News Releases

From the August 15, 2016 Meeting

7.1.3 2015 Annual Report – Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP)

Decision

*The Committee received the report as information.

Background

*SHIP was created in 1999, and strives to bring the necessary expertise, experience, and assistance to housing providers in order to help build the capacity to develop new affordable housing projects in Saskatoon.
*When SHIP was established, the City, as well as non-profit housing providers, agreed there was a gap in services and capacity that limited the development of affordable housing. SHIP’s role was to fill that gap by providing community-based services to help affordable housing providers develop business plans for affordable housing projects.
*SHIP’s 2015 Annual Report provides details of their activities in 2015, which should result in 114 new affordable rental units in Saskatoon.

7.1.4 2015 Annual Report – Regional Planning Section

Decision

*The Committee received the report as information.

Background

*The Regional Planning Section was established in 2014 to provide dedicated resources to the development and implementation of a new Regional Plan. The primary role is to form and maintain working partnerships with other jurisdictions and agencies within the Saskatoon region to create a framework for increasing sustainable growth on a regional scale.  
*A summary of the noted 2015 Highlights includes a number of major initiatives undertaken by the Section.
*The Section has identified a number of key initiatives to pursue in 2016 to enhance regional partnerships and support planning on a regional scale.

7.2.1 Building Better Parks: An Asset Management Plan for Parks

Decision

*The Committee received the report as information and supported a recommendation for Administration to provide a report for the 2017 Business Plan and Budget deliberations on options to address the funding gap.

Background

*The report provides information on assets primarily belonging to the Parks and Facilities Divisions, such as pathway, irrigation, and play structure inventory.
*The average age of both asphalt pathways and irrigation systems within City parks is 18 years and based on age of the asset, 57% of these assets are in poor to very poor condition.
*The average age of play structures is 13 years and based on age of the asset, 44% of the play structures are in poor to very poor condition.
*A potential plan to increase annual funding to these park assets is outlined in the report.

7.2.2 Kinsmen Play Village Play Structure

Decision

*The Committee is reporting to City Council on August 18 to recommend:
1. Administration start on the design and purchase of accessible playground equipment for Caswell Hill with installation to be completed no later than June 2017 – to be funded from the Reserve for Capital Expenditures to a maximum of $253,000 and to include the remedial work at Kinsmen Play Village.
2. Reopen the gates to Kinsmen Play Village following appropriate safety checks.
3. Amend the Kinsmen Park Master Plan to retain certain elements of the Kinsmen Play Village, such as the play structure. 

Background

*The report provides background relating to the consultations involved in the development of the Kinsmen Park Master Plan and the subsequent decision to remove all amenities within the Kinsmen Play Village at Kinsmen Park. This report also provides information on the Kinsmen Park Master Plan and financial implications of retaining the play equipment within the Kinsmen Play Village at Kinsmen Park.

Halfway through its most ambitious construction season, the City of Saskatoon has renewed 91 of 233 planned lane kilometres. Last year the City completed road rehabilitation on 220 lane kilometres.

“It’s been a very busy construction season, with some interesting and complex projects on the agenda, including the Idylwyld Drive Overpass and the Broadway Improvement Project,” says Celene Anger, Director of Construction & Design. “This is the largest Building Better Roads season we’ve had with City Council investing $59 million for road and sidewalk renewal. We’re well on the way to delivering our commitment of better roads for Saskatoon residents.”

This year, fast moving microsurfacing work is scheduled for the second-half of the season, which is why the completion rate to this point is at 40 per cent. This will increase dramatically through the remainder of August and into the fall as these projects shift into high gear.

“Microsurfacing is in full swing right now and helps us to repair roads in a way that has a minimum impact on the community while extending the life of the roadway in an economical way,” says Anger. “We’re scheduled to complete 87 lane kilometres of microsurfacing which is a 24 per cent increase over last year.”   

Around the city, work has and continues to progress well on high traffic and residential streets:  night work allows large projects to be completed with minimal disrupters to commuters.

So far this year, work has been completed on several larger projects:

• College Drive from Preston Avenue to Central Avenue
• Circle Drive West (eastbound lanes) from 33rd Street to Avenue C
• Claypool Drive from Airport Drive to Hampton Gate North
• Broadway Avenue from 8th Street to Saskatchewan Crescent East.

In addition to this road work:

• More than 139,000 average potholes have been repaired. That’s more than 2,400 tonnes of asphalt – or 5,291,094 pounds which is the equivalent of about 240 tandem truck loads of asphalt.  
• 365 kilometres of white lines and 235 kilometres of yellow lines have been painted around the city. Combined, that’s about the same distance as from Saskatoon to Calgary.
• 8,780 metres of sanitary sewer mains have been rehabilitated which is roughly the length 64 CFL football fields from end zone to end zone.
• 3,777 panels of sidewalk have been replaced. That’s equivalent to 5.67 kilometres which is like walking the Meewasin Trail from the Circle Drive South overpass to the University Bridge.

Major construction projects, such as repairs to the Idylwyld over Ruth overpass has completed ahead of schedule and the roadway construction around Attridge Drive and Central Avenue continues and is expected to be complete on budget and schedule.

Great effort has been made throughout the summer to minimize impact on residents, while maximizing work efficiencies.

“We’ve made very good progress on our projects and thank the residents of Saskatoon for their patience in following traffic detours, respecting work zones and our workers,” says Anger.

