Environmental groups raise concerns about proposed Saskatoon freeway project

Environmental groups are sounding the alarm about a proposed freeway being planned in Saskatoon.

A provincial report was provided to the City of Saskatoon’s Transportation Committee on Tuesday, outlining the design and function of the second phase of the proposed freeway.

The report, which the province hopes council will endorse, outlines the proposed location of the second phase of the freeway, which will eventually connect Highway 11 in the city’s south to the beginning of Phase 1 of the freeway at the South Saskatchewan River.

When the two pieces are connected they’ll reach Highway 7 on Saskatoon’s west side. The proposed freeway, according to the new report, will be 56 kilometres long with a minimum of four lanes. The route will be divided, with 17 interchanges, five railway overpasses, four fly-overs and a new bridge.

But the project will also cross through the city’s Northeast Swale and Small Swale, conservation areas located on the outskirts of the city.

About 100 letters, emails and comments were submitted at Tuesday’s meeting.

Candace Savage, with the Saskatoon Swale Watchers, asked councillors not to endorse the provincial report, citing the swales as a “biodiversity hot spot” for the area.

“The swales completely fulfill this definition,” she said. “These relatively small areas are home to hundreds of species, including –according to the SNC Lavalin assessment – an astonishing 289 kinds of native plants alone.”

There are also more than four dozen species of conservation concern inhabiting the swale, Savage added.

“No thoughtful person would build a freeway through ecosystems of this importance and productivity,” Savage said, noting she was speaking with endorsements from the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, Nature Saskatchewan, the Saskatoon Nature Society, Walking Saskatoon and 10 other groups.

Joanne Blythe, speaking for the group Wild About Saskatoon, said she agreed with Savage’s assessment.

“More species or habitats are discovered each time people do assessments, such as a second sharp-tailed grouse lek, and a rare marl bog,” she said.

“If this proposed highway goes through, we may be destroying species and places we don’t even know are there.”

Councillor David Kirton said he agreed, but he was the only member of the committee to vote against endorsing the report.

Jay Magus, Saskatoon’s transportation director, said the project is provincial infrastructure, and when further planning and design takes place the city will have to abide by both provincial and federal environmental laws.

“So that was the lens we took, as opposed to ‘does this necessarily meet city guidelines, policies etc.?’ We did our best to educate them on our processes,” said Magus.

Kirton asked Brent Miller, who was at the meeting representing the Ministry of Highways, if a more northerly freeway route was ever considered.

“One of the initial concerns I have right off the bat is it’s quite far out away from the City of Saskatoon,” Miller said.

“When we build this type of infrastructure, we want as many people and users using the infrastructure as possible.”

He said freeways should be “as tight” to the city as possible, so residents can use them to get from one side of the city to the other, relieving pressure on some local streets.

“I don’t see that happening with that northern route,” said Miller, noting that an environmental impact assessment will be triggered for the project.

The project, Miller noted, is still at least 15 years away.

The report on the first phase of the project was finalized and submitted to the ministry in November of 2021.

At the meeting on Tuesday, the transportation committee voted to endorse the draft Phase 2 Functional Design report. The report will go back to council at the end of March, and a vote will be taken at that time on whether or not to endorse it.