City Council Highlights

Below are some of the highlights from the March 2023 Council and Committee meetings. The full reports can be found at saskatoon.ca/meeting.

Downtown Event and Entertainment District Plan – Vision Statement and Guiding Principles

City Council passed a Vision Statement and set of Guiding Principles to inform the planning and development of the Downtown Event and Entertainment District.

Thank you to all of the Advisory Groups and community partners who helped inform this foundational document. In order for this project to be successful, it needs to be something that the whole community sees a place for themselves in. It needs to build on the strengths of where we have come from while being relevant and adaptive to what the future holds.

The Vision and Principles provides important guidance in this work. Bringing in so many different perspectives can be challenging. Yet having many people thinking through this has helped create a strong vision and set of principles to help guide this work. Thank you to everyone who has been taking part in these discussions.

Shared Electric Kick Scooter Pilot Program

Bylaw amendments were approved to allow a two-year pilot program for shared electric scooters in Saskatoon. Riders at least 16 years of age will be allowed to rent scooters through a mobile app to unlock them, then follow instructions for parking to return them. The pilot project beginning this year will allow for operation in commercial districts and the university campus zone.

Operation of the scooters can occur on multi-use trails, cycle tracks, protected bicycle lanes, and streets with a posted speed limit of 50 km/h or lower. Technology will be able to limit the speed of scooters depending on location. Helmets will be required as per Provincial Regulations and designated parking zones will also be required to avoid clutter.

A Request for Applications is currently out and will be closing in the next week so that either a single operator or two operators can be selected to operate the pilot project.

Channelization at the Main Street and Clarence Avenue Intersection

City Council voted unanimously to make changes to the intersection at Main Street and Clarence Avenue. Following ongoing concerns about safety from residents, Administration presented collision data from this intersection and other similar intersections from 2017-2021. At Main Street and Clarence Avenue there were 22 T-Bone collisions, which are the most dangerous and most likely to result in injury. Using comparable intersections based on traffic volume and intersection characteristics the next highest from the same time period was 3. There were an additional 4 T-Bone collisions at the intersection in 2022 resulting in 8 people being injured.

Changes will be trialed for a 3 year period and will involve channelization. Channelization will direct drivers travelling on Main Street approaching Clarence Avenue to only make a right hand turn onto Clarence Avenue. Drivers will no longer be able to make a left hand turn onto Clarence Avenue, or to cross Clarence and continue straight through on Main Street.

And more…

• The Victoria Park recreation building will serve as a place for community partners to gather and provide educational and recreational opportunities benefiting several community organizations. Generous donations have been made from Rotary Club, Co-op Community Spaces, and a reallocation of funds from the Victoria Park Upgrades project will help to bring the building project to completion.
• Two separate properties were approved for tax abatements through the Vacant Lot and Adaptive Reuse Incentive Program. One on 4th Avenue South and the other on Avenue N South. This program is designed to encourage development on vacant sites and the reuse of vacant buildings.
• Council has voted to pause the detailed design and construction for the 17th street extension until updated planning in the area through the West Industrial Concept Plan can be completed.