News Releases

The following are the hours of civic services and facilities for Victoria Day on Monday, May 19, 2014:

City Hall will be closed.

Parking meters will not require payment.  Motorists are required to move their vehicles within the time period shown on parking meters, allowing for a constant turnover of parking availability.

Municipal Impound Lot will not be releasing vehicles to the public.

Saskatoon Landfill will be open with regular summer hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Compost Depots will be open with regular hours of 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Garbage, Recycling and Leaves & Grass collection will take place as scheduled.

All Saskatoon Public Library locations will be closed on Sunday, May 18^th and Monday, May 19^th.  Saskatoon Public Library reverts to summer hours on Sunday, May 18^th with all libraries closed on Sundays until after the Labour Day weekend in September.  Sunday openings resume on Sunday, September 7^th.

Mendel Art Gallery and Saskatoon Civic Conservatory will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Admission is free.

TRANSIT SERVICES

Saskatoon Transit will operate with regular Sunday/Holiday Service.

Access Transit will operate with regular Holiday Service from 8:15 a.m. to 11:45 p.m.  Trips must be booked in advance as per normal procedures.  Customers are reminded that subscriptions do not apply on Statutory Holidays.

Transit Customer Service Centre will be closed.

Transit Customer Service phone lines will be available from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

RECREATION & SPORT

Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo:  Regular hours of operation

Golf Courses: Regular hours of operation (dawn to dusk) for Holiday Park, Wildwood and Silverwood.

Lions SkatePark and Satellite SkateSites: Regular hours of operation (8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)

Leisure Centres

Cosmo Civic Centre: CLOSED

Fitness Circuit & Terry Fox Track (in the SaskTel Sports Centre): CLOSED

Lakewood Civic Centre: Open 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

All fitness classes and child minding CANCELLED.

Lawson Civic Centre: Open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

All fitness classes and swim lessons CANCELLED.

Saskatoon Field House: Open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Special holiday fitness class from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

All fitness classes and child minding CANCELLED.

Shaw Centre: Open 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

All fitness classes and child minding CANCELLED.

Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre:  Open 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

All fitness classes and swim lessons CANCELLED.

For modified Lane, Public and Parent & Tot Swim times, please visit Drop-in Online at www.saskatoon.ca/go/dropinonline.  For more information on operating hours and programs, please contact the Leisure Centres or facilities.

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.

Beginning at 7.00 a.m. on Sunday, May 11, 2014, Warman Road will be closed in both directions between 7th Avenue North and 33rd Street as crews repair the road that was dug up over winter.

A detour will be in place. The road is expected to re-open Sunday evening weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Drivers are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through the orange zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Since the City of Saskatoon last week told residents about the new initiative to track our garbage collections by attaching barcode tags to black bins, people have come forward with a number of questions about the program.

We’d like to take some time to further explain the taxpayer savings we hope to achieve, how the tags will be used and why we believe they make sense for our community.

Each tag contains a barcode for our trucks to scan on collection day. The barcode links a resident’s garbage cart with their address and nothing more. The tags are similar to those used to confirm blue cart collection of recycling.

These little tags will make a big difference in how we provide residents with this essential service:

Better Service – Your assigned tag and barcode will confirm when your cart has been emptied, helping us avoid missed collections — estimated to cost Saskatoon taxpayers $155,000 a year as garbage trucks circle back to collect from locations where citizens may have a collection issue.  Confirming collection times and taking pictures of collection issues will help in the education process and reduce inefficiency. 

Cart Maintenance – We will be able to track and record carts that require repair or replacement, ensuring that your black garbage cart is always ready for use.

Cost Savings – Improved tracking of garbage carts is expected to save taxpayers many more thousands per year by reducing fuel and labour costs.  All together, these savings and eliminated missed collections are expected to save taxpayers about $200,000 a year.

While the Garbage Service Verification system will cost $1.2 million, this up-front cost will be paid back within 6 to 7 years from productivity and fuel savings and then continue to generate about $200,000 back to the City each year in savings after that. 

So, thanks to these tags and barcodes, we have a new tool to improve service, collect waste more efficiently and save money for both residents and the City.  

Commonly Asked Questions:

You say the tag keeps track of my garbage pick-ups. Does it record any other information?

No. The tag connects an individual cart to its assigned residence. That’s it.

Is the City doing this so it can it weigh my Garbage?

No.  The rationale for tagging bins is to provide benefits such as cost savings, service efficiencies, and enhanced customer service for individuals and taxpayers.  There is no Council direction to make this kind of change at this time or to weigh garbage from each home. 

Okay, so how do the barcodes work?

The technology is similar to the electronic swipe cards many people use to access offices or buildings.  On collection day, the truck’s barcode reader will scan the tag from the garbage cart and record that the collection has been successful. This information will be logged in our customer service database.

Barcodes will also help the City in tracking repairs and replacement of carts as necessary to improve customer service when things may go wrong with containers.

When will a tag get applied to my garbage cart?

Crews started applying tags to garbage collection carts on May 5, and are working on a neighbourhood by neighbourhood basis. Crews work during normal work hours and plan to work on the regularly scheduled garbage collection day when carts are out for collection.

Residents will receive letters a few days before their black carts are scheduled to have the tags applied. In order to get carts tagged, the City is asking residents to make sure theirs and neighbours’ black garbage carts are out until 5 p.m. on the scheduled collection day, giving our crews time to apply the new tag to the cart.

Please visit saskatoonrecycles.ca or call (306) 975-2486.

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.

CY-14-147
City of Saskatoon (City) crews are working on reducing mosquito populations this spring through the annual mosquito control campaign. The mosquitoes currently being controlled are primarily nuisance mosquitoes. Mosquito control will continue throughout the summer and will also control Culex tarsalis, the mosquito that is the primary carrier for the West Nile virus in Saskatchewan.

Saskatoon residents can assist with reducing mosquito populations, including Culex tarsalis, by eliminating standing water on their property. Mosquito larvae can develop in any water, even small amounts that are allowed to stand for four days or more. To help control the mosquito population you can:
• Remove any standing water from your property;
• Ensure items in and around the property like pool covers, saucers under flower pots, children’s toys, pet bowls, and wading pools are regularly emptied or replaced with clean water;
• Clean eavestroughs regularly so water does not collect in them;
• Empty and clean bird baths twice weekly;
• Ensure openings in rain barrels are covered with mosquito screening; and
• Ensure your yard is free of debris, such as old tires that can hold rainwater.

For more information on the City’s mosquito control program, please visit www.saskatoon.ca (under “M” for Mosquito Control).

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.

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For Release: Friday, May 9, 2014

On Friday, May 9, 2014 the City of Saskatoon joined Canadians across the country to honour the end of Canada’s military commitment in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, as the last of Canada’s troops made their way home, Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared May 9, 2014 a National Day of Honour and on May 5, 2014 City Council resolved that the City would join municipalities across Canada in observing a concurrent moment of silence. 

His Worship Mayor Donald Atchison spoke at a commemorative ceremony held at 11:25 a.m. on Friday, May 9, 2014.

“Members of our community served proudly in the Afghan mission and today we honour their service, their courage and their sacrifice,” says Saskatoon Mayor Donald Atchison. “It is also a day to honour the families of those who gave their lives in the service of their country.” 

Ceremony attendees witnessed the lowering of the flag in Civic Square and participated in two minutes of silence to reflect upon the commitments made by members of our community who served in Afghanistan, as well as those who put their lives at risk each day to help keep Saskatoon safe. 

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.

The City has started mailing the new format 2014 Property Tax Notices for 87,000 properties in Saskatoon. Property owners should expect their tax notices to arrive over the next coming weeks. If you have not received your tax notice by May 31, 2014, please call 306-975-2400. Your 2014 Property Taxes are due June 30, 2014. 

