News Releases

The City is continuing to receive reports of members of the public disrespecting work zones and compromising worker and public safety. The single biggest issue continues to be disregarding work zone signage and barriers and entering work zones.

“The City has strict practices for work zone set-up and management and it’s something we take very seriously,” says Cory Funk, Traffic Operations & Control Manager. “It can be frustrating when our crews take a great deal of time and care to ensure their work zones meet safety protocols, but then to see signage, cones or barriers ignored and the work zone compromised.”

Funk understands that road users can experience frustrations when they see a work zone in place where there doesn’t appear to be any work underway. However, he says it’s just as important that people respect signage even when workers are not present. Barriers remain in place for a number of reasons that aren’t always visible such as when road or roadside hazards are present or when fresh road treatments are setting.

It’s also important to note that work zones can come in various forms and are not just the typical roadwork construction areas that people are accustomed to seeing. A work zone is a signed zone around any work area that’s in place to protect workers and members of the public. The landfill is a permanent work zone and visitors will note the permanent placement of work zone signage and barriers. Parks can also include work zones when crews are using equipment to undertake maintenance and improvement work. Since not all work zones look the same, Saskatoon residents are advised to watch for workers and signage wherever they go.

The Respect Work Zones campaign supports the City Council Strategic Priority (2016-2020 Term) of Transportation. This year, through the Building Better Roads program, City Council is investing $61 million to build, maintain and repair sidewalks and roadways in local neighbourhoods in addition to other projects around the city. 

The City of Saskatoon is very pleased with the progress that has been made on the construction of the North Commuter Parkway and new Traffic Bridge. The two bridges and accompanying roadways are part of the Bridging to Tomorrow project, which remains on track for completion in October 2018.

“At the North Commuter Parkway, all of the in-river piers are now in place,” says Dan Willems, Director for Major Projects and Preservation. “The structural steel for the remaining two spans of the bridge are have been installed and the bridge is progressing on time and as planned.” 

As for North Commuter Parkway roadway work, new southbound lanes on Central Avenue from Attridge Drive to Fedoruk Road opened to traffic earlier this summer and new northbound lanes are now being reconstructed. Sound wall construction is nearly complete along Attridge Drive west of Central Avenue and is ongoing along Attridge Drive east of Central Avenue. The six-lane North Commuter Parkway will connect Saskatoon’s Marquis Industrial Area to neighbourhoods on the east-side. It will also accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.

The new Traffic Bridge looks similar to the old traffic bridge but is slightly wider and taller in order to accommodate wider traffic lanes, wider pathways on both sides, and overhead clearance for emergency vehicles. Once complete, it will once again serve as a convenient link for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists crossing the South Saskatchewan River.

“All of the Traffic Bridge trusses are now in place and bridge deck construction continues. Crews are also working on the Saskatchewan Crescent overpass and retaining walls in Rotary Park. The retaining wall on Victoria Avenue is now complete and utility work is ongoing in the area,” says Willems.

Bridging to Tomorrow project updates, including detailed monthly summaries, links to live cameras at each bridge site, and quarterly video updates, are available at saskatoon.ca/bridging.

In person, anyone can watch Traffic Bridge progress at the River Landing viewing area. North Commuter Parkway construction can be viewed from the Meewasin Trail just east of the cul-de-sac at the north end of Kinnear Avenue (north of Silverwood Golf Course). 

Citizens are increasingly more satisfied with City services says the latest Civic Services Survey.  This is one of the many results from the 2017 Civic Services Survey and Citizen Budget, both of which will be presented next week to the Governance and Priorities Committee.

The results are one important way the City gathers input to understand the needs and perceptions of citizens, and to identify areas which need added focus in the coming year.  City Council and Administration will consider the information gathered to help shape the City’s Corporate Business Plan and Budget for 2018.

