[Moncton] Centre Avenir Centre | 26.65m |~6 Fl | Completed

[BlackYear]

Since I live downtown, I decided to test the walking to the Events Centre (EV) from my perspective.

Subject: regular 55 year old guy in ok shape with no physical issues.
Walking pace: normal
Time of day: 21:30
Sweat rating from 1-10 once reached destination: 1.5

Test walk one: Started at Wilson's Gas bar corner of St-George & Bostford. Walked straight to Main st, turn right, straight to EV. Time: 12 minutes sharp.

Test walk two: Corner of Main & Highfield straight to St-George, 5 minutes. Then straight to Mt-Road, 6 minutes. 11-12 minutes total from EV to Mt-Rd.

Only obstacle, St-George street hooker who popped out from the Uni bank parking lot. Never made eye contact.

Anyway, green radius is pretty much a 5 minute max walk, red radius is 10-12 minutes max.

Walk time from my house to EV, 7-8 minutes.

[MonctonianSentinel01]

Sweet post dude, thanks for the info! Nice to see how easy it is to walk in Metro. I bet there will be a lot of people walking to games and events from those areas of the city.

[habskilla]

Sweat rating from 1-10 once reached destination: 1.5

Waiting the same tests to be re-run in the middle of January with the frostbite rating

[Ammn_guy]

Yes the walks times are getting a bit blown out I think... at least 2 days a week i walk from bluecross to sobeys for lunch..including the winter, Its 7-8 mins.

So in saying that, Assumption has a big parking lot.. that is probably a 5-7 min walk. and as well there are hunderds of metered spaces off queen st that are free at night.

Honestly the walk to the end of the windswept coliseum parking lot is probably almost the same distance and you dont have to dodge angry drivers trying to leave.

They way i look at it is instead of sitting for 30 mins in the Coliseum parking lot waiting to get out, i can sit in a bar and eat chicken wings instead lol.

This will sort itself out.

Originally Posted by Budyser

Since I live downtown, I decided to test the walking to the Events Centre (EV) from my perspective.

Subject: regular 55 year old guy in ok shape with no physical issues.
Walking pace: normal
Time of day: 21:30
Sweat rating from 1-10 once reached destination: 1.5

Test walk one: Started at Wilson's Gas bar corner of St-George & Bostford. Walked straight to Main st, turn right, straight to EV. Time: 12 minutes sharp.

Test walk two: Corner of Main & Highfield straight to St-George, 5 minutes. Then straight to Mt-Road, 6 minutes. 11-12 minutes total from EV to Mt-Rd.

Only obstacle, St-George street hooker who popped out from the Uni bank parking lot. Never made eye contact.

Anyway, green radius is pretty much a 5 minute max walk, red radius is 10-12 minutes max.

Walk time from my house to EV, 7-8 minutes.

[felip_ars]

Is it just me, or there's seems to be a lot of residential sectors in the red circle?

For them, thats pretty good, they wont even need to take their car to get to the Centre, but Im wondering how they'll feel when their streets get "invaded" by people not wanting to pay and preferring to walk.

Maybe a parking permit system (like the one for those living near the Moncton Hospital), could be an option. At least for the smallest streets where kids play.

Also I wonder if the City will more loose when the Parking Ban arrives in December? With concerts ending usually at 11 (and Winter is usually THE season for indoor tours), it doesn't leave a lot of time to "live the Downtown Nightlife" after.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by felip_ars

Is it just me, or there's seems to be a lot of residential sectors in the red circle?

For them, thats pretty good, they wont even need to take their car to get to the Centre, but Im wondering how they'll feel when their streets get "invaded" by people not wanting to pay and preferring to walk.

Indeed. I could see a lot of residents in (formerly) quiet residential neighbourhoods close to the core getting pretty pissed off with a sudden invasion of poorly parked cars on their street, perhaps partly blocking access to their driveways.

I can see petitions showing up at city hall, with some of these streets subsequently being designated for resident parking only.

Then where will the event goers park?????

I'm not being a negative Nellie, just a realist. The issue won't affect me since as a season ticket holder, I have one of the reserved 250 Wildcats parking spaces.

It will affect others. Most season ticket holders didn't get a parking space. These are the ones I'm most concerned about. Season ticket holders may go to 34 games per year (more with a deep playoff run). The thrill of a 15 minute walk to the events centre will start to wear pretty thin after the third game in five days, especially in the middle of February with three feet of snow on the ground and icy sidewalks.

