From the October 7, 2010 Times and Transcript:
It has taken considerable planning by landowners, developers and the City of Moncton, but now work is about to begin on developing the city's 'Vision Lands' with the Hall's Creek Villages sustainable living project.
This 264-acre residential project in the centre of the city is intended to be, and will be, a model for the entire country. It will feature housing with passive solar, solar panels, energy-efficient heat pumps and other energy efficient technologies. Beyond that, the developers are committed to maintaining the ecological integrity of the area, including preserving the flora and fauna, having already gone so far as to remove and preserve some plants so they can be reintroduced once the construction is complete.
And that is only half the story. The partners in Synergy Urban Villages Inc. behind the $30 million first phase have deliberately designed the villages to encourage true community atmosphere in the middle of the city. The project involves five distinct villages and will include a balanced mix of single family homes, detached housing, cluster neighbourhood homes, multi-unit dwellings and commercial buildings, with generous parklands in the middle. It is designed so everything will be within easy walking distance.
The villages will be close to schools, the university, the Trinity Drive shopping district and will have good access to the entire city. It's a smart way to counter urban sprawl, respect the environment, meet energy needs, keep development on a human scale and provide affordable housing all at once. The city and developers have shown true vision and it was worth the wait to get it right.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Stonehammer First Global Geopark in North America
From the facebook page of the Stonehammer Geopark:
The Stonehammer Geopark, located in southern New Brunswick, has become the first North American member of the UNESCO –supported Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The announcement was made late Sunday at the 9th Annual European Geoparks Conference in Lesvos, Greece by the GGN Bureau. With the acceptance of the Stonehammer Geopark application, the GGN has 77 members in 24 countries throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, the Middle East and now North America.
“The designation of the Stonehammer Geopark as North America’s first Global Geopark is wonderful recognition of the significant geological heritage of the region, as well as its great potential for sustainable economic development”, said Dr. Godfrey Nowlan, Chair of the Canadian National Committee for Geoparks.
“The success of this project is due in part to the incredible community support which we have received,” commented Bill Merrifield, Chair of the Stonehammer Board of Directors. “The range of organizations, provincial and municipal governments, businesses and individuals who have engaged in this project was identified by the GGN Bureau as one of the major assets of the Stonehammer Geopark application.”
The Stonehammer Geopark encompasses 2500 square kilometers of land in southern New Brunswick, stretching from Lepreau Falls to Norton, Saint John and Grand Bay-Westfield to St. Martin’s. The geology of the Geopark includes a billion years of stories, and has been studied by researchers for almost two hundred years. As well, the region has a vibrant human and cultural heritage, as well as active educational, tourism and community development sectors, all vital elements for a Global Geopark.
“The range of significant geological and paleontological stories within the Geopark is internationally unique,” stated Dr. Randall Miller, New Brunswick Museum Curator and the initiator of the community-led Stonehammer project. “As a founding member of the project, the New Brunswick Museum is very pleased to have the Stonehammer Geopark accepted into the Global Geoparks Network, and to be able to share these stories with residents as well as tourists from around the globe.”
To view this fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stonehammer-Geopark/104307809617884
To follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StonehammerGeo
The following was mentioned on the October 4, 2010 edition of CBC News New Brunswick at 6:00
This is awesome news for New Brunswick!!!
You can also check out the following links for more on the geopark:
Monday, October 4, 2010
Friends of the Kingston Peninsula
The Friends of the Kingston Peninsula filed an appeal against the construction for the Kingston Cliffs Subdivision. Click on the video below to see the report from the October 1, 2010 edition of CBC news.
To show your support to this group and view news developments visit:
To show your support to this group and view news developments visit:
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Harbour Cleanup update
From the Telegraph Journal:
SAINT JOHN - With hundreds of millions of dollars worth of construction projects going on in the city this year, harbour cleanup won't be left behind.
Residents on the east side had a chance Wednesday to learn about several major sewage projects that will help get the city closer to diverting waste from waterways.
Lanes will be reduced on Bayside Drive this summer as work continues on a large pressurized force main, which will pump sewage to the new $52-million east wastewater treatment facility.
"Traffic will be affected, without a doubt," said Mike Rogers, the project manager with Crandall Engineering Ltd. On large maps at a public information session at the Full Gospel Assembly on Mount Pleasant Avenue East, Rogers was showing a handful of residents where the new line will run.
Rogers said the first phase of the project - worth about $3.7 million - has already started. The second phase, which will cost around the same amount, will start in about a month. The project was split into two phases to allow the city to acquire the necessary land for the 600-millimetre-diameter pipe.
The pipe will run along Bayside Drive from Red Head Road to Bayside Middle School.
"This line will supply about two-thirds of the flow that will go to the treatment plant at peak capacity," Rogers said.
Construction will also soon begin on two lift stations on Red Head Road. On Monday night, common council approved awarding the contract to Fairville Construction Limited for about $629,000.