This year, you will find your Property Tax Notice has a new shorter format that is less complicated and easier to read. The new property tax notice with fewer pages is more efficient, using two thirds less paper giving cost savings for both paper usage and postage. 

With your 2014 Property Tax Notice you will also receive a brochure insert, ‘How to Read Your New Property Tax Notice’ – the brochure explains the information you will find on your notice, and offers helpful advice and contact information should you have any tax related questions.  Both your tax notice and the brochure insert will arrive in a clearly highlighted, bottom flap envelope that also provides for more efficient processing.  

Property owners are encouraged to visit saskatoon.ca, to use the Property Assessment & Tax Tool found on the homepage of our website. This helpful and easy to use tool allows the user to look up a Saskatoon property by address to see assessment information, related market area information, 2014 property tax information, and details on how the City distributes the current year’s municipal portion of property taxes to civic services.

The City of Saskatoon is committed to the Corporate Strategic Goal of Continuous Improvement, and to placing fair, accurate, and equitable values on Saskatoon residential and commercial properties. 

Visit saskatoon.ca and click on ‘P’ for Property Tax for additional information. Or contact a Customer Service Representative at 306-975-2400; we are pleased to answer any tax related questions you may have. 

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.

 Members of the public are invited to attend a commemorative event as the City of Saskatoon joins municipalities from across the country to reflect and honour the commitment made by the men and women who served in Canada’s military in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, as the last of Canada’s troops made their way home from Afghanistan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared May 9, 2014 a National Day of Honour and on May 5, 2014 City Council resolved that the City would join municipalities across Canada in observing a concurrent moment of silence.

His Worship Mayor Don Atchison will be speaking at 11:25 a.m. on Friday, May 9 in the Civic Square which is located at the south side of City Hall.  The ceremony will include a lowering of the flag and two minutes of silence. 

Starting at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, Saskatoon’s Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) tested the entire database of the NotifyNOW system. Data collected during the test indicated that by 11:25 a.m. more than 14,000 people confirmed they had received the message by either replying to the text message or email, or by pressing 1 on their phone.

The Saskatoon EMO appreciates everyone’s participation and feedback on the test including media assistance in getting the word out that a test would be happening. EMO received many positive phone calls following the test, including ones from people stating they were expecting a phone call.

“When an emergency happens, we need to know the system works and works well. The best way to prepare for an emergency is to do a test like this, identify possible kinks in the system and then solve them,” says Ray Unrau, Director of Emergency Planning. “We got lots of good feedback from residents and we can’t thank everyone enough for their participation.”

On Wednesday morning we were able to test the system in a non-emergency situation to make sure that the infrastructure was in place to distribute a large number of notifications. In this area as well, the test was successful and SaskTel infrastructure was able to handle the volume of calls generated by the system.

This was our first ever test of the NotifyNOW system and as expected there were a number of lessons to be learned. Some of those lessons are about the call display for telephone calls needs to be a trusted and distinctive name or number and that we need to continue our outreach to ensure  entered contact information is correct. As always, emergency preparedness education will continue throughout the City, and will incorporation information about NotifyNOW.

The Saskatoon EMO would like to remind residents to consider whether they received the notification in the best possible way. For instance, if you are often gone from home for long periods of time, receiving emergency notification on your landline may not be the most effective way for the City of Saskatoon to reach you during an emergency. By signing up, residents can customize how they receive messages to ensure that they are notified as soon as possible. Residents can sign-up by going to saskatoon.ca, clicking on the NotifyNOW logo and completing the sign up process. NotifyNOW allows you to enter up to 10 methods of contact and up to 10 addresses that you would like to receive emergency notifications about, for example your child’s school or elderly parents home. For step by step information about how to sign up please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qak-iNP8J_8&feature=youtu.be

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.

City urges residents to avoid ticket and towing

City-wide residential street sweeping begins Monday in Holiday Park and is expected to continue for the next six weeks. City and contract crews will be working seven days per week to quickly move through the neighbourhoods each day. 

Approximately $605,000 of additional funding is dedicated from the road levy this year for sweeping programs including the spring sweep blitz and the accelerated residential area sweeping. This allows for additional equipment, contractor resources and maintenance support so that neighborhoods and major roadways can be cleaned quicker, and commercial and business areas will be cleaned more frequently.

Parking Enforcement
In order for sweepers to effectively clean the streets from curb to curb, parking enforcement and tow truck relocating will be used for the entire program.  New Yellow No Parking signs and relocation towing were piloted during a smaller scale fall sweep and will be rolled out city-wide to prevent people from parking on scheduled streets.

The new yellow No Parking sandwich board signs and matching yellow paper signs will be posted at the entrance to scheduled neighbourhoods and along streets at least 36 hours in advance of the sweeping.  Vehicles that remain on the street at 7:00 a.m. will be ticketed $100 under the new Street Maintenance parking bylaw and will be relocated to a nearby street or neighbourhood. If your vehicle is relocated, you can find the new location using the Find My Vehicle! application.

Neighbourhoods with grid streets will be swept in two phases - three days apart – to make parking available for vehicles that need to move.

School Zones
For the safety of students and the convenience of parking for school visitors, school zones will be swept outside the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.  Sweeping will occur up to two days in advance of or following, the neighbourhood’s scheduled date.  School zone boundaries are marked with a 30 km/hour speed limit signs. Watch for no parking signs along these streets when sweeping is scheduled.

If poor weather delays sweeping, the neighbourhood will move to the end of the schedule and new No Parking signs will be posted in advance to notify residents.

A schedule, Frequently Asked Questions and map of neighbourhoods is available at Saskatoon.ca under the Building Better Roads icon.  Drivers are reminded to be patient and to drive carefully when they encounter slow moving street-sweeping vehicles.  You may also contact the 24-hour Street Sweeping Hotline at 306-975-2476 or streetsweep@saskatoon.ca

 Members of the public are invited to attend a commemorative event as the City of Saskatoon joins municipalities from across the country to reflect and honour the commitment made by the men and women who served in Canada’s military in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, as the last of Canada’s troops made their way home from Afghanistan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared May 9, 2014 a National Day of Honour and on May 5, 2014 City Council resolved that the City would join municipalities across Canada in observing a concurrent moment of silence.

His Worship Mayor Don Atchison will be speaking at 11:25 a.m. on Friday, May 9 in the Civic Square which is located at the south side of City Hall.  The ceremony will include a lowering of the flag and two minutes of silence. 

For Release: Wednesday, May 7, 2014

This morning starting at 9:00 a.m. City of Saskatoon’s Emergency Measures Organization sent out a test message to everyone currently in the database. That includes everyone who has signed up AND everyone listed in the SaskTel 2013/2014 phone book.

If you have received the message please know that it is legitimate and a necessary step in ensuring that the City of Saskatoon is able to notify residents during an impending or escalating emergency.

When you receive the test, listen to the entire message and then, if possible, follow the instructions to confirm that you received it.

The purpose of the test is to introduce citizens who may not have heard of NotifyNOW to the new alerting system and to test the accuracy of the data.

Saskatoon’s Emergency Measures Organization is excited to move this project forward. The initial test is part of the process and will provide us with important technical information while demonstrating to individual residents what a targeted mass notification would sound like and how they can expect to be contacted.

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 Neighbourhood Level Infill Strategy (Strategy) made recommendations to address concerns regarding infill development that is currently occurring in established residential areas within Saskatoon. The Strategy recommended amending the development standards contained in the City of Saskatoon’s (City) Zoning Bylaw No. 8770 for primary dwellings (one-unit, two-unit, and semi-detached dwellings), and small multi-unit dwellings (up to four units) on corner lots.  The Planning and Development Division is proposing changes to the Zoning Bylaw that will ensure that these types of infill development are more compatible with existing residential development.

