Moncton delays plan to overhaul St. George Street

Moncton has delayed a multi-million dollar overhaul of St. George Street to replace water and sewer lines that are nearly a century old.

Businesses were told in 2018 to expect significant disruptions while blocks along the downtown are dug up in phases over about three years. The Times & Transcript reported in 2018 the estimated cost was $11-million. An updated figure wasn't available this week.

Last week, city staff told Moncton council the start of the work has been pushed to 2023 or 2024. The roughly two kilometre long street runs between Vaughan Harvey Boulevard and King Street.

Alcide Richard, Moncton's director of design and construction, said during budget deliberations that staff didn't want the work to coincide with the complete closure of the causeway between Moncton and Riverview expected to last six months next year. 

He also said the city is updating its active transit plan, which could result in recommendations for changes to St. George Street. 

"We want to ensure that we're not making decisions on St. George that are going to negatively affect the possibilities of that plan," Richard said, without elaborating on what some of those possibilities could be. Richard did not provide an interview. 

He told council that once the transit plan is complete, the city will consult with businesses along St. George before going ahead with the major construction project. 

Several small businesses along St. George say they're happy the work has been delayed.

"It's maybe good timing to let us breathe a little bit and continue with as little business as we have during the pandemic," said Marc Leger, who operates the Notre Dame de Parkton restaurant and The Laundromat Espresso Bar with his brother Ben. 

Louis Leger, co-owner of the Moncton Fish Market, echoed that. 

He said the planned work could have a big impact on the shop and its customers trying to access the business, which has a parking lot off St. George.

"It would be hard for us to keep working while there's construction going on outside the store," Leger said. 

He said the city closed the block in front of the store for almost a whole day last week. 

"Business was dead," Louis Leger said.

"No cars were coming in, we had nobody here at the store. That was only for one day. If they're digging up the street, it would be weeks and probably months depending on how fast they're going to be working."

Coun. Charles Léger, whose ward includes part of St. George Street, said the city will need a plan to address that issue. 

"When you look at large projects like this, it's important that businesses that are on those sections of street that will be affected, that there needs to be a plan for how the general public can access businesses and a plan for their survival," Léger said in an interview. 

Some of the water and sewer lines under St. George were installed between 1895 and 1959, according to a 2017 report by Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc.

The report says replacing older infrastructure is required so the system can handle growth, such as new and larger buildings.

Louis Leger expects that once it's complete any upgrades to the street will be positive. 

Esthetic upgrades also planned

While the plans for the work aren't complete, Richard told councillors that the city's right-of-way isn't large. 

"Trying to do trees and landscaping features and sidewalks and continue having the parking and bike lanes - something's going to have to give," Richard said. 

Kevin Silliker, Moncton's general manager of economic development, said the city would also install more lighting and wrought iron fencing to improve the street's esthetics.