Tag Archives: City

Chief Darcy Bear Park – Naming of the Park Celebration

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Chief Darcy Bear Park (beside Nutana Collegiate) Naming of the Park Celebration – Wednesday June 3rd 11am.

The City has taken responsibility of the old Nutana Collegiate school field (and once the Saskatoon Exhibition grounds), and re-landscaped it with a Community Garden and play structure. The park has been named after Chief Darcy Bear in recognition of his accomplishments, the longstanding relationship between the Whitecap Dakota First Nation the City, and the School Board (and the fact that Chief Darcy Bear is a Nutana Collegiate Graduate himself).

Come out to this historic event, there will be a Naming Ceremony and a BBQ as part of the celebration.

Street Sweeping and Utility Repair Schedules

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Wondering when your street will be swept? This website has the for the schedule for this year: Most of Ward 6 will be done over the next two weeks, except Holliston which will be done by June 8th.

There is also a slick new map showing utility cuts and populating a schedule for them to be repaired. Check out this interactive map showing repair schedule. (some of the cuts have yet to be scheduled but should be identified on the map).

Varsity View and Nutana Neighbourhood Traffic Plans

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Varsity View and Nutana Neighbourhood Traffic Plans

Varsity View and Nutana neighbourhoods have both undergone neighbourhood traffic planning processes that have resulted in a number of proposals to improve traffic safety. These will be recommended for approval at City Council on Monday, May 25.

Nutana’s plan can be found at page 1189 of the Full Council Agenda. The main changes being proposed in Nutana are:

• Closure of the 9th St on-ramp onto the Idylwyld Freeway and removal of the roundabout at 9th and McPherson (to reduce cross-cutting traffic down 9th St)
• Installation of pedestrian activated crosswalks at 9th and Broadway and 11th and Clarence
• Alterations at intersection of Lansdowne/Temperance/14th including: Closure of small section of 14th between Temperance and Lansdowne; Reconfiguration of median to create more defined turns onto Temperance from Lansdowne and vice versa to reduce high speed cornering and accidents at that corner.
• Plus numerous more minor additional curb extensions, signage, and other changes to address specific interesections.

Varsity View’s Traffic Plan can be found at page 133 of the Council Agenda: The changes being proposed are not as significant in Varsity View, but consist of a number of new crosswalks, additional signage, as well as the pedestrian light at Clarence and 11th. There is also a recommendation to install a barrier at Main St and Wiggins forcing East/West traffic to be diverted to reduce the cross cutting traffic down Main St. This proposal was not considered at the neighbourhood meeting as a whole and has raised some concerns at the Community Association level because it was outside of the rest of the process so will be revisited for further discussion.

Ward 6 Community Forum – May 28

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Ward 6 Community Forum – Rethinking the relationship between Citizens and City Hall

Thursday May 28th at 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM – Luther Tower 22nd Floor (highest viewpoint in Saskatoon) 1223 Temperance ST

Come share your ideas about the challenges we face in our community, our vision for the City, and the actions we can take as citizens to make the best of our opportunities. The discussion will be kicked off with ‘civic storytelling’ to help set the context and bring some key issues to life.

From Charlie Clark, Ward 6 Councillor:
The last 8 months or so at City Hall have been busy and challenging to say the least. This has caused me to reflect on the relationship between City Hall and citizens. It is important that we continually find ways to build a healthy and resilient community, together. In a smaller-sized city like Saskatoon, filled with talented people, we have tremendous opportunities to do this well.

In past years there have been Mayor’s Town Halls in each Ward. This will not be happening this year. Instead, I will be hosting a Ward 6 Forum to discuss how we can rethink the relationship between citizens and City Hall, as it relates to the key challenges we face, our vision for the City, and the actions we can take to make the best of our opportunities. The evening will include some ‘civic storytelling’ to help set the context and bring the issues to life.

Jane’s Walks – May 1 – 3, 2015

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Jane’s Walks are free, locally organized walking tours, in which people get together to explore, talk about and celebrate their neighbourhoods. Where more traditional tours are a bit like walking lectures, a Jane’s Walk is more of a walking conversation. Leaders share their knowledge, but also encourage discussion and participation among the walkers.