Residents are invited to attend a “come and go” open house to learn more about the proposed bylaw regulations, including development standards, design guidelines, and the approval process.  Civic staff will be in attendance to answer questions, gather feedback, and provide materials.

Open House for the Proposed Regulations for Primary Dwellings and Small Multiple-Unit Dwellings on Corners Lots
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
City Park Collegiate – Student Commons
820 9th Avenue North

Following the open house, background and information materials will also be available on www.saskatoon.ca, click “I” for Infill Development Strategy, along with the opportunity for residents to submit comments online.
The Strategy is one component of the overall Growing Forward! Shaping Saskatoon project to help guide investments to accommodate Saskatoon’s growth to half a million people.

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.

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The City of Saskatoon today launched a city-wide public awareness campaign urging motorists to respect work zones as crews start repairing and maintaining city infrastructure this summer. The Respect Work Zones campaign will run from May to September, asking citizens to do their part to ensure the safety of work crews during the construction season.

“Our recently announced $50 million Building Better Roads Plan is the most aggressive program of road construction, road repair and road maintenance in Saskatoon’s history,” said Chris Hallam, Director of Construction & Design. “To complete this work, we need everyone to make safety a priority and respect the construction zones where our crews will be working.”

Building Better Roads, which coordinates a variety of construction projects means more construction this year than last and at times will result in up to 110 active work zones each day. According to Hallam, respecting work zones will allow the crews to focus on the job and safely complete this summer’s projects.   

“We care about the safety of our employees and everyone who uses Saskatoon’s roads,” said Hallam. “If everyone does their part, plans ahead and respects construction zones, we will be able to work through the 2014 season safely and successfully.”

Motorists can avoid delays and plan their commutes by clicking on the “Building Better Roads” button at saskatoon.ca and scanning the locations of current and future road projects.

The Respect Work Zones campaign is launching during North American Occupational Safety and Health Week (May 4-10) which promotes the importance of safety in workplaces, homes and communities.

While durable pavement markings have been used on roadways throughout Saskatoon for a number of years, in 2014, as part of the Building Better Roads campaign the City of Saskatoon is expanding the use of durable pavement markings to more high traffic roads.

The cost of the annual road painting program is $800,000 per year. In 2014, an additional $500,000 will be spent on durable markings that can last between 7 and 10 years.

To minimize traffic disruptions all work will be carried out between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

This week, durable pavement markings will be installed at the following locations:

- 1st Avenue South between 20th Street East and 24th Street East

- Central Avenue between 107th Street West and 110th Street

- Circle Drive eastbound between Warman Road and Attridge Drive on ramp

Durable markings will also be installed on other high volume roadways following rehabilitation work through the construction season.  Further updates will be provided as the season progresses.

Drivers are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through the orange zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Find traffic detour information on our website at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic. You can also follow us on Twitter @cityofsaskatoon and with #betterroads and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo switched to summer hours on Thursday, May 1, 2014.  The extended hours mean that the Forestry Farm Park gates will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and the Zoo will be open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.  The last person will be admitted to the Zoo one hour before closing.  The public is reminded that the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo is a pet-free park.
Watch for new animals arriving this year at the Zoo, including a new feature animal in the PotashCorp Ark exhibit, which houses animals never seen before in Saskatoon. 
For more information, please visit www.saskatoon.ca/go/zoo.
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.

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For Release: Monday, May 5, 2014

Starting at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7^th, Saskatoon’s Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) will systematically test the NotifyNOW system. The purpose of the test is to give residents the opportunity to better understand the NotifyNOW system, to let people hear what a message will sound like and to encourage people to sign-up.  

“The test will give the EMO a vital opportunity to evaluate the features and functions of the NotifyNOW system in a non-emergency situation,” says Director of Emergency Planning, Ray Unrau.

The test notification will start at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7^th and will send notifications throughout the city one quadrant at a time. Everyone with contact information linked to an address within that quadrant will receive the test notification message. After a short pause, the process will be repeated until the notifications have been sent to the three remaining quadrants. We expect the testing period to last most of the morning.

“It is also important to give an opportunity for residents to familiarize themselves with what a notification will sound like,” Unrau says. “By taking part in the test, residents will have some familiarity with the process and be ready to respond appropriately in a real emergency situation.”

The test will use information currently entered into the NotifyNOW database. That includes publically available information from the 2013/14 SaskTel phone book as well as contact information provided by residents who have signed up.

“Once the test is complete we ask that residents take note of how they received the notification message and whether the message was delivered the most effective way,” Unrau says. “For example, if they got a voice message on their home land line but would prefer to receive a text message on their cell phone they would need to sign-up or sign-in to NotifyNOW and update their account.”

We also expect that some residents will notice that they did not receive the test notification. In those instances, we will ask them to create an account by following the prompts on saskatoon.ca and provide their preferred contact information so we can reach them in the future.

Saskatoon’s Emergency Measures Organization is excited to move this project forward. The initial test is part of the process and will provide us with important technical information while demonstrating to individual residents what a targeted mass notification would sound like and how they can expect to be contacted.

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.

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Drinking Water Week is May 4 to 10, 2014; a time to reflect on the critical role that water plays in our daily lives and the quality of life we enjoy.  

“Saskatoon tap water is safe and healthy,” says Reid Corbett, Director of Saskatoon Water. “We are able to consistently deliver high quality water to our customers.”

The average person in Saskatoon uses 230 litres of water per day (5 year average). Using water responsibly reduces our impact on the environment as the energy required to treat and distribute drinking water is associated with a significant amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  Implementing simple water conservation practices can save energy, reduce greenhouse gases, and protect our water supplies.

Water Conservation Tips:

- Water the lawn once a week and avoid watering during the heat of the day or during windy times.

- Repair leaky faucets and toilets immediately.

- Run your dishwasher or washing machine only when you have a full load. This can save as much as 1,875 to 3,000 litres every month.

- Use low-flush fixtures such as water-saving shower heads and ultra low flow toilets.

Be Water Wise!  For more information, visit www.saskatoon.ca and click on “W” for Water.

Starting Tuesday, May 6 at 9:00 a.m., the median lanes of 11th Street West, west of the Dawes Avenue intersection will be closed. The other traffic lanes will remain open. The median lanes are expected to re-open by Friday May 9, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Crews are installing new centre medians along 11th Street for the new Dawes Avenue construction in the area as part of the Circle Drive South Project.

Drivers are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through the orange zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Find traffic detour information on our website at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic. You can also follow us on Twitter @cityofsaskatoon and with #betterroads and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

Beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 3rd , 2014, Spadina Crescent will be closed between Pembina Avenue and Pinehouse Drive in order to accommodate the Bridge City Duathlon. Ravine Drive will also be closed between Assiniboine Drive and Spadina Crescent. The roads are expected to re-open by 1:00 p.m.

Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

For Immediate Release:  May 2, 2014

Starting at 4:00 p.m. Friday, May 2, 2014 until approximately 4:00 p.m. Monday, May 5, 2014 two tax applications on the City of Saskatoon’s website, saskatoon.ca, will undergo a temporary service disruption:

The Property Assessment & Tax Tool, found on the saskatoon.ca homepage requires software upgrades to accommodate the updating of new property tax data for 2014. Also, the Property Tax Search & Certificates (ePTSC) application (dedicated access for banks, realtors, lawyers, mortgage companies) will be reconfigured and not be available for use during this time.  

The mail-out of the 2014 Property Tax Notice to residents will start next week, and the updating of these tax applications will support this, allowing website users access to the new 2014 tax data.

