Share Your Ride Service Expands

(file photo)

You can now carpool to St. Stephen, Fredericton and Moncton thanks to a service from the Saint John Transit and Parking Comissions.


The "share your ride" service which services part of the the city has been expanded to include the three other provincial centres.


Saint John Transit Assistant General Manager Brian Thorne tells CHSJ News it works through the website www.shareyourride.ca



The system ties in the In-City Park&Ride system known at Parcobus that has four lots in the city including Latimore Lake at the community centre and Golden Gove at Hillcrest Road.

LeBlanc Not Happy With Cruise Ship Ideas

(Saint John Lancaster MLA Abel LeBlanc)
(File Photo)

Someone not too happy with the idea of upgrading the Pugsley C and Long Wharf Terminals for Cruise Ships is Saint John Lancaster MLA Abel LeBlanc.

LeBlanc tells CHSJ News expanding Long Wharf would narrow the port and cause a stronger current which is dangerous for ships. 

LeBlanc says he's also upset the Port Authority never brought their ideas to the Premier before announcing them publicly.

Housing Starts On Rebound

There's good news for home builders in the greater Saint John area -- a new report from Canada Mortgage and Housing shows housing starts between January and July are up 20-percent over the same period last year.
The report shows there were 220-new units started in our area last month -- most of them multi-residential units.
The federal housing agency says new housing starts in Moncton are up 57-percent this year compared to last while Fredericton is down 11-percent.

City To Tighten Up Regulations On Tearing Up Streets And Reconstruction

(Municipal Operations Commissioner Paul Groody)
                       (File Photo)

The city is raising the permit fees and fines for individuals and companies that tear up city streets during construction. The permit fees are being raised from 10 to 250 dollars.

There have been complaints when the streets and sidewalks are reinstated, their condition is not as good as it was before construction took place.

Municipal Operations Commissioner Paul Groody says the city will do the reconstruction but it will be paid for by whomever does the tearing up. Common Councillor Bill Farren is glad to see the changes and is prepared to go further.

The city has a separate agreement with Enbridge Gas and is negotiating another one with Bell Aliant.

Both Provincial And Federal Representatives On Board With Expansion

Both provincial Supply and Services Minister Ed Doherty and Saint John M-P Rodney Weston are on board with the Port Authority's request for funding to expand cruise ship berths.

Doherty tells CHSJ News the request has the support of the Saint John Liberal caucus but it still has to go through the various levels of approval in Fredericton.

Meantime -- Weston says regional minister Keith Ashfield is also supportive of the request and he's confident there will be some kind of positive response from Ottawa before the October deadline to get work underway.

Port Authority Calls For Berthing Upgrades

(A group of community representatives listen to a presentation on the future of the cruise ship industry in Saint John)
(Photo by Gary MacDonald)

The Saint John Port Authority wants to upgrade the Pugsley C. Terminal and the Long Wharf Terminal to better accommodate cruise ships.

President and CEO Al Soppitt says they are willing to pay half of the projects 18.4 million dollar price tag, but are hoping the provincial and federal governments will split the rest of the bill. 

He says Saint John is rapidly becoming a two-ship cruise port and changes need to be made to accommodate that. 

Soppitt say the port can only host one ship at a time that is longer than 300 meters and passengers are no longer interested in berthing at cargo facilities. 

The Port Authority estimates Saint John will be visited by over 300,000 cruise ship passengers in 2015, but the city needs to be able to berth larger vessels.

Classroom Space Tight For All Students In K-V

(Rothesay M-L-A Margaret Ann Blaney)
                (File Photo)

While parents are clamouring for a French school to be built in the K-V saying the numbers are there to warrant construction, Rothesay M-L-A Margaret Ann Blaney tells CHSJ News there is a shortage of classrooms everywhere you look in the Valley and the situation isn't going to get any better. That's why she has been less than enthused about the project to expand the MacKay Highway to six lanes.

Rothesay Town Council has been told the francophone population in the Valley is growing faster than the anglophone population.

Construction Equipment Stolen In Sussex Area

(Yellow Wacker Stolen In Wickham)
  (Photo Courtesy Of The RCMP)

A piece of construction equipment worth an estimated 10 thousand dollars has been stolen in Wickham. A yellow Wacker (Model PBU3545A) weighing over a thousand pounds was taken sometime between August 6th and the 9th from Crafts Cove Road.

It is used to flatten gravel or pavement and Police say they have no suspects.

Sewer System To Be Built To Ease Flooding In Rothesay

(Rothesay Mayor Bill Bishop)
           (File Photo)

Homeowners in Oakville Acres can breath a small sigh of relief now that Rothesay Council has awarded the tender for a sewer system to be built.

Work on installing the Clearwater Sewer System should begin right away. People living in the area have been dealing with flooding problems for four years now.

Mayor Bill Bishop says they are working on the acquiring land for a retention pond but cautions sometimes it takes a while for people to agree to a decent price.

Bishop says homeowners will not have to pay to hook up to the new Clearwater Sewer System, they will only be responsible for restoring their lawns afterwards.

Rothesay Town Council Hears From Parents Who Want French School In Valley

(Michelle Robichaud Addressing Rothesay Council)
                (Photo by Sherry Aske)

Michelle Robichaud, representing Parents For A French School In the Valley, is asking Rothesay Council to support a French Elementary School in the area.

Robichaud says 40 per cent of students attending Samuel De Champlain are from the Valley and the group would like to see a permanent school built in K-V by September 2012.

Mayor Bill Bishop says building schools is not within the town's jurisdiction but he has no doubt Council will support it.

Energy Minister Still Waiting To Hear From Ottawa On Lepreau Mediation

(Provincial Energy Minister Jack Keir)
                (File Photo)

Energy Minister Jack Keir hasn't heard anything back from Ottawa yet about getting a mediation process to decide who should pay for the Point Lepreau overruns.

Keir made the request late last week after finding out the refurbishments were at least another year behind schedule.

Keir says this is about the million dollars a day that it's costing New Brunswick rate payers right now as Atomic Energy of Canada works through its learning curve.

 He asked federal cabinet ministers Christian Paradis and Keith Ashfield not to reject the proposal without thinking it through and says they both agreed to do that.

Street Closure In North End

MacLaren Boulevard is closed today and tomorrow for construction.

A gravity sewer is being installed and the work is part of Harbour cleanup.

A detour will be posted during the construction.

For more information, contact Saint John Water at 658-4455.