Report backs scrapping entrance sign initiative

City staff report suggests scrapping original plans due to rising costs

City hall staff recommend abandoning plans for four additional entrance signs to save $800,000.

Under a plan approved 16 years ago, the city began installing signs on highways entering Saskatoon with the city logo and slogan Saskatoon Shines.

Six have already been installed, but a report to be considered by a city council committee on Monday backs scrapping four more signs included in the original plan because the price has gone up.

“The city entrance signs have been well received,” the report says. “However, the cost to construct and maintain the city entrance signs has increased over what was originally budgeted.”

The cost to install the signs has now increased to $200,000 each, the report says.

The total funding approved for the signs is $374,229.74.

The report says scrapping plans for future signs would allow this money to be returned to a reserve fund for capital spending. Each sign would have cost about $3,000 per year to maintain.

It’s also difficult to secure land for the signs, the report says.

The four signs that would be abandoned if council approves the recommendation would have been located on Highway 229 south (Lorne Avenue), Highway 5 east, Highway 14 west and Valley Road.

The first city entrance sign was installed on Airport Drive in 2004 through a partnership with the Saskatoon Airport Authority.

The next sign was installed on Highway 11 south of the city in 2006 for $160,000.

Four more signs were added along Highway 16 northeast of the city, Highway 16 southeast, Highway 11 north and Highway 7 west.

The Highway 7 sign was the last installed in 2014 at a cost of $134,000.

The city has also installed two smaller, cheaper overpass signs on 22nd Street on the west side of the city and on College Drive at the Highway 16 interchange.

These signs cost between $80,000 and $100,000 and need about $500 per year for maintenance.

The report suggests the city could consider these as a cheaper option.

MATT SMITH A city report recommends scrapping four Saskatoon Shines entrance signs that were planned to be built near highways entering the city. “The cost to construct and maintain the city entrance signs has increased over what was originally budgeted,” the...