Official Fredericton, NB projects thread

[Lamespotting]

Originally Posted by caveat.doctor

Thanks - I agree with most of your points on your blog too, except that this is still urban sprawl at work. Just because it is within city limits doesn't mean it won't have the same effect as spreading development the other side of municipal lines - it's still basically as far away from the centre as you can get.

I'll admit that it isn't the best use of the land, however, I think there's a problem with a lack of capital for development. It would be nice if they were done "properly", but does anyone actually have the cash (or credit) to build a few more floors on top of a box store? In a city where 99% of apartment buildings are made of wood and have vinyl siding, the standards aren't very high. If we were to deny approval to box stores within the city limits, they'll just move outside.

Originally Posted by caveat.doctor

Yes, Corbett Centre is more easily accessible to out-of-towners, but that's exactly the "convenience" we need to discourage - by making it easy for the neighbours, it only enables them to sprawl more.

I was actually referring to people coming from smaller areas much farther away, like Woodstock, Grand Falls, etc..

Originally Posted by caveat.doctor

Fredericton has a vested interest in making "life in the country" less appealing than it is.

The only way to accomplish that is to amalgamate as much of the outlying areas as possible.

Originally Posted by caveat.doctor

Being a retail anchor, it will encourage more commercial development in the area - including non-"drive-to" strip-mall storefront types that would be better placed closer Downtown, ones that people would like to have close by to walk to. Small business will be drawn out of the city, just to be close to the Costco. Thus, sprawl.

I believe that if we enhance the downtown by increasing density, these types of development would be much more feasible and they'll come along on their own. The city really needs to redo its municipal plan and make it much more progressive. I plan on making a blog post about it in the future. As it stands, the plan is essentially the status quo with a few lines drawn in the woods for "future development". I feel they did that for the sole purpose of appeasing the NIMBYs.

[MonctonRad]

Congratulations Fredericton on reaching 1,000 posts on the thread!

[frinkprof]

^Only 9000 more to hit the post limit and the thread gets retired.

[mylesmalley]

Haha, somebody's ambitious.

[kwajo]

Go big or go home!

Congrats!

[xxFamilyGuyxx]

Fredericton Named One of Canada's Top Family Friendly Cities

Fredericton (April 16, 2009) - Fredericton has been named the fourth best city for families in Canada by urban visionary, author and newspaper columnist Richard Florida, Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.

In his latest book "Who's Your City?", Professor Florida researched the best places to live in Canada based on five distinct demographic groups - singles, mid-career, family, empty-nester and retiree.

In the Families category, Fredericton finished fourth behind Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto and Calgary. No other New Brunswick city made the top 10 in any category.

"It's another feather in our cap to be recognized as one of Canada's top family friendly cities," said Mayor Brad Woodside. "It's always special to be recognized for the enviable quality of life we enjoy in our community."

In making his rankings, Professor Florida considered the percentage of a city's population that fits a particular life stage, the underlying economic conditions, amenities and quality of life factors like arts and culture, and the cost of living.

Calgary ranked the best place for singles with Toronto topping the empty-nester category. Ottawa-Gatineau ranked at the top for mid-career, families and retirees.

Fredericton is currently on the short list for the Intelligent Community Forum's 2009 World's Most Intelligent City title and has been designated a Cultural Capital of Canada for 2009.

For more information on the rankings of the best cities to live in Canada, go to www.creativeclass.com and click on Who's Your City?

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/communi...lyFriendly.asp

[cl812]

Fredericton Transit bus fleet may go high-tech
Published Monday April 20th, 2009
Internet | Webcams, wireless access down the road?
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton Transit is testing wireless capability on five of its newest transit buses before it considers the cost implications of unrolling new service options to the public.

The capital city's effort is following on the heels of Codiac Transit in Moncton. It recently launched its revamped website with a feature called GoBus developed by a Moncton-based firm called Red Ball. GoBus is a mapping system that displays a bus route and the vehicle's real-time position on that route.

The feature is possible because all of Codiac's buses have wireless Internet access that allows passengers to use global positioning system (GPS) technology.

"We've piloted having some wireless capability on the buses. There's a couple of other features we're interested in, one of them being AVL, the automatic vehicle location,'' said Fredericton Transit manager Sandy MacNeill.

