5 things to watch for from city council
Don’t feel like reading the 552-page council agenda? Here are some of the top decisions expected to come out of Monday’s meeting.
1. WHETHER TO FINE PEOPLE WHO DON’T SHOVEL
Council’s transportation committee and city administration recommend that fines be slapped on people and businesses who repeatedly fail to shovel their sidewalks. It’s a move lauded by disabled persons’ advocate Len Boser, who gets around in a motorized scooter. He said unshovelled walks keep him and other disabled Saskatonians prisoners in their own homes and that more disincentives are needed against those who don’t shovel. “Think of what a pain in the butt it is to push a 250-pound man in a wheelchair down an unshovelled sidewalk,” he told The StarPhoenix earlier this month. If the fines are approved, people will continue to receive a warning for a first offence. A next violation would result in a penalty of $100, followed by $200 for a subsequent offence. Further violations could bring fines of up to $1,000 for individuals or $2,000 for businesses. People who leave walks unshovelled after receiving a fine or warning will continue to have their sidewalks cleared by the city at their expense. City administrators said most people clear their walks and they don’t expect many people to be fined.
2. WHETHER TO ALLOW ANYONE ON UNIVERSITY BRIDGE WHILE IT’S UNDER CONSTRUCTION THIS SUMMER
Council has been presented with two price tags for the renovations of the 99-year-old University Bridge: $5.7 million to shut down the whole bridge or $6 million to keep one lane open throughout the planned May to August construction. Council’s transportation committee recommends the city pay more so school buses, public transit, emergency vehicles and health region vehicles can continue to cross the bridge. If a $6-million contract with Horseshoe Hill Construction is approved, the city will need to develop a plan for how to manage traffic on the bridge.
3. HOW MUCH MONEY TO POUR INTO THE STONEBRIDGE INTERCHANGE
Council’s transportation committee has asked the city to approve $1.9 million in additional funding for an interchange at Highway 11 and Stonebridge. If approved, an equal amount would be fronted by Stonebridge developer Dream Asset Management, bringing the project’s total price tag to $19 million. Construction on the interchange was supposed to have started in 2014, with the project being completed in 2015, but timelines were moved back a year because insufficient funding was allocated for the project. Earlier this month, council heard from a Stonebridge resident that more should be invested in the interchange so a southbound interchange could be incorporated. Don Cook, the city’s manager of long-range planning, said only 50 to 100 people per day would use a southbound lane and it’s not a priority. Other councillors argued the city should start building for bigger capacity already.
4. WHETHER TO AWARD MORE THAN $200K TO A CONTRACTOR TO DEVELOP AN ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN
City administration recommends that $209,988 be awarded to consulting firm Urban Systems Ltd. to create an active transportation plan. The plan would examine what needs to happen in Saskatoon for vehicles, buses, bikes and pedestrians to safely and efficiently get around the city. It’s not clear when the plan would be completed.
5. WHETHER TO APPROVE A NEW OFF-LEASH DOG PARK IN HAMPTON VILLAGE
Council will decide whether to authorize its eighth off-leash recreation area, this one in Hampton Village, just outside city limits by the airport. If approved, the park would open to the public in October 2015.