ON-STREET PARKING LIMIT WON’T CHANGE
Despite concerns about 36-hour limit, committee sticks with status quo, says Phil Tank.
The City of Saskatoon seems likely to stick with its 36-hour on-street parking limit, despite uncertainty over whether it’s the right approach.
“I just don’t know if we’re on the same page as the public on this because the bylaw ’s quite old,” Coun. Randy Donauer said at Monday’s meeting of city council’s transportation committee.
The city reduced the time limit to 36 hours from 48 hours in 1997. Acting general manager of transportation and utilities Angela Gardiner told Donauer the city has not consulted the public on the issue.
The 36-hour time limit matches the notice the city gives for snow clearing, street cleaning or sweeping. Increasing the time limit would cost $330,000 to $400,000, a city report says.
Coun. Bev Dubois said the time limit places a burden on people who might want to go away for a weekend. Other committee members also expressed misgivings about the rule.
Gardiner said the 36-hour limit is enforced on a complaint basis. If a vehicle has been parked on the street for 36 hours and a complaint is registered, parking enforcement staff must then confirm it’s been there for at least 36 hours. In effect, that extends the limit to 72 hours.
The committee met in camera for a confidential discussion on enforcement. It defeated a motion by Coun. Cynthia Block to explore the possibility of exemptions for residential areas.
BIN THERE, DONE THAT
The days of leaving construction material and bins on Saskatoon streets for extended periods at no cost appear to be ending.
The transportation committee unanimously endorsed a new ap- proach that would allow bins to be placed on streets for two weeks for free. After that, the city would charge $50 a month.
The two-week exemption would allow for short projects like shingling and landscaping. The committee also approved a daily cost for street closures on major roadways for private construction.
Right now, bin placement on streets is free in Saskatoon.
“I don’t want to say that it’s a complete free-for-all, but in some cases it is,” Gardiner told the committee.
Regina charges a one-time fee of $24 for bins, regardless of how long they remain on the street. Under the proposed new rules, leaving a bin on the street in Saskatoon for six months would cost $300. That’s still far lower than in Calgary ($3,150) and Winnipeg ($1,060).
Like all decisions at the committee level, city council still needs to grant final approval.
SPRING CLEARANCE
Why is the City of Saskatoon removing snow in the spring when it’s likely to melt soon?
Brandon Harris, the city’s director of roadways and operations, answered this pressing question from Donauer at Monday’s transportation committee meeting.
Harris said part of the reason is to remove other debris to make spring street sweeper easier and less costly. The other factor is clearing the snow to allow for sweeping.
Harris admitted the city ’s streetsweeping schedule is threatened by the extended length of winter this year. The city has a window of about six or seven weeks to complete sweeping, he said.
The city is about $200,000 over its snow removal budget, despite a winter that was mostly average in terms of snowfall. The cold temperatures have meant a larger snow pack, which has increased clearing costs, a city report says.
Despite the long winter, Dubois said she’s hearing fewer complaints about snow and ice clearing.
“They’ve done a fantastic job,” she said. Block wants the effect of autonomous vehicles on traffic to be considered before the province embarks on the Saskatoon Freeway project.
The transportation committee voted unanimously to endorse the province’s preferred route for the bypass on Monday. Block said she wonders whether the future of traffic will be considered before the province spends “many billions of dollars that could perhaps be better utilized.”
Donauer said the city lobbied to have the project built before the Regina Bypass, but the latter is being built first. “This is very significant for the city of Saskatoon,” he said of the Saskatoon Freeway. The bypass is intended to take transport truck traffic off city streets.
No timeline has been established for the project. The last estimated price tag of $2 billion is from 2014.
MOBILITY HELP
The City of Saskatoon could develop a special program to ensure streets and sidewalks are more accommodating to people with barriers to mobility.
Jeff Siemens, who has lost both his legs and lives at the Sherbrooke Community Centre, addressed the transportation committee on Monday. He raised several concerns for people using wheelchairs or scooters, such as snow clearing, potholes and drivers ignoring traffic lights.
“I’m just asking you, ‘Do we count?’ ” Siemens said.
Dubois said she hears “constantly ” about such issues. The committee voted to get city staff to explore the possibility of a special program and to report back by the fall.