News Releases

Night work on the 50-year-old College Drive pedestrian overpass will start on Monday, September 12. The City has contracted Graham Construction to conduct minor concrete repairs and repair the expansion joints, which will allow for overpass expansion and contraction.

“The repairs are expected to take four to five weeks,” says Rob Frank, Engineering Manager, Asset Preservation. “To accommodate pedestrians going to and from the University of Saskatchewan campus, work will only take place at night, meaning the pedestrian overpass will remain open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., seven days per week.”

The westbound curb lane of College Drive in the vicinity of the pedestrian overpass will remain closed for the duration of construction.

“This lane will remain completely closed to traffic as shoring towers must be placed there to support the overpass while work is being done. Major traffic issues are not expected,” Frank says.  

Concrete and expansion joint repairs on the College Drive pedestrian overpass were identified during annual Bridge Maintenance Program inspections. The University of Saskatchewan has been notified and signage will be placed at the entrances of the overpass directing pedestrians to cross College Drive at the Cumberland Avenue and Campus Drive intersections between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

The City thanks pedestrians and drivers for their patience while this necessary work is carried out. 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.

At its September 7, 2016 meeting, the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee (MHAC) resolved to indicate their support to City Council for the City Administration to begin the process of designating Third Avenue United Church a Municipal Heritage Property.

“The Westside Methodist Congregation began construction of its church in 1911,” says Lesley Anderson, Director of Planning and Development.  “The church represents a legacy of buildings in Saskatoon that reflect the aspirations of the city’s early citizens and it played a central role in Canada’s cultural, social and political life.”

The church played host to an influential gathering in 1923, which laid the foundation for the eventual formation of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool; the University of Saskatchewan, the Normal School and City Hospital held graduation ceremonies there.  In its early years during the 1920’s, CFQC radio broadcast concerts offering the entire community and rural Saskatchewan the opportunity to experience music performances like never before.

“With its many community uses over the years, Third Avenue United Church has remained a landmark in the city and, in many ways, is a symbol of Saskatoon’s development,” Anderson says.

Favourable heritage evaluations were conducted by civic staff in both 2003 and 2013.

The MHAC asked for any heritage designation to include the exterior and interior elements, such as the hammer-beam rafters, Cassavant organ and acoustic functionality of the structure.

“While the property owner isn’t pursuing a designation of the church at this time, the building has and does face changes in ownership,” Anderson says.  “This reality poses a potential risk to its character-defining elements, its future use and viability.”

The Heritage Property Act does not require the property owner’s permission to file either the Notice of Intention to Designate or for City Council to pass the bylaw to designate the property.

The Civic Heritage Policy provides grants for 50% of the restoration costs related to heritage architectural elements to meet building code requirements, up to a maximum of $150,000 over a ten-year period.

With the approval of City Council, the City Solicitor will be asked to bring forward a bylaw to designate the property at 304 3rd Avenue North as a Municipal Heritage Property under the provisions of The Heritage Property Act. 

Improvements to the intersection at 51st Street and Warman Road will be rescheduled for 2017. Over the next several months, the City will work with the contractor to explore every opportunity to reduce the impact to drivers during construction.

“As final construction phasing details came together, we identified opportunities to further improve the traffic flow at peak hours,” says Angela Gardiner, Director of Transportation. “This is one of the city’s busiest intersections and managing traffic flow carefully during construction is critical to maintaining safety and reducing delays.”

The City considers the impact to traffic for every construction project and works with contractors where possible to condense projects with 24-hour or 7-days per week work, or working at night.

The intersection of 51st Street and Warman Road will be impacted by the North Commuter Parkway route scheduled to open in 2018.

Learn more about ongoing construction projects at saskatoon.ca/betterroads.

Police arrested a man on suspicion of impaired driving following a collision with a City crew truck overnight.

“We do work on high traffic roads overnight to minimize the inconvenience to drivers during daytime hours,” says Director of Transportation, Angela Gardiner. “But even with warning lights in use as they were here, this incident further highlights the dangers our workers face every day on the job.” 

City workers were painting crosswalks along College Drive when it happened around 2:30 a.m. Friday near Munroe Avenue.

One worker had just stepped out of the truck to set up the next work zone when he heard a loud vehicle approaching. Luckily, he managed to jump to the side when a large pickup collided with the City half-ton. The crash pushed the City truck ahead another 10 meters.

Additionally, the second City worker in the driver’s seat hit his head on the steering wheel from the impact. Emergency workers treated and released him on scene.

“While the injuries in this case appear to be minor, just a few more seconds later these men would have been behind the truck,” Gardiner says. “It certainly could have had a tragic effect on these men and their families. We are so thankful no further harm came to them.”

The City will pursue opportunities to improve the safety of these work zone set-ups. Drivers are reminded to obey all signs and Respect Work Zones for their safety and the safety of workers.

For more on work zone safety, please visit saskatoon.ca/respectworkzones

Over the coming months pedestrians and drivers will see – and hear – a lot more about pedestrian safety as the City launches its pedestrian safety campaign – “Roads for All.”

“This campaign reminds us we all share our roads, and we all play a part in roadway safety, it’s everyone’s responsibility. If you’re walking, driving or biking, you need to remember the rules of the road – and understand there may be a few rules you don’t know,” says Gardiner.

A key goal of this year’s pedestrian safety campaign is to educate pedestrians and drivers about roadway misconceptions.

One of the most common roadway misconceptions includes the idea that if it’s not marked, it’s not a crosswalk. Crosswalks can be anything from an extension of a sidewalk all the way up to a crossing with fully painted markings on the road and safety lights. Drivers need to remember they must always yield for pedestrians the moment the person steps off the sidewalk.

Other important messages Roads for All highlights for drivers and pedestrians include:

Pedestrians:

• stay on the sidewalk; cross at designated crosswalks;
• “look before you leap” - before crossing the street it is important to look left, then right and then left again;
• put down your phone - just like drivers, pedestrians are often distracted by technology;
• keep children close; always proceed with caution;
• don’t jaywalk - although drivers may have the right of way over jaywalkers, in the event of a collision, no one wins.

Drivers:

• yield to pedestrians at crosswalks;
• pay attention to other drivers;
• leave room for other motorists to see pedestrians;
• take extra care in school zones and playgrounds;
• always obey all pedestrian signs and lights;
• anticipate someone crossing the street and slow down;
• decrease speed by a few kilometres per hour giving more time to stop.

Drivers are reminded that reduced speed limits in elementary and secondary school zones are now in effect. The maximum speed limit in a school zone is 30 kilometres per hour (km/h) between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, until the end of the school year (June 30). No exceptions are made for statutory holidays or school breaks.

“Twelve extra seconds is all the time it takes to drive through the average school zone at the reduced speed of 30 km/h,” says Angela Gardiner, Director of Transportation. “There is a huge amount of activity going on in these schools zones – especially during peak periods. Those extra few seconds gives drivers more time to react and brake in an emergency situation – like when a child jumps out of a car or runs into the street unexpectedly.”

Aside from reduced speed limits in school zones other safety measures include:

• U-turns are prohibited
• parking is allowed only in designated areas
• stopping or parking is never permitted in a school bus loading zone

“The Saskatoon Police Service conducts a number of enforcement projects throughout the school year to increase the level of safety for pedestrians in school zones,” says Dale Solie, Inspector of Specialized Uniform Operations. “In addition to routine enforcement, we support a number of initiatives like Silhouettes for Safety and A Safer You, A Safer Me, which help to bring more awareness to reducing speeds.”

For more information please visit saskatoon.ca/pedestriansafety.