Riverview reviews bylaw that prohibits road hockey

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Riverview council has asked staff to look at how other municipalities deal with the Canadian tradition of playing ball hockey on public streets.

During Monday’s regular meeting, council reviewed a letter from resident Matt McMillan, who suggested the town’s bylaw covering recreational use of municipal streets needs to be reviewed. He referred to a recent incident where a town bylaw enforcement officer told children it was illegal for them to be playing ball hockey on a public street.

The letter ignited conversation among councillors. While the safety of children is a priority and there are town-owned playgrounds, some children still play hockey and basketball on public streets, usually pulling their nets aside when a car comes along. Councillors said the bylaw enforcement officer was acting on a complaint and doing his job, but was treated with disrespect as reports of the incident spread through social media.

Mayor Andrew LeBlanc said the bylaw has been in place for a long time and not recently changed to prohibit road hockey. However, council voted in favour of having town staff look at how other municipalities have addressed the issue of safety versus recreation on public streets.

• Riverview council held a public hearing for the rezoning of a piece of land on the Hillsborough Road, east of the TransAqua wastewater treatment plant, for a proposed drive-through restaurant and gas station. The Corey Craig Group has proposed to purchase the land from the town for a Tim Hortons and Shell gas station. The proposal has already been endorsed by Riverview’s Planning Advisory Committee and is expected to be finalized by council on June 11. The land directly east of the TransAqua plant was originally reserved and designated for a road that would connect to a proposed bridge across the Petitcodiac River from the Highway 15 traffic circle next to the CF Champlain shopping mall at the Moncton-Dieppe border. However, the plan to build a bridge there was dropped many years ago and the land on the Riverview side was turned back to the town. There is still a strip of undeveloped land, next to the sewage treatment plant, from the bank of the river to Hillsborough Road.

• Council voted down a proposal for a row housing development on Hillsborough Road, with some councillors saying more affordable housing is needed, while others said there is more need for single family and semi-detached homes. The vote resulted in applause from residents in the gallery watching the meeting.

Mayor LeBlanc said the town is following a strategic growth plan, housing needs assessment, an affordable housing study and a business threshold analysis so council often has to make difficult decisions weighing residents’ opinions and the benefit for proposed developments. With a population of 20,000, Riverview is the largest town and the fifth-largest municipality in New Brunswick. He said the town will need to continue growing to maintain the service levels it has established.

“Riverview is ready to continue growing, we’re ready to work with developers on sustaining the town,” LeBlanc said.

• Council passed second and third readings for the rezoning of the former public works site at the corner of Whitepine and Pine Glen, which will allow for development of three apartment buildings.

• Council approved a grant of $1,000 to the Second Chance Workshop in Moncton, a charity which refurbishes furniture for resale.