Saskatoon Construction III

[Echoes]

4 plexes citywide and 4-6 stories near transit approved by Council yesterday. BRT fully funded. Next month, parking minimums on the chopping block.

[YIMBYxe]

Originally Posted by Echoes

4 plexes citywide and 4-6 stories near transit approved by Council yesterday. BRT fully funded. Next month, parking minimums on the chopping block.

Best year for yxe urbanist! These will be transformational in the long run. Glad to see Councillor Block had the courage to vote for these in the face of all the wealthy people in sfh against this, considering her campaign.

[Arts]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

Now if they could make paying your fare easier...

Paying your fare in Saskatoon has gotten ridiculously simple. Just install the Transit Go (T-Go) app and use the QR code at the scanner on the bus. You can buy individual fare, 10 pack, monthly or annual - requires a payment card that might mean a credit card only (for me I just use my CC) but if not the transit service center would probably be able to load up your account, or in the worst case you can just get a physical go pass.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by Echoes

4 plexes citywide and 4-6 stories near transit approved by Council yesterday. BRT fully funded. Next month, parking minimums on the chopping block.

May I also add last week's sod turning for the new central library to this list.

Originally Posted by YIMBYxe

Best year for yxe urbanist! These will be transformational in the long run. Glad to see Councillor Block had the courage to vote for these in the face of all the wealthy people in sfh against this, considering her campaign.

I think she locked in my vote with that show of courage.

[Nafets]

Originally Posted by YIMBYxe

Best year for yxe urbanist! These will be transformational in the long run. Glad to see Councillor Block had the courage to vote for these in the face of all the wealthy people in sfh against this, considering her campaign.

I completely agree. The recent changes have given me hope that Saskatoon is moving in the right direction. The only remaining unknown is what the new city council / mayor will look like after the election....that is the only thing that worries me now.

[Stormer]

For those who keep saying telling us that batteries are the solution to the renewable energy intermittency, just look at the metrics of this project. I don't think we are close yet. Assuming the batteries are drawn down and charged twice each day and the batteries last 10 years, the extra cost of the electricity released from the batteries would be over 23 cents per KWH. This of course does not include the actual cost of generating the electricity and does not include any operating costs, which should be fairly low.

I do not know if my assumptions are correct, but this seems like more a demonstration project than a real business model.

https://regina.ctvnews.ca/saskpower-...gina-1.6951450

[phone]

Originally Posted by Stormer

For those who keep saying telling us that batteries are the solution to the renewable energy intermittency, just look at the metrics of this project. I don't think we are close yet. Assuming the batteries are drawn down and charged twice each day and the batteries last 10 years, the extra cost of the electricity released from the batteries would be over 23 cents per KWH. This of course does not include the actual cost of generating the electricity and does not include any operating costs, which should be fairly low.

I do not know if my assumptions are correct, but this seems like more a demonstration project than a real business model.

https://regina.ctvnews.ca/saskpower-...gina-1.6951450

Did I miss something? Does this relate to Saskatoon construction or urban issues, or is it drill-baby soapboxing? I'm sure most of us check into the Regina thread often enough to see where your double-post could tangentially be considered relevant.

[SaskatoonDreamer]

Curious if anyone has heard any updates on the Parcel G sale

[RHINO]

Hey PHONE, just because you don't agree with someone you don't need to start name calling them. I know it wasn't a great attempt to insult someone, but you DID attempt it. I don't think anyone on here has referred to you as nature wack job have they? Keep it friendly and positive and display some of that magical acceptance I imagine you talk about. It was clearly an accidental post in the wrong section, you didn't need to act like a jerk about it.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by phone

Did I miss something? Does this relate to Saskatoon construction or urban issues, or is it drill-baby soapboxing? I'm sure most of us check into the Regina thread often enough to see where your double-post could tangentially be considered relevant.

I posted here by accident instead of on the Regina thread so I just left it as it is SaskPower and relevant to the provincial power grid. Feel free to ignore.

