Saskatoon Construction II

[Brutopian]

Trucking company adds to Corman Park boom
Reeve calls for improvements to roads

Reported by Bryn Levy, NewsTalk 650 CKOM

Jan 22, 2014

Expansion in the Rural Municipality of Corman Park is fuelling calls for better roads.

Trucking company Manitoulin Transport is the latest to join the boom in the Saskatoon/Corman Park region with the opening of a new terminal on Wednesday.

The facility will be able to house 16 semi trucks. President Don Goodwill said it was a necessary addition to the companies network of over 300 terminals across North America.

"Saskatchewan is a growing market and we wanted to be active in it," he said, adding that the company had hit the limits of a smaller facility.

Reeve Judy Harwood with the rural municipality said infrastructure improvements are needed as more people and businesses have moved into the region.

[........]

Read more:
http://ckom.com/story/trucking-company-adds-corman-park-boom/230784

[Echoes]

Klein: Shift on cycling lanes welcome

By Gerry Klein, The StarPhoenix January 23, 2014

Sean Shaw was clearly surprised by the reception he received at council this week.

After years of cycling advocates having to grovel and argue for seemingly every square inch of pavement they were allowed, the co-ordinator for Better Bike Lanes for Saskatoon Cycles hadn't finished his five-minute pitch for temporary dedicated bike lanes downtown before he realized that his remarks were being warmly received.

As the city's manager of community services Randy Grauer told me after the meeting, there has been a cultural change in Saskatoon when it comes to supporting what he hates to hear called "alternative" commuting.

"There is nothing 'alternative' about cycling or walking," Grauer said. "They are just as legitimate as driving."

That may be, but it's been a struggle to convince some automobile aficionados that people have a legitimate right to take up some portion of the road system for transportation other than driving or parking cars. That public reluctance to accept expanded cycling facilities has been reflected in the cold shoulder some councillors have given to every request for more money, better services, or a piece of the pavement assigned to bikes.

That coldness was clearly absent Monday and, according to Saskatoon Cycles chair Cathy Watts, it was also absent at a committee meeting a couple of weeks ago when the issue of experimental dedicated cycling lanes was discussed. It was that meeting that convinced Grauer a fundamental shift in attitude had occurred.

[....]

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Klein+Shift+cycling+lanes+welcome/9420194/story.html

[North_Regina_Boy]

With yet another serious accident at Hwy 11 and Wanuskewin this morning. I hope that when the Saskatoon bypass is built that this is the configuration of interchanges used to connect it to highways 11 and 12

[Echoes]

North Regina Boy, I take it your background is in construction, but have you ever considered a career in civil engineering?

[North_Regina_Boy]

Originally Posted by Echoes

North Regina Boy, I take it your background is in construction, but have you ever considered a career in civil engineering?

Yes it is, I am an Architectural Technologist, and yes I have, and am applying to the U of S Civil Engineering Program to pursue a Bachelors in Urban Planning and a Masters in Transportation Engineering in the near future.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by North_Regina_Boy

Yes it is, I am an Architectural Technologist, and yes I have, and am applying to the U of S Civil Engineering Program to pursue a Bachelors in Urban Planning and a Masters in Transportation Engineering in the near future.

Fantastic. You have a clear interest and knack for the subject matter. I've enjoyed seeing and reading about your different proposals and configurations for transportation infrastructure. Best of luck to you.

[North_Regina_Boy]

Here are two Options overlayed with Google Earth:

Option 1:



Option 2:



I think option 2 is better as it doesn't cut into the industrial area. At the moment I don't show the entrances into the industrial area as I have to do some more research on the land development in this area.

[North_Regina_Boy]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Fantastic. You have a clear interest and knack for the subject matter. I've enjoyed seeing and reading about your different proposals and configurations for transportation infrastructure. Best of luck to you.

Thank-you Echoes. I hope that one day I can help fix this city, and other Saskatchewan cities from their traffic woes.

[macca]

Could you cite some examples of cities that have fixed their traffic woes by building/upgrading automobile infrastructure?

[North_Regina_Boy]

Originally Posted by macca

Could you cite some examples of cities that have fixed their traffic woes by building/upgrading automobile infrastructure?

Mecca,

The drawings above are for highway infrastructure. This is meant to get high volume traffic trucking and vehicles traveling along the Trans-Canada highway around Saskatoon. Which in that way will assist in making commutes in the city better.

However I am not saying that building more "car" infrastructure is the answer, it is not. The city and I am fully in agreement that a shift to mass transit and walking, and the realization of BRT / LRT in the future.

This city NEEDS a bypass. Because trucking isn't going away. And to continue to allow large trucks to run through the city will make everything slower.

