Saskatoon Construction

[Wyku]

It looks like they're doing an official unveiling of the bendy busses in front of City Hall at some point today--there's a bus under a giant cover with "Nova Bus" on the side sitting on 3rd Ave.

Speaking of 3rd Ave., I was walking past it yesterday near the end of the road/median work and it looks like the median's are raised a decent height. They didn't look as high as 25th St. though at a quick glance. Maybe Jerry or someone can snap some new pics between downpours .

[Jerry]

Looks like this might be the announcement and yes I will try and get some more shots of 3rd Ave. as soon as the sun comes out again.

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Media Advisory - Important announcement for urban transit and commuters in Saskatoon

SASKATOON, SK, June 1 /CNW Telbec/ - Brad Trost, MP for Saskatoon-Humboldt; the Honourable Ken Cheveldayoff, Saskatchewan Minister of Enterprise on behalf of the Honourable Jeremy Harrison, Minister of Municipal Affairs; Donald Atchison, Mayor of Saskatoon; and Mitch Riabko, Manager of Saskatoon Transit will make an important announcement for urban transit and commuters in Saskatoon.
<< Date: June 4, 2010 Time: 3:00 p.m.

Location: In front of City Hall 222 3rd Avenue North Saskatoon, Saskatchewan >> -0- 06/01/2010 /For further information: Mitch Riabko, Transit Manager, Saskatoon Transit, (306) 975-2630; Media Relations, Transport Canada, Ottawa, (613) 993-0055/ CO: Transport Canada; Government of Saskatchewan; City of Saskatoon ST: Saskatchewan IN: TRN SU: MAV -30- CNW 19:53e 01-JUN-10

Source

[Jerry]

Our slinky buses were unveiled this afternoon and we even got a free ride. This baby really corners.

[dsim249]

^ Hah. Sweet. I have yet to see these in person. Thanks for goin' out and taking those, Jerry.

[Ruckus]

Awesome! So what kind of music did they play during the unveiling? Thanks for the pics Jerry.

[Echoes]

^ Classical, I bet! (to prevent loitering )

[Jerry]

Well of course they played Empire State of Mind. Just kidding but it could of been as everyone was pretty fired up and excited.

It was pretty cool going on a test ride. Probably took around 15 minutes and I was surprised what good road manners the bus has. Our driver was a true pro and moved it around like he had been driving it all his life. One of the fun things was watching the faces of people as we drove past. Most were in disbelief and you could see them mouthing words like what the ...

It was a great turnout including Pat Lorjie, Charlie Clark with his family, our proud Mayor Don Atchison, dignitaries and politicians.

A welcome sight to Saskatoon and with 112 capacity rush hour should be a breese. Turning circle is 44 ft., not bad for a 62ft. bus. It comes equipped with traction control and 330HP which should be able to handle our snowstorms. Even noticed what I thought was a camera in the back half of the bus which I assume can be monitored by the driver.

All in all a great beginning.

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by Wyku

..............................
Speaking of 3rd Ave., I was walking past it yesterday near the end of the road/median work and it looks like the median's are raised a decent height. They didn't look as high as 25th St. though at a quick glance. Maybe Jerry or someone can snap some new pics between downpours .

Yes those median's look much better. Grabbed some shots and have included a piece of the master plan to peruse.
Full plan available from website provided below.






City of Saskatoon Illustration

[kgc087]

The bus looks amazing! I saw it action before I left, I do believe they were teaching the bus drivers how to use them correctly. This is a definite step that will boost transit efficiency and make it more visible to the public. With people seeing that Saskatoon is able to handle buses like this maybe ridership will increase.

The medians are looking good, I used to have hard copies of the blue prints that the city sent me but have since thrown them away

[Ruckus]

x2 for the happy medians.

Jekyll and Hyde kind of sky there eh Jerry

Any predictions for when this length of 3rd is completed? I'm thinking middle to late July. Late August at the latest.

[Temperance]

Originally Posted by kgc087

That would be, I wonder if pavers would be just as bad? It would be AMAZING to see the road from midtown to the Bess. done in cobblestone and the sidewalks all made to have the glowing purple blocks SOOO AMAZING! Even this one addition woudl be spectacular.

That would be awesome. You know, it is my understanding that there is a tunnel running all the way under 21st from the bessborough to the CPR station (midtown plaza). http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/archive/index.php/t-141292.html I'm not sure how intact this tunnel still is. I know that it linked to the dance hall in the Canada Building. Unfortunately this dancehall was recently destroyed to make way for underground parking.

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by Ruckus

x2 for the happy medians.

Jekyll and Hyde kind of sky there eh Jerry

Any predictions for when this length of 3rd is completed? I'm thinking middle to late July. Late August at the latest.

Ha ha the weather was looking good to the south but the north was pretty scary. The photo's were taken a half hour before the bus unveiling and we thought it was going to be a wash out. As it turned out we got our typical Sask. sunny skies.

As far as a completion date goes the city has it scheduled for the end of June, but like you I am thinking closer to mid July. They may however surprise us as they were working on Saturday.

The work will be completed in several phases:

Phase I - 3rd Avenue between 22nd Street and 21st Street
The first phase of construction on 3rd Avenue is between 22nd Street and 21st Street, and was started in the summer of 2009. Completion of this phase is scheduled for the end of June 2010.