The City of Saskatoon is focused on continuous improvement and aims to provide the best high-quality services to meet the high expectations of our citizens. We apologize for any inconvenience to residents over the weekend updating of these applications.

Visit saskatoon.ca and look under ‘P’ for Property Tax for an overview of 2014 Property Tax information.

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.

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Beginning 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 5, 2014, 8th Street East between Circle Drive and Acadia Drive will require lane restrictions as crews work on sanitary sewer and storm sewer connections.

Monday, May 5, 2014
- Eastbound traffic will be reduced to two lanes and westbound traffic will be reduced to one lane.
- The left turn bay into Circle Park Mall westbound will be closed.
- The work should be completed and restrictions lifted by 6:00 p.m., weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Tuesday May 6, 2014
- The 8th Street East westbound curb lane and centre lane between Acadia Drive and the Circle Park Mall Entrance will be closed.
- This work should be completed and restrictions lifted by approximately 4:00 p.m. weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Drivers are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through the orange zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Beginning at 3.30 a.m. on Sunday, May 4, the eastbound lanes of Circle Drive South will be closed between 11th Street West and Highway 11 to accommodate the Wings for Life World Run. Idylwyld Drive southbound will also be closed between the Sid Buckwold Bridge and Circle Drive South. The roads are expected to reopen by Sunday at 6:00 a.m.

Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

For Immediate Release: April 30, 2014

Starting May 1, 2014, a section of roadway along McOrmond Drive between 8th Street and College Drive will be closed until October 31. A temporary closure is required to complete area grading, water/sewer, and roadway work as part of neighbourhood development within the Holmwood Sector Plan. Signage will be posted to advise motorists of detours.

Through access from 8th Street to College Drive will be restricted. Local access to businesses along McOrmond Drive, the off-leash dog park, and McOrmond Drive Compost Depot will be maintained. 

A new permanent roadway will be constructed as part of the neighbourhood to allow through traffic between 8th Street and College Drive. This roadway is expected to be completed by October 31, 2014, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances

Know before you go! Find traffic detour information on our website at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic. You can also follow us on Twitter @cityofsaskatoon and with #betterroads and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

Starting at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday May 1, 2014, 11th Street West between Chappell Drive and Highway 7, will require lane restrictions to allow for testing to be conducted on the roadway. Within the vicinity of the testing, lanes will be restricted to one-way only, where flag people will direct traffic flow.

Lane restrictions are expected to be lifted by end of day Thursday, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Drivers are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through the orange zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Find traffic detour information on our website at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic. You can also follow us on Twitter @cityofsaskatoon and with #betterroads and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

As part of a new initiative, the City of Saskatoon will be applying small plastic tags to black garbage carts across the city, which will allow the City to confirm garbage collection.

Each tag contains a barcode for our trucks to scan on collection day. The barcode links a resident’s garbage cart with their address and nothing more. The tags are similar to those used by Loraas Recycle to confirm blue cart collection of recycling.

These little tags will make a big difference in how we provide residents with this essential service:

- The assigned tag and barcode will confirm when carts have been emptied, helping us avoid missed collections. Missed collections are estimated to cost Saskatoon taxpayers $155,000 a year.

- We will be able to track and record carts that require repair or replacement, ensuring that a resident’s black garbage cart is always ready for use.

“This little tag will let us make a big improvement in how we provide this service to people across the City,” says Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental and Corporate Initiatives. “Our initial research suggests that this entire project could save the City approximately $200,000 per year, and we are hoping for even more savings in the future.”

In order to get carts tagged, the City is asking residents to make sure theirs and neighbours’ black garbage carts are out until 5 p.m. on the scheduled collection day, giving our crews time to apply the new tag to the cart.

If you have any questions about these tags or how they work, learn more at saskatoonrecycles.ca or call (306) 975-2486.

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.

The Spring Pothole and Spring Street Sweeping Blitzes resumed in full force on Wednesday upon the return of warmer weather and dry streets. The moisture from the rain and snow over the past week and a half prevented us from performing much of the planned sweeping and interrupted the repairing of potholes.  The snow, rain, cooler temperatures and frost coming out of the ground caused many new potholes to develop on all Saskatoon streets. 

Spring Pothole Blitz

The City has been repairing potholes along the high-traffic streets since the start of the Spring Pothole Blitz on April 14.  As a result of the recent snow/rain and cooler temperatures, many of those same streets are littered with new holes.  Standing water on the streets has a significant impact on the formation of new potholes. In order to make up for the delays due to weather interruptions, additional City and contractor crews will be engaged for the next two weeks patching potholes in the driving lanes of the priority one and two streets.  A schedule is available for the Spring Pothole Blitz on the City’s website.

The online Report-a-Pothole map usage was up 40 per cent over the past seven days, as the collection of potholes grew.  We thank those who are reporting these locations and remind everyone to please call the Customer Service Call Centre to report the dangerous locations so that we may address them immediately.

“The blitz program for patching potholes in the driving lanes of the major streets and bus routes is designed to improve the safety and ride comfort of motorists,” says Director of Public Works Pat Hyde.  “Tackling these existing and new locations that arise will prove to be a benefit for all.” 

Gravel-covered areas from construction and water main breaks (Utility Cuts)

Asphalt patching is occurring along priority streets where water main breaks occurred over the winter months.  Other gravel-covered areas caused by construction or other underground utility work will be repaired beginning in June.  The utility cuts on the priority streets are monitored daily.  Maintenance grading is performed as required and in many cases is done daily.  Graders will continue to maintain these gravel areas until they can be permanently repaired with asphalt.  Residents are reminded to please call our Customer Service Call Centre at 306-975-2476 to report utility cuts that are severely rutted.  

 Your Tax Dollars at Work – Building Better Roads

Part of the new 4.29% dedicated tax levy is for improved roadway repairs and maintenance.  Residents and businesses will see improvements as a result of an additional $605,000 for the street sweeping program which includes the Spring Street Sweeping Blitz and the Accelerated Residential Sweeping programs; and an additional $550,000 for the Spring Pothole Blitz program. Learn more about Building Better Roads.

Spring Street Sweeping Blitz

Prior to moving into the residential areas, City and contract street sweeping crews are cleaning up along the high-traffic priority streets.  Since April 14, the focus has been sweeping centre medians where grass or trees are located, in order to promote growth and improve street aesthetics, and as well sweeping on the priority one and two streets.  The moisture over the past week also impacted and delayed this program. Extra staff are being assigned and contractors were called in to help move the sweeping along.

The Spring Sweeping Blitz is designed as a quick pass through in order to remove the heavier dirt and debris so that once the Accelerated Residential Area Sweep program commences later in May, it will enable a more effective and complete curb-to-curb sweep program.  As a result during the Spring Sweeping Blitz the sweepers will be going around parked vehicles and focus mainly on the driving lanes of the roadway. 

Accelerated Residential Street Sweeping and Pothole Patching

Upon completion of the Spring Sweeping Blitz, the Accelerated Residential Area Street Sweeping program begins.  This is designed as a six week program where every street will be swept curb-to-curb by neighbourhood including the business improvement districts and also those streets that were done during the Spring blitz.  This program will also see applied for the first time a city wide application of parking enforcement.  This will include both a relocation towing and a $100 fine that will be applied for parking on a scheduled street.  The yellow ‘sandwich style’ No Parking signs will be used during day time operations and augmented with yellow replica paper signs throughout the program where on-street vehicle parking is an issue. 

Weather permitting, the scheduled start of the program is Monday, May 12.  Further information and schedules will be provided closer to the launch date of the Accelerated Residential Area Street Sweeping program.