A Jane’s Walk can focus on almost any aspect of a neighbourhood, and on almost any topic you can think of.Walks can be serious or funny, informative or exploratory; they can look at the history of a place, or at what’s happening there right now. Anyone can lead a walk — because everyone is an expert on the place where they live!

More info here.

Saskatoon Walks:
May 1, 2015, 07:00 PM – Home Sweet Home? 19th Street West & Avenue F South
May 2, 2015, 10:00 AM – Psycho Geography – An ephemeral view of Saskatoon’s Urban Fabric; Delta Bessborough
May 2, 2015, 10:00 AM – A Bird’s Eye View of an Urban Forest; President Murray Park, NW corner of park at McKinnon Avenue and Aird St.
May 2, 2015, 01:00 PM – The ecological and cultural history of the Meewasin Valley; Meewasin Valley Center, Corner of 19th Street East & 3rd Ave South
May 2, 2015, 01:00 PM – Saskatoon’s New Infill Requirements; Dairy Queen at corner of Cumberland and College
May 2, 2015, 01:00 PM – AAA! Suburbs… What are you afraid of?; Playground at Howard Harding Park on Hunter Road
May 2, 2015, 03:00 PM – Age- Friendly-How does Saskatoon measure up? In front of City hall., Meeting & end point
May 2, 2015, 03:00 PM – Stonebridge: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly; St Martin’s Church Parking Lot, Clarence Avenue and Wilson Crescent
May 2, 2015, 05:00 PM – Cruisin’ for a Boozin’; Avalon Shopping Centre
May 3, 2015, 10:00 AM – Saskatoon’s North Downtown: Challenges and Opportunities; City Perks Coffee House , 801 7th Ave N
May 3, 2015, 10:30 AM – Broadway, where it all began! Outside Victoria School, 639 Broadway Ave
May 3, 2015, 01:00 PM – Homo Hike: An Historical Downtown Walking Tour; Avenue Community Centre, Top Floor – Habitat Centre, 320 21st St W, Saskatoon
May 3, 2015, 01:00 PM – Caswell Hill Bus Barns: Hub of Creativity? Corner of 24th & Ave. D N
May 3, 2015, 01:30 PM – Tree Talk Walk in Saskatoon’s Leafy Cathedral; Saskatchewan Cresc. West , Sask. Cresc. West just north of Eighth St. Meet at Idylwyld Park across from 333 Sask Cresc. West
May 3, 2015, 03:00 PM – The Heart of the City…… …….an historic walking tour of downtown Saskatoon; Friendship Park near Gabriel Dumont statue, Meeting point
May 3, 2015, 03:00 PM – Photo walk in downtown Saskatoon; Gazebo at the Kiwanis Memorial Park , south of Delta Bessborough Hotel

University Bridge Closure

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University Bridge Closure – “A pain in the Asphalt”

The University Bridge will be closed on May 3rd for the remainder of the summer while the deck is replaced. There will be no lanes open for regular traffic, but on lane open for buses and emergency vehicles. There will be one pedestrian walkway open for walking and cycling during the closure as well. There will be some inconvenience there is no question. There is a traffic management plan posted on the City Website here if you want more information.

Saskatoon Police Community Information Night

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You are invited to the Saskatoon Police Service Community Information Night.

Dates:
April 13, 2015 (Central Division), 7 pm to 9 pm – Contact: Cst. Robson, 306-975-2265
April 20, 2015 (East Division), 7 pm to 9 pm – Contact: Cst. Epp, 306-975-8032
April 27, 2015 (Northeast Division), 7 pm to 9 pm – Contact: Cst. Xiao, 306-975-2296

Location:
Community Board Room
76 25th Street East, Saskatoon
Saskatoon Police Service

Topics:
Drugs, Graffiti, Anti-bullying
Citizens Patrol, Q&A

Growing Forward! Shaping Saskatoon

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Growing Forward! Shaping Saskatoon – the City’s public planning initiative to develop a Growth Plan to Half a Million that will help guide future infrastructure investments for the next 30 to 40 years.