Phase II - 3rd Avenue between 21st Street and 20th Street
The second phase of the streetscaping project stretches from 21st Street to 20th Street on 3rd Avenue. Phase II construction is scheduled to begin mid-August and to be completed at the end of October 2010.

Phase III and IV - 3rd Avenue between 19th and 20th Streets and between 22nd and 23rd Streets
The ongoing schedule is to complete streetscaping on 3rd Avenue between 19th and 20th Streets in 2011; and between 22nd and 23rd Streets in 2012.

....Source

[kgc087]

So the president of the Heritage Society sent this back to me regarding my enquiry about cobblestone road reclamation in Saskatoon:

Thank you for your question. This is a question to put to City Council. This then would be referred back to the MHAC committee of which the Saskatoon Heritage Society is a member. We do support such an enquiry and having a letter sent by citizens directly is important. Additionally, we will bring up your enquiry at our next board meeting to take place in Fall.

SO I shall send a letter to council and see what the response is! Any suggestions for wording etc?

[kgc087]

Honourable Mayor Don Atchison and City Councilors,

Saskatoon is a city of beautifully preserved heritage buildings complimented by well thought out urban planning. Hidden under the pavement of many streets in Saskatoon is a treasure that is coveted world wide, cobblestone. I would like to propose the idea of reclaiming this valuable resource to further enhance Saskatoon’s character. Saskatoon is often referred to as the “Paris of the Prairies”. Reclaiming this resource would reinforce this image and revolutionize the city for future generations. This could be one of the defining traits of Saskatoon that lingers in the minds of the cities locals and visitors.
Historic routes could be made throughout the city and new cobblestone roads could be built. This would allow for easy pedestrian flow throughout the downtown area with proper planning. As well this would be an easily identifiable pedestrian route for tourists.

Saskatoon is transforming into one of the major cities of Canada. Having identifiable landmarks within the city is necessary. This would enhance the aesthetic value of the city as well as increase property values that line the roads. This is a marvelous opportunity for the city which would help confirm the identity of Saskatoon and make it one of the most visually outstanding cities in Canada.

Thank you for your time.

Kelly Caplette
_________________________________________
What do you think? Add or remove some things? Everyone let me know!

[Echoes]

Upcoming open house for Kensington Neighbourhood Concept Plan:
http://www.saskatoon.ca/DEPARTMENTS/Comm.../Documents/Kensington%20Open%20House.pdf

[Jerry]

An update on Circle Drive South.



^^ View from Lorne Ave. looking west with the power station in the background.



^^ East side of river looking west.


^^ Holiday Park Industrial looking east.


^^ Holiday Park Industrial looking west towards Montgomery Place.


^^ Holiday Park Industrial looking north with Mitchell's demo recycle pile in background.


^^ Mitchell's demo site.

[Jerry]

^^ Holiday Inn at Pacific Avenue and 22nd Street. The former site of the Pacific Theatre.



^^ Pillar Development Corporation building site at 141 Pacific Ave.

[Danish]

I don't think this has been posted yet, but if you go to the Saskatoon homepage, there is a link there which accesses information to the South Brdge Project. It is complete with detour dates around 11th Avenue, Idylwyld Drive detours, Lorne Avenue detorus and a bit more information on the project. Thanks for the pictures Jerry on whats been done to date.

[prairieguy]

A few posts/pages back there were some comments about sidewalk cafes and our lack of them in Saskatoon.

I was just in Regina for meetings for 3 days last week and along Scarth(?) street there are 3 restaurants side by side. They have bagged the meters and run a board walk the length of their establisments along the parking stall area. This has freed up the entire sidewalk for outdour dining and drinking. It is the Hanlon Irish pub and Brass Kettle (I may have got the names wrong, but they are just up from the Hotel Sask and face the central park in downtown Regina).

While I was in Regina, there was really only one nice day, but the sidewalk portion of these establishments was packed! I could definintely see this working for some of the restaurants along 2nd Avenue. Yes, you forgo some on street parking, but it sure made for a great outdoor urban setting for munching and drinking!

[kgc087]

Originally Posted by prairieguy

A few posts/pages back there were some comments about sidewalk cafes and our lack of them in Saskatoon.

I was just in Regina for meetings for 3 days last week and along Scarth(?) street there are 3 restaurants side by side. They have bagged the meters and run a board walk the length of their establisments along the parking stall area. This has freed up the entire sidewalk for outdour dining and drinking. It is the Hanlon Irish pub and Brass Kettle (I may have got the names wrong, but they are just up from the Hotel Sask and face the central park in downtown Regina).

While I was in Regina, there was really only one nice day, but the sidewalk portion of these establishments was packed! I could definintely see this working for some of the restaurants along 2nd Avenue. Yes, you forgo some on street parking, but it sure made for a great outdoor urban setting for munching and drinking!

I was in Halifax on the weekend and an entire block had this done to it, and then many places throughout downtown did this. I wonder if the city requires they pay the lost revenue from parking in norder to do this? I think it's a great idea and would be an amazing addition to Saskatoon. Lastly it's the Copper Kettle