News Releases

TU-209

Beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, there will be lane restrictions near the Idylwyld Drive Overpasses at 19th Street for bridge inspections:
- Idylwyld Drive northbound will be limited to one lane from 1st Avenue to just over 19th Street
- Idylwyld Drive southbound will be limited to one lane over 19th Street
-There will be no access to Idylwyld Drive southbound from 1st Avenue.

It is expected the work will be completed by 3:00 p.m. that day, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.
The City thanks everyone for their patience.
Drivers are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through the orange zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.
Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Starting at 9:30 a.m. on April 8, 2014, the Idylwyld Freeway southbound curb lane from Ruth Street to Lorne Avenue will be closed while Saskatoon Light & Power crews work on street lights.

The work should be completed and restrictions lifted by 2:00 p.m., weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.   

Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The City of Saskatoon (City) announces the 2014 recipients of the Jack Adilman Fund Capital Grant for Amateur Sports Organizations.  Through his estate, Jack Adilman (1920 - 1992), a prominent businessman, sportsman, and tireless supporter of amateur sport in Saskatoon, provided a bequest to support the future of amateur sports.  From this bequest, the City established this grant in 2011 and has awarded a total of $349,030 since its inception.

Thirteen organizations applied for funding, with requests totalling $480,268 of support for projects worth in excess of $1.4 million.
Based on available funding, a total of $157,030 was awarded to the following amateur sport organizations:

• Marian Gymnastics Club Inc. – for asset acquisition – $14,650;
• Mayfair Lawn Bowling Club – for facility upgrades – $10,000;
• Saskatoon Amateur Softball Association – for asset acquisition – $14,335;
• Saskatoon Cricket Association Inc. – for facility upgrades – $11,250;
• Saskatoon District Sports Council – for asset acquisition – $11,470;
• Saskatoon Fencing Club – for facility upgrades – $7,400;
• Saskatoon Lions Speedskating Club – for asset acquisition – $57,400;
• Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club – for asset acquisition – $18,525; and
• Saskatoon Ultimate Disc Sport Society – for asset acquisition – $12,000.

For more information about the Jack Adilman Grant, visit www.saskatoon.ca (look under “G” for Grants).
For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

TU-206

Spadina Crescent East is closed between 21st Street and 22nd Street while crews work on a water main. Motorists are advised to use 4th Avenue as an alternate route.

Restrictions are expected to be lifted by 12:00 noon on Thursday, April 10, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Drivers are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through the orange zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Starting at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, April 7, westbound traffic on Circle Drive from Attridge Drive to the Circle Drive Bridge will be restricted to one lane until 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 8. The restrictions are required to allow crews to remove in-road traffic monitoring sensors. The City will continue to record traffic volumes on an hourly basis throughout the year at eight permanent City-operated stations. 

Motorists are strongly advised that delays are expected. Traffic will be directed to the curb lane and speed reduced to 60 kilometres per hour. 

Drivers are reminded to drive with extreme caution as workers will be onsite throughout the night, allow for extra time when travelling through the work zone and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

The City of Saskatoon thanks motorists for their patience and cooperation.

Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Starting at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, April 7, 2014, 20th Street will be closed between Avenues B and C while crews work on a water connection. Through traffic on 20th Street is advised to use 19th Street or 21st Street. 
The work is expected to take two days to complete, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Drivers are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through a work zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.
Know before you go!  Find up-to-date Traffic Detour information on our website at www.saskatoon.ca and follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our City Blog.

If you drive in Saskatoon, you will have noticed there are significantly fewer potholes this year.  Some of that is due to weather conditions, but the biggest factor is the increase in our snow and street maintenance operations this year as a result of the dedicated road levy.  

Increased snow grading and removal this winter reduced the standing water on the streets that cause potholes.  With less moisture on the streets at the start of spring, crews were able to get out and repair the potholes sooner than last year.  We were not only out there patching sooner, but we were able to patch the potholes that are causing the biggest problems for drivers.  Since its launch March 17, there have been 557 (88 since March 28 news release) locations reported by residents in all areas of the city using the Report a Pothole interactive map.  Up to ten new pothole locations are being reported daily by residents and visitors to Saskatoon from their mobile device or desktop.  

The weather is also cooperating this year with gradual warm weather that allows the ground frost to come out of the ground slowly.  Potholes can be caused by pressure on the asphalt as a result of the ground frost coming out quickly.  The temperature spike expected for next week may cause the frost to move very quickly out of the ground and increase the potential for more potholes.  

Pothole patching crews repaired 350 (103 since March 28 news release) of the larger reported pothole on major streets, plus hundreds of others!  Until the roads are completely dry and the asphalt supplier produces hotmix for our use, the priority is emergency locations and larger potholes in the driving lanes of the high-traffic streets. Beginning mid-April, the Spring Pothole Blitz will address the remaining potholes on higher traffic volume and speed roadways, including arterials, collector and freeway/expressways.  The residential streets will be repaired beginning in May and run in conjunction with the Residential Street Sweeping program.  