“It’s great to see citizens’ continue to have an overall high level of satisfaction with the many services the City provides.  Since 2013, overall satisfaction provided by the City has seen an increase,” says Carla Blumers, Director of Communications. “When comparing the latest results with 2013, satisfaction increased from 83% to 88% for telephone respondents.  It is even more encouraging when you see online respondents overall satisfaction moving from 73% to 85%.”

In 2015, the City established a performance target of overall satisfaction with civic services of 90% or more. “Looking at the 2017 Survey results, it shows how close citizens feel the City is to getting over the goal-line,” says Blumers.

The majority of respondents on the survey continue to rate the quality of life as high (89% telephone and 85% online).  These results have held steady since 2013.

“While the most important issue facing the City continues to be roads and sidewalks, significantly fewer citizens identify this as the most important issue when compared with the 2013 results,” says Blumers.  The investment in the Building Better Roads program since 2014 is definitely making a difference.  In 2013, 35% of telephone and 31% of online respondents cited roads as the number one issue. By 2017 the percentage declined by 15% for telephone and 17% for online respondents. 

Civic Services Survey Highlights:

• 89% of telephone and 85% of online respondents rate the quality of life in Saskatoon as good or very good. A majority feel the quality of life has remained the same or improved within the last three years.
• 79% of telephone and 74% of online respondents agree the City is on the right track to making Saskatoon a better city 10 years from now.
• Roads and sidewalks continue to be the most important issue facing the city, followed by crime/policing, taxation levels, social issues and spending.
• Several specific services saw increases in satisfaction from online respondents, including: repair of water main breaks, removing contaminants from waste-water, maintenance of roadways and freeways, and street maintenance in one’s neighbourhood.
• Overall satisfaction with the quality of City information and communications is strong among both telephone and online respondents (85% telephone, 88% online).
• When interacting with the City, citizens give high ratings for customer service related activities such as staff being courteous, helpful, knowledgeable, and practicing open and accessible government. Respondents provide lower ratings for community engagement related activities such as using input from the public in decision-making, and allowing citizens to have meaningful input.
• The majority of residents believe they receive good value for what they pay in property taxes (84% telephone and 76% online). This question was last asked in 2014 where results were significantly lower.
• The majority of citizens would prefer a combination of user fees and property taxes as the most appropriate way to pay for services and balance the City’s operating budget.

Citizen Budget Highlights:

• The combined engagement results from the online Citizen Budget tool and Civic Services Survey show that citizens prefer to keep service levels/spending the same for eleven categories.  The exception is a slightly higher preference to increase service levels/spending on roads and affordable housing.
• However, the percentage of citizens who identified a preference to increase service levels/spending for Road Maintenance is significantly lower than the previous year (52% in 2017 versus 63% in 2016).

A total of 500 telephone and 800 online surveys were completed for the Civic Services Survey. There were nearly 1,600 unique visitors to the online Citizen Budget tool and 554 citizens submitted a response.

The Civic Services Survey and Citizen Budget are one of many citizen inputs that will help to inform City Council during discussions on the 2018 Corporate Business Plan and Budget plans.

The detailed findings of the 2017 Civic Services Survey  and the 2017 Citizen Budget are available at saskatoon.ca/financialfuture.

Saskatoon road users may be noticing fresh line paint on a number of roads and crosswalks around the city. So far this construction season, 734.4 kilometres of roadway have had fresh lines painted and an additional 8.3 kilometres of durable line markings (lasting 7 to 10 years) have been applied on high traffic roads like Circle Drive and Idylwyld Drive. The city’s 1,004 crosswalks have received their first coat of paint, and 376 have also now received the second and final coat of paint for the season.

“Our line painting program has been running smoothly this season with few disruptions from maintenance issues, weather, or anything else,” says Jay Magus, Acting Director of Transportation. “The recent heavy rainfalls did mean there were a few days we couldn’t get out there, as we can’t paint when the road surfaces are wet, however our program remains on schedule.”

