RESIDENTS WELCOME AT CITY HALL DESPITE TIGHTER SECURITY

As of Nov. 1, all visitors entering the council chamber will need to undergo a visual inspection of their bags, writes Phil Tank.

CITY COUNCIL BAG CHECK PROCEDURE LOOMS

Coun. Hilary Gough wants to ensure Saskatoon residents know they are still welcome in the council chambers, despite greater security precautions.

Council unanimously endorsed a new security procedure that requires visitors and most city employees to undergo a visual inspection of purses, briefcases, backpacks and packages before entering the council chambers for council or committee meetings. Prohibited items like scissors and some liquids would be held during the meeting and returned afterward. Other items like weapons would be confiscated and prompt security staff to call police.

Gough said she wants to ensure people know the change is not intended to deter anyone from attending meetings.

“We appreciate your engagement,” she said. “We encourage your engagement. That’s the point.”

The change is expected to happen Nov. 1. Bags will be inspected by security officers at a table just outside the council chambers.

The increased security follows the actions of other municipalities to introduce measures like bag checks and, in some cases, metal detectors as preventive safety measures, a City of Saskatoon report says.

BIKE LANES AND BUS ROUTES, OH MY

It’s taking a little longer than expected to come up with a final plan for new bus routes and permanent downtown bike lanes.

Coun. Bev Dubois, whose council portfolio is transportation, said the proposals for both bus routes and bike lanes are expected to return to city council early next year. In an interview, Dubois said the city is engaged in consultations to make sure the right strategies are found.

Saskatoon Transit is moving toward a new system based on the principles of bus rapid transit (BRT) with high-frequency corridors. Three stretches would include bus-only lanes under the first proposal for a Brt-style system.

Two of those stretches, on Third Avenue downtown and along the Broadway Avenue business district, encountered opposition from the business community as the city embarked on consultation this summer.

The downtown business community voiced support for busonly lanes on First Avenue next to the Midtown Plaza instead of along Third, where many businesses like restaurants opposed the idea. Broadway businesses also lobbied for a reconsideration of the bus-only lanes, suggesting moving the corridor to Idylwyld Drive.

A network of downtown protected cycling lanes is proposed for Fourth Avenue, 23rd Street, 19th Street and Idylwyld. Council was originally expected to consider these projects this fall.

SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HOLD

As city council winds down some advisory committees that have existed for decades, a decision on a new committee has been postponed until 2020.

Advisory committees are generally filled by members of the public who provide advice to city council and the administration in several specialty areas.

Council has voted to eliminate the advisory committee on animal control, the traffic safety advisory committee and the street activity steering committee at the end of this year. Some felt the advisory committees were duplicating work being done elsewhere.

Council approved the changes in June with the exception of the scope of a new community wellbeing and safety advisory committee, a successor to the street activity steering committee.

On Monday, council pushed a final decision on the new committee to June 2020. Gough, whose council portfolio is community safety and wellness, asked for the postponement.

She said the extra time will give those involved more time to decide if the new committee is needed.