"As well, there's a communications feature associated with it so that we can speak directly to the operators that we're looking at. We're looking for something very similar here with the buses if we can get the coverage. We're just getting a feel for it."

Mike Richard, vice-president of operations of the city-owned e-Novations ComNet Inc. company, said Fredericton is working with Red Ball on the project.

He said they've already conquered one of the problems related to the wireless system.

The city's free Wi-Fi Fred-eZone network is essentially a static system, but the city created a high-speed mobile wireless tower atop the northside depot on St. Mary's Street last summer.

That will allow a passenger on a bus to use a laptop computer, a PDA (personal digital assistant) or smartphone to access the Internet aboard the bus.

"In terms of the tracking of the bus, that will be a web application on top of a Google map so you can actually see where the buses are at all times. They can get it off anything that has a web browser," Richard said.

The city has installed wireless fibre on five test buses and a private call telephone system for the drivers on the same system.

"On one bus we did a public webcam that points out the front window. We expect to have the buscam on our public web page by the end of the month,'' he said.

"It's probably the coolest public webcam we'll have because it gives the public access to traffic and road conditions because you'll be looking right out the front bus window as the bus drives. It's kind of unique."

Richard said a lot of users check the city's webcams for weather and road conditions.

When Red Ball wanted to come to Fredericton, the city was able to offer the company access to the data exchange utility offered by e-Novations.

"They're a member of our network. They use our Internet, our backhaul, our tower," Richard said.

Red Ball charges the city a fee for its services, while the city charges back fees for network access, which makes the paper transaction revenue-neutral, Richard said.

"We've got a really unique deal with them because we're charging them for tower space and services, and of course, they're charging us, but at the end of the day, it's a wash," Richard said.

"The pilot phase has proved to be very successful. It's been up and running solid since September. The issue is now if we're going to equip the entire fleet of buses. Then we are into real money," he said.

"The city needs to figure out if that's something we should be spending our money on and that's in the hands of senior management and council."

Transportation committee chairman Coun. Bruce Grandy said money will be an issue as the city faces the prospect of new provincial legislation that could limit its access to new property tax revenue.

Grandy said the technology being explored is useful to the public, but will also help the city to deliver improved transit services.

"It will allow our dispatchers to look at the buses and look at routes that aren't as efficient, perhaps diverting buses, and will improve safety on buses for riders and drivers," Grandy said.

"We have to look at all this and see what kind of infrastructure we have to put into place for this," Grandy said.

"Then, of course, it all comes down to money and dollars and cents."

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Overpass for Two Nations on radar
Published Monday April 20th, 2009
A1
By CHRIS FOX
fox.chris@dailygleaner.com

The Department of Transportation is exploring the possibility of building an overpass linking the southbound lanes of Ring Road to Two Nations Crossing.

Crews are doing pre-construction work to gauge the feasibility of an overpass.

That means testing soil quality and measuring the distance between surface and rock at the site.

The work is being paid for by the department, but spokesman Andrew Holland said funding hasn't been approved for construction of the overpass and won't be until at least the next provincial budget.

"No funds have been allotted by government yet; however, we understand it is a priority for the City of Fredericton and as such, we are going out and doing the pre-construction work," he said.

"In advance of projects it is consistent to go out, do your homework and map out the scope of the work that needs to be done and how you would do it,'' said Holland.

"Right now, that is what we are doing. We are doing the groundwork, so whenever government approves this, we will be in a better position to meet the necessary timelines."

Ward Coun. Mike O'Brien said the overpass is vital to ensuring future commercial growth in the Two Nations Crossing area and reducing traffic on both Main and Union streets.

He said the city has been in regular talks with the Department of Transportation and Fredericton-area MLAs. He said he's certain it will be built in 2010, if not earlier.

"I am 100 per cent confident that it will begin next year and it is my real dream that there is something that will start this year," O'Brien said. "They (Department of Transportation) are committed to it, we are committed to seeing it done, and it is reassuring to see that they are proceeding with some of the soft costs."

An overpass would allow drivers leaving Two Nations Crossing direct access to the Westmorland Street Bridge, as opposed to rerouting traffic along St. Mary's Street.