The stations are underground concrete boxes, about two metres wide, Rogers said.
"They collect the sewage and pump it into the line," he said. The Red Head stations are fairly small compared to a major station being designed for the Marsh Creek area, Rogers said. Work on that station will likely start later this year.
David Griffin, who lives in Red Head, was one of the people looking over the maps Wednesday afternoon.
"This should've been done years ago," he said of harbour cleanup. Even if the city removes the sewage from Saint John's waterways, Griffin figures there are still industrial chemicals being poured into the water. "They've got to do more than just the sewage," he said.
Altogether, harbour cleanup will include the construction of 22 lift stations, the new treatment plant and several new sewer lines.
Construction of several other lift stations is expected to continue this year, along with an outfall pipe that will take treated wastewater from the new plant and pour it into the Bay of Fundy.
Rogers said it's a great feeling to see the project moving forward.
"Saint John is generally viewed as a dirty industrial town," Rogers said. "To clean up Saint John with part of this project, it is rewarding."
Harbour cleanup is jointly funded by the city and the provincial and federal governments.
SAINT JOHN - With hundreds of millions of dollars worth of construction projects going on in the city this year, harbour cleanup won't be left behind.
Residents on the east side had a chance Wednesday to learn about several major sewage projects that will help get the city closer to diverting waste from waterways.
Lanes will be reduced on Bayside Drive this summer as work continues on a large pressurized force main, which will pump sewage to the new $52-million east wastewater treatment facility.
"Traffic will be affected, without a doubt," said Mike Rogers, the project manager with Crandall Engineering Ltd. On large maps at a public information session at the Full Gospel Assembly on Mount Pleasant Avenue East, Rogers was showing a handful of residents where the new line will run.
Rogers said the first phase of the project - worth about $3.7 million - has already started. The second phase, which will cost around the same amount, will start in about a month. The project was split into two phases to allow the city to acquire the necessary land for the 600-millimetre-diameter pipe.
The pipe will run along Bayside Drive from Red Head Road to Bayside Middle School.
"This line will supply about two-thirds of the flow that will go to the treatment plant at peak capacity," Rogers said.
Construction will also soon begin on two lift stations on Red Head Road. On Monday night, common council approved awarding the contract to Fairville Construction Limited for about $629,000.
The stations are underground concrete boxes, about two metres wide, Rogers said.
"They collect the sewage and pump it into the line," he said. The Red Head stations are fairly small compared to a major station being designed for the Marsh Creek area, Rogers said. Work on that station will likely start later this year.
David Griffin, who lives in Red Head, was one of the people looking over the maps Wednesday afternoon.
"This should've been done years ago," he said of harbour cleanup. Even if the city removes the sewage from Saint John's waterways, Griffin figures there are still industrial chemicals being poured into the water. "They've got to do more than just the sewage," he said.
Altogether, harbour cleanup will include the construction of 22 lift stations, the new treatment plant and several new sewer lines.
Construction of several other lift stations is expected to continue this year, along with an outfall pipe that will take treated wastewater from the new plant and pour it into the Bay of Fundy.
Rogers said it's a great feeling to see the project moving forward.
"Saint John is generally viewed as a dirty industrial town," Rogers said. "To clean up Saint John with part of this project, it is rewarding."
Harbour cleanup is jointly funded by the city and the provincial and federal governments.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
telegraphjournal.com - After 42 years, a river finally runs through it | Adam Huras - Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada
telegraphjournal.com - After 42 years, a river finally runs through it Adam Huras - Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada
From the Petiticodiac Riverkeeper website: http://www.petitcodiac.org/
NewsPetitcodiac Causeway Gates Open
04/14/2010
Posted by: Mathieu
Moncton, April 14, 2010 — After a 40-year environmental battle, the gates of the Petitcodiac causeway were opened today, triggering the commencement of the biggest fish passage restoration project to ever take place in Canada.
Commissioned in 1968, the Petitcodiac causeway in Riverview resulted in the decimation of the anadromous fish species, interrupted navigation and nearly eliminated the once famous Petitcodiac tidal bore. In 2001, the structure was declared illegal by former Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Herb Dhaliwal, after legal proceedings were initiated by Petitcodiac Riverkeeper a year earlier to enforce the restoration of fish passage throughout the river system.
A 5-year, multi-million environmental impact assessment followed, culminating in a precedent-setting recommendation in 2007 to dismantle a 280 m section of the causeway and replace it with a partial bridge. The first phase of this restoration project, pegged at $20 million, began in 2009 with the reconstruction of Acadian dikes and aboiteaux along a 21-km long reservoir. The second phase of this project, the opening of the gates, begins today for a two-year period. This will be followed by a third and final phase, to dismantle a 280 m section of the causeway and replace it with a bridge, set to begin in 2011.
