The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread - Page 97

random11 · #**1921** Posted **Feb 8, 2008, 2:27 AM**

I found this thread on Facebook. Might be of interest:

Sat Feb 9

Canadian Bar Association has scheduled a free public forum entitled "Whose Land is it, Anyway" on Sat Feb 9 from 2-430 at the Delta hotel. A panel will discuss land issues including expropriation.

-- I would also like to remind all group members to participate in the public consultation process! Our goal right now is to let the organizers know that there is a desire to include heritage as one of the themes for the workshops planned this month to discuss development issues. How to get your voice in: fill out the survey at

http://www.saintjohn.ca/services_survey-details.cfm?SurveyID=D13A1B25-0449-43E6-494A28130ACC7151

I copied this thread as I found it. "I would like to remind all group members..." - is Not ME.

GUB · #**1922** Posted **Feb 8, 2008, 3:45 AM**

[QUOTE=Seely32;3338092]Include transportation hub in complex: cyclists
Proposal Community group says parking garage should have large bus stop with sheltered bike racks

John Mazerolle
Telegraph-Journal
Published Thursday February 7th, 2008
Appeared on page C1
SAINT JOHN - The police-justice complex should include a hub for pedestrians, cyclists and bus riders, says a community group that promotes cycling and walking.

"You've got to be smart about how people are getting in and out of there," said Dean Price, of the group Active Transportation Saint John.

Price sent the group's four-page proposal to the Telegraph-Journal. It lists eight recommendations for the city to consider during public consultations. The group's "transportation hub" suggestion says the parking complex planned for the site should include a larger-than-normal bus stop, complete with sheltered bike racks, lockers, and a link to the pedway.

Price said the transportation hub should include a newsstand, coffee shop, bike shop, and flower and food carts. In an interview Wednesday, Price said residential units and offices in the area would create enough foot traffic to justify the businesses.

He compared it to being in Toronto and looking down a street you don't know. If there is activity on the street, people will walk in that direction, he said.

The complex slated for the north of Union Street is an approximately $100-million development that will include a provincial justice building, a police headquarters, a parking garage, and a public green space.

Public consultations are underway, though some in the community fear the city won't listen. Price, who works in the city's engineering department, said he didn't expect resistance, because the group's recommendations would not substantially change the project.

For instance, one of the suggestions is providing bike parking at the garage. Price said 50 bikes would fit in the same space as two sports utility vehicles.

The group's proposal says the city seems to be at odds with its own vision statement, which reads, in part, "Life without a car is entirely possible."

Active Transportation's report says that city leaders "need to make a statement that high quality, well designed and sustainable developments are the only kind acceptable in the city of Saint John."

These are the other recommendations:

* Bike lanes and bike racks throughout Union Street. Spots too narrow for bike lanes should include symbols reminding motorists and cyclists to share the road.

* Union Street should be made safer through synchronized traffic lights and intersection improvements. Price says widening the street is vital, but "we don't want to have an urban speedway in the middle of the city." The group wants the street to be no more than three vehicle lanes and two bicycle lanes, not a four-lane arterial. Also, tractor-trailers should be banned from through traffic.

* The neighbourhood should be built to the standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an internationally recognized system that determines environmental sustainability.

* Walkable, vibrant streetscapes and an open plaza, possibly with outdoor dining.

* The entire complex should be wheelchair accessible.

* Bike parking at the three new buildings.

* Bicycle storage and change rooms in the buildings.

"These are the modern concepts that everybody else is doing," Price said.

This is the type of public consultation that should be listened to. This man presents some good ideas this is a group that is in support of the development that just want to make make it better.[/QUote

Bike racks, bus stops etc. are small pieces to the larger puzzle & this would be a great opp. for SJ to go in the right direction (sustainability that is) and frankly the city would be stupid to opt out on such recommendations. Come to think of it, I don't know whether I've ever seen a cyclist in the uptown.

kwajo · #**1923** Posted **Feb 8, 2008, 3:57 AM**

Quote:

Bike racks, bus stops etc. are small pieces to the larger puzzle & this would be a great opp. for SJ to go in the right direction (sustainability that is) and frankly the city would be stupid to opt out on such recommendations. Come to think of it, I don't know whether I've ever seen a cyclist in the uptown.

