Third Avenue due for makeover
City considers installing median, changing parking
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2008
With power poles outnumbering trees on some blocks, Third Avenue is an incongruous strip from Saskatoon's past in a downtown streetscape dotted with planters and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks.
Discussions are underway at city hall about how to bring Third Avenue into the 21st century by burying power lines and making the street more inviting to pedestrians and business.
A UMA Engineering report for the city recommends keeping parallel over angle parking and installing a centre median and dedicated turning lanes.
Intersections would have bulbed corners, making them attractive places for pedestrians to relax and a shorter way to cross the street.
The report recommends keeping parallel parking, even though angle parking would create another 180 spaces between 19th and 25th streets. The median would have trees, planters and turning bays, similar to 25th Street, said John Penner, acting urban design manager. Shade trees would be planted in the sidewalk. Two lanes of traffic, plus the turn bays, would travel in each direction instead of the current configuration of three lanes each way.
Angle parking would create more spots, but it's impractical because Third is Saskatoon Transit's major north-south artery downtown, Penner said.
Buses don't run down Second Avenue because motorists back out of parking spaces into traffic.
"In order to improve transit service, you have to keep them on schedule," Penner said. "If you have cars backing up, it would considerably slow down that whole corridor."
But Terry Scaddan, executive director of the Downtown Partnership, says the city should take a fresh look at its options to accommodate buses and pedestrians and to squeeze in more parking.
"A little creativity is needed," he told the planning and operations committee recently. By scrapping plans for a median, Third could fit four lanes of traffic, bulbed corners and back-in angle parking spaces, Scaddan said. If motorists back into spots, they can pull out of them with better visibility of buses and cyclists, he said.
The city's urban design planners are researching Scaddan's idea before reporting back to the committee with a recommendation on the street's design.
The six-block makeover, estimated to cost at least $6 million, would be proposed in the 2009 capital budget. If the city discovers water and sewer lines need replacement, the project would likely be delayed, Penner said.
Funds would come from reserves and a dedicated fund taking 25 cents from every $1.75 of meter revenues from 2009-12.
Brian Bain, co-owner of Koutouki Taverna, looks forward to a more appealing streetscape.
"Second is so much more inviting than Third with the greenery, the lights," he said. "(It has) a market-type feel. Right now (Third) has more of an industrial feel."
City staff collected data on parking and concluded that overall, Third Avenue doesn't have congestion issues, although the 100 and 200 blocks generate some concern.
But some merchants say parking is the biggest issue in revamping Third Avenue.
"(It's) sometimes hard to find parking here. Very hard," said Vins Giang, owner of Thien Vietnam Restaurant in the 100 block. "The customers complain a lot."
White Orchid Weddings manager Abbey Finestone grew up in Kelowna, where buses successfully navigate angle-parking streets downtown.
"I'm sure (bus drivers) can adjust. It's no fun having to tote a 10- or 15-pound wedding dress three blocks because you can't find a parking spot."
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© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
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