The next round of Growth Plan public engagement is being planned from February 25 to March 18. It will feature two workshop-style events on March 3 at TCU Place, a Campus Consultation on March 10 at Louis’ Loft at the U of S, as well as an online survey from February 25 to March 18 at www.growingfwd.ca. This engagement will:
· present the recommended long-term plans for Corridor Growth, Transit and Core Bridges for confirmation; and,
· begin discussion about implementation priorities for these plans (what do we make happen in 0-5 years, 5-10 years, 10-20 years?).

A key component of the Growth Plan is development of a new transit system with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to help provide more attractive options for moving around the city. As discussed during our engagement before Christmas, providing a greater variety of transit services to suit more user needs would include BRT running along 8th Street to Preston Avenue and College Drive. If adopted, BRT along Preston Avenue would likely be developed in stages, beginning with increased service and moving towards eventual dedication of road space over several years. This will be discussed in greater detail during the next round of Growth Plan public engagement starting February 25.

Learn more and get involved at www.growingfwd.ca

Coldest Night of the Year Walk

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The Coldest Night of the Year is a fantastically fun, family-friendly walking fundraiser that raises money for the hungry, homeless and hurting in 80+ communities across Canada on Saturday, February 21st, 2015.

The Bridge & Lighthouse serve people living with poverty in Saskatoon. Your involvement in the WALK will impact hundreds of lives in a positive way, helping build a bright future that once seemed out of reach. The Lighthouse exists to help people reach their potential by providing emergency shelter, supported living, and affordable housing for anyone who is in need of a place to call home. The Bridge exists to bring people together, to meet needs within Saskatoon’s inner city, so that ALL would be changed. The Bridge is in the beginning stages of expanding the programs and services it currently runs to include Transitional Program Housing.

Start/Finish: The Lighthouse
Times: Here’s the schedule for the walk:
4:00 – Registration opens
4:30 – 10 KM Walk begins
4:45 – 5KM Walk begins
5:00 – 2KM Walk begins, Registration closes
7:30 – Route closes

Between 6:00 and 7:30 pm a warm, light meal will be served to all walkers and volunteers. So, be sure to linger with us afterwards, share some laughs, hang with some friends and celebrate the walk – at least till you warm up.

Registration:
Registration opens at 4:00 pm. All 10 and 5 km walkers should try to be there at four to ensure start times will be kept. (If walkers are late for registration, and therefore late for their distance’s start time, they will be asked to walk a shorter route, with the next start time. ) All walkers must check-in and sign a waiver form before participating. Please come prepared with:
– All cash and cheques payable to “Coldest Night of the Year”
– Pledge sheet with all donor data filled out completely and neatly OR
– Post all pledges of cash and cheques online in your personal fundraising page and print off the “My Donor List” and bring with cash or cheques**.
– Bring a signed WAIVER FORM available online under TOOLS / FORMS on the main site .

Note: Walkers who raise $150 (adults) or $75 (youth aged 13-17) do NOT have to pay the $25 registration fee.

Coldest Night of the Year website.

Infill Guidelines – A Balanced Plan

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Infill-letter-Jan-2015-design

Infill-letter-Jan-2015-design

VVCA and other community associations long have been advocating for regulations that provide sensible solutions and expect ”a positive net yield” to the community from new developments. To raise the profile and level of discussion of the issue in the city, VVCA and other CA from across Saskatoon’s co-hosted a public lecture by world-renowned infill specialist, Harold Madi which was praised by city officials, progressive developers, as well as the public.

The current proposed guideline process been open and public with multiple opportunities for stakeholder input. The city’s administration is to be commended for this open and dynamic process which to my knowledge, is unprecedented in Saskatoon. Hundreds of hours of dialogue and discussion have formed the current document as well as countless hours by civic officials and a volunteer committee to examine the minutiae of each building parameter and fine-tune the details.

This carefully brokered compromise is at risk if council hesitates to pass the proposal in its current form. This delay and potential failure flies in the face of the resources invested in City of Saskatoon staff time, in addition to thousands of hours of citizens’ input. VVCA sees a dire need to implement well-thought development guidelines as our community faces new developments with outdated bylaw tools.

We encourage city council to adopt the proposals and listen to the voice of citizens. It would be sound thinking to ask which individuals or special interests groups benefit from the 11th hour lobbying or a potential failed compromise.