Schedules and more information are available at saskatoon.ca as part of the Building Better Roads campaign.  Saskatoon’s Road Plan is a coordinated approach to repair, maintenance and construction, Building Better Roads in Saskatoon.

The Neighbourhood Level Infill Strategy (Strategy) made recommendations to address concerns regarding infill development that is currently occurring in established residential areas within Saskatoon. The Strategy recommended amending the development standards contained in the City of Saskatoon’s (City) Zoning Bylaw No. 8770 for primary dwellings (one-unit, two-unit, and semi-detached dwellings), and small multi-unit dwellings (up to four units) on corner lots.  The Planning and Development Division is proposing changes to the Zoning Bylaw that will ensure that these types of infill development are more compatible with existing residential development.

Residents are invited to attend a “come and go” open house to learn more about the proposed bylaw regulations, including development standards, design guidelines, and the approval process.  Civic staff will be in attendance to answer questions, gather feedback, and provide materials.

Open House for the Proposed Regulations for Primary Dwellings and Small Multiple-Unit Dwellings on Corners Lots
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
City Park Collegiate – Student Commons
820 9th Avenue North

Following the open house, background and information materials will also be available on www.saskatoon.ca, click “I” for Infill Development Strategy, along with the opportunity for residents to submit comments online.

The Strategy is one component of the overall Growing Forward! Shaping Saskatoon project to help guide investments to accommodate Saskatoon’s growth to half a million people.
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.

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Having fulfilled their purpose and as part of the agreement with the artists, two short term art installations, Found Compressions One and Two and INFRA are being removed today, April 30, 2014.

Intended as a short-term installation, Found Compressions One and Two, by Saskatoon artist Keeley Haftner, is a sculpture of two cube-shaped cellophane wrapped bales of recyclable materials.

“The artwork has realized its full potential in terms of generating dialogue,” Haftner says and adds she now wants to think about a venue to show a new rendition of the work to discuss the project in its entirety.

INFRA, by Toronto artist Tonya Hart, was originally installed November 2013, on College Drive near Bottomley Avenue and was later relocated to the Cameco Meewasin Skating Rink.  The artwork is a group of sculptures comprised of eight life-sized wolves created with fiberglass.  A fluorescent pigment gives the wolves their bright colours during the day and LED lighting provides their glow at night.

Both installations were placed within the City as part of our Placemaker Program, which aims to promote contemporary arts in a public space, by leasing artworks from the artist. The artwork is adjudicated by the City of Saskatoon’s Visual Arts Placement Jury.

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.

Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 30, 2014, sections of 7th Street between Preston Avenue and Early Drive will be closed for sanitary sewer upgrades. The sanitary sewer construction will be staged by the following sections:

- Preston Avenue to Argyle Avenue (including the Argyle Avenue/7th Street intersection)      

- Argyle Avenue to Campbell Avenue  (including the Campbell Avenue/7th Street intersection)

- Campbell Avenue to Early Drive (including the Early Drive/7th Street intersection)

- Preston Ave/7th Street intersection (affecting Northbound traffic)                   

Following the sanitary sewer work, road restoration will occur.

“No Parking” signs will be posted in advance of when the work will commence. Signs will also be posted to advise motorists of detour routes.

This project is part of the City of Saskatoon Flood Control Strategy and is designed to provide added protection against sanitary backup in basements during intense rain events.  This project is partially funded by the Government of Saskatchewan through the Canada Saskatchewan Building Canada Fund – Major Infrastructure Component.

All restrictions are expected to be lifted by June 27, 2014, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

The City thanks everyone for their patience during this time.

Motorists are reminded to allow extra time when travelling through the orange zone, watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook 

To accommodate a marathon event on Sunday, April 27, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., no parking signs and lane restrictions will be in place along marathon routes in the downtown area and along Spadina Crescent. The main road restrictions will include:

- Full closure of 4th Avenue between 22nd Street and 23rd Street
- Full closure of Avenue A between 19th Street and Spadina Crescent
- Spadina Crescent northbound between 20th Street and 33rd Street (including the exit from University Bridge) 
- 25th Street westbound curb lane from University Bridge to 6th Avenue

Drivers are reminded to drive carefully, watch for participants and officials and to be aware of “no parking” signs along the marathon route. The City thanks everyone for their patience.

Know before you go! Find up-to-date traffic detour information at www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

CY14- 143
 
The City of Saskatoon Municipal Golf Courses are now open for the season with the exception of the Holiday Park Executive Nine and the Silverwood Front Nine, which will open on Wednesday, April 30, weather permitting. 

Holiday Park (Phone:  306-975-3325; 1630 Avenue U South)
• Driving Range now open
• Holiday Park 18:  now open
• Holiday Park Executive Nine:  opening Wednesday, April 30

 Silverwood (Phone:  306-975-3314; 3503 Kinnear Avenue)
• Driving Range now open
• Silverwood Lake (Front) Nine:  Wednesday, April 30
• Silverwood River (Back) Nine:  now open

Wildwood (Phone:  306-975-3320; 8th Street East)
• Now open

Online tee time reservations are now being accepted at www.saskatoon.ca/go/golf.  Golfers are able to book 9 or 18 holes of play for groups of 1-4 players up to ten days in advance at any of the three municipal golf courses.  Online tee time reservations are not available for same day bookings.  Same day bookings can be completed by phone or in person.  A valid email address is required to make tee time reservations. 
For more information on the City of Saskatoon golf courses, please visit www.saskatoon.ca/go/golf.

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.

Saskatoon Transit customers using Google Transit for trip planning assistance over the next week may receive incorrect information when using the application while we work to update the database.  

While City Information Technology staff are working quickly to correct the issue, they anticipate that it will take a week to correct due to Google processing times. Google has strict requirements on how data must be sent for our information to be integrated in their system.  Prior to each data upload a validation process is performed to try and avoid this situation. Unfortunately, for the most recent upload some errors were not identified and the City must restart the process.

Customers requiring a trip plan during this time should use the Click & Go service on the City’s website, which is unaffected, or phone Customer Service at 306-975-3100 where a representative can help you. Customers are also always welcome to visit us in person at our downtown bus terminal located at 226 23rd Street between 7:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends.

Saskatoon Transit would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.  

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.

As part of its Earth Day celebrations, the City is pleased to announce the winners of the Assistance to Community Groups – Cash Grants – Environmental Component for 2014.

“These grants are handed out each year to recognize local non-profit organizations implementing initiatives that support the City’s strategic goal of Environmental Leadership,” says Brenda Wallace, Director, Environmental and Corporate Initiatives. “Funds are allocated to community groups for protection of the environment, conservation of natural resources, environmental communications and education, and environmental research, and our grant recipients this year are certainly deserving of their awards.”

Projects that will be funded in 2014 include:

• Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. ($1,000): Outreach and educational programming to increase awareness and appropriate responses to injured or orphaned wildlife in the city.
• SOS Elms Coalition, Inc. ($1,250): Revision and reprinting of the educational booklet, "Saskatoon Tree Tour - A Guide to the Unique and Unusual Trees in Saskatoon.”
• Safe Drinking Water Foundation ($1,400): Hands-on educational kits for schools, focusing on drinking water quality issues and solutions.
• Saskatchewan Environmental Society ($1,425): Earth Day Celebration to inform and educate the public about sustainable initiatives and how they, in turn, can live more sustainable lives.
• Partners FOR the Saskatchewan River Basin ($1,425): Education on the importance of aquatic and riparian ecosystems through the curriculum based "Stan the Sturgeon Fish Habitat Program.”
• Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-operative Ltd. ($1,750): Educating inner-city youth on concepts of environmental responsibility, nutrition, gardening and general healthy living through the Community Seed Harvest Initiative: Part of CNYC's Growing Our Future program.
• FH Canada ($1,750): Collection, recycling and refurbishment of locally donated medical equipment and supplies, as part of the International Medical Equipment Distribution program.

