News Releases

Sharpen your skates, the civic indoor arenas are open for the season!  The weekly Public Skating and Parent and Tot Skating sessions are as follows and will be in effect until Sunday, December 21, 2014:

ACT Arena:  107 105th Street East
Public Skating – now open

• Tuesday:  7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Sunday:  2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Parent and Tot Skating - Began Sunday, September 7, 2014

• Monday and Thursday:  2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Archibald Arena:  1410 Windsor Street
Public Skating – Begins Sunday, October 5, 2014

• Sunday:  12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Parent and Tot Skating – Begins Wednesday, November 5, 2014

• Wednesday:  2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Cosmo Arena:  3130 Laurier Drive
Public Skating – Begins Sunday, October 5, 2014

• Wednesday and Thursday:  12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Friday:  12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Sunday:  12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Parent and Tot Skating – Begins Monday, October 6, 2014

• Monday and Friday:  2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Lions Arena:  2205 McEown Avenue
Public Skating – Begins Sunday, October 5, 2014

• Sunday:  2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

Parent and Tot Skating – Begins Tuesday, November 4, 2014

• Tuesday and Friday:  2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Admission rates are as follows:

• Adult (19 and over) - $4.50;
• Youth (6 to 18) - $2.70;
• Preschool (5 and under) - Free; and
• Family - $9.00 

Children, 6 years and younger, must be accompanied by an adult, minimum of 16 years of age.  A maximum of two preschoolers per adult is allowed.  Parent and Tot Skating is free of charge.
 
Visit www.saskatoon.ca/go/rinks for a full calendar of public skate times and rink rental rates information.
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.

The following is a statement from Marno McInnes, Director of Human Resources:

October 2, 2014

The City is disappointed that the Transit union today walked away from contract talks without any firm indication of when they would resume.

Every day without a contract means our customers are left stranded another day without a service they depend upon.

The Transit union continues to change its position on the pension issue.  On several occasions, as early as December 16, 2013, the union has signalled that it is not opposed to the pension changes.

The Union has been willing to trade changes to the pension plan for money.  Today, the City heard the union say if the City is not willing to talk about pensions, there is nothing to talk about.

As always, the City is willing to bargain but it expects the union to come to the table with the intention of achieving a new contract.

Marno McInnes
Director of Human Resources

NEW

CIRCLE DR NB RAMP TO COLLEGE DR EB RAMP CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED
(Guardrail repairs)
Start: October 3, 7:30 a.m. End: October 3, 9:30 a.m.
CIRCLE DR S SB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED BETWEEN 11TH ST W & VALLEY RD
(Manhole Repairs)
Start: October 3, 8:00 a.m. End: October 3, 6:00 p.m.

8TH ST EB & WB TURN LANES TO CIRCLE DR CLOSED UNDER CIRCLE DRIVE OVERPASS
(Guardrail repairs)
Start: October 3, 9:30 a.m. End: October 3, 11:30 a.m.

TAYLOR ST E EB CLOSED FROM HEROLD RD TO SLIMMON RD
(Transformer Installation)
Start: October 3, 9:30 a.m. End: October 3, 12:30 p.m.
CIRCLE DR SB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED BETWEEN PRESTON AVE & 108TH ST
(Road Paving)
108th St off-ramp closed
Start: October 3, 10:30 a.m. End: October 3, 3:00 p.m.

CIRCLE DR WB MEDIAN (INSIDE) LANE CLOSED AT CLARENCE AVE
(Guardrail repair)
Start: October 3, 11:30 a.m. End: October 3, 1:00 p.m.

IDYLWYLD DR SB MEDIAN (INDSIDE) LANE CLOSED APPROACHING HWY 16 OVERPASS
(Guardrail repairs)
Start: October 3, 1:00 p.m. End: October 3, 3:30 p.m.
ONGOING
UPDATE: SPADINA CRES E SB CLOSED FROM QUEEN ST TO 24TH ST E
(Roadwork)
Start: October 1, 9:00 a.m. End: October 3, 6:00 p.m.

11TH ST W CLOSED FROM HIGHWAY 7 TO CHAPPELL DR
(Patch paving)
Sections of the road will be closed for patch paving. Access to businesses & compost depot will be maintained via 22nd St W
Start: September 23, 9:00 a.m. End: October 14, 6:00 p.m.

CENTRAL AVE NB CLOSED FROM 110TH ST W TO GRAY AVE
(Phase 3: Streetscaping)
NB traffic accommodated in SB lanes. SB traffic detoured via Egbert Ave & Bryans Ave  
Start: September 23, 7:00 a.m. End: October 8, 6:00 p.m.
TAYLOR ST E CLOSED FROM MUNROE AVE S TO MCKINNON AVE S
(Water Main Lining)
Start: September 8, 8:00 a.m. End: October 8, 7:00 p.m.

