News Releases

The final regulatory permits necessary to begin in-river construction of the North Commuter Parkway Bridge have now been received, and that work will begin today.

"This is really what we’ve been waiting for," says Dan Willems, Director of Major Projects. "Our contractor can now get into the river and start the foundation work for this vital piece of City infrastructure."

Graham Commuter Partners will work with the City over the next three years to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the North Commuter Parkway.

Regulatory permits were required from a number of organizations and agencies prior to the start of in-river construction for the Parkway bridge including: Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Transport Canada, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, Saskatchewan Water Security Agency, and Meewasin Valley Authority.

The new Traffic Bridge is also part of Bridging to Tomorrow, and work on that project continues. A complete project update will be issued in the near future.

For more information about the Bridging to Tomorrow Project, including the new Traffic Bridge and the North Commuter Parkway, visit saskatoon.ca/bridging.

Note: At this time, the best view of the North Commuter Parkway project can be found via time lapse camera footage posted on grahamcommuterpartners.ca. A live webcam for this project is coming soon.

The City of Saskatoon and communities across Canada are celebrating Water Week, March 21-27, 2016; it’s a time to recognize the critical role water plays in our daily lives and how it contributes to the overall quality of life we enjoy in Saskatoon.

“This year we want to remind residents to be water wise and reduce their impact on the environment,” says Tim Bushman, Plant Manager at Saskatoon Water. “Our awareness campaign will encourage people to get involved and share what they learn with friends and family.”

Starting Monday, residents can submit their answer to the Water Week Question of the Day on the City’s Facebook page. Participants have a chance to win a $25 gift card for any City leisure activity. Questions will provide an opportunity for residents to learn more about:

• processes we use to provide a clean and safe water supply,
• environmental protection through management of the wastewater & storm water collection systems,
• tips for properly disposing of waste which may cause system blockages.

The City maintains 1,074 kilometres of sanitary sewer pipes which collect and transport all of the waste water from your sink and tub drains, toilets and floor drains. When animal and vegetable fats, as well as oil used in cooking and preparing foods go down the drain, they can build-up along the walls of the pipes, creating obstructions that can cause sewer backups.

The issue compounds when obstructions such as grease build-up or tree roots exist, and other inorganic materials, such as cleaning wipes and sanitary products are flushed. Not only does it prevent proper flow in the sanitary sewer system, it can result in a messy and costly basement backup.

“When fats, oil, grease, and cleaning/sanitary products go down the drain, they clog pipes, create odours and can cause sewer backups,” says Bushman. “On average the City responds to approximately 100 sewer main blockages per year due to grease and over 3,500 home blockages which are due to roots, grease and wipes flushed down the line. Approximately 20% of that total is due to grease/personal hygiene and cleaning products.”

Residents can avoid blockages and sewage backups through proper disposal techniques:

• Wipe cooking oil, butter, sauces and salad dressing off cooking equipment with paper towels before washing;
• Scrape and toss any leftover solid food into a garbage container before washing the dishes or placing them in the dishwasher;
• Never put eggshells, coffee grounds, or kitty litter down the drain or toilet;
• Collect excess fats and oils in a sealed container and place in your Black Cart;
• Cleaning wipes/personal hygiene products should not be flushed down the toilet, but thrown out with your regular garbage (even ones advertised as flushable wipes); and
• Use recycling centres to dispose of motor oil and other hazardous materials.

Find more ways to Put Waste in the Right Place at saskatoon.ca/recycle

The storm water sewer runs alongside the sanitary sewer, collecting rain and snow melt water that drain into the catch basins on the street to prevent flooding. These pipes lead directly to the South Saskatchewan River. It is important that other chemicals and waste do not enter our storm water sewer system, as it can harm fish and wildlife, as well as reduce water quality for human use. The City is partnering with Meewasin this spring to educate students about the storm water system and will be sponsoring a community-based awareness program called Yellow Fish Road. Groups are encouraged to sign up for kits to paint yellow fish beside catch basins and distribute information to their neighbours.

“A clean and safe water supply and environmental protection are top priorities for the City of Saskatoon, as we know they are too for our citizens,” says Bushman. “Our staff works hard and takes pride in these services and are committed to ensuring all precautions are taken to keep our citizens safe when work or construction is occurring on the water, wastewater and storm sewer systems.”

Like Saskatoon City News on Facebook for our daily contest where there are lots of cool prizes! Check out saskatoon.ca/waterweek for tips and information and take a video tour of the City’s Waste Water Treatment Plant and Water Treatment Plant.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit saskatoon.ca or connect with the City on Twitter and Facebook.

Following the February 10, 2014 direction of Saskatoon City Council, the City Solicitor has drafted an anti-bullying bylaw.  A report will be presented at Council’s regular business meeting Monday, March 21.

“The intent of the Bylaw is to recognize the role of all levels of government and community agencies in combatting bullying and in creating a positive environment,” says City Solicitor Patricia Warwick.  “To that end, one of the Bylaw’s purposes is to complement the education, prevention and awareness initiatives administered through the school system.”

The City consulted interested stakeholders in advance of submitting the Bylaw for consideration. 

