MoveSJ is a three phase project that will guide how people and goods will move throughout the City. 

The purpose of MoveSJ is to create a balanced transportation network. It integrates active shared modes of transportation and supports sustainable development, healthy communities, and a vibrant urban centre – all principles of Smart Growth.

Phases one and two are complete.

The project team expects to bring Phase three to Common Council for endorsement in late 2021 or early 2022

MoveSJ is a three phase project that will guide how people and goods will move throughout the City. The plan will guide transportation infrastructure investments within the City for the next 25 years. This plan is not just about roads. MoveSJ takes an integrated approach to transportation incorporating considerations such as parking, active transportation and transit which were not components of the previous 1999 transportation study.  
 
The purpose of MoveSJ is to create a balanced transportation network. It integrates active shared modes of transportation and supports sustainable development, healthy communities, and a vibrant urban centre – all principles of Smart Growth.
 
MoveSJ is another example of how the City is striving to better position itself for sustainability as it will guide both the operation and development of the City’s transportation system. It is for these reasons that a guide for future transportation investment is crucial.

Phases one and two are complete.

The project team expects to bring Phase 3 to Common Council for endorsement in late 2021 or early 2022.

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Virtual Open House for MoveSJ Phase 3 (archive)

Residents, businesses and community stakeholders gave their input into MoveSJ, the City's 25-year transportation plan, at a Virtual Open House held spring 2021.

Presentation 

Survey 

Please see related documents for more background information.

Having well-researched, properly funded, and thoughtful plans is one way the City secures the strongest future possible for all residents. Through Corporate Plans, the City maps out priorities and key focus areas that will guide the decisions of Saint John Common Council. The following Corporate Plans address some of the City’s challenges and opportunities, and give Council direction on where and how to invest resources. A strong future—through better planning.

Our 10-year, Long-Term Financial Plan developed in 2020, will ensure the City can afford to provide reliable services and sound infrastructure for the next decade and beyond. The plan is a foundation that lays out targets to be implemented in our annual budgets.

PlanSJ is our municipal plan and guides development and investment in the City of Saint John. It ensures that the development and planning decisions made by the City over the the 25-year planning period are made in the long-term, best interests of the whole community. This holistic plan shapes how the City develops and delivers infrastructure and services to enrich the quality of life for its citizens. Adopted in 2012, it represents a fundamental shift in the City of Saint John’s (the City) future; one grounded in a more sustainable and compact pattern of growth for the City.

MoveSJ is a three phase project that will guide how people and goods will move throughout the City. The plan will guide transportation infrastructure investments within the City for the next 25 years. The purpose of MoveSJ is to create a balanced transportation network. It integrates active shared modes of transportation and supports sustainable development, healthy communities, and a vibrant urban centre.

The City of Saint John has been recognized nationally as a leader in environmental leadership in Canada. This section contains our Climate Action Plan and information about the many environmental and climate change initiatives undertaken by the City.

PlaySJ is the strategic plan for parks and recreation to meet the community’s recreational needs while remaining within our financial means. It provides guidelines and recommendations on how best to advance our quality of life and make Saint John a more attractive place to live, work and play.

Growth plans emphasizing economic and population growth will determine Saint John’s future. This section provides specifics about how the City is working to encourage growth.

The 2023-2033 Saint John City Market Strategic Plan will chart a vision forward under key direction to maintain its reputation as the premier destination and gathering place for locals and tourists alike.

The City must couple our short-term cost-control measures with reforms. For several years, we’ve been working to close our budget gap. The Sustainability Plan addresses the immediate priority of balancing the 2021 and 2022 budgets and details the longer-term work needed with the province and our regional partners to close the gap.

The City of Saint John's 10-Year Strategic Plan identifying a renewed vision for the City and a new set of long-term goals was approved by Council on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.  The plan will serve as a management tool to improve the City’s performance and align with existing plans, including the Long-term Financial Plan, PlanSJ, and MoveSJ.

Saint John Common Council priorities for 2021-2026 term. 

The priorities – Grow, Green, Belong, Move, and Perform were developed through several workshop settings using input from an online public survey and guided by several municipal strategic plans including Plan SJ, Play SJ, Move SJ, and the Long-term Financial Plan.

