South West Transportation Planning Council releases comprehensive transportation plan

The South West Transportation Planning Council (SWTPC) is a committee made up of rural and urban municipal representatives, as well as members representing SUMA and SARM, First Nations and economic development, throughout southwest Saskatchewan. Bordered on the west by Alberta, on the south by the USA, and extending to the South Saskatchewan River on the north and to Mortlach and Assiniboia on the east, the SWTPC was formed in 1995 as a prototype with the co-operation of SARM and the provincial government.

Intended to be “eyes on the ground”, and funded through a municipal membership levy and the provincial government, the initial objective was to form a regional transportation council that actively involves stakeholders in a co-operative and interactive process for transportation planning. The new committee was also tasked with developing a Transportation Plan for the Southwest.

Now just one of 11 provincial Area Transportation Planning Councils across Saskatchewan, the primary objectives of the SWTPC are still in place. With consultation at the municipal level and with the support of the provincial government, in 2016 the SWTPC began to put together the fourth comprehensive transportation plan for the southwest since 1998. But this plan was quite different from previous studies.

Unlike its predecessors, it would be researched and written by the SWTPC itself.

Using data from the Ministries of Agriculture and Energy, Mines and Resources, and the assistance of Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure planner Alan Lindsay, as well as Statistics Canada, the SWTPC was able to piece together a condensed review of traffic patterns, road use, truck numbers, and tourism information into a new plan, “Grassroots Influence

in Transportation Planning”.

A transportation plan forms the basis of decisions made by the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, and also offers residents, business, and municipal government a condensed view of transportation in the southwest. It is a snapshot of our time, and establishes a baseline to compare to future circumstances in subsequent studies.

Our transportation needs will continue to evolve, and the SWTPC pledges to work hard to represent and support municipalities as they develop their own transportation strategies, and to bring to the Ministry the transportation concerns of southwest municipalities.

For more information or to receive a copy of “Grassroots Influence in Transportation Planning” on disc, email our committee at swtpc@sasktel. net. Our council looks forward to your questions and comments.