News Releases

Two reports, which outline the work-to-date on the Growth Plan to Half a Million (Growth Plan), will be presented to City Council’s Standing Policy Committee on Planning, Development and Community Services on July 20, 2015.

“The importance of growth planning is underscored even more, as the annual mid-year population estimate now calculates Saskatoon’s population at 260,900 people,” Director of Planning and Development, Alan Wallace, says.

“Even if the city doesn’t grow at the high rates we’ve experienced lately, we’re projecting average population increases between 2% and 2.5% over the long term.  That is like adding a city the size of Humboldt or Melfort to our city each year,” Wallace explains.  “The work we’re doing now will ensure we are ready for that and future growth.”

The first report is the Growth Plan Summary Report #2:  Long-Term Possibilities, which provides a detailed assessment of the preliminary long-term recommendations for:

• A new transit system with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT);
• Redevelopment along major corridors like 22^nd Street, Idylwyld Drive, 8^th Street, College Drive, and Preston Avenue; and
• A new core area river crossing at 33^rd Street, combined with bus lanes on the University Bridge.

The second report is the Growth Plan Engagement Summary Report #4, which shares what was heard during the third round of public engagement from February to June 2015.

“This input is being used to finalize the long-term recommendations and set the direction for our priorities on implementing the Growth Plan’s core initiatives of Corridor Growth, Transit, and Core Bridges,” Wallace says.

The resulting draft Growth Plan will be presented for confirmation during the final round of public engagement in the fall of 2015.

Once complete, the Growth Plan will help to guide future infrastructure investments so residents will have more choices for how they live and move around the city as Saskatoon grows to half a million people over the next 30 years.

For more information on the Growth Plan, or to sign up for project update notifications, visit www.growingfwd.ca.

 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.

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.

NEW

1ST AVE N CLOSED FROM 22ND ST E TO 23RD ST E
(Crane lift)
Start: July 17, 6:00 a.m. End: July 18, 7:00 p.m.

3RD AVE N NB CLOSED FROM 25TH ST E TO 26TH ST E
(Curb box repair)
Start: July 17, 7:00 a.m. End: July 17, 5:00 p.m.

8TH ST E WB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED FROM ACADIA DR TO CIRCLE DR E
(Curb installation)
Start: July 17, 9:00 a.m. End: July 17, 5:00 p.m.

ATTRIDGE DR WB CURB (OUTSIDE) LANE CLOSED APPROACHING CENTRAL AVE
(Curb installation)
Start: July 17, 10:30 a.m. End: July 17, 11:30 p.m.

NIGHT WORK: 33RD ST E EB & WB MEDIAN (INSIDE) LANES CLOSED FROM QUEBEC AVE TO ONTARIO AVE
(Sanitary sewer line inspections)
Start: July 17, 10:00 p.m. End: July 18, 6:00 a.m.

ONGOING

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.

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.