City of Saskatoon
Infrastructure Information Meeting for Montgomery Place
June 7, 2018 – Montgomery School gym
About 40 Montgomery Place residents attended a meeting on June 7, 2018 to discuss upcoming improvements planned for the community. Presenters from the City of Saskatoon were:
- Cliff Mah, Project Engineer with the City’s Construction & Design Division, to outline road reconstruction,
- Ashish Pattanashetty, Project Management Engineer with Saskatoon Light & Power, to outline power upgrades,
- Lowell Reinhart, Storm Water Engineer with Saskatoon Water to review ditch reshaping for improved drainage,
- Cory Shrigley, Manager of Customer Engagement at Saskatoon Transit to outline Transit stop improvements.
Also in attendance were:
- Ward 2 City Councillor Hilary Gough,
- Keith Folkersen, Senior Planner with the City’s Planning & Development Division, representing the Montgomery Place Local Area Plan.
Road Reconstruction – Cliff Mah
Montgomery Place streets were first surfaced with asphalt in 1978. Today, Northern Blacktop has been awarded the contract for road reconstruction this summer (June-October 2018), scheduled to begin in July for:
Caen Street between Rockingham Avenue and Crerar Drive (Phase 1), Caen Street between Crerar Drive and Currie Avenue (Phase 2), and between Currie Avenue and Lancaster Boulevard (Phase 3).
Rockingham Avenue between Ortona and Merritt Streets (Phase 1) and between Merritt and Caen Streets (Phase 2).
Dieppe Street between Elevator Road and Simonds Avenue (Phase 1) and between Simonds Avenue and Haida Avenue (Phase 2). The 3300 block of Dieppe Street will be resurfaced after that in Phase 3 and 4.
Each phase will take approximately five days, weather cooperating. The old base will be removed, a new base put down, and the new base surfaced with hot mix asphalt. Call Customer Service at 306-975-2476 during construction with comments and questions.
During construction, there will be no access to driveways and no street parking. Streets will be fully closed, although emergency vehicle will be given access if necessary. Signs will be posted in advance to give notice of impending work. Barricades will restrict traffic. Heavy machinery may add noise and vibrations in your homes. Rain or inclement weather may delay work and will shift the scheduling.
Montgomery Place residents are asked to stay out of the work zone. Avoid “Fresh Oil” spots; they will be marked. Respect detours and no parking signs. Find alternate parking with neighbours or elsewhere in the community. Alternate bus routes will be posted so watch for signs or call Saskatoon Transit at 306-975-3100. Don’t water your front lawns while the street work is underway. No water or sewer interruptions are expected. Garbage and recycling collection should not be affected.
On saskatoon.ca/betterroads, under Road Reconstruction, for Caen Street see https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/default/files/documents/caen.pdf . For Rockingham Avenue, see https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/default/files/documents/rockingham.pdf. For Dieppe Street, see https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/default/files/documents/dieppe.pdf.
Saskatoon Light & Power – Ashish Pattanashetty
Saskatoon Light & Power has scheduled upgrades including pole replacements and underground and overhead installations in identified back lanes, road side locations, and yards. The tree canopy in Montgomery Place and the age of the infrastructure necessitates upgrades. This work began on May 29, 2017 and will continue throughout the 2018 construction season. Phases 1 and 2 have been completed. This year is Phase 3. Phases 4 and 5 will be undertaken in 2019. There should be minimal disruption for Montgomery Place residents.
Crews will be replacing utility poles. High voltage lines will be moved underground to reduce tree contact for fewer power interruptions. There will be power transformers and switches mounted at ground level with efforts made to choose optimal locations. The work will require only localized, short-term power outages. Residents will be notified when this will happen.
The substation on Crerar Drive is coming to the end of its life and will be replaced by a much smaller structure.
Drainage – Lowell Reinhart
Ditch reshaping is scheduled along the south side of 11th Street between Crerar Drive and Lancaster Boulevard. Years of sediment build-up have buried some culverts. The ditch will be sculpted with a gentle grade and grass will be seeded.
A Master Drainage Plan is underway. Watch for surveyors in the neighbourhood throughout the summer.
A FREE Home Flood Protection Program is underway. The former subsidized fee of $125 has been waived. Register now at https://www.saskatoon.ca/services-residents/power-water-sewer/flood-protection/home-flood-protection/home-flood-protection-program.
Saskatoon Transit – Cory Shrigely
After conducting an inventory of bus stops around the City, the stop at the four-way stop at 11th Street, Elevator Road and Fairlight Drive will be improved.
A Montgomery Place resident said that her conversation with Cory Shrigley and with Councillor Gough told her that crosswalks would not be painted across 11th Street at the elevator or at the Elevator Road four-way stop because crosswalks would give pedestrians a false sense of safety and security. Vehicles travelling on 11th Street are not expecting pedestrians, putting people crossing in the crosswalks in jeopardy. On the north side of 11th Street, on Fairlight Drive, a concrete pad will be poured. Bus riders will no longer have to put up with overgrown grass and weeds.