Saskatoon Construction

[Ruckus]

Originally Posted by circle33

The Willowgrove Urban Village is/was an interesting idea Link, though that idea has been on the table for quite some time and as far as I know there haven't been any willing investors to date.

Nothing has sprung up because there is an outbreak of conventional suburban development just down the road. I would be surprised if it materializes as proposed. A lot of the new neighborhood plans are revised before, during, and after each phase of development (I sometimes read those requests for rezoning published in the SP). The City often accommodates these requests with little resistance. Sometimes those changes are for the better, sometimes not. I would not be surprised if some of that friendly retail and commercial zoning becomes residential (of any form).

This University Heights stuff is pretty bad. The same crap was chosen for Stonebridge and Blairmore. Despite claims of 'smart development', I'll be pessimistic and predict residents of Rosewood, Evergreen, and Kensington will also frequent exceptionally blight landscapes.

Exhibit A



Charming isn't it? Maybe, just maybe there will be space for bike racks and public art installations.


To the upper left lies 5-8 medium density complexes. Some have u/g parking, others have covered surface parking, and the rest is surface. The distance between those and retail and commercial development is walkable. However, it's not enjoyable (during any season). The foreground will be a collection of commercial buildings in a sea of surface parking. The future is now.

(auto-stitching tech has not been perfected)

Eastview/Market Mall

Some amenities are absent (no hardware store), but this area is a better example of a complete community than the new stuff. It has a good mix of housing types, but demographically skewed towards the young at heart.





l've been toying around with a vision of a dystopian, sprawling Saskatoon. What would it look like? How would it function? Who wins, and who loses? I won't become a full convert though. Owning a full size truck is really not my style

[ninipanini]

Originally Posted by Ruckus

This University Heights stuff is pretty bad. The same crap was chosen for Stonebridge and Blairmore. Despite claims of 'smart development', I'll be pessimistic and predict residents of Rosewood, Evergreen, and Kensington will also frequent exceptionally blight landscapes.

WOW... that was just depressing... how bleak

[Ruckus]

Almost as bad as the holiday inn mentioned earlier by Wyku.

Of course, there's also some real winter gems out there too. It's just that they're the exception, rather than the rule.

[1ajs]

every cities got its share of blah! shoping boxs its realy sad we can't building like this its dumb...

[c@taract_soulj@h]

Originally Posted by CCF

I'm not really missing the point per se. Yes certainly the city can do that, but it's tough politically to tell hundreds of stakeholders or property owners the exact form their property should take and that they should somehow be integrated with one another.

The City of Saskatoon does need to implement some urban design standards though, particularly within the downtown core.

Looking at a map of downtown, 1st-4th avenue seems to be on a grid system. With that said, shouldn't it be much easier to redevelop the core or simply build new structures when you have a layout like that? I always thought an underground/sky-walk system would work great to tackle the cold although much more commercial development I'd imagine would be needed. I'm against demolishing history, so are there many old buildings downtown that stand in the way of taking a good chunk out of a block for a new structure?

I'm also surprised that there aren't more new condos on the river but I guess too-too many would make it tacky for the time being, since Saskatoon isn't that big yet. RL however, is a great start as it's Commercial/and Residential

I don't think suburban development will hurt the near future for the core. You're just in the middle of a boom so everyone is frothing at the mouth to expand outward as quickly as possible. Suburban malls hurt our downtown badly in the 80's but we also didn't have new found economic potential where Saskatoon seems to which ironically boggles my mind why more core development hasn't happened.

As for suburban development, Smart Centre's aren't godawful or anything but I just think a better commercial model could work. Like any other Canadian city, we have em all over in Hamilton too in the flatter outlying areas. Outside of S-Toon, it's quite flat so creativity and character need to be explored instead of Reitmans, Quiznos and Dollargiant every 3 kms. I really like the ponds/lakes though that centrepiece your neighbourhoods. We could use some this way!

[Jerry]

Online audience small: city

Annual survey shows few people use city website

By Jeanette Stewart and David Hutton, The StarPhoenix February 7, 2011


Results of an annual city survey show residents are less engaged with the city's "social media" presence and are not going online to find out information, which Mayor Don Atchison says may indicate more work is needed to get residents up to speed.

"We've got a real good challenge in front of us to get people involved," said Atchison, responding to the results of an annual civic services survey. The survey collects feedback on issues including perceptions of Saskatoon's quality of life and ranks which issues are important to citizens and the satisfaction with delivery of the services. [...]


Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology...ll+city/4234866/story.html#ixzz1DJhNggnb

[prairieguy]

Originally Posted by c@taract_soulj@h

I'm against demolishing history, so are there many old buildings downtown that stand in the way of taking a good chunk out of a block for a new structure?

Thankfully, and somewhat surprislingly, Saskatoon does have a significant amount of historical buildings downtown. Basically our main east/west avenue and north/south street (2nd Avenue and 21st Street) are almost entirely comprised of original/historical buildings restored for modern retail/restaurants/pubs/lounges. There are a few exceptions, but this is for the most part, the standard for these corridors. I don't think it is something a lot of Saskatooners appreciate. Having hosted a number of national conferences, I can attest to the fact that this is a very much appreciated aesthetic of our city by visitors, and one they find to be a pleasant surprise (as is how 'green/forested' our city is...can you tell these conferences were held in our summer )

We do, however have a number of 'gravel parking lots' located in this core area that would be ideal for some modern infill development!

BTW...not a fan of skywalks and underground tunnels, as I believe it removes the 'life' from the street level, which is essential for a vibrant and energetic city. I am a proponent of the 'embrace winter' movement, and would support more initiatives that create a friendlly winter environment (heated bus shelters, more coniferous trees used for plantings, building design to mitigate winter winds, etc.)

