News Releases

The future is bright in Saskatoon! As part of the Student Action for a Sustainable Future (SASF) Student Showcase, held on April 9 at the Western Development Museum, 320 grade 4-8 students from across the city displayed their environmental initiative results from work conducted over the past 6 months. The topics they explored ranged from water and energy conservation; waste reduction; active transportation; local food production; biodiversity protection; and reductions to greenhouse-gas emissions. Some of these innovative projects included:

• Initiatives to decrease the use of single-use plastics, such as garbage-free lunches and finding alternatives to single-serving yogurt containers.
• Waste audits and education to reduce garbage production. In one school, this reduced garbage by 18%.
• An assessment of the food-production potential for aquaponics (plants and fish sharing a common, pumped water supply and exchanging nutrients).
• Reduction of vehicle idling through education and presentations to school board members.
• Saving energy by switching out old light bulbs with energy-efficient LED’s.

“With the support and success of the SASF program, teachers and students are undertaking projects with real results that show what we can do to make our communities more sustainable now and for the future”, said Amber Weckworth, Manager of Education and Environmental Performance.

The SASF program was developed in 2013 as a partnership between the City, Saskatoon Public Schools, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, Saskatchewan Environmental Society, Sustainability Education Research Institute, and community organizations. Since its inception, the program has involved 72 teachers, 49 schools, and approximately 2,000 students.

To learn more about the SASF project, visit: saskatoon.ca/studentaction.

Today, Saskatoon Transit marks a milestone on their journey to provide a fully-accessible public transit system.

Thanks to recent investments, the City’s fleet of various types of buses are now 100% accessible, allowing those with reduced mobility the freedom and independence of using conventional transit.

Starting in 2018 under the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF) program, the Government of Canada and the City of Saskatoon each invested $12 million for a total of $24 million toward the purchase of 41 accessible low-floor conventional buses that can either kneel and/or have a ramp, along with nine specialized buses with wheelchair lifts for Access Transit. Within the same time frame, the Government of Saskatchewan’s Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities (TAPD) program also contributed $220,000 toward four additional specialized buses for Access Transit. A total of 54 new buses have been purchased for the City’s fleet, making it completely accessible.

This milestone allows Saskatoon Transit to connect more people to their destinations than ever by using a “Family of Services” approach. This means, Access Transit customers now have more transportation flexibility and spontaneity using conventional transit. The City encourages Access customers to use Transit’s conventional service for all or part of their trips. Transit Travel Training is available for those who may be new or unsure about taking conventional transit.

“Our investments in public transit are allowing people to spend less time commuting and more precious time with their families,” said the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. “I’m proud to see that Saskatoon has transitioned to a fleet of 100% accessible buses, providing barrier-free transit services to ensure that everyone can get where they need to go safely and comfortably.”

“The Government of Saskatchewan commends the City of Saskatoon for reaching this destination. Our government is proud to have played a supportive role on this journey. That was done by contributing $220,000 in provincial funding between 2018 and 2019 toward four additional specialized buses for Access Transit under our Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities program,” said Government Relations Minister Warren Kaeding. “In our new provincial budget, we also increased capital funding for Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities by $250,000. This is a 45% increase from last years’ budget, bringing the program total for 2019-20 to $3.8 million to support eligible applicants across Saskatchewan.”

“We are continually working to improve our service and are extremely proud of reaching this milestone as we work towards a fully accessible transit service. We want all of our customers to have safe, convenient, and affordable transit options,” said Jim McDonald, Director of Saskatoon Transit.

“The Commission commends the City of Saskatoon on the leadership it has provided in making this initiative possible. We will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure the people of Saskatoon have effective and accessible transit,” said David Arnot, Commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. “Accessible transportation is a building block for a fair, inclusive, and equitable society. By removing barriers to transportation, we enable access to education and employment, as well as, to the services, opportunities, and benefits of living in a thriving multicultural and pluralistic city like Saskatoon.”

Experience Transit, Saskatoon Transit’s travel training program began as a pilot in mid-2017. The program is personalized, 60-minute training to introduce people to transit and teach them how to use conventional transit services independently. Training is customized to fit an individual’s lifestyle, travel needs and abilities. The program includes:

• Trip planning
• Wayfinding and navigation
• Fares
• Boarding and exiting
• Requesting accessible features
• Problem solving tips for when unexpected challenges occur

Over the past several years, Saskatoon Transit has implemented internal and external stop announcements as part of their commitment to providing accessible service. A complete bus stop audit will be conducted this summer to review all locations and their accessibility. 