The main elements of the Bylaw include:

*A definition of bullying which means: any unprovoked, repeated and inappropriate comment or conduct by a person which causes, which is intended to cause or which the person ought reasonably to know will cause harm, fear or physical or psychological distress to another person, including:
 -taunting, tormenting, name calling, ridiculing, insulting, mocking and directing slurs towards another person;
 -kicking, pushing, hair pulling or pinching another person; and
 -shunning, ostracizing, excluding another person and gossiping or rumour mongering about another person;

*Prohibitions against bullying in a public place and aiding, abetting or encouraging the bullying of another person;

*Recognition of the Chief of Police as the authority responsible for enforcement;

*The requirement that a parent or guardian appear in court with a young person (defined as between the ages of 12 and 18 years) charged under the Bylaw;

*The ability to participate in mediation to deal with charges as an alternative to the court process; and

*A definition of “public place” that includes any place to which the public has access as of right or by express or implied invitation. One draft includes schools and school sites in its definition. The other specifically excludes these places except outside of school hours.

If approved, the proposed effective date of the Bylaw is September 1, 2016, which will permit implementation of an awareness campaign and provide time for an appropriate mediation program to be developed to handle the diversion of matters from the court process.

The Circle Drive cloverleaf overpass will need weeks of repairs following a collision yesterday morning.

“A preliminary analysis estimates damage to the overpass at $ 0.5 million to $1.0 million.” says Rob Frank, Engineering Manager for Asset Preservation.

Just before 10 a.m., Wednesday, March 16, a semi-truck hauling a cultivator collided with the Circle Drive/Highway 11 & 16 cloverleaf in the city’s south end.  The farm equipment struck several girder lines underneath both sets of the Circle Drive/Highway 16 lanes overhead.

Portions of the overpass were refurbished this past summer.  Damage to the structure means repairs will be necessary in the late spring and summer months. While lane closures and traffic restrictions will be necessary at that time, all the cloverleaf traffic lanes are currently open. Engineers have inspected the structure and are confident it is safe to drive overtop and underneath.  

 “While an incident like this is covered by insurance without a cost hit on taxpayers, there is a social cost in terms of traffic restrictions that will have to happen,” Frank says.

The impact exposed rebar and loosened concrete over a northbound lane of highway 11/Circle Drive; the outside or curb lane had to be closed until work crews knocked-down loose concrete and cleaned up the debris.

The repair work is expected to be tendered in the coming weeks.

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.

With the forecasted warm weather the City of Saskatoon is wrapping up its Priority Street Snow Removal Program and transitioning into surface drainage management and pothole repairs. The extended forecast is for very warm temperatures, which will dry up the potholes enough for a cold mix asphalt repair. The City has additional road crews assigned to address these locations as quickly as possible.

“Currently we have three City boiler trucks that are actively defrosting catch basins to improve drainage,” says Trent Schmidt, Acting Director of Public Works. “Since Wednesday, additional staff and equipment have been assigned to both day and night shifts to address and repair high-priority potholes, with up to 8 cold mix 1-ton trucks assigned to each shift. Pothole crews will continue repairing potholes day and night with gravel and cold mix asphalt until the frost is out of the ground in early May.”

City crews have been repairing potholes in the driving lane of Priority 1 & 2 streets since the snow started melting with a temporary cold mix asphalt to help prevent damage to vehicles and for safety. The cold mix is a semi-permanent patching material that can be used in temperatures above -10 degrees (with wind chill) even where moisture exists. So far this winter, 60 tonnes of cold-mix asphalt have been used to repair potholes (roughly the equivalent of 3450 potholes). Road crews are also maintaining approximately 567 utility cuts.

“As the warmer temperatures we’ve been experiencing are expected to continue, we’re reminding drivers to slow down when driving through puddles on the road” says Schmidt. “During spring melt, pools of water can cover deep potholes and drivers travelling at higher speeds could be caught by surprise, resulting in loss of vehicle control or vehicle damage.”

The Spring Pothole Blitz will begin over the next few weeks. Potholes will be prioritized and repaired on high-traffic, collector and arterial streets. Potholes on residential and other streets will be prioritized and repaired in coordination with the Neighbourhood Street Sweeping schedule, which begins May 1. Hot mix asphalt will be available at that point for permanent repair of potholes, and warning barricades may be installed until either temporary or permanent repairs can be made.

The Spring Sweeping Blitz is designed to collect the bulk of the debris left behind over the winter and benefits the Accelerated City Wide Neighbourhood Sweeping program by making it more efficient and cost effective. The Blitz will also remove sand and debris from medians where snow was stored. The Sweeping Blitz is scheduled to start on April 11 and will be focused along many of the same high-traffic streets as the Spring Pothole Blitz. There will be no parking enforcement applied during the Blitz programs as sweepers will go around parked vehicles.

The online Report a Pothole map is currently going through maintenance and upgrades and will be available April 1. So far this winter, residents have reported 185 potholes to the Customer Service Centre; 119 of these have been repaired. Residents are encouraged to report hazardous potholes on busy streets, blocked catch basins or other emergency road conditions to our 24-hour Customer Service Centre at 306-975-2476.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.