March 2022 Newsletter

City Council Meeting: March 28, 2022

Here are a few items of interest on the agenda:

• Policies for school and playground zones;
• COVID-19: masking in civic spaces;
• Recycling depot improvements and review; and
• The Knox United Church Heritage Designation Amendment Bylaw.

The full agenda for the regular and public hearing meetings can be found in the attached hyperlinks.

Policies for school and playground zones

To implement Council's November decision to create playground zones and adjust school zones, the policies need to be updated. The policies align with the Transportation of Canada guidelines, which ensure we are following best practices.

Highlights of the revisions include:

• Elementary school zones will remain with some adjustments to school zone limits.
• High school zones will be changed to school areas only.
• The length of zone boundary limits will be minimized where possible.
• Reduced speed limits will be installed at playgrounds that have facilities or programs intended for young children. The speed limit will be 30 km/h.

COVID-19: masking in civic spaces

With the removal of the Public Health Order, the City of Saskatoon has been assessing on a month-by-month basis whether masking, or any other COVID-19 protocols should be enforced in civic facilities.

Administration has made the recommendation to remove mandatory masking in civic facilities (e.g. Leisure Centres and Saskatoon Transit). The crux of the rationale is that residents have adjusted to a more discretionary masking environment. The full report can be found here.

This recommendation will be debated by City Council, and direction for the month of April will ensue. 

Recycling depot improvements and review

Following the closure of the Meadowgreen Recycling Depot,  Administration has continued to work on developing options to address other immediate safety and contamination issues at the remaining three City-run recycling depots. There are three next steps that are being proposed to address these issues:

1. Run a pilot project at Lakewood Recycling Depot, where depot access is restricted and the hours of operation are reduced to 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM, seven days a week. A lockable gate will be installed, with accompanying signage. The results of this pilot are expected to be reported in Q3 2023.
2. Increase bin collection at all depots from four collections per week, to five collections per week. Furthermore, there will be seven site clean-ups per week.
3. The proposed pilots and increased service levels are intended to be an interim step prior to a comprehensive recycling depot review. This review is recommended to be completed once Recovery Park has become operational and the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Sector recycling regulations have been fully implemented, so that the impact of these new programs on depot use can be evaluated. As well, this will allow the effectiveness of the pilot and increased service levels to be understood and whether additional steps are required to further mitigate illegal dumping and contamination. Data collection for this review will begin in 2023 and the majority of the review and analysis will take place in 2024.

How to share feedback ahead of the meeting

Contact me directly

Do not hesitate to reach out to share feedback ahead of our meeting. You can contact me any point in the month. Contact information is available here.

Send a letter to City Council

This avenue allows you to send a letter (or request to speak) to items on the agenda. This needs to be submitted before 10:00 AM on Monday, March 28 as it forms part of the supplementary agenda. Find more information on how to make the request here.

SAVE THE DATE - COFFEE WITH YOUR COUNCILLOR

• Jump on the call anytime to chat with me and other neighbours
  
  • April 21, 2022  |  12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
• Where: Hosted via ZOOM

The Zoom link will be posted online ahead of the event.

• Briarwood Community Association is hosting an End of Winter Celebration on Saturday, March 26 from noon to 3:00 PM. Find more information here.
• Congratulations to Christine Loewen and Steven Qui, who are Greystone School students, on their Living in Harmony awards!
• A community garden is being proposed in East College Park's Edward McCourt Park. Share your feedback here by April 11 at 5:00 PM.
• Conversations on the College Corridor Plan continue, with a focus this month on the public realm (public spaces accessible to everyone). On March 31 from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM, an online meeting will be hosted on the Character and Comfort of College Drive and Preston Avenue. RSVP for this meeting here.
• As part of #ActOnReconciliation, you can still register for Reconciliation Saskatoon’s “Let’s Talk Reconciliation” on March 30, 2022 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. 
• Feedback is being sought on proposed Dog Parks for Small Dogs in Charlottetown Park (Confederation Suburban Centre) and Hyde Park (Rosewood). Share your thoughts here by April 25.
• Find information about road maintenance, including how to report a pothole, back lane maintenance and street sweeping here.
• Keep up to date with City engagement events by visiting saskatoon.ca/engage.