About a third of the locations currently reported on the map are another type of issue resulting from completed City or private underground utility work that required an excavation.  These are known as utility cuts and have a temporary gravel/recycled asphalt cover until they can be properly paved once ground frost is gone.  Those on arterial and major streets are monitored and re-grading regularly. Until permanent repairs are made we will be leaving these reported locations as red dots on the Report a Pothole map. 

Severe and emergency locations are addressed immediately by the nearest pothole patching unit.  Large potholes in the driving lane of Priority 1 and 2 streets will be scheduled for repair the next day.  The inspector, along with area supervisors and crews, is also on the look-out for unreported severe/emergency potholes.  The more information supplied by those reporting online the inspectors have, the easier it is to determine the priority of the necessary repairs. The reported potholes, represented by red dots on the map, are updated to green dots at the end of the day they are repaired. 

Please report severe/emergency locations to Customer Service at 306-975-2476 so we can fix them as quickly as possible.  For more information about the pothole and utility cut programs, visit saskatoon.ca and select “P” for Potholes. 

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic. You can also follow us on Twitter @cityofsaskatoon and with #betterroads and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.   

After the first year of implementation, the City of Saskatoon’s (City) Housing Business Plan has supported the creation of 629 new attainable units in 2013, exceeding the target set by City Council of 500 new units per year.

The recently released Annual Report on the 2013 – 2022 Housing Business Plan indicates that the City has slightly exceeded the target for each of five housing types identified in the plan, with the exception of entry-level housing where the results were double the City’s target:

The City is also reported to be on track to achieve its housing targets for 2014.  To date, a total of 378 attainable units of various housing types have been approved, with the goal of supporting 480 to 500 units. 

“Housing is not a traditional role of municipalities in Saskatchewan,” says the City’s Director of Planning and Development, Alan Wallace.  “However, the City understood there was a growing deficit of affordable housing in Saskatoon in 2007 and decided to proactively address this challenge by setting an ambitious goal to create 500 new attainable housing units per year, which eventually led to the creation of the Housing Business Plan.”

Approved by City Council in June 2013, the Housing Business Plan contains a variety of incentives and initiatives that support the creation of attainable housing units, which helps increase home ownership rates, with a focus on neighbourhoods where levels of ownership is a concern.

“Adequate housing is an important part of the City’s Strategic Plan and an essential infrastructure for supporting a growing economy and a good quality of life for all residents of Saskatoon,” says Wallace.

For more information on the Housing Business Plan and the work the City is doing in this area, visit www.saskatoon.ca and look under “H” for Housing Initiatives or call 306-975-3340.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

As warmer temperatures near, the City of Saskatoon (City) reminds visitors to the Woodlawn Cemetery of the guidelines for gravesite memorials, which are intended to maintain a pleasant environment and respect the final resting place of loved ones.

Only approved monuments or memorials are considered permanent items and are permitted to remain in the cemetery year-round.  All other items placed on a gravesite, flowerbed, monument, or concrete foundation are considered temporary and need to be removed weekly.  Flowers and other items are permitted on the gravesite the day of the burial and will be left for a period of seven calendar days.  After this time period, items will be removed by the City.  Please note, the City does not take responsibility for any removed, damaged, or missing items placed in the cemetery by the public.

From May 1 to October 15:

• Families may establish a flowerbed at the gravesite (with the exception of Military burials in the “Field of Honour” and flat marker areas) upon approval from the Cemetery Office.  Annual flowers are allowed, provided they do not hang over the edge of the flowerbed or impede maintenance of adjacent gravesites.
• Items not allowed within flowerbeds include shrubs, perennials, decorative fencing, rocks, stones, concrete, and breakable or fragile items.
• The City assumes no responsibility for the appearance, maintenance, and fall cleanup of approved flowerbeds planted by the public.  If flowerbeds are neglected, they will be removed.

The Cemetery Office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding statutory holidays.  All inquiries should be directed to the Cemetery Office at 306-975-3308.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook. 

Areas east of Idylwyld Drive and Louis Riel Trail and north of Circle Drive, including River Heights, Lawson Heights, Silverwood, North Industrial, Hudson Bay Industrial, and Marquis Industrial will be without power for approximately three hours starting at 3 a.m. Thursday morning.  The anticipated total outage area includes the City of Martensville and the City of Warman and rural communities east of Highway 12 to the South Saskatchewan River. 

SaskPower will be turning off the power to this area for necessary system improvements, and anticipates that power will be restored by 6 a.m. Thursday morning. If you have questions about the planned outage, please call the SaskPower Outage Centre at 306-310-2220.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases,  Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.