The current demographic of Wildcats fans skews to the elderly. I don't think they will put up with this. Perhaps the Wildcats will attract a brand new demographic and their business model will be maintained. I hope so, but there is no question that a good portion of their current fan base is being told by the city to go pound sand..........

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Indeed. I could see a lot of residents in (formerly) quiet residential neighbourhoods close to the core getting pretty pissed off with a sudden invasion of poorly parked cars on their street, perhaps partly blocking access to their driveways.

I can see petitions showing up at city hall, with some of these streets subsequently being designated for resident parking only.

Then where will the event goers park?????

I'm not being a negative Nellie, just a realist. The issue won't affect me since as a season ticket holder, I have one of the reserved 250 Wildcats parking spaces.

It will affect others. Most season ticket holders didn't get a parking space. These are the ones I'm most concerned about. Season ticket holders may go to 34 games per year (more with a deep playoff run). The thrill of a 15 minute walk to the events centre will start to wear pretty thin after the third game in five days, especially in the middle of February with three feet of snow on the ground and icy sidewalks.

The current demographic of Wildcats fans skews to the elderly. I don't think they will put up with this. Perhaps the Wildcats will attract a brand new demographic and their business model will be maintained. I hope so, but there is no question that a good portion of their current fan base is being told by the city to go pound sand..........

To bad this was not a shared Project between the City, Province, and Crombie REIT.

Could have had a multi use space used all year round with enough parking to avoid any issues.

[Sunnybrae]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Indeed. I could see a lot of residents in (formerly) quiet residential neighbourhoods close to the core getting pretty pissed off with a sudden invasion of poorly parked cars on their street, perhaps partly blocking access to their driveways.

I can see petitions showing up at city hall, with some of these streets subsequently being designated for resident parking only.

Then where will the event goers park?????

I'm not being a negative Nellie, just a realist. The issue won't affect me since as a season ticket holder, I have one of the reserved 250 Wildcats parking spaces.

It will affect others. Most season ticket holders didn't get a parking space. These are the ones I'm most concerned about. Season ticket holders may go to 34 games per year (more with a deep playoff run). The thrill of a 15 minute walk to the events centre will start to wear pretty thin after the third game in five days, especially in the middle of February with three feet of snow on the ground and icy sidewalks.

The current demographic of Wildcats fans skews to the elderly. I don't think they will put up with this. Perhaps the Wildcats will attract a brand new demographic and their business model will be maintained. I hope so, but there is no question that a good portion of their current fan base is being told by the city to go pound sand..........

I'm sure for the first few events, the parking police will be out en masse and some people will be getting a reality check. Should be interesting.

[lirette]

I get a little tired reading about the winters as if we have 6 months of -40 and snowstorms everyday.

Last year I paid special attention to the weather during the season because I knew these complaints were coming. The Wildcats had completed half of their home regular season games without a single drop of snow on the ground. On top of this temperatures didn't reach below freezing until late December.

To me we really only have 2 months of weather in January/February that are uncomfortably cold. The other 10 months of the year are manageable. Sure snowstorms are going to happen..but they happened at the coliseum too. Snowstorm games were always small crowds. Actually..snowstorm crowds might improve with more people walking distance to the arena now.

For concerts people are going to figure out a way to get there if the event is not cancelled.

The other thing I see is that hockey crowds are always smaller before Christmas and then build as the season goes on and people get in the mood for hockey. If people are so terrified to leave their house in January and February perhaps we will see this balance out abit with more fans going when the temperatures are more reasonable, and returning in late march for the playoffs.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by felip_ars

Is it just me, or there's seems to be a lot of residential sectors in the red circle?

For them, thats pretty good, they wont even need to take their car to get to the Centre, but Im wondering how they'll feel when their streets get "invaded" by people not wanting to pay and preferring to walk.

Maybe a parking permit system (like the one for those living near the Moncton Hospital), could be an option. At least for the smallest streets where kids play.

Also I wonder if the City will more loose when the Parking Ban arrives in December? With concerts ending usually at 11 (and Winter is usually THE season for indoor tours), it doesn't leave a lot of time to "live the Downtown Nightlife" after.

The parking ban was relaxed in the downtown area last winter. Similar to Halifax only was the ban on if there was a snowstorm. I expect that to be the same this year. It was likely a test for this very reason.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Originally Posted by lirette

I get a little tired reading about the winters as if we have 6 months of -40 and snowstorms everyday.

