We heard in previous engagement activities that most residents are in favour of boulevard gardening, but that some changes should be made to what we originally proposed.  In response we have made the following proposed updates to the Guidelines: 

• Simplify the process: We will simplify the Guidelines and launch an education campaign about the program this spring. 
• Education-first enforcement: We will provide education to gardeners about how to comply with the new guidelines.  We will only issue tickets as a last resort.  Our new registration process will help us identify and address abandoned gardens. 

• Address safety and accessibility: We will make sure that garden sites don’t interfere with safety or access and offer guidance on traffic safety.
• Encourage wildflowers: We have moved wildflowers and naturalized plantings into the main guidelines so that there is no additional process for you.  We will explore other opportunities to support resident-planted naturalization later this year. 
• Program expansion:  We will propose options to Council for an expansion of the program including center medians and other city-owned green space. 

Feedback on Options Public Survey - Winter 2021

A final public survey ran from February 18 to February 28 to offer the public and stakeholders an opportunity to provide their comments on the proposed changes to the Guidelines. The feedback received was used to inform the guideline review and to identify opportunities to improve support for boulevard gardening in Saskatoon. Results from the survey will be shared in the near future. 

Online Meetings - Winter 2021

The Project Team met with technical experts and organizations to collect their feedback.  

Online Public Survey - Winter 2021

A public survey was conducted from December 17, 2020 to January 21, 2021 to receive feedback on the current Boulevard Gardening and Maintenance Guidelines and what changes should be made to improve the program. For further details on the input received through the surveys please review our What We Heard Report.

Project outcomes for the review of the Boulevard Gardening Maintenance Guidelines include:

• Updating the Guidelines for bylaw and policy requirements and acceptable gardening practices;
• Aligning the Guidelines with goals from other City strategies like the Green Infrastructure Strategy and Boulevard and Median Asset Management Strategy;
• Updating other City documents as needed;
• Identifying and addressing barriers to participating in boulevard gardening; and
• Developing educational materials about boulevard gardening.