So to answer your question no city has 'fixed" their traffic woes by adding more "car" infrastructure, but if you look at Calgary and Edmonton getting trucks out of the middle of them have greatly assisted in commute times. As it will in Saskatoon and Regina. However, we must get away from cars in some capacity in the cities.

[macca]

Thanks, I can appreciate that perspective.

[The Bess]

I also think option 2 is a good layout, hope they annonce something about the perimeter highway in the next couple of years.

[Morogolus]

Riversdale, before and after photos. Pretty interesting..

http://www.ominocity.com/2014/01/21/rive...f-a-saskatoon-neighbourhood-photo-essay/

[skSK]

Originally Posted by North_Regina_Boy

I think option 2 is better as it doesn't cut into the industrial area. At the moment I don't show the entrances into the industrial area as I have to do some more research on the land development in this area.

Great work as usual! It's stuff like this that I see on the forum that makes me want to get together with everyone over some beers and hash out some of the infrastructure and planning issues in the city.

And thanks Morogolus for that photo essay; it is quite amazing how 20th has changed so quickly.

[North_Regina_Boy]

Originally Posted by skSK

Great work as usual! It's stuff like this that I see on the forum that makes me want to get together with everyone over some beers and hash out some of the infrastructure and planning issues in the city.

And thanks Morogolus for that photo essay; it is quite amazing how 20th has changed so quickly.

Thanks skSK, I really enjoy putting them together.

In that spirit. This is my hypothetical layout of interchanges, based on the approved routing available on the Saskatoon City Website.

If you want a blow-up of any of the interchanges let me know and I will post them Also shown are interchanges that have already been proposed and approved by city council.

[saskatoonborn]

Originally Posted by North_Regina_Boy

Thanks skSK, I really enjoy putting them together.

In that spirit. This is my hypothetical layout of interchanges, based on the approved routing available on the Saskatoon City Website.

If you want a blow-up of any of the interchanges let me know and I will post them Also shown are interchanges that have already been proposed and approved by city council.

Man, awesome. One question i thought they wanted to go all the way to highway 14 with it? Also i dont see why they dont expand it to highway 7 as well since the province wants to twin it all the way to Delisle.

But most importantly, good work .

[North_Regina_Boy]

Originally Posted by saskatoonborn

Man, awesome. One question i thought they wanted to go all the way to highway 14 with it? Also i dont see why they dont expand it to highway 7 as well since the province wants to twin it all the way to Delisle.

But most importantly, good work .

Thanks saskatoonborn! They do want to take it all the way to hwy 14. And I plan to get that portion done soon. As well as an extension to hwy 7. So look for that in the next week or so!

[skSK]

Originally Posted by North_Regina_Boy

Thanks skSK, I really enjoy putting them together.

In that spirit. This is my hypothetical layout of interchanges, based on the approved routing available on the Saskatoon City Website.

If you want a blow-up of any of the interchanges let me know and I will post them Also shown are interchanges that have already been proposed and approved by city council.

Wow. You really get a sense of the scale of this project when you look at this (and like saskatoonborn mentioned, this is only part of it). For example, the intersection of the perimeter highway and Hwy. 16 south that you've drawn looks as if it would take up roughly the same amount of space as the entire downtown. I'd imagine this project would be well over the $1B figure that is often tossed about.

[North_Regina_Boy]

Originally Posted by skSK

Wow. You really get a sense of the scale of this project when you look at this (and like saskatoonborn mentioned, this is only part of it). For example, the intersection of the perimeter highway and Hwy. 16 south that you've drawn looks as if it would take up roughly the same amount of space as the entire downtown. I'd imagine this project would be well over the $1B figure that is often tossed about.

Yes it is quite a massive project. Similar in scale to the new Anthony Henday in Edmonton or Stoney Trail in Calgary. In my initial calculations I am seeing this east / north legs to come in around $1.5B - $1.75B with another $750M - $1B to complete the west side.

Here is a blow-up of how I envisioned the interchange you mentioned. And you are right it is nearly the same size as downtown. VERY similar in size to Stoney Trail and Deerfoot South in Calgary

[nook]

Originally Posted by North_Regina_Boy

Thanks skSK, I really enjoy putting them together.

In that spirit. This is my hypothetical layout of interchanges, based on the approved routing available on the Saskatoon City Website.

If you want a blow-up of any of the interchanges let me know and I will post them Also shown are interchanges that have already been proposed and approved by city council.

If you build interchanges/overpasses before you need them, it's actually less expensive in the long run. Though, it's kind of tough to do that in a place where construction season is at most 7 months long... or 8 if you're reaaal lucky.