[prairieguy]

Originally Posted by SaskatoonDreamer

Curious if anyone has heard any updates on the Parcel G sale

I have been away for a while....has there been a sale of Parcel G, or are you just inquiring if there has been any interest??

[FactaNV]

Hey guys, Winnipegger here. Congrats on the announcement of your fully funded BRT. I have some questions about it, is it a true BRT with separated RoW or more on street? What do you guys think about your plan? Will it serve the needs of Sask on the way to 500,000 people?

[The Bess]

No new details on parcel G but here is the Sales Package details

https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/defau...%20Package.pdf

[Arts]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

Hey guys, Winnipegger here. Congrats on the announcement of your fully funded BRT. I have some questions about it, is it a true BRT with separated RoW or more on street? What do you guys think about your plan? Will it serve the needs of Sask on the way to 500,000 people?

No unfortunately, and not unexpectedly, our better transit system will not be a true BRT system, it will lack many features necessary to call it a BRT (e.g. not level boarding, no off-board fare collection, no dedicated busways anywhere in the near future, the platforms will have very limited upgrades over just a plain old bus shelter and the vehicles themselves won't really be BRT style buses). However there will be dedicated running ways in 2 busy locations, improvements to the shelters including heaters and real-time displays, better frequency, and signal priority.

More info about what is being implemented here:
https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/defau...cilsummary.pdf

Personally I welcome the improvements, I don't think a true and full BRT is needed here but I am annoyed they fell for the same trap as other places by marketing it as BRT, it really hurts the perception of what a BRT is and why they are actually ideal for a mid-sized city like ours. I would love if it were improved to the point of being a true full-on RT system with all the real features by the time we get to 500k, however at the rate we're growing we'll be that size before this current starter iteration is even constructed.

[Dalreg]

Have to start somewhere with transit. BRT may not be the answer to all the problems but it is a start. The only way is hopefully forward from this first step. Maybe LRT by 750k?

I still say that the CPR line through the guts of the city is the perfect start for LRT.

[scotty c]

Originally Posted by Dalreg

Have to start somewhere with transit. BRT may not be the answer to all the problems but it is a start. The only way is hopefully forward from this first step. Maybe LRT by 750k?

I still say that the CPR line through the guts of the city is the perfect start for LRT.

The true breaking point for BRT won’t be the main lines it will be how people get from their homes to/from their BRT connection point. I haven’t seen anything indicating how the local service will work once BRT is operational. If I can get a BRT bus every 10 minutes but still need to wait 20 to go from there to get a local bus past my home it won’t work. No idea when the local neighborhood plan would be unveiled.

[ninipanini]

Originally Posted by scotty c

The true breaking point for BRT won’t be the main lines it will be how people get from their homes to/from their BRT connection point. I haven’t seen anything indicating how the local service will work once BRT is operational. If I can get a BRT bus every 10 minutes but still need to wait 20 to go from there to get a local bus past my home it won’t work. No idea when the local neighborhood plan would be unveiled.

I agree that the BRT plan is definitely not a panacea, but does represent an important first step. I think the most encouraging thing to me about the BRT is that it's integrated into a bigger picture plan of increased density along corridors; I think this at least partially addresses the concerns about getting to the BRT from home. The biggest risk that I see to the BRT in the long run is how easy it is to scale back bus based service (as opposed to fixed infrastructure like rail); if the city cuts budgets in the future dropping service levels - decreased service = decreased ridership (particularly from people who choose to take transit but have options) = calls for further decreases in service. I hope the city makes it a priority to make transit the best option to get around Saskatoon with a credible plan to draw people out of cars!

Overall I'm excited about this, it feels like Saskatoon is finally moving towards a more urban, walkable and sustainable city.

[CanadianDriverYXE]

Construction update on Two Twelve, picture taken on 07/10/24

[Saskabusher]

That's a fine, quaint addition to the riverbank. Thanks for the photos!

[SaskatoonDreamer]

Those beams look stellar