News Releases

With the summer construction season in full swing, the City of Saskatoon reminds drivers, people on bikes and pedestrians about work zone safety. Now in its fourth year, the Respect Work Zones campaign focuses on respecting work zones and workers.

“We’re continually doing our best to make sure that our work zones and workers are always safe,” says Angela Gardiner, Acting General Manager of Transportation & Utilities. “We rely on the participation of residents to obey signage, watch for workers and always pay attention.”

Gardiner says as the City completes night work to limit disruption to commuters, drivers are asked to watch for speed reductions around work zones.

“Be aware of work happening at night,” she says. “Drivers can expect night work to happen on priority streets from seven o’clock at night to seven o’ clock in the morning throughout the summer and should watch for reflective cones, delineator posts and flashing lights.”

The most common type of work zones are those around construction and roadway projects, but there are other work zones such as mobile work zones for line painting, parks maintenance and even drop-off zones at the landfill.

“Respecting our different types of work zones also means respecting our workers at their place of business – these locations are their offices,” says Gardiner. “We want to keep our message of respect in the workplace front and centre.”

Gardiner stresses at times, construction work may appear halted or complete, but construction signs and barriers are kept in place where work zones are potentially hazardous to residents, or to protect construction work and materials while they set or cure. It’s imperative to never enter a work zone or move past signage even if it appears complete or inactive. There are serious safety risks in doing so, as well as the risk of vehicle damage.

The Respect Work Zones campaign supports the City Council Strategic Priority (2016-2020 Term) of Transportation. This year, through the Building Better Roads program, City Council invested $61 million to build, maintain and repair sidewalks and roadways in local neighbourhoods in addition to other projects around the city. 

Road crews will start paving work on some priority roadways this week, but many motorists won’t notice the construction until it’s complete and they are driving on smooth, new roadways.

“Our goal is to keep traffic moving during the day, so we’re scheduling more work at night,” says Matt Jurkiewicz, Engineering Manager, Technical Services, Construction and Design.  “Resurfacing is a reasonably fast moving paving project that is ideally suited for night work.  Sections of roads can be milled one night and paved the next.  We can open the roadway for daytime traffic.”

Resurfacing is a roadway treatment that replaces surface pavement and makes the road surface smooth again. A milling machine removes a top layer of existing deteriorated pavement, then a paving machine lays new, hot mix asphalt.

“This type of road work does not usually require full road closures,” Jurkiewicz says. “It relies more on lane restrictions so even at night traffic can keep moving, just at a slightly reduced speed.” 

Jurkiewicz says other types of roadway preservation work can’t be done at night, like reconstruction projects that involve open pit work and microsurfacing, which works best in the hottest days of summer.

“Crews started resurfacing work Monday night on Marquis Drive and expect to be there for about a week.  Then they’ll move on to other priority roadways including Airport Drive and Idylwyld Drive,” says Jurkiewicz.

For a complete, list of construction projects, visit the city’s online interactive maps.

The 2017 budget for roadway preservation $32 million.

Today, 21 high school students will graduate from the Fire Introduction Recruitment Experience (FIRE) Cadet Program offered through a partnership with Saskatoon Fire, the Saskatoon Public Schools and Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools.

The FIRE Cadet Program is part of the Career Education curriculum at Bedford Road Collegiate, Mount Royal Collegiate, Tommy Douglas Collegiate, E.D. Feehan Catholic High School and Bethlehem Catholic High School. Each graduating student demonstrated responsibility, respect, teamwork, community involvement, pride and leadership to ensure their personal success throughout the eight week program.

“We have seen phenomenal growth in the comradery and teamwork shown by the FIRE Cadets. The students came from different schools and different backgrounds but very quickly jelled as a group,” says Doug Wegren, a firefighter leading the program.“It was exciting to see the student’s transition from being individuals to working together to tackle multiple tasks and challenges.”

Throughout the eight week program students learned to operate fire hoses, hydrants, fire trucks and an aerial ladder. They gained technical rope, ladder, extrication, dangerous goods, firefighter self-rescue and water rescue skills. Cadets also completed the Red Cross CPR Level C training course and acquired valuable experience leading fire safety presentations.

Brandon Bishop with the Saskatoon Fire Department states, “The support we have received from our community has been instrumental in the success of our students and the FIRE Cadet Program. I want to especially acknowledge Don Flaman from Flaman Sales who provided us with a trailer for the program, and SGI who offered us cars so our students could practice their extrication skills.”

It is the hoped that this program will encourage a strong desire in the graduates to consider a future career path serving the community with the Saskatoon Fire Department.

Congratulations to each student who is graduating from the FIRE Cadet Program today. 

Visit saskatoon.ca to learn more about the Saskatoon Fire Department.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, June 9, 2017 — Investing in public infrastructure supports efficient, affordable and sustainable transit services that help Canadians and their families get to work, school and essential services on time and back home safely at the end of a long day. The Government of Canada is making investments that will help create well-paying jobs and grow the middle class now while building a strong foundation for a sustainable economic future.