The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Zoo) is working with the Australian Dingo Foundation and the Oakvale Wildlife Park in Australia to bring two dingo pups to the Zoo this spring.

“We are just making the final arrangements before these pups start their journey to Canada,” says Tim Sinclair-Smith, Zoo Manager. “This is a great opportunity for us to bring some exciting new animals to Saskatoon, allowing visitors of all ages to meet dingoes, most likely for the first time.  It is also a great way to enhance our conservation, research, and education opportunities at the Zoo.”

Known as Australia’s wild dog, dingoes roam great distances and communicate with wolf-like howls.  They can live a solitary life or be part of a pack.  Truly pure dingoes are extremely rare due to interbreeding with domestic and feral dogs that were brought to Australia by European settlers.  The majority of their diet is wallaby and kangaroo, but they will also pursue small game such as rabbits and rodents and eat fruits and plants. Dingoes are naturally lean animals weighing approximately 14 kg and their coats are commonly a golden yellow with white markings on their chest, feet and tail tip.

The dingoes will be taking over the previous wolf enclosure across from the Meerkat House at the Zoo. Renovations for the new Dingo Habitat are expected to start in April with new habitat opening this spring.

The Zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until the end of April, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting in May.  Additional information regarding the Zoo can be found at saskatoon.ca/zoo.

The Senator Sid L. Buckwold Bridge will undergo a major rehabilitation beginning on Monday April 15, 2019. To minimize the impact on traffic and eliminate the need for a full bridge closure, the work will happen in two phases.

“The first phase will begin on the lanes leaving downtown and work will continue throughout the summer of 2019,” says Todd Grabowski, Manager of Asset Preservation for Bridges. “In the spring of 2020, the second phase of work will begin on the lanes heading into downtown and continue through the 2020 construction season.” 

Over the next two years, the Senator Sid Buckwold Rehabilitation project will include:

• Deck repairs and asphalt replacement
• Resurfacing of the Idylwyld Drive ramps over 19^th Street 
• Strengthening of piers
• Barrier replacement
• Walkway widening with taller barriers for improved pedestrian protection
• New drainage system to help better traction by reducing puddles and splashing

The City’s preservation plan, with the results of the Deck Testing Program, identified the need to rehabilitate the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge to ensure it remains safe, serviceable and structurally sound for years to come.

“Allowing deficiencies to worsen over time would accelerate the need for a more extensive rehab or even full replacement, which is far more expensive, time consuming and disruptive,” Grabowski says.

Two-way traffic will be maintained during both phases of the project however there will be lane restrictions and as a result, traffic delays are expected.

This summer, the lanes leaving downtown will be closed and that traffic will be diverted to the other side. The walkway will stay open. During the 2020 construction season, the lanes heading into downtown will be closed, traffic will flip to the other side and the bridge walkway will be closed.  The Meewasin Trails on either side will stay open throughout the project with the possibility of temporary disruptions on the Rotary Park side during some phases to allow for repairs.

Necessary adjustments will be made to traffic signal timing, construction signage will be in place and restrictions will be advertised. The latest project information will be posted at Saskatoon.ca/sidbuckwold and restrictions will be listed in the Daily Road Report.

*For further clarification, two sentences have been added highlighted in italics below.

City Council, at its regular business meeting held on March 25, 2019 voted to pursue a moderate phase-in option as presented by the Administration regarding the implementation of the curbside organics program and funding for existing waste services.  

Option 2: Moderate Phase-In was presented as follows: 

• 2020 - 1.0% Property Tax Increase - No change to current waste services.
• 2021 - 1.0% Property Tax Increase - No change to current waste services.
• 2022 - 1.0% Property Tax Increase - No change to current waste services.
• 2023 - 0.93% Property Tax Increase - First year of curbside organics program. New waste service level (bi-weekly collection in summer).

This option attempts to balance financial investment with a view towards achieving the City’s waste diversion target. The first 1.53% (approximately $3M) of the 2020 and 2021 Property Tax impact is solely dedicated to addressing the funding deficit in the Waste Program while the remaining estimated 2.4% will go towards a new curbside organics program. The City will continue to seek alternative funding sources on an annual basis to reduce this impact. Precise timing for the deployment of the curbside organics program in 2023 would be determined by the terms of the successful proposal from the organics RFP process. 

“We will now focus on developing the implementation plan for the curbside organics program,” says Dan Willems, Acting Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer. “We look forward to providing this new service to residents in 2023 and making strides towards our waste diversion target.” 

The detailed report and all of its attachments can be found here.