The City is testing a new surface-applied durable marking product on crosswalks at high traffic locations this season. It was applied to 36 intersections on major arterial roads like 22nd Street, 8th Street, and College Drive. The more durable marking should mean the crosswalks stay in place longer and result in a reduction in the amount of time crews need to be set up in high traffic areas.

Some of the remaining line painting work to be carried out in 2017 includes:

• Approximately 200 kilometres of lines left to mark;
• 628 crosswalks remain to receive a second coat of paint;
• Installation of durable chevrons in the gore points around Circle Drive.

The projected budget for the 2017 line painting program is approximately $1.1 million. The program is expected to wrap up for the season at the end of September. Learn more by visiting saskatoon.ca/betterroads and clicking on ‘Line Painting’.

Today, in a report to the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services, City Administration highlighted opportunities to divert organics from the landfill.

“Every year, 32% of all material put into our regional landfills is organic food and yard waste. And, organics still make up 58% of our single family residential garbage.” says Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental and Corporate Initiatives. “If we want to reach our target of diverting 70% of our waste from the landfill, organics represents our single biggest opportunity.”

Wallace says a successful waste diversion program is critical to deferring the closure of the landfill. The costs to close the existing landfill and establish a new landfill are estimated at $26 million and $100 million respectively.

The diversion of organics was identified within the Waste Diversion Opportunities report presented to Council in May 2017. Outcomes from this report will be the focus of community discussions planned for the fall. Preliminary results from a recent Waste and Recycling Survey completed by Insightrix in July 2017 indicate that 79% of residents strongly or somewhat support city-wide food and yard waste (Green Cart) collection for all households.

The Green Cart Program has grown significantly since 2015, with 11% of single-family households now subscribing. However, the current Program is financially unsustainable and is not likely to divert an amount significant enough to influence the City's waste diversion targets to sustain the landfill.

The Organic Opportunities Report can be found on saskatoon.ca/wastediversion.

Exploring options for a city-wide organics program supports the Strategic Goal of Environmental Leadership including the four-year priority to promote and facilitate city-wide composting and recycling and the long-term strategy to eliminate the need for a new landfill and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions tied to City operations. In addition, it supports the Waste Diversion Performance Target to divert 70% of waste by 2023.

Today, in a report to the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services, City Administration outlined options to expand the Waste Services Utility. Expanding the Waste Services Utility would mean reducing property taxes and transferring the cost of some or all waste management services to a monthly bill. A variable-rate utility would provide additional incentive for people to reduce the amount of waste they put in their black garbage cart, allow the City to build a sustainable funding model, and extend the life of the Landfill. The variable fee-for service model for garbage collection includes charges based on cart size or collection frequency, not weight.

“Because waste services can also vary by household, it makes sense to consider charging utility fees in a way similar to water and electricity. An expanded waste utility could provide residents with more control over the amount they pay, by reducing the amount of waste they throw in their black cart or garbage bin - extending the life of the landfill,” says Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental and Corporate Initiatives. “We put almost 100,000 tonnes into the landfill every year, but more than 75% could be diverted through programs like recycling and composting.”

Wallace says research conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (2013) found that waste utility models can improve waste diversion rates by up to 40%. A successful waste diversion program is critical to deferring the closure of the landfill. The costs to close the existing landfill and establish a new landfill are estimated at $26 million and $100 million respectively.

The community has set a target of diverting 70% of our waste from the landfill. This means that 70% of waste in Saskatoon will be reused, recycled or composted. In 2016, only 22% of waste was being diverted through programs such as the single and multi-unit residential recycling programs. This is the second lowest diversion rate when benchmarked against other Canadian cities.

The expanded Waste Services Utility was identified within the Waste Diversion Opportunities report presented to Council in May 2017. Outcomes from this report will be the focus of community discussions planned for the fall.

The Waste Service Utility Design Options report can be found on saskatoon.ca/wastediversion.