As someone who owned a bike and lived Uptown, I'm offended! lol

You are right, these are all part of a bigger picture, and the city does have people working on an Active Transport Plan, or series of inter-connected bike trails all through the city. I saw the preliminary map this Summer and it looked quite good, and actually there is a green plan that incorporates it that goes before council on March 17th (the Marsh Creek Restoration Initiative), so hopefully that will be accepted and things will really get moving.

SJTOKO · #**1924** Posted **Feb 8, 2008, 5:18 AM**

I want a rotating suchi bar on top of the police station. I also think that their should be an undergound nightclub located under the Justice Complex along with a Japanese style sauna. If these demands aren't met then unfortunately, i'm afraid I can't support the project..

Helladog · #**1925** Posted **Feb 8, 2008, 8:10 PM**

Looks like taxpayers don't necessarily HAVE to foot the bill...

Quote:

Team Candu ready and willing to tackle second reactor

Rob Linke
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
Published Friday February 8th, 2008
Appeared on page A1

OTTAWA - The partners proposing to build a second nuclear reactor at Point Lepreau are willing to proceed without any funding from the provincial government.

Representatives of Team Candu told Energy Minister Jack Keir Wednesday they're prepared to pursue a site application and a license as soon as the province gives them the go-ahead.

"They're prepared to move forward without any New Brunswick government involvement, other than NB Power as the operator," Keir said Thursday.

The province's decision to proceed or not is likely some months away, said Keir. It will only come after consultants have analyzed Team Candu's feasibility study for the government.

"We believe the project in its entirety is feasible and yes, I can confirm the project does not require any money or backing from the provincial government," said Joe Howieson, regional vice-president and Team Candu program director.

The province may still choose to finance part of the project.

Approving a design, applying for a site and acquiring the necessary environmental approvals would be a three-year process costing an estimated $30- to $50-million, said Keir.

Team Candu's willingness to assume all the financial risk of construction and possible cost overruns removes a crucial uncertainty about what level of financial risk New Brunswickers would be exposed to from the megaproject, which will cost billions of dollars and take several years to build.

Keir was in Ottawa Thursday, where he asked Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn to clarify the future of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

AECL has built all the reactors in Canada, including the existing reactor at Lepreau, which the federal Crown corporation has begun to refurbish.

AECL and the private companies SNC Lavalin, GE Canada, B&W and Hitachi Canada form Team Candu.

Keir said he impressed upon Lunn the need for the federal government to invest heavily in making AECL, which Keir called under-funded, into a global competitor in the race to sell the next generation of nuclear plants, or privatize it and let investors do the same thing.

"Before the government of New Brunswick is willing to take the next step, we want to know the federal government is at some point going to move in one of those two directions," said Keir.

The provincial government needs that kind of signal to have confidence the future appears bright for global sales of AECL's never-built ACR-1000 design, which is proposed for Point Lepreau.

Without global sales, New Brunswick's ambition of creating what it calls a nuclear centre of excellence would not be realized.

"This project only works for New Brunswick if AECL is going to become a world-class player," he said.

"If they don't, New Brunswick could be walking into a one-of-a-kind.

"Nobody wants to buy a nuclear reactor that's a one-of."

Keir conceded he's been asked several times if he has raised public and business-sector expectations about economic spinoffs so high that it would be politically impossible to back out of building the reactor.

But he insisted the government would base its decision to OK the project on the business case for the electricity alone.

"If the business case works, we'll look at it very closely," he said. "I've said all along, if we don't feel comfortable with that business case, we're "¦.walking "¦..away," pausing between words for emphasis.

While in Ottawa, Keir also met with Michael Binder, who replaced Linda Keen last month as president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

Keir said he wanted to gauge the commission's readiness for the licensing and approval process should Lepreau II go ahead.

"He gave us a wonderful message - that the CNSC is not there to be an obstacle, but he also made clear he has a mandate to protect safety, and nobody takes issue with that," said Keir.