James Perkins
President, VVCA

For Star Phoenix article published on January 16 on this topic by James click here.

Nutana Neighbourhood Traffic Review

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Thursday, January 9, 2015
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Albert Community Centre
610 Clarence Avenue South

On October 1, 2013, Nutana neighbourhood residents participated in discussion and identified issues and ideas to address traffic concerns in their neighbourhood. On September 9, 2014 residents provided comments on the Draft Neighbourhood Traffic Plan.

On Thursday, January 8, 2015 Nutana residents, business owners, property owners, local groups and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to comment on:

– Revised traffic control in the area bound by Clarence Avenue, Victoria Avenue, 12th Street and 8th Street (including Main Street and cut-through traffic)
– Dufferin Avenue sample roundabouts
– 9th Street shortcutting issues – Idylwyld Drive directional closure and removal of roundabout at McPherson Avenue
– The intersections of 14th Street/Temperance Street/Lansdowne Avneue safety issues – roadway realignment

The meeting will be hosted by the City of Saskatoon, Transportation Division.

Please join us as we discuss the traffic issues the affect you and your neighbourhood.

For drawings of the proposed changes please visit the Shaping Saskatoon webpage

2015 Waste and Recycling Calendar

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2015 COLLECTIONS CALENDAR INCLUDES BLACK, BLUE AND GREEN CART SCHEDULES

The 2015 Waste and Recycling Calendar has been expanded to feature all three black, blue and the optional green cart schedules in one easy-to-follow format.

Every household will receive the new calendar which outlines the garbage, recycling and yard waste curbside cart collection days specific to their home address. It also provides useful information on how to use and place carts for pick-up, how to subscribe to the optional green cart program ($55 in 2015), as well as other waste recycling and disposal options around the city. The Calendar also reflects the recent change to garbage collection frequency during April and October from once a week to once every two weeks.
A searchable, online version of the calendar is also available to help residents to avoid missed collections. Through SaskatoonRecycles.ca, citizens can search their cart schedules by their home address and also sign up for free collection day reminders by email or phone. In 2015, garbage and recycling will be collected on the same day of the week as in 2014, except in the City Park and Exhibition neighbourhoods where recycling collection day is changing to Thursdays starting January 8.

The 2015 Waste and Recycling Calendar will be in your mailbox around December 24.

Varsity View Neighbourhood Traffic Review

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Thursday, December 11, 2014
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Albert Community Centre
610 Clarence Avenue South

Residents of the Varsity View neighbourhood are invited to attend a public meeting to review and discuss a draft traffic plan for their area. The meeting will be hosted by the City of Saskatoon, Transportation Division.

On January 21, 2014 Varsity View residents participated in discussions and identified ideas and solutions to address traffic concerns in their neighbourhood. Based on feedback and information received during this meeting, other sources, traffic counts and existing traffic studies, the Transportation Division has prepared a draft area-wide traffic plan. The meeting on December 11th will provide Varsity View residents, business owners, property owners, local groups and other stakeholders an opportunity to comment on specific traffic adjustments being proposed for this neighbourhood.

Please join us as we discuss the traffic issues that affect you and your neighbourhood.

City Recreation and Parks Master Plan

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The City of Saskatoon is developing a Recreation and Parks Master Plan to guide the development, delivery and continuous improvement of recreation and parks programs, services and facilities.

As part of the development of the Master Plan, the City invites you to come and learn more about the project at an open house. Members of the consulting team and City representatives will be in attendance to discuss the plan and collect any comments you may have.

OPEN HOUSE: Recreation and Parks Master Plan
Tuesday November 25, 2014
12 to 2 p.m. – ‘Come and Go’ Open House, Brief Presentation at 12:30 p.m.
5 to 8 p.m. – ‘Come and Go’ Open House, Brief Presentation at 6:00 p.m.
TCU Place, Salon E
35 22nd Street East

The input gathered at the open house will be used as the draft Master Plan is developed. We hope to see you there!

If you are unable to attend the open house, visit www.shapingsaskatoon.ca to review the open house material and provide your feedback. The material will be online November 25. For questions, call the City’s Community Development Division at 306.975.2289.