As always, residents are reminded to slow down, pay attention and obey signage around work zones at all times. For more information, please visit saskatoon.ca/betterroads. 

At the request of the Howe family, cremated remains of Gordie and Colleen Howe will be interred in the base of the statue honoring “Mr. Hockey” at SaskTel Centre. 

To make the interment possible, the City must apply to the provincial government and ask the statue and a small portion of adjacent area be declared a cemetery.

“When Gordie and Colleen Howe’s family approached us with this idea, we thought it was a fitting tribute to someone who had always remembered his roots,” says Catherine Gryba, General Manager of Corporate Performance.  “It’s only appropriate that we do what we can to remember this great athlete, Saskatonian and Canadian.”

Renowned hockey legend Gordie Howe died June 10, 2016.  While born in Floral, Mr. Howe grew up and spent 16 years in Saskatoon before embarking on a record-setting hockey career in the United States.  Numerous facilities in Saskatoon have been named in Mr. Howe’s honour, which reflect his Saskatoon origins.

“We’ve been speaking with the Howe family and will take the appropriate steps to safeguard and respect Gordie and Colleen’s ashes,” Gryba says.  “They will be encased in a special concrete vessel with a commemorative plaque on top to protect them.”

The Administration will ask City Council for a resolution at its regular business meeting Thursday afternoon, August 18.

The Saskatoon Blades and SaskTel Centre are planning other activities for September 25 to honour Gordie Howe and coincide with the statue commemoration.

SaskTel Centre will cover the costs of the project up to a maximum of $6000, and the Saskatoon Blades will cover any costs over and above that amount.

If the ashes are ever moved, the City must also ask the Province to rescind the cemetery designation at the statue location.

Work zone violations and abusive language continue to be a daily reality for many City employees and contractors working on roadways and in other areas around Saskatoon.

“Our workers are reporting regularly on two dangerous and continuing trends,” says Angela Gardiner, Director of Transportation. “They often encounter drivers in a hurry who move work zone signs to take a short cut, and in some instances when the worker asks them to follow the detour in place, they are met with anger and abusive language.”

A work zone can be any location with posted signs and barriers to protect the workers and the public during a project or regular work. This includes road projects but also at other places where staff are working, such as the landfill, parks and in back lanes.

Regardless of where a work zone is, the rules remain the same – respect the work zone for your own safety and the safety of the workers. 

“Our employees face many hazards; drivers, cyclists and pedestrians entering work zones should not be one of those,” says Gardiner. “Workers need to be able to focus on their job and not be watching for traffic, guiding traffic, continually replacing signs to their appropriate locations or being bombarded with verbal abuse. We need everyone to respect the work zone and the workers at all times whether they are in a vehicle, on a bike or walking.”

Remember, a work zone can be anywhere workers are present or work is on-going. The City reminds people signs are not to be moved at any time and work zones are in effect 24 hours a day until signs are removed by City workers and a project area is deemed to be completely safe for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Respect the work zone – and the worker – wherever they are.

For more, please visit saskatoon.ca/respectworkzones.

The results are in on the 2016 Civic Services Survey and public engagement activities, which will help shape the City’s 2017 Business Plan and Budget. This year’s Civic Services Survey shows overall satisfaction with the level of services provided by the City remains high and is significantly higher than in 2013. Since 2013, overall satisfaction increased by 5% for telephone respondents and 10% for online respondents.

“I am very pleased to see this result,” says Catherine Gryba, General Manager of Corporate Performance. “In 2015, we established a performance target of overall satisfaction with civic services of 90% or more. Looking at 2016 survey results, it shows we are definitely moving in the right direction toward hitting that target.”

The majority of Civic Services Survey respondents continue to rate Saskatoon’s quality of life as high, and they feel the City is on the right track to becoming a better city 10 years from now. Each year, citizens are also asked to the name the most important issue facing the City. 

“In 2013, citizens were very concerned with the condition of roads and sidewalks,” says Gryba. “As a result of that feedback, we launched the most aggressive road improvement program in the community’s history, Building Better Roads, in 2014. That investment is definitely making a difference, and although roads continue to be cited as the most important issue, there are significantly fewer respondents saying this is an issue as compared to 2013.” 

Similar to 2015, citizens also prefer to pay for services and balance the operating budget using a combination of user fees and property tax increases. Annual survey results have always been considered in the development of the City’s business plans and budgets, but Gryba says additional engagement initiatives are also proving to be quite valuable, including an online budget tool called "Citizen Budget", and in-person surveys conducted at various locations throughout the City.

“Participation in the Citizen Budget was very strong this year with over 2,600 unique visitors and a total of 803 online submissions, which is an increase of 60% for online budget submissions and matches the number of participants in the 2016 Civic Services Survey online study.” 

Although participation for the in-person survey varies and cannot be considered statistically reliable, the responses still provide important input into the process. When the results of all engagement initiatives are combined, citizens generally support increases in service levels or an increase in spending on road maintenance. Besides road maintenance, there is also support for increases for affordable housing, transit, snow and ice management, and traffic management. 

“It’s interesting to see the needs and wants of citizens of varying demographics coming in as fairly consistent through each method of engagement,” says Gryba.

The 2016 Civic Services Survey and Citizen Budget engagement strategies support the Strategic Goal of Continuous Improvement and being the best-managed city in Canada. All results are available at saskatoon.ca/financialfuture and in the coming weeks the comments provided by on the Citizen Budget site will also be posted.