News Releases

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:

Targets and Results Achieved in 2013
Housing Type	Target	Results
Purpose Built Rental	200	212
Affordable Ownership	100	106
Affordable Rental	70	74
Secondary Suites	30	36
Entry-Level Ownership	100	2014
	500 units	629 units

The cost and supply of attainable housing in Saskatoon continued to be a challenge for low and moderate income earners throughout 2013.  The average price of a Saskatoon home rose to $344,740, and the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment rose to $1,043.

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. 

For Immediate Release:  April 02, 2014

On Thursday, April 3, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., SaskPower is planning a power outage that will affect many areas of northeast Saskatoon as well as Martensville and Warman.

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.

Starting at 9:30 a.m. on April 2, 2014 there will be various lane restrictions along the Idylwyld Freeway while Saskatoon Light & Power crews work on street light repairs: 

Wednesday, April 2 – southbound curb lane from Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge to the 8th Street off ramp will be closed. 

Thursday, April 3 - southbound curb lane from the 8th Street overpass to the Taylor Street exit ramp will be closed. 

To minimize the impact to traffic the work has been scheduled to take place from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. each day. The work is expected to take two days to complete, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

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.

 

The City of Saskatoon Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) today launched NotifyNOW, a new mass notification system. It means Saskatoon residents can receive information via direct text, voice mail, and e-mail messages in emergency situations that could affect them or their property.

“NotifyNOW will provide the EMO with the capacity to reach tens of thousands of residents within seconds of an emergency occurring in Saskatoon,” says Mayor Donald Atchison. “Public safety and security are a fundamental priority. This move is in line with City Council’s strategic goals of Continuous Improvement and Quality of Life, making Saskatoon a great place to live.”

An emergency could include any situation in which residents would be required to take some form of precautionary action as a result of a major blizzard, tornado warning, plane crash, hazardous goods spill, etc.

A past example of when NotifyNOW could have been helpful is the 2007 blizzard which ground the city to a halt, stranding motorists in their vehicles for several hours.

“With NotifyNOW, we would have been able to contact many people on their cell phones,” says Fire Chief Dan Paulsen. “We could have provided them with important safety messages and assured them that crews were working to locate them.” 

To create its contact database, the EMO purchased the phone numbers listed in the 2013-2014 Saskatoon SaskTel Phonebook. This database will be used only in emergency situations. Residents who do not have a phone number listed in this phonebook, or who wish to customize how they receive messages, can sign up on the EMO’s website.

Throughout the month of April, the EMO will run a promotional campaign to encourage residents to log in to NotifyNOW, check to see if they are already entered into the system, customize their options, or sign up if need be.  In May, the EMO will run a city-wide test during Emergency Preparedness week.  More details regarding the system test will be available soon.

Looking forward, the City plans to build on the benefits the system provides in other ways. By late spring 2014, residents will have the option to receive messages via NotifyNOW regarding service disruptions such as power outages and water main breaks occurring in their area. The notifications will complement the City’s existing communication tools which include the City’s online Service Alerts, News Releases, Public Service Announcements, and social media posts.

For more information, or to sign-up to receive notifications, please click here.