O'Brien said alleviating unnecessary traffic on St. Mary's Street would be another positive to come from the project, which he said he had expected to start this summer.

"We were eagerly awaiting in the provincial budget for it to be one of the capital expenditure projects and they were eager to announce that too until the extent of the repair work at the Princess Margaret Bridge was understood, which I think put the kibosh on real substantial work being done this year," he said.

Trina Macdonald, general manager of Business Fredericton North, said she too was disappointed to learn funding wasn't granted for the overpass this year, but her organization remains committed to its completion.

"It would be a definite benefit," she said. "The finishing of the connection for Two Nations has always been a priority for us and continues to be one of our top three priorities, so we are paying close attention to it."

Holland said the department understands the need, but doesn't have the money this year.

He listed construction on the Route 8 Marysville bypass at a cost of $35 million and the Princess Margaret Bridge at a cost of $12 million as major capital projects taking place in the Fredericton region this year.

[cl812]

City to continue northside bus route at a loss
Published Tuesday April 21st, 2009
A4
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton city councillors won't be scrubbing the Two Nations Crossing bus route despite its poor performance since October.

The decision defies the advice of the city's transit manager and is in conflict with the city's route performance policy.

Transit manager Sandy MacNeill said based on 27 weeks of data, it's likely to take up to five years before the Two Nations Crossing bus route can average 20 passengers per hour.

That's the figure it takes to meet city council's route performance threshold of a 25-40 per cent revenue recovery.

"I don't see any way it will meet the benchmark in a timely fashion," MacNeill told councillors Monday night at their council-in-committee meeting.

MacNeill outlined three options: cancel the service on Saturday, try another three months or make the service permanent.

Transportation committee chairman Coun. Bruce Grandy led the charge to make the route permanent, with councillors who represent the wards on the north side of the city backing him.

"When you start a business, it usually takes five years for your business plan to take off. Doing these three-month trials seems to me to be very short-sighted. I think it's better to look at it over a year. Let it go for a year and look at it at that point," Grandy said after the unanimous council vote to keep the route indefinitely.

Grandy said, and MacNeill confirmed to council, that portions of some routes fall short of the 35-40 per cent revenue recovery figure, the Silverwood link of the Silverwood-Lincoln bus route, for example.

"As you heard from a lot of the councillors that development in Two Nations Crossing - whether it be a seniors complex, Ambulance New Brunswick, a school going in there, multiple apartment buildings being proposed this year to be put up there and, most importantly, Leo Hayes students and Willie O'Ree Place - (means) we have to keep this route on and give it a good look," he said.

The route was introduced in October after a transit master plan recommended it as a potentially strong route. The three-month pilot would have ended in January, but, based on initially strong ridership numbers, the pilot was extended to April 4.

On March 16, MacNeill produced figures showing that the upward trend in ridership had flattened. At that time, council asked staff to prepare a final analysis of the pilot for Monday's council session.

Ridership figures for the pilot over the course of six months reached a weekly high average (weekday) of 12.6 passengers per revenue hour. The lowest weekly average was 6.6 passengers per revenue hour. The service operates between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., six days per week, with half-hour service at peak times and hourly service the rest of the day.

Grandy said all bus routes are reviewed at budget time and the Two Nations Crossing route will face that assessment down the road.

He has publicly urged businesses to support the route. The city has suggested the provincial government - which set up the Social Development office on the route even before transit service was approved - to consider kicking in a subsidy on the route.

The Social Development Department serves income assistance, the disabled and other low-income clients, many of whom don't have cars.

Barkers Point-Lower St. Marys Coun. Marilyn Kerton, who works for that provincial government department at Two Nations Crossing, said many clients wouldn't be able to afford to take the bus without free bus tickets handed out by non-profit social agencies in the community.

Without the bus service, many clients would have to walk to the government office.

South Devon Coun. Eric Megarity suggested more seniors would use the bus service near the Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire stores if the bus came into the mall, rather than stopping farther back from the main entrance on a service road.

"We don't make it helpful for these people," Megarity said.

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Habitat for Humanity's request for free land denied
Published Tuesday April 21st, 2009
A4
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton can't play favourites by giving away land for affordable housing, says Mayor Brad Woodside.

