Corridor Planning
The purpose of the Corridor Planning Program is simple - to turn Saskatoon's busy traffic streets into places for people.
Corridors are destinations, not just roads that get you from point A to B. They connect neighbourhoods and neighbours. They're places for people - whether you're walking, riding, driving or spending time with family and friends. To create this shift, the City of Saskatoon is re-thinking how corridors are planned for the long term, including how the land is used, how public space is designed and how buildings are built.
The Growth Plan to Half a Million (Growth Plan) established Corridor Growth as a key initiative to help balance future outward growth of the City with infill development opportunities. Specifically, the Plan re-envisioned the future growth of Saskatoon with long-term targets of balancing 50% infill and 50% new area development, with 15% of the planned infill, or approximately 22,000 new residential units, targeted along the city’s busy corridors.
The Corridor Transformation Plan (Transformation Plan) endorsed by City Council in January 2020, is a long-term visionary plan that highlights opportunities and methods for implementing the Corridor Growth Area objectives. The Transformation Plan provides direction for future Corridor Planning Program deliverables, which includes developing corridor plans for each of the 10 plan areas within the Corridor Growth Area. The intent of a corridor plan is to incorporate the goals and principles of the Official Community Plan, the Transformation Plan and provide a framework within which detailed land use planning activities will occur.
What are Corridor Plans?
Each corridor plan is to be developed through a collaborative process with land owners, neighbourhood residents, local business owners and stakeholder groups. Through this consultative process new corridor land uses will be applied to lands within the plan area. A corridor plan will also look at making the streets more enjoyable for pedestrians, enhancements to open spaces and parks, and upgrading infrastructure to support growth demand.
College Corridor Plan
For information on the first corridor plan being created, please visit the College Corridor Plan website.
Interactive Map
The Development Portal is a publicly-available tool that allows the public and development industry to see information regarding land use and other planning-related items. It is intended to let interested individuals perform their own research. The Development Portal shows the corridor plan areas that are part of the Corridor Growth Area. Toggle "Corridor Growth Area" using the layers list on the left.
Corridor Growth Area - Land Uses
The following land use descriptions can be found in the Official Community Plan (OCP) - Revised June 28, 2024.
| Corridor Transit Village | Land designated as “Corridor Transit Village” has the potential for a mix of medium to high density residential, commercial, institutional, and recreational uses that are located in strategic locations along the BRT network and have the opportunity to significantly contribute to corridor growth objectives and targets in the Growth Plan to Half a Million. These sites are typically located within Urban Centres and are intended to provide a mix of employment, residential, recreational, and open space uses that support and benefit from their location along the BRT network. These sites are typically developed in a phased fashion. |
| Station Mixed Use | Land designated as “Station Mixed Use” has the potential for medium density, generally three to six storey mixed use developments that incorporate transit-oriented development principles and a broad range of residential, commercial, institutional, cultural, and community uses. Depending on the site context or as determined through the Corridor Area Plan process, there will be cases where modest differences in height will be permitted. These lands are located on the BRT routes near to a BRT station as illustrated in the BRT map, (refer to Appendix D, Map 6 - High-Frequency Transit Corridor and Transit Villages) or as determined through a Corridor Area Plan. |
| Corridor Mixed Use | Land designated as “Corridor Mixed Use” has the potential for medium density, two to six storey mixed use developments that are pedestrian-oriented and incorporate transit-oriented development principles. These lands are located on the BRT routes between station locations, or on other major transportation corridors in proximity to the BRT routes or as determined through the Corridor Area Plan process. |
| Corridor Main Street | Land designated as “Corridor Main Street” has the potential for medium density mixed use developments that are pedestrian-oriented and incorporate transit-oriented development principles. These areas are typically existing commercial streets located on the public transit system. Corridor Main Street areas are intended to enhance the existing character, function, and built form in historic or significant commercial districts located within the Corridor Growth Area. |
| Corridor Residential | Land designated as “Corridor Residential” has the potential for ground-oriented, low to medium density residential development. These areas are located near to the BRT routes and are intended to provide a transition of densities from Station Mixed Use, Corridor Mixed Use and/or Corridor Main Street lands into the surrounding neighbourhoods. |
Projects
The Corridor Planning Program includes the creation of corridor plans and a number of related projects.
| Priorities and Selection Criteria | A process to determine the priority of corridor plans. | Completed December 2020 |
| Corridor Engagement Strategy | A plan to help us understand how groups, organizations and residents want to be involved in Corridor Planning. This is an adaptable, living document that will guide our public, stakeholder and rightsholder engagement going forward. | Completed August 2021 |
| Corridor Zoning Districts | New corridor-focused zoning districts that align with the new Official Community Plan land use designations have been prepared. | Completed July 2023 |
| Corridor Incentives and Financing Tools | Development incentives and infrastructure financing tools to encourage and support new development along the corridors. A preliminary list of potential options has been created and presented in a report in June 2021. | TBD |
| College Corridor Plan | The process to develop a corridor plan for the College Corridor plan area. | Started Summer 2021 Estimated completion 2025 |
| Corridor Land Use and Rezoning | Land use planning and rezoning process for five corridor plan areas (largely within Circle Drive) to enable new housing development, as part of the City's Housing Accelerator Fund Action Plan. | Started Fall 2023 Completed June 2024 |
| Future Corridor Plans | Initiate the Nutana Corridor Plan. |