Simms Corner - were we ahead of the game all along?

Might this work for Simms Corner?

No traffic lights. No traffic signs. No painted lines in the roadway. No curbs. And 26,000 vehicles passing every day through a traditional village center with busy pedestrian traffic.  It’s called "shared space."

Low light / dirty lens

Fish House gone.

The dissolving house on the river

It's sad to watch the house on the river bank slowly dissolve into the river.  There have been a few stories in the media lately about this structure - who will remove it, who will pay for said  removal - it's amazing how it's still holding on.

They say change is difficult - even for garbage

Some of the City's solid waste collection routes are changing pick up  days - and on the west side the Fundy Heights area will be affected with pick up happening on Wednesday instead of Friday (beginning September 11). The flyer delivered door to door  to affected households says it's so the City can "balance the number of household units that are collected daily" ... and that staff will have "the ability to maintain efficient use of staff and  resources".

How will we cope ? Should we revert to an autonomous city - say, Lancaster?

Happy Canada Day

I didn't know there were voyageurs in town.

Are the birds MIA?

I am not an avid birder, but my neighbours are, and I do have feeders for the little guys.  But where are the finches and hummingbirds? Our neighbourhood used to have lots of birds in the spring, but this year there are few.  The hummingbirds arrived late and now seem to have disappeared.  The yellow finches were plentiful in past years but are few and far between now ... what gives?

Shredding metal at 12:30am?

Enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend can mean sleeping with the window open. Saturday night was an exception, the noise from the metal shredding facility on the westside port was loud and clear at 12:30am.
I don't live on the lower westside, yet I could clearly hear the metal grinding.  I spoke to folks who live lower west - they had to shut their windows Saturday night because of the noise from the equipment at work.

I don't think it was supposed to work this way.

Suff I saw at Sheldon's Point today

It was a great day to walk in Sheldon's Point.

I see the "hours" sign has been posted - looks like the park will reopen soon.

Butterfly / moth? No matter - it was a nice sight.

The kitchen sink.

These abandoned building materials, sandstone and something else, always remind me of an old graveyard you'd see in the southern states. 

AIM's facility at the port

I thought I should check out the happenings at American Iron and Metal's lower westside facility as they have again been in the news; this time it's not about sources of electricity but the noise reducing practices they are using. It's definitely quite an impressive operation. I spoke to a neighbour of the facility this weekend and he said the noise level was quite high as testing was going on.  If what I have been told is correct, the company's plan is to spread out to encompass more space than they currently use.

As seen at MacLaren's Beach

This evening I caught a pic of this this lucky  person on the water at MacLaren's Beach. Great weather for this time of year.

Dangerous Curves

I have often found myself holding my breath on a section of Prince Street anticipating how the road conditions would play out.  The area just below the site of the former DVA hospital, (now an incomplete townhouse development site)  is a downhill curve that rarely sees sunlight (water can't evaporate) and there is a lot of water (or ice) collecting on the street from the un-landscaped site.  It's a very slippery slope and for those who don't take the route regularly it's potentially dangerous.

Junked cars at the lower west terminal

This image is "as close-up as I could get" of the remains of junk cars at the port on the west side.

Repurposing Canada Post (boxes)

We've all seen old shipping containers used for various purposes, housing seems to be one most often cited,
but what can we do with old Canada Post mail boxes? It was inevitable that they'd be / will be, phased out.  Can't you just see them dotting rural roads- being used to store garbage instead of old freezers?

Snow fencing or snow plows?

I don't recall ever seeing snow fencing installed during the winter on the overpass on Lancaster Avenue - it is now.   I guess it's an effective way to keep snow off the highway below -  now that there will be fewer plows to do the job.

Lou Murphy Park Walking Trails

I had an opportunity today to explore the new walking trails at Lou Murphy Park off Milford Road.  Emera NB contributed significant dollars to the trails and although I didn't have time to explore each trail I definitely was able to take in some great views.

In August,  Emera and the City completed the transfer of the 27 acre property for development into a park.  There is still work to be done, and markings are not entirely clear, but it's a great addition to the Westside and definitely worth visiting.

The image below is looking toward the North End, across the river from Milford.

Newcomers to the Westside

Welcome to New Brunswick and to the Westside Big Tub Botanicals.  I visited their booth at the Queen's Sq. Farmers' Market.  So glad to see a new business moving in.
 Nice products!

Information Session on Scrap Metal Shredder & Power Transmission Lines

City representatives will be hosting an information session on the "proposed scrap metal shredder operations and the proposed power transmission line"  (I thought it was a fait accompli by now) on Wednesday evening.

Public Information Meeting about Lower West Side Power Transmission Lines 

Common Council will host a meeting to provide information to the public on the proposed scrap metal shredder operations and the proposed power transmission line. Members of Common Council and representatives from various stakeholders will be on hand to provide details on the project and to address residents’ questions.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Carleton Community Centre, 120 Market Place

For more information, please contact the Mayor’s Office at 658-2912, or visit saintjohn.ca.

In the right place

At the right time. Grabbed this shot from the Irving Nature Park earlier this week.

A Great Start to 2011

Happy New Year. 

Today's great weather was a nice way to start 2011. I took a run over to the Irving Nature Park, lots of activity going on, families, walkers, people kayaking, and wildlife, like these guys.

Yup - it's Saint John in July

Definitely a weekend for ducks.  The unseasonable, yet welcomed weather that we were just getting used to last week disappeared on Friday.  And the weekend  was not outdoor activity friendly. That didn't stop this little one and his dad(?) from enjoying McLaren's Beach this afternoon.  It was a good day for duck-watching.