More information on the City of Saskatoon’s environmental initiatives can be found at www.saskatoon.ca, and click on “E” for “Environmental Services”.

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.

Following the power and website outage on April 21, 2014 the City continues to improve its communications procedures.

The power outage allowed us to identify a vulnerability with the Fire Department’s radio systems.

“The Fire Department will be reviewing its protocol for switching to a more basic radio system during momentary outages that may be caused by a massive power outage,” says Assistant Fire Chief Morgan Hackl.

Further analysis revealed that radio communications were lost for 20 minutes in total, while the system switched to and from a back-up power supply.

The outage also caused the City’s website and e-mail systems to go offline.

“The City already has a plan in place to provide residents with an alternate online location to access information. This will work along with other digital information sources, such as Twitter and Facebook,” says Corporate Performance General Manager Catherine Gryba. 

Additionally, a plan is already underway to move an emergency generator from the “old” Police Headquarters on 3rd Avenue to City Hall.

In preparation for the City’s new website, the Information Technology Division has been creating alternate data centres, which will provide additional back up to essential online service such as Fire Computer Assisted Dispatch, Saskatoon.ca, corporate email and VOIP telephone service.

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.

Spring fever is in the air for both dogs and their owners. With the weather finally warming up it is a great time to get out and enjoy the six active Dog Parks operated by the City of Saskatoon (City). With exciting plans for two more parks to open this summer, the following Dog Park’s are accessible to all licensed dogs:
• Avalon - south end of Broadway Avenue;
• Briarwood - south of Wilson's Greenhouse on McOrmond Drive;
• Caswell (open Summer 2014) - next to the Mayfair Pool;
• Hampton Village - north on Range Road 3060, near the airport;
• Hyde Park (open Summer 2014) - south end of Hyde Park adjacent to Boychuk Drive;
• Silverwood - access off Kinnear Avenue or the east end of Adilman Drive;
• Southwest - off Valley Road by the landfill; and
• Sutherland Beach - west of Central Avenue, north of Attridge Drive.

With the increase of users expected in the Dog Parks, here are a few tips to being a responsible pet owner:
• Please pick up after your dog;
• Dogs must stay ON LEASH in all areas of the City unless the area is clearly designated (signed) as a Dog Park; and
• Please be considerate and courteous to other people and children enjoying the outdoors and keep in mind that not everyone is comfortable around dogs, even friendly ones.

For more information or to see a map of the Dog Parks, please visit www.saskatoon.ca/go/dogparks.
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.

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The moisture from the rain and snow over the past few days is causing many new potholes to form on all Saskatoon streets.  The Spring Pothole Blitz program, which started on Monday, April 14, is an aggressive program to address potholes in the driving lanes of the high-traffic streets. As a result of snow/rain and cooler temperatures, many of those same streets are littered with new holes.  This set-back requires crews to start over with the Priority 1 and 2 streets, pushing back the other streets that were scheduled for this week.  Inspectors are out checking for changing driving conditions due to new potholes forming and identifying emergency locations on all streets.   Asphalt plants were not producing over the weekend due to weather conditions and the Easter weekend; however, crews resumed pothole repairs again on Monday when asphalt was again available.
Drivers continue to report potholes online with the Report a Pothole map and these locations are inspected daily.  At this time, only the severe locations and those on the high-priority, high-traffic streets are being repaired until we can get caught up. Those locations not repaired will be completed once the spring pothole blitz has ended or in conjunction with the Accelerated Residential Street Sweeping program.
About a third of the locations currently reported on the map are another type of issue resulting from completed City or private underground utility work that required an excavation.  These are known as utility cuts and have a temporary gravel/recycled asphalt cover until they can be properly paved once ground frost is gone.  Graders are maintaining these regularly until they can be patched with asphalt.  Utility cut patching begins today on Priority 1 streets and will continue until winter.
The Street Sweeping Blitz on high-traffic streets and business improvement districts also started on Monday, April 14.  With the rain and snow, sweeping did not occur Thursday through Monday.  Sweeping resumes today and the online schedule has been adjusted.  Sweeping cannot occur when there are pools of water on the street or when sustained sub-zero temperatures are present although they can still continue with a light rain.  Grassy medians and boulevards continue to be swept and sweeping crews are following behind to collect the debris from the street.
The Spring Sweeping & Pothole Blitz schedules are available at saskatoon.ca as part of the Building Better Roads program.  The schedules are being adjusted frequently due to the challenges we have been experiencing, most notably the weather.  With weather forecasts showing stable, warmer temperatures in the coming week, we hope to establish a more productive and regular schedule.
The Accelerated Residential Street Sweeping program is scheduled to begin on May 5. 
Schedules and more information are available at saskatoon.ca as part of the Building Better Roads campaign.  Saskatoon’s Road Plan is a coordinated approach to repair, maintenance and construction, Building Better Roads in Saskatoon.
For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic. You can also follow us on Twitter @cityofsaskatoon and with #BetterRoadsYXE and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook.

It’s Earth Day, and around the world events are being held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Throughout the week, the City will be participating in awareness events, sharing information about its environmental initiatives, and encouraging residents to THINK about their activities and how they affect the planet, to CHOOSE to live more environmentally friendly, and to DO something that many residents are already doing – living more green. 
The Saskatchewan Environmental Society (SES) Earth Day Celebrations, with financial support from the City, will take place today, April 22, at the Farmers' Market starting at 3:00 p.m. Activities will include eco­crafts and face­ painting, outdoor activities and a concert featuring local musicians. During the event, the City will be showcasing its recycling information and other environmental programs. For more information, please visit www.environmentalsociety.ca.
The City will also take part in four days of films, workshops and events at the Saskatchewan Eco Network’s Environmental Film Festival, which runs April 24-27 at the Roxy Theatre and Frances Morrison Library. The City will present a Waste Reduction Workshop on April 27 following the afternoon films. More information is available at www.econet.ca.
Throughout the week there will be daily posts on the City’s blog, saskatooncitynews.ca, providing more details on the City’s environmental programs. These programs include: 
Household Hazardous Waste Days

This program makes disposing of hazardous household chemicals and materials convenient and protects the environment. Visit Saskatoon.ca under “H” for Household Hazardous Waste Days.
Recycling Opportunities

The blue-cart recycling program has been utilized by 97% of residents who together helped divert over 8,000 tonnes of recyclable material from the Landfill. Visit saskatoonrecycles.ca and SaskWasteReduction.ca for more details. 
Be Water Wise

The Be Water Wise Campaign supports the City of Saskatoon’s efforts to reduce water consumption in Saskatoon in all sectors. Visit Saskatoon.ca under “B” for Be Water Wise.
Green Cart - Leaves and Grass Collection Program

This program has been expanded for 2014. Now any interested household can participate in the program! More details can be found at SaskatoonRecycles.ca.
Compost Depots

Residents may take their leaves, grass, and non-elm branches, stumps and tree trimmings to the City’s compost depots free of charge. The compost depots are now open! Visit Saskatoon.ca under “C” for “Composting.”
“Yer Dirt” Compost and Mulch Sales

Purchase compost and mulch for use on lawns and in gardens at the Highway 7 Compost Depot. Visit Saskatoon.ca under “C” for “Composting.”
Rain Barrel and Compost Bin Rebates

The City has a limited number of $20 rebates available to Saskatoon residents who purchase a rain barrel or compost bin from a Saskatoon retailer in 2014. Visit www.saskwastereduction.ca/rebate-form to download a rebate form. 
Pesticide Reduction

The City supports the Be Pesticide Free campaign, in partnership with the Saskatchewan Environmental Society. Learn about alternatives to harmful chemical pesticides and how to do your part to reduce your pesticide use. For more information, visit www.bepesticidefree.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.

