cycles we've been having this winter. That sort of weather is complete murder on roads, especially if their condition is already as tenuous as Route 7's was. You could make a patchwork quilt the same size as the highway's surface and it'd have less patches than the asphalt.

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by CdnEh

Ahh interesting, thanks.

Has anybody else noticed that the conditions of the highways seems especially bad this year? Route 7 near Grand Bay is absolutely crumbling and heaving in some spots. It's like driving on the moon.

Granted I only drive this route maybe 1-2 times per month I am surprised to read this. I had actually thought the route was in the best shape it had been in in years. I certainly appreciate the Welsford bypass.

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

Granted I only drive this route maybe 1-2 times per month I am surprised to read this. I had actually thought the route was in the best shape it had been in in years. I certainly appreciate the Welsford bypass.

It's only become so bad since late December or so; a combination of plow wear and horrific weather stress has been destroying the heck out of it.

The bypass is nice, though.

[Helladog]

Hwy 1 is fine since it just got redone a couple of years back. For me, it's Hwy 10 which runs between Sussex and Fredericton, taking a turn around Young's Cove, Chipman and Minto on it's way. The portions between Sussex and Berwick have become bad this year, and sections between Cumberland Bay to Chipman have been getting worse every year. Also areas between Chipman and Minto, minus the small reconstructed sections are pretty bad.

I lost rims/tires in two of the last four years, and I grimace as I travel between Chipman and Cumberland Bay especially when it's dark and hard to see the potholes. I bought a new car last May, and I can already hear a rattling in my rear suspension.

[Southpaw78]

There hasn't been much interest in the positive employment numbers trend Saint John has been enjoying based on my posts in the past, but Saint John recorded another consecutive month of lower unemployment rates to 5.9%. The populations and participation numbers are also up.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/lfss04b-eng.htm

AndI won't mention names, but someone on this forum disputed SJ's population growth. While it is admittedly slow growth, at least it's finally growth. You got to start by celebrating small successes one at a time....

[mylesmalley]

Any way you look at it, SJ has had a great looking year on the employment front: Hugely better unemployment rate, big improvement to the size of the labour force, and even modest population growth. I'm curious what the big drivers are.

[Whaler]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Any way you look at it, SJ has had a great looking year on the employment front: Hugely better unemployment rate, big improvement to the size of the labour force, and even modest population growth. I'm curious what the big drivers are.

More good news for Saint John coming soon! Stay tuned.

[Wolkenkratzerliebhab]

Originally Posted by Whaler

More good news for Saint John coming soon! Stay tuned.

Damn it, now I really can't wait, but glad to see your post.

[Monctoncore]

The drivers employment wise in the past year, were all thanks to the government.. I think there was a story every couple weeks about a new call center being sourced to SJ and announced by the government.. honestly I don't think I have gone a week without seeing some kind of government announcement or talk in or about SJ... Then of course Irving had announcements about new jobs, but from what I have heard from a very reliable source, NB is in for its toughest and roughest year yet, with a lot of disapointment, including some big projects in Moncton, SJ and Fredericton... so lets just hope for the best.. and hope my source is wrong..

[Monctoncore]

This is good news, I wonder what made them choose Saint John?

Bell Aliant and Province of New Brunswick support thriving ICT sector with announcement of new data centre in Saint John
$25-million data centre enables Bell Aliant to offer world class facilities for New Brunswick business' network and IT infrastructure needs
Bell Aliant expands position as leading data centre provider in Atlantic region
Province of New Brunswick to contribute $5 million to the project

SAINT JOHN, NB, Feb. 11, 2014 /CNW/ - Bell Aliant and the Province of New Brunswick announced today that a new world-class data centre will be built in Saint John, N.B. Bell Aliant will build the $25-million facility, offering data centre capacity to meet current and future needs of New Brunswick's robust ICT (Information and Communications Technology) sector.

The Province of New Brunswick will contribute $5 million to the project. New Brunswick Premier David Alward joined Karen Sheriff, Bell Aliant president and chief executive officer for the announcement in Saint John.

"New Brunswick's knowledge economy is growing, and creating new opportunities for job creation," said Alward. "Our government's investment in this leading-edge data centre will help New Brunswick companies attract new investment and create jobs here at home."