Last year I paid special attention to the weather during the season because I knew these complaints were coming. The Wildcats had completed half of their home regular season games without a single drop of snow on the ground. On top of this temperatures didn't reach below freezing until late December.

To me we really only have 2 months of weather in January/February that are uncomfortably cold. The other 10 months of the year are manageable. Sure snowstorms are going to happen..but they happened at the coliseum too. Snowstorm games were always small crowds. Actually..snowstorm crowds might improve with more people walking distance to the arena now.

For concerts people are going to figure out a way to get there if the event is not cancelled.

The other thing I see is that hockey crowds are always smaller before Christmas and then build as the season goes on and people get in the mood for hockey. If people are so terrified to leave their house in January and February perhaps we will see this balance out abit with more fans going when the temperatures are more reasonable, and returning in late march for the playoffs.

I to am getting annoyed of how people are going on about this. There should be no more wait to get off of Wheeler onto Killiam Drive now too, so ad that to the time it took to find a parking spot and walk across the huge parking lot and there’s your walking time. I be more pissed about having to walk far in the rain than I would be about having to walk when it’s snowing.

[McKay]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I'm not being a negative Nellie

You are, though.

People will adapt, the City will adapt, and markets will adapt. If there's a demand for parking, parking lot owners will figure out how to make money off it and thereby reduce the shortage. The City will react to problems like the ones you suggested and make adjustments in policies or operations to mitigate them. People attending events will change their habits as necessary. The events centre was built in a living city, not a fossil frozen in time.

[pierremoncton]

Originally Posted by McKay

You are, though.

People will adapt, the City will adapt, and markets will adapt. If there's a demand for parking, parking lot owners will figure out how to make money off it and thereby reduce the shortage. The City will react to problems like the ones you suggested and make adjustments in policies or operations to mitigate them. People attending events will change their habits as necessary. The events centre was built in a living city, not a fossil frozen in time.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by McKay

People will adapt, the City will adapt, and markets will adapt. If there's a demand for parking, parking lot owners will figure out how to make money off it and thereby reduce the shortage. The City will react to problems like the ones you suggested and make adjustments in policies or operations to mitigate them. People attending events will change their habits as necessary. The events centre was built in a living city, not a fossil frozen in time.

The city has shown little sensitivity to an important component of the Wildcats ticket base. The subset of older seasons ticket holders.

Again, I'm not complaining on my part, I have obtained a good quality parking space (at a cost of about $250) to attend Wildcats games this year. I'm speaking on behalf of elderly fans who have supported the team for years and now feel abandoned and ignored (mostly by the city) because their parking concerns have not been addressed.

I fully realize that the really bad winter weather is confined to a 10 week period from January 1st to mid March. The Cats probably play 12-14 home games during this stretch. Even if it has not been actively snowing, it will be cold and the sidewalks likely will be icy. This is not a problem for your typical 25 year old (probably explaining the lack of sympathy on display here), but can be a big problem for an osteoporotic 75 year old with poor balance.

As a physician, I can guarantee you that there is a spike in fractures seen in the ER in the winter time. Hip fractures can be very serious, with complications resulting in a relatively high mortality rate.

Parking may not be an issue for most people, but for elderly season ticket holders, it is a major impediment. I'm just trying to build awareness of the issue.

I agree the parking problem will rectify itself over time. For example, the rumoured hotel that may be built on the site of the current V Hotel may contain a parking structure. Any fix for the problem however will take 3-5 years to ultimately arrive. I think the city should have shown more foresight on this issue.

Every other city in the Maritimes (even Charlottetown) have multiple parking structures in their cores, including municipally owned structures. Why doesn't Moncton????

[lirette]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

This is not a problem for your typical 25 year old (probably explaining the lack of sympathy on display here), but can be a big problem for an osteoporotic 75 year old with poor balance.

As a physician, I can guarantee you that there is a spike in fractures seen in the ER in the winter time. Hip fractures can be very serious, with complications resulting in a relatively high mortality rate.

Parking may not be an issue for most people, but for elderly season ticket holders, it is a major impediment. I'm just trying to build awareness of the issue.

I'm not understanding how a parking garage resolves this issue. Any garage built is still likely to be still a 10 min walk away and someone with the health issues you mention will still struggle.