[Morogolus]

The 2010 survey was conducted in October and consisted of 500 randomly selected participants conducted by landline telephone and 804 citizens surveyed through online panels. The margin of error for the telephone survey equals plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, with a 95 per cent confidence interval. Telephone data was not weighted to account for a match of the population by age and gender.

Administration will recommend the 2011 civic services survey be conducted in May and utilize both telephone and online formats. The study cost the city $24,817 to administer in 2010.

How the heck do you spend $24,817 phoning 500 people? That's 49 dollars a person.

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by Morogolus

How the heck do you spend $24,817 phoning 500 people? That's 49 dollars a person.

The only possibility I can think of is the that they did the survey from moving vehicles, received fines for using a cell phone, then charged the fines back to the city.

[Ruckus]

Originally Posted by Jerry

Online audience small: city

Annual survey shows few people use city website

By Jeanette Stewart and David Hutton, The StarPhoenix February 7, 2011


Results of an annual city survey show residents are less engaged with the city's "social media" presence and are not going online to find out information, which Mayor Don Atchison says may indicate more work is needed to get residents up to speed.

"We've got a real good challenge in front of us to get people involved," said Atchison, responding to the results of an annual civic services survey. The survey collects feedback on issues including perceptions of Saskatoon's quality of life and ranks which issues are important to citizens and the satisfaction with delivery of the services. [...]


Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology...ll+city/4234866/story.html#ixzz1DJhNggnb

Not sure when it was fixed, but the search tool is now functional. Disappointing, but citizens are not engaged in general (election turnout). Wonder what the by-election figures will look like.

[dsim249]

^ I wouldn't pay any attention to that article.

"Telephone research will skew to an older population, said Lang McGilp, manager of research with Insightrix Research Inc. in Saskatoon, which conducted the annual survey for the second time in 2010. Younger people are less likely to have landline telephone service or be home when the research is conducted."

None of my friends have a landline...

[Ruckus]

Totally true. Email also (well, its not used as heavily as other platforms). All things considered, 50% usage among landline respondents isn't terrible.

[UPP]

Originally Posted by prairieguy

Thankfully, and somewhat surprislingly, Saskatoon does have a significant amount of historical buildings downtown. Basically our main east/west avenue and north/south street (2nd Avenue and 21st Street) are almost entirely comprised of original/historical buildings restored for modern retail/restaurants/pubs/lounges. There are a few exceptions, but this is for the most part, the standard for these corridors. I don't think it is something a lot of Saskatooners appreciate. Having hosted a number of national conferences, I can attest to the fact that this is a very much appreciated aesthetic of our city by visitors, and one they find to be a pleasant surprise (as is how 'green/forested' our city is...can you tell these conferences were held in our summer )

We do, however have a number of 'gravel parking lots' located in this core area that would be ideal for some modern infill development!

BTW...not a fan of skywalks and underground tunnels, as I believe it removes the 'life' from the street level, which is essential for a vibrant and energetic city. I am a proponent of the 'embrace winter' movement, and would support more initiatives that create a friendlly winter environment (heated bus shelters, more coniferous trees used for plantings, building design to mitigate winter winds, etc.)

That's easier said than done though in our climate. I think people use links when the have to (in the winter) but would be more likely to walk outside when it is warm enough to do so. Having indoor walking spaces for the winter makes it more inviting for at least half the year. In the end, I think we need to do whatever it takes in our downtowns to get more people to want to be downtown. If that means warm skywalks then so be it.

[Jerry]

City housing starts drop from last January

By Jeremy Warren, The StarPhoenix February 9, 2011


January housing starts in Saskatoon were down about 26 per cent compared to the same month last year, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) says.

In January, 140 houses were started in Saskatoon, dropping from 161 started in the same period in 2010. In Regina, more houses were started this January compared to the same month last year. The CMHC recorded 127 housing starts last month compared to 94 in the same period last year. [...]

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/C...January/4248355/story.html#ixzz1DTJaS8NQ

[Ruckus]

Would be nice if data for bedroom communities was surveyed and published as well. Scanned through CMHC to no avail.

[Devon]

Reminder To Any Ward 7 Residents, Ward 7 By-election Is Today. Please Go Vote!

[jigglysquishy]

Finally managed to make it to a Blade's game tonight after living here since September. Great game and fantastic arena.

Any reason Credit Union Centre was built out in the middle of nowhere?

[dsim249]

Originally Posted by jigglysquishy

Finally managed to make it to a Blade's game tonight after living here since September. Great game and fantastic arena.

Any reason Credit Union Centre was built out in the middle of nowhere?

Because it rules in the middle of nowhere!!!!!!

It's also very convenient and everyone loves the scenic drive to CUC. Obviously!

[Echoes]

Maybe this isn't very recent, but this evening I just noticed that the exterior of the west entrance to Midtown Plaza (into food court) has received a fairly sleek makeover.

Looks good.

[dsim249]

Mairin Loewen wins in Ward 7 byelection



Political newcomer Mairin Loewen is Saskatoon’s newest councillor, taking over Ward 7 from Bob Pringle.

The 28-year-old graduate student defeated favourite Robin Bellamy, a well-known school board trustee, and likeable pizza shop owner Mike Bzowey, to stake claim to the seat vacated by veteran politician Bob Pringle late last year.

Surrounded by her friends and family at City Hall, a glowing Loewen hugged her parents then credited a strong grassroots campaign made up of a dedicated contingent of volunteers and a strong social media presence for the win.

“There was a collective sense that people wanted a fresh face and new ideas on city council,” Loewen said.

“There was a lot of support rallying around those ideas.”

Loewen’s campaign focused on reining in urban sprawl and backing a citywide mandatory curbside recycling program.

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology...lection/4254624/story.html#ixzz1DWsx9by6