The five priority areas will guide all aspects of municipal activities, policies and procedures, and budgets during the term.

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The Municipal Plan was the result of a two-year process of planning, research, and extensive community engagement.  Thousands of Saint Johners, championed by a thirteen member Citizen Committee of Council which included ten citizens, a member of the City’s Planning Advisory Committee and two members of Common Council helped to shape the plan.

PlanSJ reflects the shared collective vision of our citizens to grow the City smarter, by reinvesting in the Saint John’s urban core neighbourhoods, promoting denser more complete suburban communities and protecting our traditional rural character and landscape. By leveraging existing municipal infrastructure the plan supports more efficient and cost effective development pattern and leverages the City’s unique natural and heritage assets to enrich our quality of life.

The plan also promotes promoting greater choices for moving around the City progressive environmental policies which protect natural areas and promote a more sustainable development pattern overall. 

The plan informs City decisions through a zoning bylaw, a legacy of neighbourhood planning and through ongoing monitoring and reporting on the progress of PlanSJ.

Read the plan.

Tomorrow's potential, starts today! The plan and the path to financial sustainability and growth

Welcome to the Sustainable Saint John webpage. We encourage you to watch and share our new video, and continue to check this page for updates as we implement our Sustainability Plan.

As background, the City of Saint John has been working for several years to address our budget gap. With the COVID-19 crisis adding pressure to our bottom line, we need to continue to implement our action plans so that our finances are in good shape for the long-term. For a list of immediate actions required to address our deficit, read the Deficit Action Plan in the related documents section.

This summary outlines our plan to address the immediate priority of balancing the 2021 and 2022 budgets. It also details the longer-term work needed with the province and our regional partners to close the gap.

Addressing the deficit alone is not enough to put Saint John on a sustainable financial path; it is a two-year solution that will enable us to control costs until transformational reforms take hold. For long-term sustainability, we must couple our short-term cost-control measures with these reforms. Only then will the Saint John region truly succeed. Read Advocating for Reforms for more information.

The City is pleased to be working with the Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform to move our initiatives forward.

THE $10 MILLION PLAN TO ADDRESS THE DEFICIT

HOW WE WILL BALANCE THE BUDGET Step one to creating a stable financial future is to address Saint John’s $10-million budget deficit in each of 2021 and 2022. After more than a year of gathering ideas, analyzing and refining, we have a viable and achievable plan.

1. $6 million in workforce adjustments: Achieved through collective bargaining and reducing the number of employees. Approved by Common Council.
2. $1.13 million in continuous improvement initiatives: Achieved through staff’s ongoing commitment to find savings and increased efficiencies across all services. This has been an ongoing achievement.
3. $3 million in carefully planned service reductions, increased user fees, and lower spending: Achieved through an “all-options-on-the-table” approach that minimizes impacts on the community.
    

REVIEWS AND AUDITS

Step two on the financial sustainability path involves conducting and considering recommendations from comprehensive reviews and audits to find efficiencies and better ways to serve the community and support the broader Saint John region.

1. Internal Structural Review: Adjust the organizational structure to achieve a number of improvements, such as enhanced customer service, centralized functions, improved cyber security and more, while reducing its overall size.
2. Transit Review: Conducted by Stantec to improve management and operations, enhance service and minimize spending. Stakeholder engagement is underway with Recommendations coming soon.
3. New Economic Development Model: Take a regional focus with the City of Saint John at the centre. Concept paper has been developed and supported, with the City of Saint John as the anchor.
4. Other Reviews: Each Regional facility is under review, along with associated infrastructure. In addition, two independent reviews have been conducted to find efficiencies and improve effectiveness: Ernst and Young (Operational Audit), Deloitte (Saint John Energy Audit). Based on the findings and recommendations of these reviews, the City will further analyze the options and bring them to Common Council for decision.
    

TRANSFORMATIONAL REFORMS - PARTNERING FOR GROWTH

WHAT IT WILL TAKE Step three on the path is provincial and regional reforms. The Government of New Brunswick has recognized that the City of Saint John is doing everything within our power to address our financial challenges. However, we can only go so far on our own. We need collaboration, cooperation and change from the province, greater Saint John region and other municipalities. Only then will we see the region reach its full potential.

1. Comprehensive Property Tax Reform: The province has committed to complete property tax reform on a 60-year old system by 2022. We will continue to work with the province as a municipal partner in this undertaking.
2. Municipal Empowerment to Generate Revenues: Removing the for-profit restrictions within the Local Governance Act would allow the City to explore and develop new revenue streams for growth.
3. Regional Cost Sharing and Regionalization of Services: A Regional Management Task Force is at work to look at opportunities. The province commissioned two reports, and based on results, we need the province to take action. There is great opportunity to act together, in the best interest of the entire region, to rise up stronger than we were before.
4. Wage Escalation Control: We have implemented a number of financial policies, including a wage escalation policy to control the increase of city workforce wages in an affordable and fair manner.
5. Binding Arbitration Reform: The eight cities in New Brunswick all advocate for reforms for a more efficient, accountable and transparent system, that considers a municipality’s financial health and ability to pay costs awarded to first responders (police and fire), who cannot go on strike.
    

CITY IMPERATIVES GOING FORWARD

We are doing our job to get on the right path. We will look to the strong leadership within the Government of New Brunswick to act on the necessary long-term reforms. Together, we are committed to success for Saint John.

• Implementation the plan to balance the 2021 and 2022 budgets
• Seek action from the Province to enable the above reforms needed to sustain our region
• Continue to control costs
• Advocate and work in partnership to increase municipal revenues
• Act together as a region to spur growth that will benefit us all

What if you could do something good for your community and your planet just by choosing to do something good for yourself? Seems like a trick question! But when you choose active transportation, that's exactly what you’re doing. You benefit. Your city benefits. And so do future generations.  

Active transportation is when you use your own power to get from one place to another. Walking, biking, skateboarding, in-line skating/rollerblading, jogging, running, non-mechanized wheel chairing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing—it’s any transportation that runs on you for fuel.

Active transportation is good for you because it gets you moving on a regular basis. You improve your fitness, which improves your overall health—including mental health. It’s also a pretty affordable way to get around, especially compared to driving, since there’s no gas or parking to buy. It’s good for your city because it reduces road congestion. Plus, everyone who chooses active transportation makes it more visible, which makes it an easier choice for others too. It’s good for the planet because active transportation reduces greenhouse gas emissions. 

What do you need in order to choose active transportation? Not a lot. You might need a little gear. You need some initiative. And, you need a city that supports your decision—a community that builds and maintains the necessary infrastructure that makes active transportation safe, accessible, and easy.

Active transportation in Saint John

Saint John is working hard to build, maintain, and improve infrastructure that encourages more residents to choose active transportation options. All Saint John Transit buses are equipped with front-end bike racks, and there are conveniently-located bike racks throughout the Uptown core—you can usually park your bike right outside of where you want to be. There are 373 km of sidewalks throughout the City, plus Harbour Passage—a 4.7 km trail that rings the Saint John Harbour—is an important pedestrian link to connect the City’s North end with the Uptown. 

There are two extensive bike routes in the City. The Campus Harbour Connection is a north-south route connecting Harbour Passage to the Hospital/University area. The Saint John portion of Trans Canada Trail (now the Great Trail) is an east-west route that stretches from Grand-Bay Westfield to Rothesay. 

Most importantly, the City is building active transportation into all of its major planning initiatives.

The future of active transportation in Saint John

Three initiatives that promise to make active transportation an easier and safer choice for Saint Johners are called PlanSJ, MoveSJ, and the Central Peninsula Plan. 

PlanSJ, the City’s Municipal Plan, aims to grow the City smarter by reinvesting in the Saint John’s urban core neighbourhoods, promoting denser, more complete suburban communities, and protecting our traditional rural character and landscape. This includes promoting greater choices for moving around the City and progressive environmental policies.  

MoveSJ, Saint John’s transportation strategy, addresses the City's need to create a balanced transportation network, and to make public transit and active transportation more viable and desirable options. The purpose of MoveSJ is to plan for active, shared modes (cycling, walking) of transportation integrated with the City’s existing street and highway networks.

The Central Peninsula Secondary Plan provides direction for new development and reinvestment in the City’s Central Peninsula. It is intended to implement Plan SJ within the Uptown neighbourhoods and align with and respond to the City’s recreation, transportation, economic, and population growth strategies.

The City of Saint John’s Disc Golf course is located at Shamrock Park in the city’s north end. It is an 18-hole, par 3 course. 

The course is now open and runs on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is no need for a tee time. Larger events may take place on the course so please view our online calendar for availability.

If you would like to book a larger event at the course, please complete the online application form.

How do you play?

The goal of the game is to throw a disc from the tee pad toward the basket, then keep throwing until you make your disc into the basket. Once you’ve thrown your disc into the basket, you’ve completed the hole. Count your score and move onto the next hole. Within each basket there are directional arrow which point you to you next hole.

Please download our detailed map and individual hole diagrams to the right of this page.

Saint John is your destination for summer fun this season with the popular Passport to Parks program, and you’re invited to join in on all the free family-friendly activities.

Passport to Parks 2024 events will be hosted this summer in City-owned parks around Saint John. These include:

• July 14 at Dominion Park from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  (This event has moved to Sunday, July 14 to take full advantage of the sunnier forecast.)
   
• August 10 at Little River Reservoir from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• August 31 at Rockwood Park from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

This summer event series is a special way to bring the community together and build a sense of belonging. It highlights all of the beautiful green spaces we have here in the city and encourages residents and visitors to explore our many parks, beaches, trails, splash pads and other recreational options.

Residents are invited to attend Passport to Parks event series this summer | City of Saint John, New Brunswick

In any modern city, libraries are much more than places to read and check out books. They’re public gathering places, city “living rooms”, egalitarian places where anyone and everyone can meet, and take advantage of the useful services the library offers.

In Saint John, the Carnegie Building became the library’s long-term permanent home from 1904 to 1983, before moving to its current location in Market Square. The Saint John Free Public Library also has two satellite branches. The West Branch, the first mall library in New Brunswick, opened in 1967 and is still at this location. The East Branch is located at the Saint John Transit building on MacDonald Road.

Once the gifts are opened and the parties are over, it’s time for the Christmas tree to move on. To help you, the City will once again be offering its free and convenient annual Christmas tree drop-off program in the new year. Please ensure all decorations have been removed from your tree prior to dropping it off. All sites will be open from January 1 to January 12, 2024.

Site locations:

• Charles Gorman Arena – 80 University Avenue, North
• Crescent Valley – Between 30 and 38 Taylor Avenue, North
• Peter Murray Arena – 711 Dever Road, West
• Forest Hills Ball Field – 651 Westmorland Road, East
• *Old Sugar Refinery – 330 Charlotte Street, South/Central Peninsula

*South/Central Peninsula residents are advised that the specific drop-off site commonly referred to as the “Old Sugar Refinery” is located at the very end of Charlotte Street and Vulcan Street. Trees are not to be deposited at the Bulk Terminal Truck Entrance or any other location on Port Saint John property.

Look for the designated area at each location. Sites will be plowed and maintained for the safety of the public and workers.

If you are unable to drop off your Christmas tree to a designated site, you can:

• Remove all decorations and trim
• Delimb the tree and cut up the trunk and branches into manageable blocks (must be no longer than four feet and must be smaller than the diameter of two inches)
• Place blocks and branches in your compost cart for removal on your regular garbage and compost collection day.

We thank you for your cooperation.

Saint John City Hall is the centre of municipal government for the City of Saint John. It’s home to the Mayor’s office and Council Chambers, and it’s where these City officials meet to discuss City business. It’s also where Saint John residents can access various City services. 

You’ll find City Hall near the foot of King Street, at 15 Market Square, in uptown Saint John. Visitors must check in at the first floor reception, which is accessible by the main street entrance, or via the pedway system and a newly installed elevator—which will take you to the public areas of the building.

The first City Hall building in Saint John was a wooden structure, built in 1797 at about the same location as the current City Hall, which was built in 1971. In 2020, the City made significant renovations to the building, and moved City operations to the first four floors, which makes City Hall much more visible and accessible.