Hell, the coliseum parking is a dangerous place to walk in winter. I nearly fell several times this season. To me someone with those types of issues should be dropped off at the door/drop off zone. This is where you hope the community helps out & someone in their family steps up to look after their family member.

Im with you fully on replacing surface parking with garages but i dont see the connection with helping the elderly. Barring a new 2000 car garage attached to the building there will stilll be walking required.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by lirette

Im with you fully on replacing surface parking with garages but i dont see the connection with helping the elderly. Barring a new 2000 car garage attached to the building there will stilll be walking required.

I certainly don't want to see any attached parking garages. That would be a waste of valuable land. For example, I think it's great that the Hyatt is being built where it is. This increases land use intensity in the immediate area and helps to build a cultural node that will attract even more people. That's synergy in action......

There are still opportunities however to build parking structures within 2-3 blocks of the events centre. This is not too far to ask people to walk, and if the city knows that this is where most events goers are going to park, they could redouble their efforts at snow clearing and ice mitigation along the pedestrian routes from these garages to the events centre. This would be both time and cost effective compared to the alternative of having people park here and there in a random pattern.

[RedBall]

A quick video of the new scoreboard in action!

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update...58982927548416

[trev71]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The city has shown little sensitivity to an important component of the Wildcats ticket base. The subset of older seasons ticket holders.

Again, I'm not complaining on my part, I have obtained a good quality parking space (at a cost of about $250) to attend Wildcats games this year. I'm speaking on behalf of elderly fans who have supported the team for years and now feel abandoned and ignored (mostly by the city) because their parking concerns have not been addressed.

I fully realize that the really bad winter weather is confined to a 10 week period from January 1st to mid March. The Cats probably play 12-14 home games during this stretch. Even if it has not been actively snowing, it will be cold and the sidewalks likely will be icy. This is not a problem for your typical 25 year old (probably explaining the lack of sympathy on display here), but can be a big problem for an osteoporotic 75 year old with poor balance.

As a physician, I can guarantee you that there is a spike in fractures seen in the ER in the winter time. Hip fractures can be very serious, with complications resulting in a relatively high mortality rate.

Parking may not be an issue for most people, but for elderly season ticket holders, it is a major impediment. I'm just trying to build awareness of the issue.

I agree the parking problem will rectify itself over time. For example, the rumoured hotel that may be built on the site of the current V Hotel may contain a parking structure. Any fix for the problem however will take 3-5 years to ultimately arrive. I think the city should have shown more foresight on this issue.

Every other city in the Maritimes (even Charlottetown) have multiple parking structures in their cores, including municipally owned structures. Why doesn't Moncton????

Question I am from Fredericton and I usually attended about 5 wildcat games a year in Moncton. I plan on going to a show there in October. How hard would it be do you think to park behind the capital theatre at 4pm on a Friday. I would like to go out for supper somewhere before a show. or would parking at 28 Alma street be easier ? I am not very familiar with downtown Moncton but I have been to capitol theatre about a dozen times in the last few years

[lirette]

Originally Posted by trev71

Question I am from Fredericton and I usually attended about 5 wildcat games a year in Moncton. I plan on going to a show there in October. How hard would it be do you think to park behind the capital theatre at 4pm on a Friday. I would like to go out for supper somewhere before a show. or would parking at 28 Alma street be easier ? I am not very familiar with downtown Moncton but I have been to capitol theatre about a dozen times in the last few years

It would be worth checking out the lot in front of the Moncton Market as well. Its free after 6 so you'd only have to put in $4-5 and you'd be good. I find that lot to have spots throughout the day because its mostly people showing up to go to Service NB or grab lunch. Very close to capitol as well.

[trev71]

Originally Posted by lirette

It would be worth checking out the lot in front of the Moncton Market as well. Its free after 6 so you'd only have to put in $4-5 and you'd be good. I find that lot to have spots throughout the day because its mostly people showing up to go to Service NB or grab lunch. Very close to capitol as well.

Is that the lot across from 120 Westmorland St ? If not what is the street ? I don't mind paying a few extra dollars for parking at 4. long as I have parking that is all that matters. Save me for listening to my wife complain. I am sure once I find out where I will park each time it shouldn't be an issue. we are normally at all our events super early, even hockey games

I just have a feeling the booters are going to make a killing, along with the tow truck drivers.
I checked on the city of Moncton website so I kinda know where not to park