The City of Saskatoon is taking a new approach to line painting on major roadways and high-speed freeways this year by expanding the use of durable markings.  When these types of roadways are built or rehabilitated, durable markings will be used. Durable markings are more visible and also last longer than regular road paint. 

“Winter operations, including the use of gravel and snow clearing, as well as higher traffic volumes, wear off road paint faster,” says Angela Gardiner, Director of Transportation. “This is why we are expanding the use of more durable markings on higher volume roadways. While the upfront cost is higher, these markings last longer and are visible year round.” 

The cost of the annual road marking program is $800,000 per year. In 2014, an additional $500,000 will be spent on durable markings. 

Road marking begins once sweeping is underway and nighttime temperatures are consistently at 5 degrees or warmer (generally late April/early May and until late October).  

There are no specific dates for painting road markings as the program is coordinated during or after other road work, and is weather dependent. High-traffic areas (such as downtown and Idylwyld Drive) are generally painted during the night to minimize disruption to traffic.  

In 2014, some of the locations where durable markings will be installed include:
- Circle Drive – Circle Drive North to Attridge Drive overpass, eastbound
- Circle Drive – Warman Road to Circle Drive, eastbound
- 51st Street

City crews paint road markings two to three times each year:
- Lane lines, edge lines and centre lines are painted three times a year
- Crosswalks are painted at least twice a year
- Sharrows, chevrons and parking stall lines are painted once a year
- Road markings are re-painted if they have been removed due to paving, patching, etc.

More information about Road Markings is available at saskatoon.ca as part of the Building Better Roads campaign.  Saskatoon’s Road Plan is a coordinated approach to repair, maintain and construct better roads in Saskatoon.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca/go/traffic. You can also follow us on Twitter @cityofsaskatoon and with #betterroads and like Saskatoon City News on Facebook. 

Deb Davies, a firefighter with Saskatoon Fire Department, credits her training with the fire department and the availability of an Automated External Defibrillator or AED at the Las Vegas airport for helping her save a bystanders life.

On Friday, April 11^th, Deb Davies and a group of her friends went to Las Vegas for a short holiday. When they arrived at the luggage carousel Deb noticed someone who was in distress. Immediately her training as a Primary Care Paramedic kicked in. Utilizing her CPR training, she started compressions while calling for others to find the AED and call 9-1-1. Other professionals assisted Deb and together they were able to shock the individual and successfully revive him.

Firefighters with the Saskatoon Fire Department are trained as Primary Care Paramedics and on the job regularly respond to life threatening emergencies. Deb recognized that as an off-duty firefighter she was a person to take control of the situation and use her training to save a life.

At their awards banquet in June, the Saskatoon Fire Department will be recognizing Deb Davies.

The Saskatoon Fire Department will also be recognizing other firefighters who were instrumental in saving a life while off-duty at a Saskatoon Hilltops football game on September 7^th, 2013.

For Release: April 17, 2014


The City of Saskatoon’s compost depots are now open for the 2014 season. Residents of Saskatoon are encouraged to reduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill by bringing their leaves and grass to one of the depots:
- McOrmond Drive Depot, located just north of 8th Street East on McOrmond Drive, which is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily
- Highway 7 Depot, located at the corner of Highway 7 and 11th Street West, which is open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday to Thursday and from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday to Sunday. 
The depots also accept tree and shrub material.  Due to the threat of Dutch Elm disease, provincial regulations prohibit the acceptance of elm and any other material that cannot be distinguished from elm at the compost depots.  A provincial pruning ban on elm is in effect from April 1, 2014 to August 31, 2014.  During this period, it is illegal to prune elm without a permit.  These materials cannot be accepted at the depots at any time and must be disposed of at the Saskatoon Landfill.  The Landfill is open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seven days a week, including all holidays throughout the summer.
The depots are free to residents of Saskatoon.  Commercial haulers are required to purchase and display an entry permit when visiting the compost depots.  The registration fee for 2014, per business, is $200 for the first vehicle and $50 for each additional vehicle.  Registration forms are available at City Hall or online at www.saskatoon.ca and look under “C” for Compost Depot. 
New for the 2014 season: commercial hauler registrations and payments can now be accepted online at http://saskatoonenvirostore.ca! 
For timely updates, watch for Compost Depot Service Alerts at Saskatoon.ca and on Twitter and Facebook.
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.

Saskatoon Transit would like to remind those headed to the Black Sabbath concert at Credit Union Centre on Friday, April 18 that the concert will finish after statutory holiday transit service has ended. This means that there will be no transit connections from the Downtown Terminal Special Events Stop after the concert, and no connections from Malls serviced by the Credit Union Centre Park & Ride Services after the concert.

Credit Union Centre Park & Ride services will still be offered after the concert, however those concert goers who need to take a regular transit route from any of these locations (including downtown) are advised to make alternative arrangements.

Departures to the Black Sabbath concert from the Saskatoon Transit Special Events Stop, located on 2^nd Avenue and 23^rd Street, will be every 15 minutes between 6:45 p.m. and 7:45p.m. on April 18. Buses will depart Credit Union Centre for the Special Events Stop immediately after the concert.

Regular fares, transfers, and passes are accepted to and from the Downtown location only. Please contact Credit Union Centre for information on the mall Park and Ride Service.

For more information call Customer Service at 306-975-3100

The renovation and rejuvenation of Saskatoon’s most beloved park began today as PCL Construction broke ground at Kinsmen Park.

PCL Construction has been contracted for Phase One of the Kinsmen Park Master Plan, which is anticipated to open in time for Summer 2015.

Phase One includes the development of the PotashCorp Playland, which will be an attraction for both the young and the young at heart.  The PotashCorp Playland will include a “rides garden” with a ferris wheel and carousel, a children’s play area with water features, sandplay and natural elements, and the highly anticipated, new train.  The train will be a 1/3 scale locomotive built to resemble a modern day Dash 9 freight train engine.  There will be three carriages built to resemble modern-day Canpotex freight cars, and of course a caboose sponsored by Canadian Pacific Railway!  A special event is being planned in the coming months to give a sneak peek of the train and other exciting elements of the park, so watch for details to be announced shortly.

Highlights of Phase One, including the arrival of new rides, will be posted on the City of Saskatoon’s website throughout the year.  For more information on the Future Home of PotashCorp Playland at Kinsmen Park and the Kinsmen Park Master Plan, please visit www.saskatoon.ca/go/kinsmenpark

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.

CIVIC SERVICES AND FACILITIES FOR EASTER WEEKEND

The following are the hours of civic services and facilities for Easter weekend, Friday, April18 through Monday, April 21:

City Hall will be closed.

Parking meters will not require payment on Friday, April 18 and Sunday, April 20.  Motorists are required to move their vehicles within the time period shown on parking meters, allowing for a constant turnover of parking availability.  Parking meters will require payment on Saturday, April 19 and Monday, April 21.

The Municipal Impound Lot will not be releasing vehicles to the public on Friday, April 18 but will be open Saturday, April 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with regular operations on Monday, April 21.

All locations of the Saskatoon Public Library will be closed on April 18, 20, and 21.

The Saskatoon Landfill will be open every day throughout the Easter weekend with regular summer hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The Compost Depots will be open every day throughout the Easter weekend with regular hours of 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Garbage and Recycling collection will take place as scheduled.

The Mendel Art Gallery and Saskatoon Civic Conservatory are open every day, 364 days a year, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Admission is free.

