Junk vehicles near Reversing Falls 'embarrassing'

Dozens of junk cars, trucks and equipment on a property near the entrance toFallsview Park in Saint John will be removed by city council, but the owner says he's started to tow the vehicles on his own.

Council has given municipal staff the authority under the unsightly premises bylaw to remove 59 excavators, trucks and other vehicles scattered across the five-acre property.

Derelict buildings, junk cars, trucks, you name it, it's down there.- Coun. Bill Farren

"I'm absolutely mortified every time I see it," said Coun. Susan Fullerton. She said she tries to distract visitors as she shows them the tourist area of Reversing Falls.

"It's a property that is an embarrassment to people in the city who are trying to make our city look good to the tourists."

George Murray co-owns the property. He said his property has been singled out because the city wants his land. He said his price for the land is rising.

But he said he is moving vehicles from the lot already.

The property could have been bought and added to the park for a low price in the mid-1990s, says Coun. Bill Farren, who represents the city's west side.

"Derelict buildings, junk cars, trucks, you name it, it's down there. It's a shame that the city never purchased this property back when they had an opportunity to."

Groups offering tours in the city sometimes resort to distracting passengers as their buses go by the property.