City councillors Monday night heard a plea from the Fredericton Habitat for Humanity group to amend city policy to find ways to donate surplus land or at least discount property that could be used for building homes for families.

Finding land is a major concern, said Dave Charleson, board member and site selection committee chairman for the Fredericton chapter.

It's part of an international organization that relies on volunteers and community partners to build homes for low-income families.

The Fredericton Habitat for Humanity group has built six homes in the region and so far it has secured all six lots by donation.

By raising money and requiring qualifying families to put their own "sweat equity" into the projects, Habitat for Humanity Fredericton Area Inc. has been able to build homes on each of those six lots for about $60,000 apiece.

But Charleson said finding donated property is increasingly difficult.

"The key challenge we face at this point in time is finding land," he told city councillors. "We need some help from the city."

In Saint John, the municipality has donated five lots to Habitat for Humanity, and while Fredericton offers discounted land to developers, it's only on projects of eight units or more.

Charleson is asking the city to revisit and alter its affordable housing land policy, but Woodside isn't holding out hope for a change.

"There's a level playing field for everybody, whether you're non-profit, whether you're public or private," Woodside said. "Our policy is very clear. That's not to say that Habitat for Humanity isn't a wonderful organization, but there's a lot of wonderful organizations out there."

The mayor has asked Coun. Mike O'Brien, chairman of the city's affordable housing group, to field the Habitat's request and come up with suggestions on how to help.

But Woodside said he doesn't have a sense that city council is keen on changing the policy.

As far as Saint John is concerned, Woodside said it doesn't look to other cities on every policy.

"I have no idea what they do. I know they gave a tax deal to Irving. We don't do that either," Woodside said.

Charleson said the problem with the discount that Fredericton offers on land for affordable housing is that it only works for developers building eight or more housing units, so it excludes his group.

He did agree, however, to meet with the affordable housing committee to try to further the discussion as Woodside suggested.

The Fredericton group has set a goal of building at least one house per year. It wants to improve its ability to secure land and hopes to open a store by 2012 to generate more revenue for housing.

The store would market surplus and used building materials to make money to build homes.

The group has an application and selection process before it awards a home to a family. The recipient family has to be able to make an interest-free mortgage payment that's adjusted annually to remain at 25 per cent of the family income.

All mortgage payments are reinvested into building more houses. Once the group builds 12 to 15 homes, the mortgage payments should support one build per year.

[kwajo]

In Saint John, the municipality has donated five lots to Habitat for Humanity, and while Fredericton offers discounted land to developers, it's only on projects of eight units or more.

As far as Saint John is concerned, Woodside said it doesn't look to other cities on every policy.

"I have no idea what they do. I know they gave a tax deal to Irving. We don't do that either," Woodside said.

[sarcasm] Good to see Woodside is really maturing in his old age [/sarcasm]

[xxFamilyGuyxx]

[not][sarcastic]The last thing we need is some kind of ghetto.[/not][/sarcastic]

[Smevo]

Good to see something moving on the TNC overpass...even if it is very preliminary. I still wouldn't hold my breath for it to be done in the near future.

Though I would've thought there would be records lying around about the soil condition and bedrock depth there, since much...or at least some of the design work was already done when the road was first constructed as it is now. Sure it might have changed a bit, but I wouldn't think it would be very substantial change below the surface.

[cl812]

Convention centre project is on time and on budget
Published Wednesday April 22nd, 2009
A4
BY HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Subterranean work will soon yield to structural steel and a big crane as the next big leap occurs in the construction of a downtown east end convention centre, provincial government office building and parking garage.


Shape of things to come: This conceputal illustration from ADI Ltd. depicts what the new convention centre and government office complex in downtown Fredericton will look like.


RISING UP: A construction worker prepares some lumber to be hoisted at the site of the construction of the Fredericton convention centre on Tuesday.

City councillors were briefed on the $79-million project this week by Greg Cook, executive director of special capital projects for the city.

The project cost includes $9 million in tax money the city will eventually claim back from the federal government.

The provincial and federal governments have each pledged $4 million to the construction cost, while the province will pay between $4 million and $5 million per year in lease costs for its new digs.

"We expect the structural steel to be delivered the end of May or the first of June, and the crane will go up once we're sure the flood waters have receded," Cook said.