33RD ST W EB LANES CLOSED FROM AVE Y N TO AVE W N
(Water main lining)
Two-way traffic set in WB lanes of 33rd St
Start: August 22, 9:00 a.m. End: October 4, 6:00 p.m.

AIRPORT DR NB LANES CLOSED FROM GATEWAY BLVD TO THE AIRPORT
(Roadway improvements)
Two-way traffic accommodated in SB lanes. 45th St W closed from Airport Dr to Koyl Ave
Start: August 20, 1:00 p.m. End: October 29, 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 on our saskatoon.ca homepage or subscribe to our Traffic Detour Service Alerts. You can also follow us on Twitter @YXEServiceAlert and with #betterroadsYXE and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

Have you ever wondered how difficult it is to use a fire hose; what it feels like to be on an aerial ladder or how quickly a fire grows? Come to the Saskatoon Fire Department’s annual Open House on Sunday, October 5^th for free hot dogs and/or chili and find out.

October 5, 2014
Open House – Fire Station No. 1
125 Idylwyld Drive South
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Besides the chance to use a fire hose, ride an aerial ladder and watch some live burns there will also be sprinkler demonstrations, fire alarm panel demonstrations, a Bullex (an electronic screen designed to help people learn to use a fire extinguisher without fire) and free hot dogs and/or chili for the first 500 people.

 Come early and stay for the afternoon.

We’re pleased we now have a detailed plan to offer valid Transit pass customers a full month extension or refund for the month of September.

“Right from the start of the lockout we have been talking about offering compensation for our customers whose daily routines have been greatly disrupted without Transit service,” says Catherine Gryba, General Manager of Corporate Performance.

There are approximately 8,600 active one-month or longer-duration pass holders, 17,500 UPass holders and 1,000 EcoPass holders who were not able to fully utilize their pass for the month of September.

The refunds will be offered to Transit customers who hold a valid pass; they would receive a full one-month extension or a refund on a cash-card or cheque.

“We thought it made sense to offer pass extensions as a convenient option for transit customers,” Gryba says.  “This would minimize the need for an additional trip to a refund centre and waiting in a customer service line.”

Refunds or a credit on a utility bill account would also be offered through a mail-in option that would reimburse customers for postage fees.

Customers would be able to pick up their refunds at a variety of locations, including City Hall, the Downtown Transit Customer Service Centre, one of six Leisure Centres, and at a mobile transit refund location.  These options ensure the broadest access for as many customers as possible.

A key component to this plan is a comprehensive communications strategy. In fact, the annual Civic Services Survey consistently shows that citizens prefer using a wide range of traditional communication methods to receive civic information (see Attachment – 2014 Civic Services Survey – Preferred Information Sources). This includes the news media, radio and print advertising. 

“Given our broad and diverse population, it would not be reasonable for the City to rely on journalists alone to deliver City messages to the community,” Gryba says.

There will also be further communication costs incurred to inform transit pass holders on how they can receive their extension or reimbursement.  These costs are anticipated to be approximately $20,000.  A variety of communication tools will be used including paid radio and print advertising, posters, website updates, and social media.

The latest projected costs are part of the ongoing communication plan which began in mid-September.

The estimated costs were for keeping customers well informed about the service disruption and why the City made a difficult decision to proceed with a notice of lockout that would affect so many people.

Crucial information on wages and pensions was, and continues to be, a very complicated issue for transit Customers, citizens, taxpayers and all City employees. 

“In order to give customers, citizens and taxpayers clear, concise and broadly communicated information, we achieve this by purchasing paid advertising spots on radio and in the daily print newspaper,” Gryba says.

The estimated costs below include design and production, placement fees for radio and StarPhoenix print advertising and flyers/posters:

Paid advertising - Transit Customers:        $ 39,000

Paid advertising – Broad Community:        $ 62,000 

Total                               $101,000

Ongoing communication costs will continue to be monitored throughout the course of the current service disruption and when transit is back to normal operations.

The cost per person based on a rough Saskatoon population of 250,000 people is 41 cents.

Additionally customer service continues to be an important communications element.  As a result, a third party call centre was contracted to provide this service during the lockout.  The estimated costs between September 21 and September 30 are approximately $11,000.

“We anticipate increased call volumes around the refund plan.  So we will continue to use the third party call centre to assist our customers,” Gryba says.  “Balancing costs are always top of mind and they will monitored carefully throughout the course of the current service disruption,” Gryba says.