City Council Highlights

Below are some of the highlights from the June Council and Committee meetings. The full reports can be found at saskatoon.ca/meeting.

Response to Rain Event

More than 1200 calls were reported to the Customer Care Centre with 114 that required service due to the June 20 rain event. As the heavy rain started, city crews were quick to respond. Numerous areas in the city saw rain accumulation of over 50 mm and areas near Stonebridge had nearly 70 mm of rainfall, which led to flooding. The Wastewater Treatment Plant saw flow of more than 3 times the daily average while operating at maximum capacity. 10 million litres of water flow were diverted to process tanks to handle high flow events.

The Dry Pond at W.W. Ashley Park was a tremendous success in an area of the city that typically floods. The City has plans for more Dry Ponds and will continue to work on projects in the Flood Control Strategy to help minimize flooding in the 10 highest risk locations of the City.

Council unanimously approved motions for an investigative device that would alert drivers not to proceed under overpasses when water or snow gets to a dangerous depth, as well as a report on the impacts of City Infrastructure from the event.

Small Dog Off-Leash Park Approved

Saskatoon has some of the best dog parks across the country. Small dog parks are showing up in more cities and are an amenity that we hadn’t yet seen in Saskatoon. Council has now approved two small dog parks, one on the east side of the city at Hyde Park and one on the west side of the city at Charlottetown Park. To use these parks, small dogs are defined as being no larger than 16-inches tall at the shoulder and weighing no more than 20 pounds.

These parks will hopefully be completed and opened by the end of this year. This is a good step forward in meeting the needs of pet owners and increasing safety for pets and dog owners.

Outdoor Patio for STC Wellness Centre

We are at a time where many people are on the streets, facing homelessness. As Fire Chief Hackl said, “If you don’t have infrastructure, people create it.” By creating a space that can be more inviting and more comfortable for relatives who are using the STC Emergency Wellness Centre, this patio will be an alternative to sitting on the bare sidewalk. Over the next couple of months, this patio will be assessed according to whether it was successful in safely providing some usable outdoor space for people to gather outside of the wellness centre.

We will continue to adapt as we look for a more permanent solution to the wellness centre. Thanks to the city staff for recognizing that we are in an unprecedented situation and that we must work with the STC to ensure that services are in place for those who need them. We continue to work to create safe environments for people who need support.

Removal of Mandatory Masking on Saskatoon Transit

The requirement to mask while on board Saskatoon Transit and Access Transit will no longer apply starting in July. As transmission of COVID continues to decline along with hospitalizations, the decision was made to move to “recommending” masking on Saskatoon Transit.

If there will be a rise in transmission, particularly in the fall once schools and university resumes, we will monitor this situation so that we can keep our community safe. We will still maintain the ability to connect with our local Medical Health Officer and stay on top of things if our local situation is to worsen in the future.

And more…

• City Council approved an amendment to the zoning agreement at the YWCA that will allow for the construction of 18 supportive housing units above a portion of the parking lot at that site.
• City Council approved five projects under Innovative Housing Incentives for 2022 to help with the development of 59 affordable rental units in Saskatoon.
• As we head into summer, the best line of protection and to prevent another surge of cases into the fall is to stay up to date on your booster vaccines. You can help protect yourself and others as best possible while decreasing the likelihood of needing restrictions in the future.