TRANSIT SERVICES FOR EASTER WEEKEND

Transit service will operate as follows:
April 18: Sunday/Holiday service
April 19 and 20: Regular weekend service
April 21: Regular weekday service

Access Transit service will operate as follows (normal booking procedures apply):
April 18: Holiday service from 8:15 a.m. to 11:15 p.m.
April 19 and 20: Regular weekend service
April 21: Holiday service from 8:15 a.m. to 11:15 p.m.

LEISURE SERVICES FOR EASTER WEEKEND

Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo will be open daily.
Forestry Farm Park hours: 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Zoo hours: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Admission charges are in effect

LEISURE CENTRES HOURS FOR EASTER WEEKEND

Saskatoon Field House
April 18: CLOSED
April 19 to 21: Regular hours

Cosmo Civic Centre
April 18: CLOSED
April 19 to 20: Regular hours
April 21: CLOSED

Lakewood Civic Centre
April 18: CLOSED
April 19 to 21: Regular hours

Lawson Civic Centre
April 18: CLOSED
April 19 to 21: Regular hours

Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre
April 18: CLOSED
April 19 to 21: Regular hours

Shaw Centre
April 18: CLOSED
April 19 to 21: Regular hours

Fitness Circuit & Terry Fox Track (in the SaskTel Sports Centre)
April 18 to 20: CLOSED
April 21: Regular hours

For modified Lane, Public and Parent & Tot Swim times, please visit Drop-in Online at www.saskatoon.ca/go/dropinonline.  For more information on operating hours and programs, please contact the Leisure Centres or facilities.

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.

The City will soon be saving energy and reducing operational costs at two major civic facilities.  City Council approved plans for two combined heat and power (CHP) projects in December 2013 and with funding support from partners, natural gas fuelled CHP units will be installed at Lakewood Civic Centre and the Shaw Centre.

“These installations help demonstrate our commitment to environmental leadership through the use of more energy-efficient practices in City buildings,” says Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental and Corporate Initiatives.  “The project also helps ensure that existing leisure centres remain financially efficient and services can be provided more reliably.  We are extremely pleased to participate in partnership to leverage funding from other sources.  This contributes to ensuring the long-term sustainability of community assets.”

The units, which will be integrated into the existing electrical and heating systems, produce electricity and recover waste heat to be used inside a building.  The technology also offers a cleaner energy source that can reduce utility costs and provide backup electricity and heating in the event of a power outage or equipment failure.  Between the two facilities, greenhouse gas emission will be reduced by 915 tonnes, which is equal to removing 180 cars from Saskatoon roads each year.

The total cost of the project is $1.3 million.  Almost half of that amount, $600,000, is funded through Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) as a result of a successful proposal submitted in response to a request for proposals to the Market Development Incentive Payments (MDIP) Fund and the Clean Energy Fund (the Program).  Through this Program, NRCan provides up to 50% matching funding for eligible costs for projects which identify innovative applications for natural gas and make greater use of technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

SaskEnergy, a supporter of combined heat and power technology, also contributed $325,000 to the project.  The City will contribute $375,000 towards the implementation of the project.

Earlier this year, City Council approved the award of a contract to Calgary-based Power EcoSystems to design, supply, build and maintain the project, the value of which was $1,116,000.

“There are other civic buildings that could benefit from moving to combined heat and power technology.  After measuring the benefits of these installations, the business case for other civic facilities could be reviewed,” says Wallace.

Installation and commissioning of the units will be completed by early 2015 with ongoing monitoring and reporting being conducted until the completion of the project in fall of 2016.

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.

Eleven classes of Grades 4-8 students have been participating in the sustainability-focused pilot program. With support from the program partners, each teacher has been facilitating student learning, action and inquiry in one or more of the program’s five focus areas: waste, water, energy, food, or transportation. The resulting projects will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as other sustainability benefits in students’ classrooms, schools, households and the community at large.

Through various subject areas and curriculum outcomes, this program allows students to gain an understanding of their actions through a sustainability lens, linking environmental, social, and economic impacts.

Other program goals include:

• reflecting the goals set out in the City of Saskatoon’s Energy and GHG Management Plan and Strategic Plan
• pursuing inquiry- and action-based learning (experiential education)
• making connections with the local community (place-based education)
• striving towards environmental outcomes that are measureable
• having a meaningful community impact
• reflecting multiple ways of knowing, as well as Indigenous knowledges and practices

Upon completion of this year’s program, each class will be showcasing their project outcomes at a student tradeshow. School board trustees, superintendents, City of Saskatoon representatives, students’ parents and family members, and other stakeholders have been invited to view the amazing work that the different classes have worked on.

Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental & Corporate Initiatives: “The Student Action for a Sustainable Future program is an innovative way to engage school-aged children in sustainability-focused action projects. The results of their hard work and enthusiasm will have a tremendous impact on their schools, families and community.”

On April 15, 2014 participating students showcased their hard work at the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon. This included more than 40 displays, performances and other exciting results including:

• Conducting home and school energy audits
• Organizing school-wide waste audits
• Creating garbage art
• Creating lights out and lights half-out campaigns
• Lowering the school’s thermostat and encouraging “sweater days”
•  Discussing worldviews and learning about the relationships between humans and nature from Elders and Knowledge Keepers
• Going on field trips, such as touring the Saskatoon Landfill, visiting Saskatoon Light and Power, interviewing vendors at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, and learning about local food through ice fishing
• Getting involved in community and indoor gardens
• Measuring food miles and assessing the implications of both local and global food systems
• Creating a vermi compost for classroom organic waste
• Improving the school’s recycling system, bin system, and messaging

Spring is a busy time of year for projects in the yard, garden, and around the home.  Saskatoon residents with a property adjacent to a civic park may wish to use it as an access point for deliveries, equipment, or vehicles related to their projects.  In order to ensure that parks are safe and enjoyed by everyone, any type of work in a park that requires vehicles, equipment, or restricted access, must first have approval from the City of Saskatoon Parks Division. 

Parks Division will evaluate the request, conduct a site inspection, and if reasonable, provide approval.  In order to minimize any damages, vehicle access will be permitted only when turf conditions are dry and suitable for driving on.  The property owner will be responsible for removing any litter or debris, repairing any damages at their own expense, and being liable for injury that may occur as a result of the work.  City of Saskatoon Inspectors regularly follow-up on complaints and investigate damage to parks.

For more information or to request approval for your project, call 306-975-3300 or visit www.saskatoon.ca (look under “P” for Parks – Request Access to a Park).

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.

T

On April 27, 2014, Saskatoon Transit will introduce its Summer Route Schedule.

Each year during the post-secondary school term, Saskatoon Transit typically adds additional routes to support the higher number of transit users travelling to and from the University of Saskatchewan.

These support routes are being removed during the summer months and service will resume September 2, 2014. Details of the changes are as follows:

From April 27 to September 1, 2014, the following support routes will travel less frequently:

• Route 13 Lawson Heights
• Route 13 Broadway
  

From April 27 to September 1, 2014, the following route will be temporarily discontinued:

•  Route 21 University

For more information, visit www.saskatoon.ca and click on “T” for Transit or call the Transit Customer Service Centre at 306-975-3100.

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.

The Saskatoon Civic Conservatory has an Easter flower and plant display for visitors to enjoy throughout April, which features Easter lilies, snapdragons, stocks, astilbe, and kalanchoe.

The Conservatory showcases a variety of orchids, and tropical and arid plants, along with a new seasonal flower display each month.

The Conservatory is located in the same building as the Mendel Art Gallery at 950 Spadina Crescent East. It is open 364 days per year from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.  The cost of admission is by donation.  For more information, please visit www.saskatoon.ca (look under ”C” for Civic Conservatory).

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.