News Releases

On average, the number of days missed in 2014 by City workers due to periodic, ongoing medical conditions, and occupational illness is well below the national average. The results highlighting successes in health, safety, absenteeism, and lower overtime are outlined in a report to be presented to the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services.

“The City continues to make health and safety the first consideration in everything we do through our Occupational Health and Safety program and other initiatives,” says Catherine Gryba, General Manager of Corporate Performance. “We are making strides towards our goal of zero accidents at work and at home because of our programs that support managers and employees in reducing absenteeism.”

The report to the Committee shows:

• The average number of incidents per City employee is substantially below the national average for public sector workers (3.15 incidents for City employees versus 7.7 in the national public sector).
• The average number of days lost is well below the national average for public sector workers (7.9 days for City employees, almost three full days less than the national average of 10.6 days for the public sector).

City initiatives, such as the Attendance Support Program and the Health Management System work in cooperation to reduce absenteeism in the workplace while managing workloads. Proper management of absenteeism reduces workload variations, especially for City Services with demand and seasonal fluctuations, and better enables management to measure and utilize strategic overtime effectively.

“We continue to support our employees and managers in identifying factors that contribute to absences, especially where it impacts City services that require overtime to continue to provide a heightened level of service to residents,” says Gryba. “The City has placed increased focus on managing absenteeism and workload fluctuations in order to reduce excessive overtime, which can result in lower productivity, increased absenteeism, missed work due to injury or illness, and higher employee turnover.”

Proper management of absenteeism supports the City’s Strategic Goal of Continuous Improvement and being the best-managed city in Canada.

 Public Agenda: Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services, July 21, 2015

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.

Perceptions about Saskatoon’s quality of life and satisfaction with the overall level of services provided by the City of Saskatoon rated high in the 2015 Civic Services Survey. Roads and sidewalk repair remain the number one issue among citizens who participated in the annual survey.

“We obtain valuable feedback on a variety of civic issues through the Annual Civic Services Survey,” says Catherine Gryba, General Manager of Corporate Performance. “All of the results are considered when we develop our annual business plan and budget. The feedback helps the City provide high quality services to meet citizen needs.”

When asked which methods the City could use to balance its budget, most citizens said they prefer a combination of increased user fees and property taxes over a reduction in services. On the topic of spending, citizens strongly felt more money should be allocated toward road maintenance, snow and ice maintenance, street crime, affordable housing, accessible infrastructure, growth planning, and traffic management. They would like to see less spending on arts and culture funding, renewing city centre and north downtown, and customer service initiatives.

When it comes to overall services provided by the City, satisfaction remains strong and relatively consistent with previous years, with telephone respondents significantly more satisfied than online respondents.

Other highlights of the 2015 Civic Services Survey include:

• Recycling is now considered a top area of citizen satisfaction. Drinking water quality, repair of water main breaks, garbage collection, electrical services reliability, fire protection and police services also rated high.
• The use of the City’s website continues to be the preferred information source for citizens.

A total of 500 surveys were completed via telephone and 821 surveys were completed online between May 11 and June 2, 2015. The margin of error for the telephone research is +4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence interval (19 times out of 20). Margin of error for the online study is not applicable as online research is considered a non-probability proportional sampling technique. View the City of Saskatoon Annual Civic Services Survey in its entirety at www.saskatoon.ca.

The 2015 Civic Services Survey supports the Strategic Goal of Continuous Improvement and being the best-managed city in Canada.

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.

NEW

21ST ST E EB FROM 1ST AVE S TO 2ND AVE S
(Concrete work)
Start: July 16, 7:00 a.m. End: July 16, 5:00 p.m.

CIRCLE DR E EB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED BETWEEN 1ST AVE N & VENTURE CRES
(Hydrant repair)
Start: July 16, 9:00 a.m. End: July 16, 1:00 p.m.

NIGHT WORK: 22ND ST EB & WB MEDIAN (INSIDE) AND CENTRE LANES CLOSED BETWEEN FAIRMONT DR & CIRCLE DR NB ON RAMP
(Resurfacing)
Use Diefenbaker Dr
Start: July 16, 7:00 p.m. End: July 17, 6:00 a.m.

NIGHT WORK: 33RD ST EB & WB MEDIAN (INSIDE) LANES CLOSED BETWEEN ONTARIO AVE & IDYLWYLD DR
(Sanitary lining)
Start: July 16, 10:00 p.m. End: July 17, 6:00 a.m.

ONGOING

IDYLWYLD DR S SB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED FROM 8TH ST W TO 6TH ST W
(Guardrail repair)
Start: July 15, 9:00 a.m. End: July 16, 5:00 p.m.

8TH ST E EB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED FROM CLARENCE AVE S TO MCKINNON AVE S
(Concrete work)
Start: July 14, 9:00 a.m. End: July 16, 4:00 p.m.

UPDATE: 22ND ST E CLOSED BETWEEN 3RD AVE N & 1ST AVE N
(Road resurfacing)
Start: July 14, 9:00 a.m. End: July 16, 6:00 p.m.

