$7.9 Million for 2017 Sidewalk Preservation and Maintenance

The City continues to take a more strategic approach toward improving and maintaining the condition of hundreds of kilometres of sidewalks in Saskatoon. $7.9 million is going into preservation and maintenance programs this year.

“This is a budget that helps us work toward our goal to decrease the sidewalk repair and maintenance backlog,” says Rob Frank, Engineering Manager, Asset Preservation. “We continue to combine two approaches when it comes to ensuring our sidewalks are well maintained and free from immediate safety concerns – the Sidewalk Maintenance Program and the Sidewalk Preservation Program.”

The Sidewalk Maintenance Program is about extending the life of an existing sidewalk by managing safety hazards such as large cracks, broken concrete, and tripping hazards. Sidewalks are prioritized according to condition and pedestrian use and are maintained until they are determined as being in an unacceptable condition.

“We have a criteria to determine actions taken when it comes to regular maintenance, but we also consider feedback from residents who report sidewalks with immediate safety hazards. When we hear from a resident, we put it on the list for inspection and then, if necessary, prioritize it for maintenance,” says Frank.

The Sidewalk Preservation Program is a planned program that focuses on repairing sidewalks next to roadways already in the queue for a treatment under the three-year Road Preservation Program. It also addresses worst condition sidewalk segments in the highest pedestrian traffic locations. Then, as those sidewalks continue to improve, the work progresses to lower pedestrian traffic locations. This cost-effective approach ranges from repairing panels, to replacing panels, to replacing entire sidewalk segments.

The City has approximately 1,524 kilometres of sidewalks. Using current maintenance and replacement criteria, it will take approximately 15 years to address the sidewalk backlog over the entire sidewalk network.

For more information about sidewalk repair, maintenance and replacement criteria, and how to report immediate safety concerns, please visit saskatoon.ca/sidewalks.