Contractors had been preparing in case the St. John River spilled its banks and halted work temporarily, but so far that hasn't happened.

"We watch the water levels. We haven't got any water in the hole now, so we're doing quite well... But we're not through (flood season). We're well aware of that," Cook said.

"The crane will go up once we're sure that the flood waters have receded ... It's late June that the crane will come. It will mainly be used for the office tower which is a concrete construction building."

The concrete slabs and foundation walls for all three buildings have been constructed with only a bit more work to complete.

"Right now, we have finished all of the slabs for the conference centre basement, and this week we will pour the last section for the office building. And then we're left with the parking structure portion of the site," Cook said.

"We'll have three pours for that ... We'll kind of work our way out of the hole with the last slab."

The first of a number of environmentally friendly measures associated with the project has been built.

A cistern in the basement of the structure is underway.

"Rain water will be collected from the roof, and it will go into the cistern and be used to reduce the water consumption in the building, so that we don't have to use potable water for the toilet fixtures and the urinals in the building," Cook said.

The six-storey, 16,071-square-metre government office building is the only one that will require structural steel framing.

"Everything else will be reinforced poured concrete," Cook said.

The project is on time and on budget, but there are major contracts still ahead to be called, Cook said.

Downtown businesses appreciate the fact that the work site has been kept tidy and the construction area clean, Coun. Stephen Kelly said Tuesday.

Below the government office building will be secure parking for 68 government vehicles.

The city will build a seven-level parking garage for another 444 vehicles.

Below the two-storey, 6,800-square-metre conference centre will be parking for another 73 vehicles.

Construction of the conference centre will introduce the first overhead and street-level pedways to the city as the office building, conference centre, Crowne Plaza Hotel and The Playhouse theatre structure are interconnected.

There's room for a second downtown hotel with a similar interconnecting link.

The conference centre will have ground floor and second floor meeting rooms with elevator and escalator services.

The main ballroom can be subdivided into four separate rooms or left open.

The kitchen area will be able to serve 1,000 people for a dinner in the ballroom.

The ceiling in the main ballroom will be the equivalent of two-stories.

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Less construction happening in city in 2009
Published Wednesday April 22nd, 2009
a5
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton isn’t starting off 2009 with the same heat as 2008.

Construction totals between January and March of this year hit $6.8 million, but that’s down $16.1 million from the $22.9 million for January to March 2008.

In March 2008, construction totals for that month alone hit $15 million.

For this past March, the dollar value of local construction was only $4.1 million.

Mayor Brad Woodside isn’t alarmed and said that considering the global economic downturn, the capital city should count itself fortunate.

Unlike Ontario, where businesses are closing and people are losing their jobs, Fredericton is holding its own.

“This is truly amazing. The growth we continue to have despite all that’s going on around us,” Woodside said.

“We’re doing extremely well with the economic environment that we’re in around the country and around the world,” said Coun. Dan Keenan, chairman of the city’s development committee.

“We’ve got a lot of activity occurring from permits that were actually issued in 2008. The activity is occurring in 2009. You can see that at the convention centre, at the Currie Centre and the Shannex facility that’s being built right now.”

Keenan said there are plenty of projects moving forward in the next few months.

He said it’s still early in the construction year and he expects there’s more construction to be had in the days ahead.

Fredericton has had 40 multiple units added to its housing stock since the start of the year, but only 12 new homes built.

“We feel that will pick up,” said Alex Forbes, director of development services for the city.

The average cost of a single detached dwelling, without the land value, is at $151,000 in Fredericton.

The total value of commercial construction in the city is at $1.5 million, down from the $5 million posted for the same time period last year.

There has been no new industrial construction so far this year.

Last year, there had been $2.2 million posted within the first three months of 2008.

Forbes said $1.5 million of the $2.2 million spent during the first quarter last year was for a new Covey Basics warehouse.

Government and institutional construction is also negligible so far this year.

Last year, the provincial government spent $7.5 million on a new school on Kimble Road and finishing work is continuing this year.

Forbes said the same is likely again this year, but there are major projects lined up for 2009.

List of projects

Here's a list of current and anticipated construction projects for 2009.

Ongoing projects

* 16-unit apartment building at 990 College Hill Rd.

* 19-unit apartment building at Ridgeview Lane.