IDYLWYLD DR N/HIGHWAY 16 NB & SB LANE RESTRICTIONS FROM 51ST ST E TO MARQUIS DR W
(Hwy 16 flyover repair)
Start: July 13, 9:00 a.m. End: September 11, 5:00 p.m.

NIGHT WORK: ATTRIDGE DR EB & WB MEDIAN (INSIDE) LANES CLOSED BETWEEN CENTRAL AVE & CIRCLE DR
(Road widening)
Night work only. Restrictions set at 6.30 p.m. and lifted at 6.30 a.m. daily.
Start: July 13, 6:30 p.m. End: July 21, 6:30 a.m.

20TH ST W CLOSED FROM AVE G S TO AVE H S INCLUDING AVE H INTERSECTION
(Streetscaping)
Start: July 6, 7:00 a.m. End: July 17, 5:00 p.m.

CENTRAL AVE CLOSED FROM SOMERS RD TO AGRA RD
(Force main installation)
Start: June 12, 9:00 a.m. End: July 17, 5:00 p.m.

HWY 11/16 EB OVERPASS CLOSED AT CLOVERLEAF INTERSECTION
(Overpass repair)
Two EB lanes and one WB lane of traffic will be maintained on the WB overpass.
Start: May 18, 7:00 a.m. End: Tentative - August 7, 5:00 p.m.

UNIVERSITY BRIDGE CLOSED BETWEEN SPADINA CRES & COLLEGE DR
(Bridge Repairs)
Start: May 3, 7:00 a.m. End: August 31, 6:00 p.m.

All restrictions will be lifted as indicated, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Slow down, pay attention and respect work zones. Watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Plan your route around road work by checking our Road Restrictions and Construction Projects interactive map. Find traffic detour information and subscribe to Traffic Detour Service Alerts at saskatoon.ca/service-alerts. You can also follow us on Twitter @YXEServiceAlert and with #betterroadsYXE.

The City of Saskatoon will be conducting sanitary sewer “smoke” testing in the Buena Vista neighbourhood on Thursday, July 16, as part of an investigation into reports of sewer odours in the area.

During the testing the 1100 block of Coy Avenue will be blocked off to traffic as a non-toxic liquid smoke product is vented into the sewer system through a manhole at Coy Avenue and 8^th Street. The smoke, which replicates the properties of invisible sewer gases, will be tracked through the system to identify weak points or small openings where sewage or gas could escape and cause an odour.

While the test is being carried out thick, white smoke will be visible exiting from the vent stacks and rooftop drains on houses, catch basins, yard drains tied to the sanitary sewer system, and from any holes or cracks in the contained area. It is possible for the smoke to enter a home through rarely used drain traps. To prevent this, residents in the testing area have been advised to run water into all drains for one minute the morning of the testing.

The smoke itself is an odourless, oil-based product that appears thick and white when activated. It is completely a non-toxic material that has been safely used for testing and simulations for over 20 years.

Testing will begin late morning Thursday, July 16 and run throughout the afternoon.

City of Saskatoon (City) officials gathered in Civic Square today with representatives from Saskatoon cycling groups to launch the City’s Protected Bike Lane Demonstration Project and to officially open the 23^rd Street Protected Bike Lane.

A Protected Bike Lane is a dedicated, marked lane for use by people riding bikes.  The lane is physically separated from people driving cars by a painted buffer and flexible posts.

The new 23^rd Street Protected Bike Lane runs between Idylwyld Drive and Spadina Crescent East in both directions.  As the lane runs through the downtown transit terminal, people using the lane will continue to walk their bikes through the terminal, as per existing rules.  A second lane will open in the summer of 2016, on 4^th Avenue from 19^th Street East to 24^th Street East and will connect to the Broadway Bridge.

 “Protected Bike Lanes provide another safe option for people to move around our downtown and are part of our continuing efforts to make Saskatoon an attractive, vibrant city, and to improve quality of life,” said Alan Wallace, Director of Planning and Development, for the City.  “We also hope the lanes will bring more people into the downtown area so that local businesses can benefit as well.”

In March 2015, City Council approved a recommendation to proceed with a Protected Bike Lane Demonstration Project downtown.  The goal of the project is to create a vibrant and healthy downtown by improving cycling as a strategy to increase the attractiveness of the downtown for businesses, residents, visitors, employers and their employees.

Saskatoon Cycles was represented at the event by Hilary Gough.  "Cycling infrastructure, such as bike lanes, is a critical component of a bikeable city.  We’re excited to see this important step being taken in our downtown and look forward to further improvements that will help make Saskatoon more accessible, and safe, for everyone."

The project will be evaluated over the next 18 months to determine the impact of the lanes on the downtown area.  A report, and a recommendation on the future of the project, will be prepared for City Council in early 2017.

According to research conducted prior to the start of the demonstration project, 95% of people surveyed on this topic said they believe the lanes will increase the comfort level of people riding bikes; 85% believe they will improve the accessibility of downtown; 84% believe they will make the downtown more attractive; and 60% also said they would ride their bikes more if they felt safer downtown.

Visit www.saskatoon.ca/cycling to watch an instructional video as well as a short video about the project.

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.