“With the commencement of Stage 2 of the Petitcodiac River Restoration Project, the Province of New Brunswick is meeting its legal obligations to comply with the Fisheries Act” stated Tim Van Hinte, Petitcodiac Riverkeeper. “The people in our community are also able to bear witness to a truly historic event with the liberation of this great river system. We should all take great pride.”
Mark Mattson, an Environmental Lawyer in Toronto, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and Canadian Board Member with the Waterkeeper Alliance was thrilled with the news of the opening of the causeway gates. Mattson has been following the progress on the Petitcodiac River for the past decade. He was also directly involved with other legal investigations initiated by Riverkeeper, including the investigation into leachate discharges at the former Moncton landfill in the summer of 2000, which culminated in the City of Moncton pleading guilty to this offence in September 2003. “Today is a great day for rivers and for environmental justice in Canada,” he declared. “The people of this river valley have every reason to celebrate this great victory”.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the renowned Environmental Lawyer from New York and the founding President of Waterkeeper Alliance, was ecstatic with the news that the largest river restoration project in Canada is finally going ahead as a result of the work of the local Riverkeeper. “Today, I just want to say that I am so proud of the work that has been done by this group. It sets a great example for rivers in Canada and around the world. I want to commend the Province of New Brunswick for making this historic project happen and for honouring its obligation to protect the fisheries in the Petitcodiac,” he concluded.
– 30 –
Information:
Tim Van Hinte, Petitcodiac Riverkeeper
For another video go to : http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/04/14/nb-petitcodiac-river-causeway-opens-1256.html
From the Petiticodiac Riverkeeper website: http://www.petitcodiac.org/
NewsPetitcodiac Causeway Gates Open
04/14/2010
Posted by: Mathieu
Moncton, April 14, 2010 — After a 40-year environmental battle, the gates of the Petitcodiac causeway were opened today, triggering the commencement of the biggest fish passage restoration project to ever take place in Canada.
Commissioned in 1968, the Petitcodiac causeway in Riverview resulted in the decimation of the anadromous fish species, interrupted navigation and nearly eliminated the once famous Petitcodiac tidal bore. In 2001, the structure was declared illegal by former Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Herb Dhaliwal, after legal proceedings were initiated by Petitcodiac Riverkeeper a year earlier to enforce the restoration of fish passage throughout the river system.
A 5-year, multi-million environmental impact assessment followed, culminating in a precedent-setting recommendation in 2007 to dismantle a 280 m section of the causeway and replace it with a partial bridge. The first phase of this restoration project, pegged at $20 million, began in 2009 with the reconstruction of Acadian dikes and aboiteaux along a 21-km long reservoir. The second phase of this project, the opening of the gates, begins today for a two-year period. This will be followed by a third and final phase, to dismantle a 280 m section of the causeway and replace it with a bridge, set to begin in 2011.
“With the commencement of Stage 2 of the Petitcodiac River Restoration Project, the Province of New Brunswick is meeting its legal obligations to comply with the Fisheries Act” stated Tim Van Hinte, Petitcodiac Riverkeeper. “The people in our community are also able to bear witness to a truly historic event with the liberation of this great river system. We should all take great pride.”
Mark Mattson, an Environmental Lawyer in Toronto, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and Canadian Board Member with the Waterkeeper Alliance was thrilled with the news of the opening of the causeway gates. Mattson has been following the progress on the Petitcodiac River for the past decade. He was also directly involved with other legal investigations initiated by Riverkeeper, including the investigation into leachate discharges at the former Moncton landfill in the summer of 2000, which culminated in the City of Moncton pleading guilty to this offence in September 2003. “Today is a great day for rivers and for environmental justice in Canada,” he declared. “The people of this river valley have every reason to celebrate this great victory”.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the renowned Environmental Lawyer from New York and the founding President of Waterkeeper Alliance, was ecstatic with the news that the largest river restoration project in Canada is finally going ahead as a result of the work of the local Riverkeeper. “Today, I just want to say that I am so proud of the work that has been done by this group. It sets a great example for rivers in Canada and around the world. I want to commend the Province of New Brunswick for making this historic project happen and for honouring its obligation to protect the fisheries in the Petitcodiac,” he concluded.
– 30 –
Information:
Tim Van Hinte, Petitcodiac Riverkeeper
For another video go to : http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/04/14/nb-petitcodiac-river-causeway-opens-1256.html
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Federal Tories gut environmental assessments with sneaky changes: critics - Winnipeg Free Press
Federal Tories gut environmental assessments with sneaky changes: critics - Winnipeg Free Press
Posted using ShareThis
Also, here is an exchange between Jack Layton and Stephen Harper on March 30, 2010 discussing the "sneaky" changes. Reducing duplication.....I don't buy it.
Posted using ShareThis
Also, here is an exchange between Jack Layton and Stephen Harper on March 30, 2010 discussing the "sneaky" changes. Reducing duplication.....I don't buy it.
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