Committee Roundup: Week of June 7, 2010
Jun 8th
The next City Council Meeting is slated for next Monday (June 14th), which means this week the three main city committees will be meeting. The following are some of the highlights from those agendas:
Executive Committee:
A fairly light public portion (the Exec community regularly meets behind closed doors, recently on topics such as recycling and Lake Placid) to this weeks meeting.
1. Deaf/Blind Signage in Neighbourhoods: The committee will receive a report from the Accessibility Committee recommending that the City adopt a program that would provide child specific signage in the immediate vicinity of homes with deaf/blind children, similar to that already in place in Regina. At an earlier City Council meeting, City Administration had recommended that such an initiative not be undertaken by Councillors, who then referred the matter to the Accessibility Committee resulting in the current recommendations.
2. Pleasant Hill Revitalization Project Update: The committee will receive an update report on the status of the Pleasant Hill Revitalization Project. The report states that Cress Housing Corporation and Quint Development Corporation have agreed, with conditions, to purchase 3 units each from Parcel B (row houses) and 7 and 5 units each from Parcel D (stacked condos). The remaining units on both parcels will More >
Councillor Wyant Wins Saskatchewan Party Nomination
Jun 8th
Last evening Councillor Gordon Wyant (Ward 5) won the Saskatchewan Party nomination, uncontested, for the Saskatoon-Northwest constituency. There has been no indication from Councillor Wyant how he intends to deal with the potential conflict with his Councillor duties during the Provincial Election campaign, with voting day pre-set for November 7, 2011.
Councillor Wyant’s nomination means there are now two sitting Councillors seeking higher office, Councillor Darren Hill received the Liberal Party nomination for the Federal Riding of Saskatoon-Humboldt earlier this spring.
Core Neighbourhood Vacant Lots, Part III: King George
Jun 7th
Today I’ll highlight the vacant lots listed for King George. It is bounded by 11th Street to the south, Avenue P to the west and the South Saskatchewan River to the east. The northern boundary starts at South Saskatchewan River and follows west down 17th Street; it then runs down the easement between Avenues M and N until 16th Street; finally, it follows 16th Street to Avenue P.
The following is a map detailing the 15 vacant lots listed on the City’s master list (as of May 31, 2010; denoted by blue markers). Where possible, I have included additional information on the status of the vacant lot. New, uninspiring, infill developments are denoted by purple markers:
View Vacant Lots in a larger map
Video Friday: Sunday Streets & Parking Reform
Jun 4th
It’s Friday and that means it’s time for the weekly break from intense blog posts and, instead, time for a film – or two.
The first film highlights a growing movement in cities called Sunday Streets. The concept is simple, a city (such as Portland in this video) closes down a stretch of road to cars and encourages residents to get out to walk, run, bike, roller blade, and generally mingle with each other, with some food, festive events, and music thrown in for good measure. Think Broadway during the FringeFest or Street-fair, but double the length of closed road.
What do you think? Would this be something you would be willing to participate in here in Saskatoon?
The second film “Parking Reform” focuses on the argument that a good chunk of traffic consists of drivers looking for parking and that by increasing the cost of parking you can reduce this type of traffic. The video is centered on parking in New York City; however, the concept is readily transferable to Saskatoon. Really? your probably thinking…but wait, stop and think when was the last time you drove around the block a few times to find that perfect spot? You know the one, within More >
Altering Car Culture Not Easy – But Necessary
Jun 10th
Posted by Sean Shaw in City Council
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Earlier this week a report was submitted to the P&O Committee of City Council and will appear at the regular City Council Meeting on Monday (June 14). The basis of the report was to present a $60,000 study conducted on the current state of Saskatoon’s transportation system and recommendations on how to improve it over the coming years and decades.
As Gerry Klein points out, the one portion of the recommendations that received some ink was the suggestion that parking rates downtown be raised, the Star Phoenix article can be found here and some good discussion can be weeded out amongst the comment section of a local blog here.
What has been lost in the higher parking rate recommendation is it’s intent. Coincidentally, what I believe the intent was is nicely summed up in a short video that I posted here on Friday.
The argument goes, increased parking rates lead to a higher turnover in cars (longer stays cost $$$, an incentive to not stay long), which increases the absolute number of people accessing the area and decreases traffic because there are less people driving around looking for a parking spot. Given that argument, raising parking rates in the downtown core (between 23rd and More >