This expansion of the waste services utility supports the Strategic Goal of Environmental Leadership including the four-year priority to promote and facilitate city-wide composting and recycling and the long-term strategy to eliminate the need for a new landfill; It also supports the Strategic Goal of Asset and Financial Sustainability by reducing reliance on residential property taxes and setting long term sustainable rates.

Earlier this year, City Council requested a Market Sounding be initiated by the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) to determine what conditions are required to attract a grocery store to locate in the Downtown.

“It was important to Council to determine both the level of interest and the barriers that exist to establish a grocery store in downtown Saskatoon," says Councillor Cynthia Block.  "Getting feedback from grocers, food cooperatives, and developers who would be interested in owning/operating a grocery store will help Council determine next steps."

Now complete, SREDA’s Market Sounding report reveals key challenges expressed by industry partners, such as the current population density, cost of land, rent, construction, and establishing a site in an appropriate location with the desired building size and adequate parking.  Grocers who participated in the Market Sounding were asked whether or not they were currently interested in locating in Downtown Saskatoon.  Most indicated they had no desire as the current population is not sufficient to support a store.

"SREDA's research concluded that industry continues to be interested in the Saskatoon market; however, currently there is insufficient population to support a downtown grocery store.  That being said, if the downtown population continues to grow, and we develop the right mix of incentives and business conditions, we are hopeful that it's a case of when, and not if, a grocer will invest in our downtown," says Alex Fallon, President and Chief Executive Officer of SREDA.

Given the findings, the Administration is recommending to City Council that efforts be focused on increasing the number of residents in the Downtown, particularly in the north end where there is already a large concentration of residential buildings.

Current incentives in place for residential development in the Downtown, such as Vacant Lot and Adaptive Reuse Incentive Program Policy No. C09-035, are being recommended for review with the goal of making them more accessible, comprehensive, and effective in attracting developments.  These incentives may also target specific locations in the Downtown as a means to address population density.

“A robust suite of incentives aimed at prospective grocery stores will be prepared for Council’s consideration so that when a grocer comes forward, development of a grocery store can be expedited,” says Randy Grauer, General Manager, Community Services Department.

For a copy of the Market Sounding report, please visit saskatoon.ca/citycentre, or contact the Planning and Development Division at 306-975-7697.

Saskatoon was under a severe thunderstorm warning on Tuesday afternoon. A heavy rainfall warning quickly followed just after 1:20 p.m. The rain system was the most intense in east-central neighbourhoods, knocking out power in Avalon, Nutana, Adelaide/Churchill and Holliston. These areas experienced localized intensity from the storm system, washing out a number of roads. Although intense for the areas with the heaviest rainfall, this storm is considered to be between a one in two year, and one in five year event.

“This is the second time in less than a month that we have been hit with a system so intense that our storm sewer system simply can’t keep up – the systems in older neighbourhoods are not designed to take on so much water within a very short period of time,” said Galen Heinrichs, Water and Sewer Engineering Manager, Transportation and Utilities. “City rain gauges measured accumulations ranging from 25 mm in the southeast around Avalon and Churchill to between 1 mm and 3 mm in areas of the northwest.”

City crews were kept busy closing roads where water wasn’t receding, clearing grates, ensuring manhole covers were in place and cleaning up debris. Outdoor swimming pools closed and Saskatoon Transit routes were affected due to the heavy rain. The storm also forced the closure of PotashCorp Playland, the landfill and the compost depot at 11th Street West and Highway 7. The City has also received calls about some downed trees and branches due to wind gusts during the storm.

The Saskatoon Police Service and Saskatoon Fire Department were also kept busy responding to storm related calls. 

Major upgrades to local infrastructure are well underway in several locations throughout Saskatoon thanks to support from federal and provincial governments as part of the 2017 Water Main, Sanitary Lining and Lead Water Pipe Replacement Initiative.

