Fredericton — Fredericton City Council has given advance notice that there will be a special meeting the 3rd week of February to give first reading of a newly proposed regulation that will require all residents of the city’s north side, including Devon, Nashwaaksis, Marysville and Barker’s Point, to have a certified “residential passport” in their possession at all times. This action came following a long series of letters written to council by Everett Pettygreve, a longtime resident of Gibson Street.
“This is not a new idea,” Pettygreve told The Manatee staff this morning. “I stumbled across my original ‘passport’ in the basement last month, and although it was cause for much heated discussion about discrimination back in 1960, those of us from Devon eventually came to realize it actually set us apart from all the snobs on the south side of the river.”
“I vividly recall that many of us from Devon and The Point bucked the system at first, as we walked the train bridge to FHS long before the rails were torn up to avoid the ‘passport control’ hut on the north end of the Carleton Street Bridge,” he went on. “We finally gave in when the police caught on and set up a ‘passport office’ in the small hut where the controls for the train bridge’s swing span were located. Eventually we got used to carrying our passports, and we realized we must be special if the city selected us for this extra protection.”
Fredericton Ward 4, South Devon alderman Erik Megaritie informed The Manatee that he has reviewed Pettygreve’s proposal at length, and it does appear to have merit. “We will know at any given moment if any northsiders are anywhere in the main part of the city,” said Megaritie. “Since the ’60s, these people have had free rein to cross the river whenever they chose, and that practice must be stopped immediately.”
Staff at The Manatee have viewed and confirmed that Pettygreve’s “residential passport” was stamped and was valid from 1960 to 1962 inclusive, and that he is willing to provide it to council as a template to avoid excessive costs once the regulation is officially reimplemented.
Do former Northsiders who now live Southside need to obtain this passport? If so, where do we go to obtain it? A little more info would be most helpful.
Like Everett,I too have my passport from living on Gibson St. I am concerned now as I live outside the city and have heard that for me to get into the “City of Fredericton” from outside city limits it will be necessary to obtain a “Shopping Visa” ! This will not allow us to use any of the facilities in the city…just Shop! The next thing will be taking from Taymouth down into city limits!