Dedicated bus lanes still planned on Third, Broadway amid rapid transit push
The economic benefits of proposed improvements to Saskatoon Transit outweigh the estimated cost of $90 million to $150 million, a city planning official says.
Lesley Anderson, the City of Saskatoon’s director of planning and development, explained the proposal to introduce bus rapid transit (BRT) elements to the city ’s transit service at a news conference Wednesday.
The plan, considered the cornerstone of the city ’s growth strategy, would introduce exclusive bus lanes on Third Avenue downtown, in the Broadway Avenue business district and on College Avenue.
The city conducted an economic cost-benefit analysis for the system, which will entail a network of bus routes with rapid service.
“(The analysis) showed the system will have more benefits for the citizens than it will have costs,” Anderson told reporters Wednesday.
City council will consider the transit plan at a special meeting of its governance and priorities committee on June 20, at 1 p.m. Residents are welcome to appear to offer their opinions.
Anderson said the consultants hired by the city looked at other options for dedicated bus lanes after businesses along Third and Broadway expressed concern about the elimination of lanes for parking and automobile traffic.
Ultimately, it was decided to keep the lanes on Broadway and Third and try to work to address concerns about parking, Anderson said.
“So people’s voice in this is very significant to the project,” she added.
The general idea behind the strategy is to create transit corridors characterized by rapid service that would encourage increased density along those stretches. Much of the plan has been known for years, including lines running along 22nd Street in the west and Eighth Street in the east.
Saskatoon Transit has been experimenting with rapid service along certain streets like Eighth, 22nd and Preston Avenue.
“We’ve had a lot of success with our high-frequency corridors,” acting Saskatoon Transit director Michael Moellenbeck said.
The city hopes to attract federal transit infrastructure money to help build the network.
Railway crossing delays, however, continue to pose a barrier for any system that aims to deliver faster, more reliable bus service.
Anderson and Moellenbeck said traffic signals that give priority to buses at other intersections will try to mitigate concerns about train delays.
At least three spots in the city will feature queue jump lanes for transit to help buses get through congested intersections, Anderson added.
Saskatoon Transit bucked a trend toward ridership decline with an increase in the number of rides in 2017 over the previous year. The system has yet to completely recover from a month-long lockout of transit employees in 2014.