Saskatoon continues infrastructure improvements with federal funding

The city of Saskatoon, SK, received C$5.3 million (US$4.03 million) from the government of Canada through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund to be used toward a series of infrastructure improvements aimed connecting people with the city’s transportation network.

“Getting people where they need to go safely, quickly, and comfortably is essential to creating livable communities,” says the Honorable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. “Our government is proud to support these vital upgrades to Saskatoon’s transit infrastructure. A safer, more inclusive transit system will increase ridership, reduce congestion and improve air quality.”

Both the city and government of Canada are investing a combined C$10.6 million (US$8.05 million) into the projects, which includes improvements to transit shelters, bus stops, sidewalks and other related infrastructure. A full listing of the planned improvements can be found at SaskatoonTransit.ca/about-us/projects.

Through its recent Bus Stop Blues campaign, Saskatoon Transit received more than 45 submissions on areas that would benefit from improvements. Submissions were categorized into one of three categories: 1) sidewalk/accessibility, 2) new shelter/ repair or 3) general maintenance. Three quarters of the submissions received were asking for improvements to the Attridge Drive and Rever Road location.

As part of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) plans, Attridge and Rever has also been selected for one of the BRT stations which will act as a major transfer point for the area. BRT stations are planned to be built at a height of approximately 10 inches, about 4 inches higher than existing curbs throughout the city. As a pilot, the bus stops at Attridge Drive and Rever Road were built to a height of 10 inches. The raised curbs will improve accessibility by offering near level boarding to accommodate wheelchair access without having to deploy the bus ramp allowing for faster passenger loading times. This is in addition to Saskatoon Transit’s objectives to attain a 100 per cent accessible fleet by the end of 2018.

“When we’re upgrading stops, we look at the connecting sidewalks people use to get to those locations as well,” says David LeBoutillier, Saskatoon’s acting engineering manager for Transportation. “Depending on the pre-existing conditions, we repaired or replaced and, in some cases, added new sidewalk at identified locations.”

the city improved 20 percent more sidewalk panels than originally projected for 2018. Sidewalk were also installed at locations around the city. The locations for both panel and ramp repair/installation were identified based on connectivity to transit. Additional considerations included public input, Neighbourhood Traffic Review recommendations and prioritization for those locations where there are no sidewalks on either side of the road.