$152M in combined spending announced for rapid transit, new leisure centre in Saskatoon | CBC News

The City of Saskatoon is giving the green light to its long-planned bus rapid transit system thanks to a massive influx of cash from all levels of government.

Mayor Charlie Clark, Saskatchewan Minister of Government Relations Don McMorris and federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jenna Sudds gathered in Saskatoon Thursday afternoon to announce nearly $152 million in combined spending for four BRT projects and the construction of a new leisure centre in the city’s east side.

“This is what we can do to improve our communities when all orders of government work together,” Clark said during Thursday’s media event.

The funding includes:

• Almost $61 million from the federal government.
• Nearly $34 million from the provincial government.
• More than $57 million on the five projects. 

The bus rapid transit system (BRT) has been in the works in Saskatoon for about seven years. It has been a key piece of the city’s growth plan, but debate has raged since 2019 about how it should be done.

Most of the money announced Thursday — about $111.4 million — will be spent on about 55 new zero-emission and diesel-fuelled buses on renewing the current fleet, improving road infrastructure, establishing the Green Line corridor and installing a fibre optic network that would create a more intelligent and efficient commute.

“We are supporting Saskatoon’s expected growth, while also addressing bus shortages,” said Sudds, who attended on behalf of Sean Fraser, Canada’s minister of housing, infrastructure and communities.

“Public transit is integral to the well-being of a community.”

The money allows the city to be proactive, ensuring its transit system is efficient as the population continues to climb, Clark said. More than 266,000 people lived in Saskatoon in 2021 — an increase of nearly 19,000 from 2016, according to the latest federal census.

Saskatoon can learn from mistakes made by other large Prairie cities, namely Calgary and Edmonton, as their populations grew, Clark said.

“They didn’t build the efficient corridors that have the density and the transit around them — and they have to deal with a lot more cost of infrastructure and the expense of all of those things,” he said.

“This is why it’s huge for our city. It’s a turning point in our ability to create a very vibrant, dynamic Prairie city.”

The city has heard complaints this year about residents missing buses because they were already full and drove past the stop, Clark said. The new buses could increase capacity, as well as replace the buses currently in service as the system moves toward an electric fleet.

The fibre optic network project will connect traffic signals throughout Saskatoon to computer systems, which will improve traffic flow for all vehicles, including transit, said Rob Dudiak, the city’s special projects manager.

Clark said a beacon on a bus, for example, would send a signal to a traffic light that it’s approaching and the light will remain green longer. Dudiak added that could extended to emergency vehicles, too.

More than $40M for new leisure centre

Saskatoon’s Holmwood sector — an area on the outer east side of the city — is getting a new leisure centre.

About $40.5 million of the money announced Thursday will be spent on construction of the East Side Leisure Centre.

The facility will be fully accessible, with features including a pool, fitness and weight rooms, as well as multipurpose and “childminding spaces,” according to a federal government news release.

“This leisure centre will be a centre and a hub for more than nearly 70,000 residents who live nearby — and hopefully an attraction for visitors to Saskatoon into the future,” said Don McMorris, a provincial cabinet minister with various portfolios including government relations.

The new facility is desperately needed on Saskatoon’s east side, as neighbourhoods continue to bloom, Clark said.