Quote:
Originally Posted by Brutopian
BRT Link's downtown platform project continue to draw mix reactions
By Jon Perez
SaskToday
April 22, 2026
SASKATOON — A proposed downtown transit project aimed at improving public transport has drawn mixed reactions from local business owners, leaders, and a representative of one of the city’s biggest employers.
City’s urban planners' design proposal will turn 1st Avenue, a major downtown business district corridor, into a single lane in each direction, with the centre lane dedicated to the bus rapid transit’s central boarding platform.
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https://www.sasktoday.ca/saskatoon-today...tm_content=415347400&utm_source=hs_email
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I understand their concerns, but this is going to be beneficial for downtown as a whole if we get it right. It's being built as we speak, and Saskatoon has (and has historically had) the "Majority Government" it needs to see this long-term project through -- a project that had a decade's worth of public notice and procedure. Even if someone doesn't like the plans, they can acknowledge the validity of public decision-making and what's clearly been an oncoming reality for a while now, and make business decisions with those (slow moving) public works in mind like clearly visible icebergs in the distance. This hasn't exactly been a behind the scenes process -- I remember personally attending an early session in 2016 when the Red and Green routes were first being proposed. None of this should have come to the surprise of anyone as its clearly been running through the works for a while now, directly oncoming for years. If the implementation of the extended planning phase caught you off-guard, that's on you for your own ignorance in what is a very accessible informational environment (including almost constant calls for public input -- individuals in the business community being among the public-- the results of which are all transparently laid out for those interested). We're here, multiple rounds of elections have been held in the meantime, Link is being built, nobody in the comments section is going to stop it, so why not try help make it work instead of writing it off as doomed from the start without even giving it a second thought. This was a transparent democratic public decision. The decisions of municipalities, as council and local government, are immune to being sued a lot of the time, on the basis that making decisions on a publicly accountable basis (via regularly held elections) is the exact purpose and job description of municipal councils and councillors. So don't waste energy on anger. Lets hope for a successful system in a growing city.
And seriously, if anyone doesn't like it, move to Warman or Martensville. That's not a knock -- both of those cities are seriously upping their games in terms of services and amenities, have great access, and if someone prefers a municipal environment with a different flavour, they have those (and many other) options in the Greater Saskatoon area.
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