In the latest
Daily Gleaner article, Mayor Woodside repeated his "
fix it up or tear it down" slogan.
Apparently negotiations are underway between
NB Liquor and J.D. Irving, at a "critical juncture". This was first discussed
back in March.
Personally, and I don't speak for the Friends on this one, I feel
the city should purchase the train station. Waiting for a private developer with cash falling out of their pockets to come along has not worked, and will not work. If you look across the country, the successful train station restorations happen
when the municipality gets involved. This has not happened in Fredericton... yet.
I still think this would be a great location for the
bus station, should NB Liquor not be interested.
I still honestly think the best option is to find a tenant for the station and get it fixed up. Should the city apply, it will take years to get approval to tear it down, if ever, and there will be tremendous opposition. The best option is for the
city to take ownership of this issue, literally, and move forward.
Labels: gleaner, mayor