Newcastle Neighbourhood Association

Good Morning Newcastle Neighbours

  It is with great excitment that I let you all know that twenty trees are to be planted on Vancouver Avenue. This project started over two years ago. The first phase of the plan began with six red oaks planted on the 200 block of Vancouver Avenue. This happened in October of 2008. A grant for one thousand dollars was received and along with help from the city and neighbourhood volunteers the first phase was successfully completed. Now we move into the second phase with the arrival of the twenty trees. Four red oaks will be planted on the 100 block of Vancouver, eight red maples on the 300 block Vancouver, with three weeping cherries across the street, and five red oaks planted on the 400 block of Vancouver. We are looking at the weekend of March 20, 2010 for the planting. This is the first day of Spring and fits in with our community plan of the “greening” of Vancouver Avenue. This will be a very busy weekend so lots of volunteer planters will be needed. We will keep you posted as to the details. All of this would not have happened without the help of our many dedicated neighbours. Also at this time, a great big thank you to a couple of city employees who took our vision and ran with it, Chris Sholberg and Alan Kemp a very special thank you!

Warren Jaques NNA President

click for slide show (pdf)

Good Day Newcastle Neighbours

First of all I apologize for lack of postings lately. Been under the weather but now I am back on track. Last week-end neighbours from Newcastle, Brechin, and Stewart Stakeholders gave of their own time to participate in the design process. Designers from Vancouver were there to guide us through the whole event. A whole new insight was brought to us all. This was a mapping of the entire neighbourhood. The results of the workshop will be put together and offered at the next public workshop. Stay tuned for time and date. Prior to the charrette the three groups comprising our neighbourhood plan did a presentation for the visiting designers and city staff.  Click the image to view this presentation.  That’s all for now.

Warren Jaques NNA President

Good Morning Newcastle Neighbours.

 Yesterday was a great day to be alive. Me and my trusty four legged friends had set out at 5:00 AM for our regular walk to the downtown. The frost on the ground was like a skim of snow. At that time of the morning only a few brave souls had ventured out. The one thing that was nice was no underlying hum of the city. Do you ever think that we could slow down our reliance on the automobile? After our morning walk we had a breakfast fit for a king. In the afternoon my two legged partner and l ventured out for another walk downtown. The seawalk and park were full of people , many were walking their dogs. It looked like every one was very happy. Thank you so much for the vision and hard work to give us  our downtown park and seawalk to the current generation and many more to come. I will sign off with a big hug and wish you all great joy in this festive season!

Just Walking Around

Click to see Invitation

Good Day Newcastle Neighbours

Well here we go into the next phase of our neighbourhood plan for Newcastle. Don’t let the fancy title get to you (just another public workshop). This is a very important workshop! This will be one of the last times for public input into our neighbourhood plan. If you have any questions please feel free to call Deborah Jensen 250-755-4473. Also at this time you can register for the workshop. Seating is limited.

Friday January 15, 2010 1:00 PM -6:00 PM

Saturday January 16, 2010 9:00 AM-4:00 PM

Departure Bay Room

Vancouver Island Conference Centre

Well the walking public has been shown again that you are on your own. As you walk to the downtown from the north you encounter the same old stuff. Snow ploughs push snow on to the walkways. Now I ask “With the Pearson Bridge being the main WALKING CORRIDOR to city centre why are these sidewalks not cleared?” As I was walking though Maffeo Sutton Park I could see equipment clearing the parking lot so cars could park . At the same time the seawalk is coverded with snow. Visitor to the park -enjoy the parking lot. As my walk continued out of the main entrance of the park  left up the hill to Front Street the snow was cleared to the end of the park. This is where the good news stops. The city did not clear the sidewalks. Walking along I ran into a fellow clearing snow in front of the shutdown condo project. The story could go on about crosswalks full of snow and slush. Time to take better care of the walking public!

Just Walking Around

While walking past Pacifica,on Front Street it came to mind about the article in the Daily News. The article stated that the city had given this project it’s final permit. After so many years looking at the old structure it is great to see this project complete. Now the question is,what about the parking meters? The City of Nanaimo has lost thousands of dollars in lost revenue because of the over extended time line of this project? So every day that meters are not installed the city is down in it’s revenue. Time to take care of the small stuff!

Just Walking Around

On my many walks through Maffeo Sutton Park I was wondering why the main pedestrian crossing to the park is so poorly lit? Thousands of dollars was spent on taking care of the needs of the driving public. So is it not time that the city shifts  it’s thinking about protecting the walking public in city parks. How about the changes at the north end of the Pearson Bridge. I hope the completion date is in the near future. This would be a perfect time to improve the lighting. Will keep you informed.

Just Walking Around

Vancouver Avenue

Way back this year we started our neighbourhood plan for Newcastle. Much great information has been collected by neighbours about likes, dislikes and wishes to make our neighbourhood a safe place to live. The one common theme through all this is vehicles speeding in our neighbourhood. Surely we do not have to wait for the completion of this plan before something is done. Time for the buses, cars and bulk fuel trucks to slow down. Trucks use their  j-brakes  in our area even though it is illegal. Buses speed up the four blocks on Vancouver Ave. to turn left onto Townsite. Two e-mails of complaint to Regional Transit has only made a small dent in the speeding. The buses cannot be behind schedule at this part of the route and if they are, make some changes! So City Hall and R.C.M.P. it is time to start doing something about this situation.  As an avid walker for the last five years I see so many things that I would not see if I was driving. Time to start protecting the rights of the walking public!

Just Walking Around