* Giant Tiger store to open at 1160 Smythe St.

* Renovations to the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.

* More retail expected at Corbett Centre and Two Nations Crossing.

* Phase 2 of West Hills mall on Brookside Drive.

* UNB Wellness Centre construction is ongoing

Anticipated projects

* Building # 4 at Knowledge Park Drive.

* Shannex Senior Living Complex at Patience and Rainsford Lanes is in construction.

* Downtown convention centre construction continues.

* Southside sports and leisure complex may move to construction in 2009.

* York Manor is expanding.

* Fredericton is looking at construction of a south side fire station.

* Ambulance NB dispatch and operations centre to be built near Cliffe Street.

* A seniors retirement complex is under consideration near Cliffe Street.

* The province is considering replacing the Marysville School.

* 46 lots in Brookside West Phase 5.

* 24 single-detached lots, 10 semi-detached lots and one apartment building in North Brook Subdivision off Brookside Drive

* 40-unit apartment building, 30 townhouses and four semi-detached units at Rainsford Gardens off Sarah's Lane

* 80 townhouse units at 850 Kimble Dr.

* 48 single-detached dwelling lots, two medium density lots at Phase 1 of The Meadows at Neill Farm.

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Residents have concerns about FredRock 2009
Published Wednesday April 22nd, 2009
A6
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Sunshine Gardens residents want answers about this summer's first outdoor rock festival in Fredericton.

A neighbourhood meeting as been called for Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Stepping Stone Seniors Centre at 15 Saunders St.

The neighbourhood has invited event organizers, city Coun. Stephen Kelly and city officials to attend to answer questions.

FredRock 2009 is slated for June 19-21, and the show will take place on the infield of the Fredericton Raceway at the Fredericton Exhibition Grounds.

The Black Crowes and Live will be the two major headliners at the show.

Organizers are expected to sell up to 15,000 tickets.

While Sunshine Gardens area residents are used to putting up with the noise, commotion and parking disruptions of the annual Fredericton Exhibition, this could be a different kettle of fish, said Rookwood Avenue resident Chris Baker.

"We had a meeting on April 2, organized by the city, that actually brought some of us from the neighbourhood together with the organizers," Baker said.

"If the event organizers succeed at what they're planning on doing, they're looking at bringing 15,000 people into our neighbourhood on both a Saturday and Sunday in June."

He said he doesn't think the neighbourhood is ready for the noise.

"Parking is always a problem when you have an event like the FREX, but at least with the FREX people come and stay for a couple of hours, they get back in their car and they leave," Baker said.

But with FredRock, it sounds like rock festival participants will come early, park and stay late.

"The first time any of us heard of this event was when it was first reported on in The Gleaner. To date, there has been no outreach from the event organizers to the community ... We had to go," Baker said.

"What assurance do we have that at 11 o'clock the amplifiers get turned off and that sort of thing. We've got kids. We've got elderly people (in our neighbourhood).

"If there's going to be a beer tent and stuff like that, I'm hoping that people are not going to be getting into their cars at midnight."

Organizers say they want to make the event an annual one, but Baker said the community needs a chance to hear first-hand from the organizers and from the city to hear how crowd control, parking, foot traffic noise, and other issues surrounding the event will be handled.

"There's a lot of interest in hearing directly from the organizers and from the city about what their plans are," Baker said.

Organizers Matt Harris, Nick Zildjan and Mike Babineau have been invited to attend.

Kelly said the event application was approved through normal channels.

"We felt this was an excellent group with an excellent plan to hold an exciting event for a festival in the city ... Since the announcement, city staff have been working diligently with the organizers and the community to ensure this event goes off well and that it becomes an asset to the community," Kelly said.

"We have had the benefit of a community response from Sunshine Gardens area, although some of the concerns about having an event of this magnitude and those concerns are eagerly being dealt with by the organizing committee for the event."

The councillor said the organizers are looking forward to meeting area residents to address their concerns.

----

This is the same neigborhood that complained that the flag at the superstore was too loud, so not a surprise about this.

[kirjtc2]

Like I just commented on in the Gleaner....the opening acts go long, the Crowes take the stage at 10:30 and get two songs in before they get shut off.