The minister also met with senior officials in international trade about potential investments in the energy sector in the province.

Helladog · #**1926** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 2:28 AM**

I got a little carried away while playing with my paint program, and came up with what I think the Rocca condos will look like...

PostModernPrometheus · #**1927** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 4:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helladog

I got a little carried away while playing with my paint program, and came up with what I think the Rocca condos will look like...

Cool...good job...now, i am *very* ignorant to the status of this project...last I heard, there was no final word on the size/height/# units...

What does strike me is this: even if the project is not a towering one in terms of height, it can still be quite a nice one...keep in mind, where Rocca wants to build is essentially bare right now...(? I assume that old decrepit building that used to house fundy computers between water & PW streets is being torn down to make way for this, or am i way off base??)

PostModernPrometheus · #**1928** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 4:36 PM**

[QUOTE=GUB;3339575]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seely32

Include transportation hub in complex: cyclists
Proposal Community group says parking garage should have large bus stop with sheltered bike racks
Come to think of it, I don't know whether I've ever seen a cyclist in the uptown.

lol...they do seem to be a rarity, don't they?
it speaks to a larger point of pedestrian traffic...on many days, the foot traffic is light through the uptown, but get into the pedway system, and it's packed....the down side of this is that i've had a number of friends (visiting from outside the province) comment on how misleading this is at times...it can at times give the impression of an uptown / downtown that is in fact much less busy than what it truly is...

Helladog · #**1929** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 5:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PostModernPrometheus

Cool...good job...now, i am *very* ignorant to the status of this project...last I heard, there was no final word on the size/height/# units...

What does strike me is this: even if the project is not a towering one in terms of height, it can still be quite a nice one...keep in mind, where Rocca wants to build is essentially bare right now...(? I assume that old decrepit building that used to house fundy computers between water & PW streets is being torn down to make way for this, or am i way off base??)

There is one older building at the site I believe....across from the SJHS addition...I think it is going to be removed. I dunno if it was BS or not but at the council meet in January, Rocca said he wanted to get the ground broken by Sept 1, so the first three floors could be built before Winter, otherwise they'd loose the season...sounds promising anyway.

kwajo · #**1930** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 5:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helladog

I got a little carried away while playing with my paint program, and came up with what I think the Rocca condos will look like...

Nice work, you did a good job expanding on the renderings from Rocca's website

michael_d40 · #**1931** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 11:47 PM**

East Point just updated their site with an aerial view of the entire complex.
VERY nice stuff.
www.eastpointshopping.ca.

Helladog · #**1932** Posted **Feb 10, 2008, 4:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwajo

Nice work, you did a good job expanding on the renderings from Rocca's website

You got it right...that's pretty much what I went by...I took the blue image, added some floors to make seven, put in the lowered centre, and filled in the lines and colours until it was perfect. Of course, alot of cutting and pasting...

SJTOKO · #**1933** Posted **Feb 10, 2008, 9:21 AM**

I would have had the Hotel overlooking the hill instead of a bunch of boxes...

PostModernPrometheus · #**1934** Posted **Feb 10, 2008, 2:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SJTOKO

I would have had the Hotel overlooking the hill instead of a bunch of boxes...

True, but keep in mind, the hotel site was originally selected for its' proximity to the shopping district; the view / location provides a towering view of instant retail advertising, 24 hours a day...the photo doesnt even do it complete justice - you'd really need a panoramic shot to include the mass of retail stores lol

michael_d40 · #**1935** Posted **Feb 10, 2008, 9:51 PM**

This is interesting. Im sure we are gonna have some haters when they read this.

Taken from the EastPoint Website

[B]Situated in the historic port city of Saint John, New Brunswick, East Point Shopping is located in the province’s largest urban population center and adjacent to the province’s busiest highway, an hour northeast of the Maine-New Brunswick border. Saint John is New Brunswick’s number one tourist destination and is emerging as the region’s energy hub. ------->The city boasts the largest single retail concentration in Atlantic Canada. <------------