Field House Construction - Exhibition Grounds

The field house at Exhibition Park is going up fast.

Support Raising the Roof and the Saint John youth shelter

Today in Brunswick Square you can buy hats and socks ($10 per hat and $10 per pair of socks) to support the Saint John youth shelter construction.  20% of the money generated goes back to the national Raising the Roof campaign that supports homelessness relief efforts across Canada.

Plans for the shelter:

PlaySJ thoughts

Ideas from PlaySJ, the City’s recreation plan are being released.  Country94 reports that consolidation of recreation assets is a key part of the plan.

Consultant Todd MacDonald is referenced as explaining that there are a surplus of ball fields, baseball diamonds and playgrounds.

I, as a non-planner, agree that it makes sense that cutting back on the numbers of facilities would allow more attention to be paid to the remaining recreation assets.

I think it is important to maintain facilities in areas where lower income families live, to make sure that people with limited transportation options still have recreation opportunities.

Pavilion Cup Pond Hockey Tournament

The annual Tim Horton’s Pavilion Cup event at Rockwood Park had great weather this year. Photos below:

Play SJ

The City of Saint John is working on its 10-15 year plan for recreation.  I see there is now a website up with information and a questionnaire: http://www.saintjohn.ca/en/home/cityservices/developmentgrowth/communityplanning/playsj/default.aspx

The Field House @ Exhibition Park

I feel negligent in not posting more about this to date.  The Saint John Exhibition Association has a website for their proposed field house project. Here’s what they want to build:

This permanent, steel structure (not a dome) will house:
• An indoor 60m X 100m field surface with artificial turf
• A three-lane walking track, on a second level, allowing use while field play in progress
• Sport spectator seating for 150
• Dressing rooms
• Referee rooms
• Training/meeting rooms
• Lounge/concession area
• Storage area
• First aid room
• Reception/ticket area
• Entrance/exhibition display area

Trails Survey

94.1 FM news reported that there is National Trail Strategy survey online.

The survey is at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NTRsurvey

Trans Canada Trail not funding future ATV trails

An article on CBC NS explains new Trans Canada Trail rules that limit funding and recognition for portions of the trail that allow ATV use.  The reason given is the conflict between not-motorized users and ATV users.

Rockwood Park

Rockwood Park’s website shows that there is a meeting on the evening of January 17, 2011 (6:30 pm at the Rockwood Park Interpretive Centre) where City Staff and local mountain bike users will meet to discuss how Rockwood Park can and should be utilized by cyclists of all skill levels and interest.

I don’t know if the meeting is going to be full of just hardcore cyclists or if a broader spectrum will attend, but I would suggest that the hardcore guys would welcome opinions of those of us who are a bit timid to attempt some of the rocky trails in the belly of the park.

Many of them are really nice people.  Just far cooler than me.

Rockwood Park - comments to Council due on 19th

The City’s website regarding proposed land use decisions that would allow for development of land along Sandy Point Road is calling for comments to be submitted for Council’s consideration by January 19, 2011.

Read up on the topic and share your opinion.

Forest Hills playing field

Federal and Provincial money are being put up to upgrade and restore the sports field in Forest Hills (east Saint John).  Here’s a picture of the field in the process of being made over:

qplex update – July 8, 2010

Exhibition grounds field house proposal

The exhibition association is looking to building a multi-purpose field house on their land that will include new park space and a turf field. 

In an article in today’s Telegraph Journal, the president of the Exhibition Associaiton explains that plan by saying:

“We have a need for more exhibition space. We have a need to improve the grounds and we're looking to do that in conjunction with the community to provide a multi-use type of facility to meet not only our needs, but the needs of the community.”

Aerial photo of the site from Saint John web mapping:

Exhibition Park redevelopment

The Saint John Exhibition Association wants to know your opinion on how they might redevelop their property with new recreation facilities.  They have a survey online that takes a few minutes to complete.

Active Transportation series on local cyclists

Active Transportation Saint John has been blogging a series where they interview local cyclists about their two wheeled activity, highlighting some great places to ride and some ideas about how to improve the cycling environment.

One post seems particularly relevant as the City considers what to do with land on the western edge of Rockwood Park.  Paul Graham is quoted as saying:

“Rockwood Park is a mountain bikers dream, there is something for every level of biker, it never gets old and there are new trails every year.”

  and

“On several occasions I have been on rides in Rockwood Park with visitors who are completely blown away with the park, its beauty and the trails. Usual comments include, “There’s nothing like this where I live”. Kind of makes you proud to be a Saint Johner.”

There are plenty of other interesting posts on the Active Transportation blog that are worth reading.

Information about Rockwood Park development plans

CBC covers Rockwood Park borders

Interesting article about the city’s planning for development and park land use near Rockwood Park: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/03/06/nb-rockwood-park-boundaries-study-431.html?ref=rss

qPlex progress (March 2010)

Federal funds to help end neglect of Rockwood

The CBC is reporting over $300,000 of federal funding for Rockwood Park.  The head of the Saint John Horticultural Society, the group in charge of park stewardship, is quoted as saying:

“The park in the last 10 to 15 years was neglected basically due to funding, and now we're seeing it come back. It's very important, and now we're seeing it come back. It's very important. The citizens of Saint John [have] said that recreation is very important.”

Lily lake closed due to warm weather – just over a week left to re-freeze for Pavilion Cup

From the City of Saint John website:

Lily Lake Closed for Public Skating

Lily Lake at Rockwood Park is currently closed to the public for skating due to the rain and warmer temperatures.   The lake will remain closed until further notice.

The warm weather may have the Tim Horton’s Pavilion Cup organizers sweating, as the outdoor hockey event is on the same lake in just over a week. 

Let’s hope for a cold snap.