“I am pleased to see work progressing so quickly in Saskatoon,” said the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. “Modern, efficient water infrastructure is essential to the well-being of Canadian families and the sustainable development of our communities. These projects will improve the reliability of Saskatoon’s water and wastewater systems while protecting the local environment.”

Warm, dry weather this summer has allowed for work on the initiative’s first five neighbourhoods to progress quickly, with few interruptions.  Work at the final three project locations starts this month, keeping the initiative on schedule.  So far this year, over 15,000 properties in Saskatoon have benefitted from extensive water main replacement, sanitary replacement/rehabilitation or sewer main inspection work including 464 lead water service pipes replacements.

As underground infrastructure work is completed, street reconstruction is being done to improve the quality of neighbourhood roadways. Currently 8 lane kilometres of roadways have been paved.

“The Government of Saskatchewan is proud to be working with its federal and municipal partners by investing up to $7.9 million toward this important Initiative which will improve these Saskatoon neighbourhoods, enhance the quality of life for the citizens who live in them, and contribute to strengthening the overall infrastructure of this great province,” said the Honourable Donna Harpauer, Minister of Government Relations.

The intent of this initiative is to accelerate short-term municipal investments while supporting the rehabilitation of water and wastewater infrastructure to meet immediate priorities for clean water and healthier environments for communities.

“Our residents have expressed a desire to have lead lines replaced and water and sewer infrastructure improved as soon as possible,” says Celene Anger, Director of Construction and Design. “These funding dollars have allowed us to accelerate our timeline and get the work done at a rate they can be happy with.  Fewer watermain breaks, smoother roadways, and access to clean water all add up to a better quality of life. ”

Through the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, the Government of Canada is contributing up to $15.8 million, the Government of Saskatchewan is contributing up to $7.9 million, and the City of Saskatoon is contributing $7.9 million toward this initiative worth a total of $31.6 million.

The City is also contributing an additional $11.7 million to water and sewer replacement projects as part of its annual programs.

City Council Decisions In Brief

From the July 26, 2017 Regular Meeting of City Council

9.7.1 Award of Contract - Bus Rapid and Conventional Transit Planning, Design, and Engineering Services Request for Proposals

Decision

*Council approved the award of contract to HDR Corporation for planning, design, and engineering services for a total contract amount of $3,052,726.44 (including taxes).

Background

*Enhancements to the current transit system, and the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit system, have been identified in the Growth Plan as a high priority moving forward. Effective September 15, 2016, several Growth Plan projects received approval for federal funding support through Phase 1 of the Infrastructure Fund. The combination of City and federal funding brings the total amount of the City’s eligible Infrastructure Fund projects dedicated to infrastructure design to $7.6 million.

9.7.2 Rotary Clubs’ Gazebo Project - Rotary Park  

Decision

*Council approved the request by five Rotary Clubs of Saskatoon to design, construct, and donate a gazebo for installation in Rotary Park, subject to administrative conditions.

 Background

*The Rotary Clubs submitted a letter of intent to the City on July 6, 2017, making the proposal as a way to commemorate the 100^th Anniversary of Rotary Clubs in Saskatoon.

9.11.2 Provincial Disaster Assistance Program

Decision

*Council agreed to apply to the Ministry of Government Relations of the Province of Saskatchewan to be designated as an Eligible Assistance Area under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program, as a result of excessive rain which occurred on July 10, 2017.

Background

* It is the Administration’s understanding that damage caused by excessive amounts of rain would qualify under Saskatchewan’s Provincial Disaster Assistance Program. The minimum criterion for a declaration is one claim of $5,000 or several smaller claims totaling $25,000. Based on calls received to date, Saskatoon has met the requirements.

*In order for individual citizens to receive assistance under the provincial program, the City of Saskatoon must be designated an Eligible Assistance Area.

*Update as of Friday July 28, 2017, the Province of Saskatchewan approved the City of Saskatoon’s application to be designated as an Eligible Assistance Area, making residents eligible for assistance under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP).