2021 Campaign

This is where you, residents of Rothesay, participate.  As I hear your issues, I will be compiling a list.

• Support, promote, and enhance active transportation, including connections to neighbouring municipalities and others, such as
  • along the railroad between Quispamsis and Rothesay (the Fairvale Trail Connection)
  • a connection from the Wells neighbourhood across the Mackay Highway (a safe link under the highway off-ramp and across the overpass)
  • a future connection from the Hillside Trail to Fox Farm Road
  • a connection between Barsa and the Wells Recreation Park
• After-hours security for parks, such as the Rothesay Common, the Renforth Wharf, and East Riverside Kingshurst Park
• Affordable seniors housing
  • Ensuring existing opportunities remain in the Town
  • Encouraging developers to include affordable options
• Adding waste receptacles on major feeder streets with sidewalks within subdivisions
  • Highland Avenue
  • Chapel Road
  • Sierra Avenue
• Deer continue to be a nuisance for gardens and landscaping and there is a concern associated with the transmission of Lyme Disease through ticks
• Community gardens in other areas of the community, such as Sagamore Point
• Harmonize outdoor fire regulations with Saint John (i.e., implement outdoor fire regulations)
• Communicating flood response plans to residents in floodprone neighbourhoods
• Re-working the boat launch at the end of Cameron Road (more gradual slope and grade annually)
• Street lights and posted speed signs on Sierra Avenue
• Play structures (i.e., swing sets) and picnic tables in East-Riverside Kingshurst park
• A recreational facility with an indoor walking track that can be used throughout all seasons
• Work with ACAP, or some other Non-Governmental Organization, to clean-up and stabilize the shorelines along Salmon Creek through and below Oakville Acres
• Install Level 2 electric car charging stations at East Riverside-Kingshurst Park, in the parking lot across from Town Hall, and at the new recreation building at the Wells Recreation Park
• Review the plans for the Oakville Acres detention pond to determine if it is functioning properly during storm events
• Sell the parcel of Town owned land in Oakville Acres for further development of townhomes
• Street lights in French Village (e.g., Ryan Drive)
• Multiplex arena with a restaurant
• Add a sidewalk along Iona Avenue
• Add a signalized crosswalk at Jordan Lane across Marr Road
• Add a sidewalk along Scott Avenue between the new intersection on Clark Road to the schools
• Work with CN to mitigate train stoppages at the entrance to K-Park and continue pursuing a secondary entrance/exit
• Halt the renovations to the existing arena and build new
• Potholes need to be filled quicker – should be a regular review of roads and when potholes start, they should be patched
• Continue rebuilding roads in Wells
• Street light on Milne
• Replace the park bench and flagpole that were once in the green space at the entrance to Sagamore Point
• Ditch beautification program – during the winter, several ditches in French Village had trees removed from within them, but the lower portions remain and could be a hazard if someone falls on them
• Straighten crooked street sign poles
• Pickleball courts – indoors and outdoors
• Where possible and feasible, work with the owners of Spyglass to preserve the highest point of land as parkland or a lookout for future residents of Rothesay to enjoy
• Identify alternative access points to the Hillside lands other than via Fox Farm Road via Wiljac Street
• Develop a waterside trail between Renforth Wharf and East Riverside-Kingshurst Park.
• Make sure the planned community building for the Wells Recreation Park is built and includes community spaces and washrooms within it.
• Build a skateboard park.
• Work on zoning by-laws to allow the growing of family foods, such as frontyard vegetable gardens and backyard chickens.
• Develop an additional ice surface on the Rothesay Common.
• Identify methods to develop the water lot at Sagamore Point to allow maximum public use opportunities.
• Build an advanced wastewater treatment plant and eliminate the unnecessary wastewater treatment lagoons.
• Work with government and/or private developers to build and operate a nursing home/senior’s facility in Rothesay.
• Build and operate a community swimming pool and a splash park.
• Construct advanced mountain bike trails in the Wells Recreation Park.

2016 Campaign

This is where you, residents of Rothesay, participate.  As I go door-to-door, I will be compiling a list of your current issues.

• A playground for the Barsa Subdivision, which could be located at the Centennial Ballfield (if so, a trail that connects the two would be a great amenity)
• More activities that cater to seniors
• More activities that cater to younger people
• Municipal water for the Barsa Subdivision
• Improved management of storm water in areas where commercial development exists adjacent to residential development
• Resurfacing of roads in Barsa Subdivision (Barsa, Steeves, and Starkey)
• Add street lights in dark areas of the Town
• Develop an Environment Committee
• Develop an Active Transportation trail connection from Issac/Kaitlyn/Paige to the Railroad that connects down to Gondola Point Road
• Reduce/eliminate the amount of sand put down on roads that have no grade to them and low speeds (Chapel Hill)
• Hold an open house on the future wastewater treatment plant project
• Maintain a stable tax rate
• Investigate drainage along River Road and Ballpark Road
• Build a new arena that includes a walking track
• Curbside recycling is awesome, but to limit the amount of wind-blow debris, it may be worth looking at tops for the green bins
• Need to attract young professionals and families to the area in order to fill the vacant housing stock and allow seniors to downsize
• Investigate various options for improving parking at the Common
• Designate Rothesay Road a Heritage Highway
• Continue building sidewalks in older and built up areas of the Town

Stay tuned for more!

2012 Campaign

Below is a record of what I heard residents saying while I went door-to-door in April and May 2012.

Community Fabric

Rothesay residents want:

• Retention of green spaces
• Flooding fixed in low-lying areas, such as Oakville Acres, or in areas where drainage is poor, such as the River Road area and Colonsay Place
• Curbside recycling and/or more big blue boxes in central areas of Town
• A road maintenance program whereby chip seal road surfaces are replaced with asphalt in Barsa Subdivision and French Village
• Sidewalks along high-pedestrian routes, such as those used by children for getting to and from school
• Improved aesthetics, such as planting more trees along Hampton Road and burying power lines in business areas when it makes sense
• Forward thinking for planning our growth and development
• Improved protection of our groundwater and surface water resources
• Improved communication between Town Council and Town staff with residents
• Fees dropped that are currently charged for not being hooked up to municipal systems, such as water and sewer
• Traffic-calming devices, such as removable speed bumps, installed in areas prone to speeding
• A reduction in the deer population
• A ban on non-environmentally-friendly pesticides
• Town Council, the Planning Advisory Committee, and Town staff to follow the Town Plan
• Consistent sign standards for small businesses (boutiques) and big businesses (chains)
• Improved or enforced design standards for commercial development
• Crosswalks installed along busy thoroughfares such as Hampton Road near Cochran’s Country Market and Rothesay Road near the Golf Course and Fox Farm Road
• Derelict properties and dangerous and unsightly premises cleaned up
• Longer guarantees on tendered work, such as asphalt surfacing to ensure quality is improved
• Rules put in place for developers to set aside better lands for public purposes instead of giving away lands that are undevelopable as LPP
• Consistent application and enforcement of bylaws within the Town

Dichotomous Issues

Rothesay residents were divided on the following issues:

• Street lights – some people want more while others want to keep minimal levels of night-time light pollution
• Big business – some people want to see a big box store developed for the sake of convenience and tax revenue while others are firmly against big chains moving in and competing with our small businesses
• Filling in ditches – some residents would prefer a flat lawn all the way to the street while others see an advantage to having a ditch for water infiltration
• Winter salting and sanding – some residents believe too much salt and sand is spread on roadways and it leads to nuisance tracking into homes while other residents believe not enough is put down during the winter for safety

Recreation

Rothesay residents want:

• Bike lanes along high-traffic routes, such as Rothesay Road and Campbell Drive
• A bike park and skateboard park
• An artificial ice surface on the Common
• More bikeways, trailways, and parkways
• More parklands and the preservation of highly-used areas, such as Spyglass Hill
• A dog park
• Existing recreational facilities, such as the basketball courts on the Common, and community facilities, such as the Bill McGuire Center, fixed up and maintained
• To volunteer their time to help build and maintain recreational facilities, such as playgrounds and trail systems
• Improvements done to outdated playgrounds and playground equipment

Dichotomous Issues

• Field house – some residents want to see the field house built for new recreational opportunities while others believe it is a waste of money and duplication of existing Town facilities or neighbouring community facilities

Synergy

Residents want:

• No amalgamation with Saint John
• Sharing of municipal equipment with Quispamsis, such as street sweepers and field sweepers
• Additional Comex bus routes for convenience, such as at noon through the week and mid-evening on Friday and Saturday
• Ability bus service for handicap residents and seniors
• Increased police patrols in non-core areas of the Town

Dichotomous Issues

• Amalgamation with Quispamsis – residents pointed out both the pros and cons of potentially joining with our neighbouring community
• Field house – some residents want to share the construction costs with Quispamsis while others do not