The Central Peninsula Plan will guide growth in the area for the next 30 years. (City of Saint John)
Saint John residents will get another look at progress on the Central Peninsula Plan tonight.
Jennifer Brown, a city planner in growth and community development, says the plan will guide the next 30 years of development and growth in the Uptown, South End, and Waterloo Village areas.
“We’re taking it from a smart growth perspective. So we’re saying okay, we’ve got something really good here. How do we capitalize on it, but most importantly how do we do that in a responsible and sustainable way?”
Brown says the plan isn’t new. It’s been approximately two years in the making.
The city did a round of public engagement between spring of 2017 and 2018, when they released a preliminary draft of the plan to the public. More public engagement is ongoing, as they continue to refine the plan with feedback from residents living in the area.
“It’s a better, more refined plan that speaks to actions needed on the central peninsula, while also taking advantage of the existing growth and momentum that’s happening in that area,” said Brown.
‘Immediately Implementable’
One thing the plan will implement right away is developing a “one stop” street closure application process for events and festivals, she explains.
“If you want to host something on the street—like a Moonlight Bazaar, we just recently had E2L Jam over the weekend which was very successful—what we’re trying to do is make those kinds of applications a bit more streamlined,” she said.
She says the ideas on their list would hopefully be implemented in the next five years.
“We’re looking at the Fundy Quay site, how to provide an understanding of the work that has to get done there. We also can look at things like a strategy for noise in the Uptown areas,” she said.
“We are culminating quite an entertainment district, and with that comes some challenges around noise, and so that’s one of our immediate implementable ideas.”
Brown says they also want to look at the idea of “pedestrianized” streets. She says if you’ve ever been to Halifax, you’ll recognize the concept in the city’s Argyle Street.
“If you look at Argyle Street, it’s a great example of how a city phased in that installation. So they did a pilot, then they did a little bit more, a little bit more to get to a successful concept,” she said.
She says they’re hoping to try the idea out on South Market Street, where the Night Market is currently held every Thursday.
“Throughout the engagement process we really heard that people were looking for new and different public spaces,” she said.
“South Market is a really good candidate as it’s beside the City Market, which has a lot of foot traffic. It’s a really great asset.”
Other highlights on their list include potential public art guidelines, a relocation of the Saint John Energy substation, and exterior upgrades to City Hall.
Additionally, there will be changes to the Heritage Bylaw, which will affect new development in Heritage Conservation areas, which are spread all over the central peninsula.
Brown says the plan will guide how buildings should look in order to maintain consistency, especially Uptown.
“Prince Williams, Canterbury, and Germain all have really great block structures, so the buildings come right up to the property line, they create a nice sense of street line and public realm for people to walk down,” she said.
Protecting those assets are crucial to the city, says Brown.
The city will be holding an information session on the Central Peninsula Plan on Tuesday night in the Market Square Atrium at 5 P.M.
