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Saskatoon city council is going to have a lot of options to consider when they debate a future bus rapid transit (BRT) and downtown bike lanes plan on April 29.
On Wednesday, city staff released their recommended routes for the BRT plan, which is designed to provide more frequent bus service along busy corridors with prioritized lanes or special traffic signals to help speed up travel times.
Five options were provided for movement through the Nutana/Broadway area of Saskatoon, and two were put forward regarding buses in the downtown core.
“All of these options are viable,” Transportation Director Jay Magus told reporters.
However, despite Magus’ assurance, city administration does have a preference.
They’ve recommended the BRT system moves along Broadway Avenue to connect the 8th Street route to the downtown core.
Staff also recommended delaying a decision on giving buses priority lanes through the business district.
Instead, buses could receive “traffic signal priority” along Broadway between 8th Street and 12th Street, and a curbside stop would be installed between 9th Street and Main Street.
The recommendation comes as a compromise after business owners along Broadway raised concerns over how the BRT system would impact traffic during construction, and the “feel” of the district afterwards.
Administration is also presenting a non-preferred option to direct the buses farther down 8th Street to Idylwyld Drive as a downtown access point, though it was noted only 170 of 961 people at an engagement event wanted this option.
Other options for BRT along Broadway include a “mixed flow” option where buses would travel with the rest of traffic, a phased implementation to spread out construction or a plan that would install dedicated bus lanes and a bus station in the centre median near the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Main Street.
As for moving BRT through downtown, city staff appear to have listened to feedback from business owners. Initially the preferred option was to move buses along 3rd Avenue, a plan that received backlash from stores along the route due to concerns over construction and parking.
Now administration is recommending moving the BRT system to 1st Avenue, giving buses dedicated lanes along the centre of the road with two centre median BRT stations – one directly in front of Midtown Plaza and the other at 23rd Street.
The entire BRT system would bring passengers from points along Attridge Drive, 22nd Street, Preston Avenue South and Lawson Heights Mall to the downtown core.
The overall price-tag attached to the BRT plan is $120 million, though the city has said they’ll look to the federal and provincial governments for potential funding agreements.
City council is expected to debate and decide on its preferred options for the BRT system during their April 29 meeting.
CONTROVERSIAL 4th AVENUE BIKE LANE TO MOVE
Councillors are also set to discuss the fate of Saskatoon’s downtown bike lanes.
Along with BRT, Wednesday’s reports included recommendations for establishing permanent lanes for bicycles through the city’s core, with two main options.
The first – which is preferred by administration – is to make the 23rd Street bike lanes permanent, install new lanes along 19th Street and move the current temporary 4th Avenue lanes to 3rd Avenue.
“We’re not overly happy with the 4th Avenue bike lanes,” Magus said, noting the lanes were originally designed as a temporary 18-month long pilot with a minimal budget.
“We’ve faced the reality of that, the pushback of that. They’re really not attractive and when it rains the grating isn’t great.”
He added the permanent lanes would be “something that would work for everyone.”
The report also provides an option to make the 4th Avenue bike lanes permanent, along with the 23rd Street and 19th Strett additions.
PARKING IMPACTS
A recurring question Wednesday to city staff on-hand at the media event revealing BRT and bike lane routes was the potential impact on parking.
Magus emphasized a 1st Avenue BRT route wouldn’t take away any parking spots and the recommended option for a minimal BRT system on Broadway also wouldn’t take away stalls.
However, if city council were to decide on dedicated bus lanes for Broadway Avenue, 14 spots would be taken away between 8th St. and 10th St.
Moving bike lanes from 4th Avenue to 3rd Avenue would remove a net of 24 parking spots – with 54 fewer on 3rd Avenue. Thirty spots would be recovered on 4th Avenue.
On 23rd Street, 13 more parking spots would be lost.
There would be no impact on parking on 19th Street, administration said.
— with files from 650 CKOM’s Bryn Levy