Today, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities; the Honourable Donna Harpauer, Minister of Government Relations; and James McDonald, Director of Saskatoon Transit; have announced that 11 new fully accessible buses have been added to Saskatoon Transit’s fleet. Funding was provided through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF) from the Government of Canada and the City of Saskatoon. The Government of Saskatchewan administers federal PTIF funding in the province.

This transit service improvement falls under Saskatoon City Council’s Strategic Goal of Moving Around, which aims to make it easier for citizens to use Saskatoon Transit by providing safe, convenient, reliable and affordable service. These buses are the first of 52 that have been ordered (40 conventional and 12 fully accessible buses) by Saskatoon Transit as part of their PTIF project. 

This project is also part of the bilateral agreement between Canada and Saskatchewan and was announced on September 16, 2016, as part of more than $27.3 million in federal funding for 12 public transit projects. In addition, more than $1.4 million in federal funding was announced on January 11, 2017, for two additional projects under PTIF.

Quotes

“Investing in public transit infrastructure helps people get around quickly, reduces pollution, and creates good jobs today while laying the foundation for economic growth tomorrow. These new buses will help Saskatoon to renew its fleet and provide reliable transit services, allowing residents to spend less time on the road and more time with their families.”

The Honourable Ralph Goodale,
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness,
On behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

“The Government of Saskatchewan appreciates this program being available to our province’s municipal partners to make their communities stronger. The Public Transit Infrastructure Fund will help Saskatoon improve their local transportation system for the benefit of citizens who work, live and raise families in Saskatchewan’s largest city.”

The Honourable Donna Harpauer,
Minister of Government Relations

“Adding these buses to our fleet reduces the average age of our buses which helps us to enhance our service level and reduce maintenance costs. These new buses are fully accessible, have wider aisles and bike racks which will result in more convenient trips for customers. They also come equipped from the factory with our automated stop announcement system and will help us lower our greenhouse gas emissions.”

James McDonald,
Director of Saskatoon Transit

Quick Facts

• The Government of Canada will contribute $12 million toward the renewal and upgrade of Saskatoon’s Transit fleet. The City of Saskatoon will also be investing $12 million.
• The purchase price for the 11 Nova 40 foot low floor diesel buses was $5.8 million.
• Saskatoon Transit’s asset management strategy will see changes to transit over the next eight years as the department:
  • Reduces its average bus age from 11.9 to 7.3 years, thereby reducing maintenance costs and the number of ‘spares’ required;
  • Provides full accessibility on every bus, along every route; and
  • Offers air conditioning and other improved amenities on every bus.
• The Government of Canada will provide more than $180 billion in infrastructure funding over 12 years for public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, transportation that supports trade, and Canada’s rural and northern communities.
• To support public transit, Budget 2017 proposes $25.3 billion. This amount includes $5 billion that will be available for investment through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Associated Links

Government of Canada’s $180-billion+ infrastructure plan in Budget 2017: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/chap-02-en.html#Toc477707375

Federal infrastructure investments in Saskatchewan: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/map-carte/sk-eng.html

CWWF and PTIF projects in Saskatchewan: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/pt-sp/pt-sp-sk-eng.html

The Public Transit Infrastructure Fund: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/ptif-fitc-eng.php

Saskatoon Transit: www.saskatoontransit.ca

City Council’s decision whether to designate Third Avenue United Church as a Municipal Heritage Property remains on hold, pending an imminent recommendation from the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation’s Review and Appeals Committee.

“Regardless of what the Provincial  committee decides, the City Administration remains firm in its view the property warrants designation as one of the most prominent heritage structures in the City, as well as its historical value and current use as a major cultural centre,” says Randy Grauer, Community Services General Manager.

In the meantime, the property is on the City’s Heritage Holding Bylaw, which prohibits demolition, without the specific permission of City Council. 

In addition, because of a dispute between two parties with a financial interest in the Third Avenue United Church property, a Queen’s Bench justice has issued an order that in effect protects the historic building from sudden demolition.

Grauer says it is an unusually complex legal situation.

“The court order essentially says the property must be maintained in the same condition it was when it was purchased by the Third Avenue Christian Centre in the fall of 2013. We would not want to see a scenario where a party with an interest on the property begins an unauthorized demolition just to reap whatever value the lot may have.”

Right now, the mortgage is in arrears. The court order allows for a judicial sale of the property no sooner than August 30, 2017. Until such time, the property is protected by the terms of the order and must remain in the same condition as it currently exists.  

It is the City’s hope that the matter will be back before City Council within the next two months.  The City Administration remains vigilant in monitoring the site, and any attempt at demolition would be met with a quick and appropriate response.