Summary of Public Realm Discussions

The College Corridor Plan team worked with stakeholders, community groups, people who live, work or travel to College Drive and interested people from around Saskatoon to help determine what is important to people about the public realm on College Drive – what it looks like now and what it could potentially look like in the future. Thank you to everyone who participated in our meetings and surveys earlier this year.  We looked at the feedback for common themes to develop some ideas to move forward, and will have more engagement opportunities coming soon.

For a quick overview, please see our Executive Summary of Public Realm Discussions on College Drive.

For a more in-depth look at the feedback received, please see our video presentation on YouTube.

We also created a map to show the main feedback themes for different locations in the College Corridor Area. Click here to download the full size version of this map.

Previous Public Realm Discussions

Information presented at our series of preliminary discussions on the public realm in early 2022 is available at the videos linked below:

Open Space, Parks and Recreation - February 9, 2022

This meeting focused on existing open spaces and possible new open spaces in the area, such as parks, outdoor plazas, sports fields or other open spaces where people can relax and gather.

College Corridor Open Space Presentation

Initial Feedback: Open Space

Walking and Rolling Connections - March 24, 2022

This meeting focused on the connections to, and along, the College Drive and Preston Avenue corridors for people walking and rolling (e.g. cycling, wheeling, mobility aids, etc.) - and the infrastructure that may be needed to support this.

College Corridor Walking and Rolling Presentation

Initial Feedback: Walking and Rolling

Character and Comfort - March 31, 2022

This meeting focused on things that affect how College Drive and Preston Avenue look and feel, such as the design of the front of buildings, street furniture and amenities like benches, and styles or themes that could be incorporated into the design of the streetscape.

College Corridor Character and Comfort Presentation

Initial Feedback: Character and Comfort

Results of Land Use Engagement

Through land use engagement on the College Corridor we have developed preliminary land use maps for the area. Please note these maps and presentations will not be considered final until work on other considerations, like utility connections and public realm, are complete.

Video presentations on the Land Use Maps:

College Drive

Preston Avenue

Download the Land Use Maps:

College Corridor Land Use Map

Preston Avenue Land Use Map

What is Land Use?

Land use refers to the types of homes, businesses and other buildings that can be built in an area. When land uses are determined, it does not mean that buildings will automatically be built. It is property owners who decide what to do with their land – whether to keep it as it is, or to develop something new.

Land uses are set out in a general way through the Official Community Plan (OCP) – the legal document that lays out the collective long-term vision for Saskatoon. For this project, we are mainly working with three corridor land use designations: Station Mixed Use, Corridor Mixed Use and Corridor Residential.

The map below outlines the area being studied for the development of the College Corridor Plan. The College Corridor Plan study area follows College Drive from the South Saskatchewan River to Preston Avenue and also follows Preston Avenue along University of Saskatchewan owned lands from 14 Street East to the Canadian Pacific Rail line. Temperance Street is the southern study area boundary in the Varsity View and Nutana neighbourhoods. We do not expect that all lands within the study area will see changes. The focus will be on the College Drive and Preston Avenue corridor. Properties included in the study area just means they are a part of the overall vision for the corridor.

A larger PDF version of the above map is available here.

Corridor Growth Area Interactive Map

The interactive map linked below shows the College Corridor Plan study area, as well as the other Corridor Growth segment areas across Saskatoon that will be the subject of future corridor plans.

Launch Interactive Corridor Growth Area Map

For a full overview of the Corridor Planning Program please visit the Corridor Planning Program project page. Our work is guided by the Corridor Transformation Plan endorsed by City Council in 2020.

College Corridor Plan Background Reports

The project team has completed a report on existing or ‘baseline’ conditions of the College Corridor as an initial step in the process to develop the College Corridor Plan. This document summarizes existing conditions and characteristics related to the area’s history, contemporary plans, demographics, current land use, transportation and mobility, housing and neighbourhoods, parks, trails and open space, and recreation and community facilities.

View the College Corridor Plan Background Report

The Saskatoon Heritage Society also compiled a report on properties of interest in the area. This inventory can be found here and will be referenced when considering aspects regarding land use and public realm as part of the College Corridor Plan.