News Releases

With equipment moved on site, all regulatory permits in place, and the Meewasin Trail detours finalized, construction on the new Traffic Bridge is officially underway. Trail detours and construction fencing will be installed over the next couple of days and in-river construction will start next week.

Graham Commuter Partners (GCP) will work with the City over the next three years to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the new Traffic Bridge.

Starting tomorrow (Dec. 12), areas of the Meewasin Valley Trail will be restricted. Phase I of the restrictions will be in place until Spring 2016, and include the closure of the Trail between Broadway Avenue and the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge on the south side of the South Saskatchewan River. Trail users will be detoured onto Saskatchewan Crescent East at each end of this section of the Trail via pedestrian crosswalks.

“Signage will be in place to ensure Trail users understand where the Trail is closed, the new temporary route, and where pedestrian crosswalks are located along Saskatchewan Crescent East,” says Dan Willems, Special Projects Manager with Major Projects.  “In addition to the detour signage, construction fencing will be going up around the perimeter of the construction site, and we remind residents to comply with posted signage. We want to ensure people are safe when moving around the live construction site.”

Next week, work on the construction berm in the river is expected to begin. “GCP will be constructing an earthen berm that extends from the south bank of the river to the existing pier in the centre of the river,” says Willems. “The berm will allow vehicles and equipment to access the river to work on the new bridge.”

Once the berm is constructed, the first phase of bridge demolition will occur. Information regarding the demolition will be shared in the coming weeks.

GCP is also in the process of applying for final permits to begin work on the North Commuter Parkway, the second component of the Bridging to Tomorrow project. It is expected construction of this bridge will start in early 2016. The City and GCP will be holding public information open house events on the Parkway piece of the project in early 2016.  

For more information, and a map of the Trail detours, visit saskatoon.ca/bridging.

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.

The City is pleased it has been able to achieve a settlement with the Transit union on the matter of two weeks of damages due to that portion of the lockout last year being declared illegal.

The final amount of the payment is approximately $651,000.  The payment will have no adverse budget impact for 2015 or for 2016, as the City already accrued a sufficient amount during the 2014 year-end and funds were reserved for this purpose.

It’s expected affected Transit staff should receive a payment by mid-February.

Despite the City’s efforts, continuing discussions with the Transit union on wages and pension concerns unfortunately remain at an impasse.  Nonetheless, we will remain working on a new contract with the Transit union. 

Fire officials are offering some advice on how to keep your family safe during the holiday season.

Today, Saskatoon Eastview MLA Corey Tochor, on behalf of Government Relations Minister Jim Reiter, joined Saskatoon Mayor Donald Atchison at a demonstration of a natural Christmas tree burn to remind citizens to be fire safe this holiday season.

“During the busy Christmas season, remember to add fire safety to the top of your holiday list, as you prepare to celebrate this wonderful time of year,” Tochor said.

“As we celebrate this season, I hope families will make fire safety a tradition in their holiday plans,” Atchison said.  “Please take a few minutes to make sure your home is always a safe and welcoming place for friends and loved ones.”

Picking a tree:
When choosing a real Christmas tree, pick one with fresh, green needles that don’t fall off when touched.  At home, and before placing the tree in a stand, cut at least two inches from the base of the tree trunk.  Make sure the tree’s base is watered right away with it immersed at all times, then check and water it daily.

Placing, decorating and disposing of a tree:
The tree should be placed at least three feet from any heat source like fireplaces, radiators, candles and heat vents.  Tree decoration light strings should be approved by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), discarded if damaged, and never left on when leaving home or going to sleep.  Trees should also be disposed of quickly after celebrating the holidays.

Smoke alarms:
Remember to check your home’s smoke alarms before the holidays and test them monthly.  Everyone in your home should understand a smoke alarm’s sound and know they are to exit a building quickly and calmly before calling the fire department.

For fire safety message videos, visit the Government of Saskatchewan at https://youtu.be/RdvVdkNlQTM and the City of Saskatoon at https://youtu.be/ssEC0ZbhJ3I.

The Ministry of Government Relations includes the Emergency Management and Fire Safety Branch and the Office of the Fire Commissioner of Saskatchewan.

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.

December 8, 2015 meeting

8.2.1 Appointments to Governance and Priorities Committee

*The purpose of the report is to transfer the 2016 appointments for Executive Committee to the newly-formed Governance and Priorities Committee.
*The committee approved forwarding a report to City Council recommending the 2016 appointments for Executive Committee be transferred to the Governance and Priorities Committee.

Background

*On November 23, City Council requested the following changes be implemented:
-Executive Committee be renamed the Governance and Priorities Committee and remain a Committee of all members of Council; the Governance and Priorities Committee’s mandate includes: governance, strategic priorities, annual business plan and budget process, legal matters, human resource and collective bargaining issues and government relations; and, the Governance and Priorities Committee continues to meet on the third Monday of every month.

8.2.2 Deferral Report – Municipal Governance – Practices and Procedures for the Reporting Out of In Camera Items

*Executive Committee approved deferral of the report until the January 18, 206 meeting of the Governance and Priorities Committee.

Background

*At the Executive Committee meeting of November 16, the Leadership Team Governance Subcommittee committed to providing a report respecting practices and procedures for the reporting out of in camera items. The finalization of this report has been delayed partly due to the passage of new Cities Act provisions impacting the issues. 

The City’s new garbage system will improve collection reliability, enhance customer service and improve efficiencies for the benefit of all black, blue and green cart customers.

“We’re so pleased to introduce new collection routes and take a bold step toward our vision of a highly efficient and effective waste management system,” said Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental and Corporate Initiatives. “The City’s new efficient waste system will improve our service level to Saskatoon citizens, lower fuel costs and reduce our carbon footprint.”

Using real-time data collected by the new system over the past several months, the City is introducing optimised routes and schedules, designed specifically to move efficiently and directly through Saskatoon’s road network and neighbourhoods. The new routes also consider trips each truck needs to take to drop off collected materials at the landfill, recycling centre, or compost depot and ensures these trips are as short and direct as possible, with reduced back-tracking by collection trucks. There is no location change for front-street or back lane collections.

The new collection days begin January 4, 2016 and are clearly identified in the personalized 2016 Cart Collection Service guide and calendar delivered by Canada Post in December.

“Almost every neighbourhood will have a new day for at least one program starting January 4,” says Wallace.  “We encourage people to help their neighbours catch on to the new collection days for black and blue carts by reminding them if they don’t have their cart out, and by rolling out a cart for someone with physical challenges.”  

In addition to developing more efficient collection routes, the City’s new garbage system tracks where a garbage truck is on a route and confirms when your garbage has been collected. It also identifies any missed collections before a truck leaves the neighbourhood, and reduces the amount of kilometers the trucks travel, which is better for the environment and saves money in gas.

Increased efficiency of waste collection supports the City’s Strategic Goal of Asset and Financial Sustainability and being the best-managed city in Canada.