The new data centre will be a 24,000-square foot, one megawatt (1MW) facility, with potential to expand to deliver 4MW. Approximately 50 new jobs will be created through construction and operation of the centre. The centre will provide critical infrastructure that will keep businesses in the province, help them grow and attract new businesses to New Brunswick.

"Businesses need reliable, secure, scalable data services, and we're making the necessary infrastructure investments to boost Bell Aliant's Atlantic Canada data centre offering to meet that need," said Karen Sheriff, President and CEO of Bell Aliant. "With support from the Government of New Brunswick we will build one of the most advanced and innovative data centre facilities in North America - and as the ICT sector continues to grow, guarantee our capacity to expand and attract future investment."

Bell Aliant is Atlantic Canada's leading data centre provider with over 30 years' experience serving customers across public and private sectors, and regional, national and international markets. Bell Aliant delivers value-added enterprise and professional services, including capacity management, disaster recovery planning, security, monitoring, managing and networking services. In the last five years, Bell Aliant has invested more than $40 million to expand and enhance its data centre service offering with facilities in Saint John, N.B., Halifax, N.S. and St. John's, N.L. This includes $14 million invested in its existing New Brunswick data centre services.

"A facility of this calibre showcases our local infrastructure assets to potential new business and demonstrates how companies like Bell Aliant can meet their future needs," said Geoff Flood, co-Chair of the New Brunswick Research and Innovation Council. "Data management is a crucial component of the culture of innovation we're fostering in New Brunswick."

Bell Aliant has been an active player in developing and expanding New Brunswick`s technology sector. This partnership builds on a strong shared commitment to foster economic prosperity and innovation in the region. As part of the agreement, the Province of New Brunswick will extend its existing voice services agreement with Bell Aliant by one year with significant savings under the current contract.

About Bell Aliant
Bell Aliant Inc. (TSX: BA) is one of North America's largest regional communications providers and the first company in Canada to cover an entire city with fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology with its FibreOP™ services. Through its operating entities, it serves customers in six Canadian provinces with innovative information, communication and technology services including voice, data, Internet, video and value-added business solutions. Bell Aliant's employees deliver the highest quality customer service, choice and convenience.

SOURCE Bell Aliant Inc.

[kwajo]

I think the choice of SJ has a lot to do with their existing infrastructure in the city, as Aliant has a great deal of their existing data infrastructure for New Brunswick located here already.

[MountPleasant]

Anyone see what these building plans look like?

Let's hope its uptown!

[Monctoncore]

Thanks Kwajo, that makes sense! I was looking at other data centers across Canada and they aren't much to look at, I would assume this will be located outside of the core, by the looks of the one they just built in Ottawa, can't see it being any where other than an industrial area. Still great news for the Province as a whole!

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MountPleasant

Anyone see what these building plans look like?

Let's hope its uptown!

If it is just a data centre, it will be a box. There would be no reason to locate it uptown unless Bell's current infrastructure mandates that it be located there.

Still, very good news for SJ.

[MountPleasant]

Yes, they are just a big box. But data centres are crucial for a potenial knowledge based economy... and we have lots of room on the south-central for it

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by kwajo

I think the choice of SJ has a lot to do with their existing infrastructure in the city, as Aliant has a great deal of their existing data infrastructure for New Brunswick located here already.

Yes, when we used to have NBTel it was headquartered in Saint John and of course there is plenty of remaining infrastructure and personnel in place when Bell took over.

This is a great announcement for the city. As others noted Data Centers are typically just boxes very similar to warehouses, but the investment into the city and employment are certainly positives.

[MountPleasant]

Should have made Simms warehouse into the data centre!

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by MountPleasant

Yes, they are just a big box. But data centres are crucial for a potenial knowledge based economy... and we have lots of room on the south-central for it

Not really crucial at all. There's much more risk in using a data centre in the Maritimes because we don't have the redundant connections from multiple service providers that exist in larger cities.

[MountPleasant]

In order to grow a knowledge based economy here in NB, this i would say is a big step in the right direction, regardless of our current infrastructure