They'll be in Hampton Beach, N.H. the Thursday and Friday before FredRock. All of a sudden that looks mighty enticing.

[cl812]

Fredericton a hit with Chinese immigrants
Published Wednesday April 22nd, 2009
A1
By MICHAEL STAPLES
staples.michael@dailygleaner.com

Immigrants from the People's Republic of China are finding Fredericton to their liking.

According to the 2006 census, people from that region outnumbered arrivals from other parts of the globe in choosing the capital city as their home.

Of the 1,240 immigrants to land in Fredericton since 2001, 10.7 per cent came from the Asian country, according to Statistics Canada.

Arrivals from the U.S. came in second at 7.6 per cent, followed by the United Kingdom at 7.4 per cent, Egypt at 7.2 per cent, and India at five per cent.

"The city is friendly, clean and quiet," said Xiaolun Yi, vice-president of the Chinese Cultural Association of New Brunswick. "All the people are friendly and kind."

Yi said he hears similar sentiment from other members of the Chinese community. He said he was also drawn to Fredericton because of the local culture and the university community.

"Immigration seems to be the main driver of population these days," said Marc Melanson, a regional adviser with Statistics Canada. "We have no indication that's going to change. That will be the biggest driver of population in Fredericton and New Brunswick down the road."

Melanson revealed the statistics Tuesday during a presentation on the demographics of New Brunswick's capital city.

Also covered during the hour-long slide show were other characteristics of the population, such as language, work, mode of transportation, income and shelter.

Judy Loo, the daughter of a Dutch immigrant to Fredericton, said the capital city has gained a name as a good place for raising families.

"It's an attractive city; it's a safe city, which is appealing to people," Loo said.

"Quite a lot of people coming from Asia have a reasonably high level of education, and jobs in Fredericton often require a fairly high level of education. I think people are attracted to the fact there are two universities here and government offices here."

The 2006 census recorded 5,915 immigrants in the city, representing 6.9 per cent of its population. This is higher than the province at 3.7 per cent, but lower than the national figure of 19.8 per cent.

Provincewide, 4,295 immigrants have arrived since 2001. Unlike Fredericton, arrivals from the U.S. lead all other groups at 12.1 per cent, followed by the People's Republic of China at 10.8 per cent.

Between 2001-06, Fredericton experienced much stronger population growth than New Brunswick - 5.3 per cent compared to 0.1 per cent. That increase, however, is less than witnessed in Canada at 5.4 per cent.

Population Growth Secretariat Minister Greg Byrne said immigration and population growth are needed for the province to succeed.

"Not only are we attracting more immigrants, we are taking specific actions to make sure they stay," Byrne said. "We are investing in multicultural associations, language training and other welcoming initiatives as well."

[cl812]

Picture from today's Gleaner:

London calling
Published Thursday April 23rd, 2009
a3


City view: a light fog covers the downtown section of the city early Wednesday night.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/g.../644514,282509

[cl812]

Knowledge Park set to grow
Published Saturday April 25th, 2009
IT growth | Private sector invited to develop new sections of business park
A8
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Knowledge Park is taking a new approach in a bid to help accelerate the high-tech business park's growth.

To date, the corporation running the park has built, managed and owned buildings on the site. It's now opening up to a third-party model that would allow private developers to build and operate buildings through long-term land-lease agreements.

That would let private developers build for their own clients, bid on requests by companies or allow high-tech companies to put up their own buildings.

Greg Kealey, president of Knowledge Park's board of directors, said the new structure should help the park meet its expansion plans.

"It is an approach that will allow us to grow the park faster," he said.

Earlier this year, the park announced an ambitious goal of adding 14 buildings on the site to house more tech-sector businesses. The three existing buildings are full and the park is in negotiations to begin constructing a fourth building soon.

Kealey said the new approach should be of interest to private developers or tenants who want to build their own building.

Developers will benefit from the work Knowledge Park has already done, such as going through the planning process and completing environmental assessments. In some cases, the land has already been cleared.

That's work that could reduce development costs.

"We have already done an environmental impact assessment for the full build-out. The bulk of that work is complete," said Laura O'Blenis, general manager of Knowledge Park. "We're anticipating this will make it more attractive to developers."

Noreen Barwise, who specializes in commercial real estate, said the move is a shrewd one.

