News Releases

Thanks to warm temperatures this week, roads are drying up enough for street sweeping and pothole repairs. With late snowfalls, these road maintenance programs are three to four weeks behind the average year.

“Today is our first day with hot-mix asphalt and City crews are already a few loads in,” says Brandon Harris, Director of Roadways & Operations. “We have utility cuts to maintain, countless potholes to repair, and six weeks of priority-street sweeping to complete before residential sweeping begins on May 7.”

Over the next two weeks, City crews will be working longer days and through the weekend to repair potholes beginning with those at highest-risk for causing injury or damage. Citizens will also notice sweeping along priority streets, business improvement districts, and on medians and boulevards.

“We are operating at maximum staffing and equipment capacity and expect unprecedented progress for sweeping and pothole repairs,” says Harris. “However, roads in general will still be bumpy and dusty on secondary roads for a few weeks because of this late start to spring road maintenance.”

In addition to sweeping and pothole repairs, the City is maintaining more than 1,000 utility cuts with gravel until they can be permanently repaired beginning next week. Citizens can report dangerous locations to our Customer Service Centre and continue to report potholes on our Report-a-Pothole app to help the City prioritize repairs.

City-wide residential street sweeping will begin May 7, weather permitting. Bright yellow No Parking signs will be posted in neighbourhoods 36-48 hours in advance of street sweeping, followed up with ticketing and relocation towing. At the same time, City crews will be permanently repairing potholes with a hot mix asphalt.  

Visit saskatoon.ca/betterroads to report a pothole and for street sweeping schedules and information on spring road maintenance programs.

Following the 2018-2019 Provincial Budget reinstatement of the SaskEnergy Grant-in-Lieu of taxes (GIL), City Council is in the position to reduce residential property taxes by nearly a single percentage. 

“This is most definitely a positive development,” says Kerry Tarasoff, Chief Financial Officer. “Anytime we can ease the load on the property tax is most welcome.” 

Instead of traditional property taxes, the provincial government has paid the City GIL for property and rights-of-way on which SaskPower, SaskEnergy, and TransGas operate within Saskatoon.   

Last spring, the 2017-2018 Provincial Budget eliminated the provincial utility GIL to municipalities. This left the City with a $11.4 million shortfall.  

The combined negative impact to the City’s 2017 and 2018 budgets due to the loss of the SaskEnergy GIL was $5.72 million. 

Through careful planning, spending and cost reductions, just $2.66 million of that was passed onto taxpayers.  

“With the Province re-establishing the GIL for SaskEnergy, we’re able to replace three-quarters of that amount this year and apply the rest for next year’s budget,” Tarasoff says. 

Tarasoff says that translates to a 0.91% property tax reduction, bringing the 2018 rate to 3.79%. 

The 3.79% increase means a typical single-family home with an assessed value of $371,000 will pay an additional $5.50 per month or $66 for the year.  

In an effort to move to a model based on higher frequency, Saskatoon Transit is pleased to announce service changes to better meet the needs of citizens. Saskatoon Transit will continue to offer high frequency service along main corridors with the addition of ten minute frequency along Preston Avenue and Attridge Drive up to Nelson Road/Lowe Road.

“It is encouraging to see increased ridership levels in the 2017 Saskatoon Transit Annual Report,” says Jim McDonald, Director of Saskatoon Transit. “With the service changes we are making to improve the frequency, people are recognizing transit as a viable option. Connecting the northeast corner of the city with higher frequency is another step towards bus rapid transit (BRT).”

The more frequent service will apply throughout weekdays with thirty minute frequency during evenings, weekends and statutory holidays. These service changes will take effect on July 1, 2018. It is anticipated these improvements will have a major impact on the way residents in this area use Saskatoon Transit.

The goals of these service improvements are to provide more convenient and quicker daily commutes, drastically reduce wait times, improve reliability and reduce travel time.

“We continue to make transit a convenient option for Saskatoon residents,” says McDonald. “High frequency service to more areas of the city will provide superior service along high demand corridors.” 

All of the new and altered routes can be viewed at SaskatoonTransit.ca. A public engagement session will be held on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. at The Alice Turner Library. New routes will be on display and attendees will have the opportunity to hear about future transit service and ask any questions they may have.  

“This is the public’s chance to provide feedback on how the new routes will affect their commute”, says McDonald. “We hope residents and our current rider base will come out and let us know what they think.”

A short survey is also available at SaskatoonTransit.ca asking residents how the service changes affect them.   

While mass casualty incidents (MCI) are rare in Canada, our community needs to be prepared.  To that end, the Saskatoon Police Service Foundation (SPSF) is pleased to help provide funding for ballistic vests and helmets for firefighters, who are always on the front line in such an incident.

“Firefighters are often confronted with dangerous situations when they respond to calls,” says Vera Pezer, President of the SPSF.  “They are frequently working alongside police and ambulance service personnel when a high degree of risk is involved.”

A recent MCI training scenario revealed the need for additional protective equipment in the form of ballistic vests and helmets for Saskatoon Fire Department Primary Care Paramedics.  The foundation has committed $10 thousand in funding.

“We’re grateful for this generous support,” says Fire Chief Morgan Hackl. “In order for us to do our job in the ‘hot zone’ during a mass casualty incident, our paramedics need to have the equipment that will help us help others.”

The SPS Foundation is an incorporated, not-for-profit, community-led organization. It is dedicated to raising funds to support projects that contribute to community safety.

“We have seen mass casualty incidents occur regularly around the world”, said Police Chief Troy Cooper.  “While Saskatoon has not had a similar incident, this initiative will allow for enhanced cooperation with our partners in response to crisis.” 

The proceeds of its annual SPS Foundation Half Marathon, being held on April 29, will go towards this initiative.

For more information on the Saskatoon Police Foundation, visit https://saskatoonpoliceservicefoundation.org/.