Plan for Growth Projects ask “Big Questions” about City’s Future Growth

Today, the City of Saskatoon provided the second in a series of operational updates on the City’s Plan for Growth projects.  Standing outside a Transit Village Stakeholder Workshop, Mayor Charlie Clark and Director of Planning & Development, Lesley Anderson, emphasized the important role the Plan for Growth is playing in preparing Saskatoon to meet the future needs of a city of 500,000.

“At its core, the City’s Plan for Growth is all about people,” said Mayor Charlie Clark. “The Growth Plan is about making sure that people of all ages and abilities can get to where they need to go, it’s about creating a community that supports a high quality of life for everyone, and it’s about making sure that our growth is smart and sustainable for future generations. This community engagement is important because by having conversations with people who live, work and shop in these areas, we can make sure that the details of the plan work for people now and in the years to come.”

Following their opening comments, Lesley Anderson provided an update on the City’s current Plan for Growth projects which include: a new Transit Plan which calls for the introduction of Bus Rapid Transit and a reconfiguration of existing Saskatoon Transit services, new concept plans for future Transit Village locations, a Corridor Planning Program to drive transit-oriented development, and the development of a Brownfield Renewal Strategy to enhance future corridor growth opportunities.

“We all know Saskatoon is growing fast, our Plan for Growth is our response to that – it forms a new growth model for our City” says Anderson.  “Being prepared for future growth requires us to start city-wide conversations now, which is why Saskatoon’s putting people at the centre of our planning… we’re asking big questions now so that we are able to pursue smart and sustainable growth into the future.”

PROJECT UPDATES

Transit Plan Update (Bus Rapid Transit / Transit Plan Implementation)

Since the approval of the Preferred Configuration by Council on November 20, 2017, the City and HDR Corporation have been hard at work moving the Functional Planning process forward.  An Existing Conditions Report is now complete, and work is well underway on an economic analysis (includes cost-benefit study), functional plan development, station design, park and ride strategy, transit system re-configuration plan.  A critical component of these projects is ongoing engagement with the public and impacted stakeholder groups with numerous opportunities for participants to weigh in on what matters most.

In December, the City and HDR hosted a number of stakeholder engagement activities.  The City received 883 responses to its online survey, over 70 stakeholders attended workshops, and a public open house encouraged participants to ask questions about the Preferred Configuration.  A full version of the Consultation Report: Fall 2017 is available at Saskatoon.ca/engage/transit-plan.

Transit Village Concept Plan Update

In November 2017, DIALOG completed their preliminary site analysis, and background study as well as initial interviews with Commercial Landowners at future Transit Village locations.  On January 17, 2018, the City and DIALOG will use what they heard in November to facilitate a highly collaborative and engaging stakeholder workshop for landowners in order to advance key planning and design elements for each of the Transit Villages locations. Facilitators will work with key landowners to establish a vision for each site, working collaboratively to design preliminary concept plans that recognize the unique potential and context of each site for future density and intensification.

Immediately following the conclusion of the Jan 17 workshop, DIALOG and the City will be taking these preliminary concept plans to Confederation Mall, a future Transit Village location, where the public will be asked to further define what kinds of shops, services, and activities they’d like to see at each of the future Transit Village sites.  This highly-engaging multi-day pop-up workshop is open to the public and will run on January 17th (4 pm – 8:30 pm) and January 18th (10 am – 8 pm).

Corridor Planning Program Update

City Staff continue to advance Phase 1 of the Corridor Planning Program.  This work includes detailed research and analysis along the Bus Rapid Transit Red Line, focusing on identifying land-use and densities as well as parking availability and public realm analysis.  A 3D Model of the BRT Red Line Corridor is nearing completion which will be used to guide future site-level development regulations and guidelines, and further engage with the public.

The Corridor Planning Program is preparing a major engagement opportunity at the upcoming March 7 Plan for Growth Engagement Event at the Western Development Museum from 4:30–8:30PM.  Participants will be invited to stand in our past, and talk about our future.  Without giving away too many surprises, participants will be asked to engage around a very large map of our BRT Red Line Corridor!

Brownfield Renewal Strategy

The City and Dillon continue to plan for soil condition assessment investigative field work that is scheduled to begin at the end of January.  The results of this work will identify the soil quality at proposed future BRT station locations, as well as provide valuable insight on the environmental condition of the soil near Corridor Planning Program potential brownfield areas. Dillon is nearing completion of both its Brownfield Renewal Strategy Research and Recommendation Report as well as an inventory of all Brownfield Sites along the BRT Red Line corridor.

Background:

At its April 25, 2016 meeting, Saskatoon City Council approved in principle the Growth Plan to Half a Million which includes plans for a re-envisioned transit system based around Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and infill at strategic locations in the city including downtown, the university endowment lands and along major transportation corridors.  Following this approval, the City created a Ten Year Action Plan to advance a number of the core initiatives identified in the Growth Plan to Half a Million.

The City and the Government of Canada will share in a total contribution of $7.65 million through the Public Transportation Infrastructure Fund for a number of the Plan for Growth projects including:

• Transit Plan – (includes Bus Rapid Transit and Transit System Plan Implementation)
• Corridor Growth
  • Transit Villages Concept Plans
  • Corridor Planning Program
  • Brownfield Renewal Strategy

For more information / to sign up for project updates please visit saskatoon.ca/growth.  Learn more about engagement opportunities by visiting saskatoon.ca/engage.