"I think it's the only way to go," she said.

She pointed to Waterloo, Ont., where a similar approach has been adopted by the local business park for the knowledge industry. In that case, the industry has added five new buildings in five years.

The expansion could mean big bucks for the local economy. If things remained consistent with past experiences in the park, upping the number of buildings from three to 17 would create 3,200 more jobs and $114.5 million in wages.

----

25-metre-long pool not enough - clubs
Published Saturday April 25th, 2009
A5
By CHRIS FOX
fox.chris@dailygleaner.com

Representatives from Fredericton's aquatic community say a 50-metre-long pool needs to be built so area swimmers won't be left high and dry when the Sir Max Aitken Pool closes several years from now.

The City of Fredericton, in conjunction with the YMCA, the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University, is exploring the possibility of building an indoor swimming pool.

There are three indoor pools in Fredericton and the city's recreation master plan, released in February, pointed out the need for another one.

Nancy Ketch, the co-coach of the Fredericton Synchronized Swimming Club, said any new pool should be 50-metres long and open for business before the Sir Max Aitken Pool at the University of New Brunswick closes. Officials say that pool will shut down in two to five years after the completion of the Richard J. Currie Centre.

"My big concern is that the city may believe that if the YMCA gets approval and funding for a new 25-metre pool, that that may be enough, but it is not. The pool needs to be 50 metres. It just doesn't make sense to build one 25-metre pool now and then decide that we need another one in a few years," she said.

"We can't train in one lane of a 25-metre pool while the varsity swimmers have the other four or five lanes. Just building one 25-metre pool will really, really eliminate the sport of synchronized swimming and diving in Fredericton."

The city has hired DMA Consulting to do a needs analysis for the proposed facility. Results are expected back the second week of May, at which point the city will host several open houses and move forward on a plan.

Coun. David Kelly, the community services chairman for the city, said a larger pool is a possibility.

"We are absolutely considering it (a 50-metre pool). What we are doing is figuring out how many people are involved, what are the pros and cons and what we may have to gain from it," he said.

"If this is something that could draw major events to the capital city, which means spinoff to the city of Fredericton in major ways, it could be a very good thing."

Peter Fraser, president of the UNB Masters Swim Club, said a large aquatic centre with a 50-metre pool and a smaller warm-up pool may be the only way to meet the needs of city residents.

"That is the only real way that it could work, because really we need two pools," he said.

Fraser said his group could easily balloon from 40 to about 80 members if they had more pool time. He's concerned, however, a new pool won't be built in time to replace the Sir Max Aitken Pool.

"We don't want to end up in a situation where the Aitken closes and we are without a pool for several years, so we want to bring this issue to light and start having these discussions now," he said.

Michel Losier, president of the Fredericton Argonaut Swim Team, agreed with Fraser.

"Our biggest concern is continuity of the program. One facility needs to stay open until the next one is ready, so we can have continuity," he said.

Losier, whose team has a 31-year history in the city, said a bigger facility could mean more regional and national competitions coming to town.

"With a 10-lane pool we could attract eastern competitions and even national competitions," he said.

[mylesmalley]

Lots of good news today!

I took a spin out Brookside Drive a few days ago. I'd never been out that far on the North Side. I'm sure all know by now how fervent a supporter I am of density in construction, but I have to say, those townhouses look reaaaaally out of place so far from the city centre.

I couldn't believe how much new construction is going on out there. New golf course, housing subdivisions on both sides of Brookside and Kilarney Roads. It's pretty obvious the real growth area in town is north of the Ring Road.

[xxFamilyGuyxx]

Yeah alot is changing there and I'm surprised how many condos have been built behind brookside mall in the past few years.

I think the next little boom we will have is going to be on the new section of Knowledge Park Drive. Once the arena is built commercial building will start to pop up. And the first thing to pop up will be Tim Hortons I imagine

[Smevo]

^Probably. They still haven't opened up their new spot in Corbett Centre as of December, but when they closed their food court spot in Regent Mall, that's where they were supposed to be opening "very shortly". Seems like they're using the same standard of "very shortly" as the rest of the developments in Corbett Centre.

[xxFamilyGuyxx]

So what has beeen built so far at Corbett centre?