Business leaders in Saskatoon say they were hoping for a different outcome with city council’s recently approved bus lane design on 1st Avenue, which may prompt some businesses to rethink their future on the downtown road.
City councillors voted 7-4 on Wednesday on the future design of a stretch of 1st Avenue between 19th and 25th streets, following five months of consultation with business owners and accessibility leaders.
In April, city councillors deferred their final decision on the roadway’s design, asking city administrators to engage with businesses and accessibility advocates impacted by the suggested changes.
Councillors ultimately voted through the first design option, which is a slightly modified version of what was recommended to them back in April.
The project will eliminate 59 parking spots and place bus stations in the middle of the street. It will also change lane designations for some motorists along certain stretches of the road.
Administrators recommended this design to councillors during the meeting, saying that a slight lane modification on 24th Street from the previous iteration improves travel times and does not alter plans enough to require a return to the drawing board with their federal funding partners.
Before pushing the option through, councillors reflected on feeling satisfied to finally have a design locked in. But not everyone in the business community shares those sentiments.
“There are businesses that have been in business downtown for decades that feel that this may actually be something that may negatively impact them and their ability to continue,” said Shawna Nelson, executive director of Saskatoon’s downtown business improvement district.
On the table were two other options that were designed with business feedback in mind to protect on-street parking and curb space in front of stores.
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One incorporated feedback from the Capitol Music Club, located near 24th Street, while the other was more of a design overhaul, with mixed-traffic lanes and curbside bus stations added in.
We commend the city for the consultation they did. We just wish that the outcome would have been different and they would have maybe acted on some of what they heard, perhaps in a more direct way,” Jason Aebig, Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce CEO, told Global News in an interview.
Nelson had asked councillors to consider a blended design combining the second and third options, a suggestion from third-party engineering consultant Catterall & Wright, whom the group, alongside the business association NSBA, commissioned to review the plans.
But Nelson says she feels “a little bit disappointed” with the way administrators presented the options, with councillors not exploring other options beyond the first one recommended to them.
“Pushing the agenda was option one. They did provide options three and two, so I don’t know why that wasn’t promoted in a good light,” Nelson told reporters following council’s vote.
The blended option Nelson was advocating for would have retained space in front of the Capitol Music Club to address the venue’s concerns about retaining on-street equipment loading space.
Some councillors asked about incorporating the Capitol’s concerns into the recommended design, but administration rejected the idea, saying there was not enough space.
“I really feel that we should be able to work it out with them and figure out how they can get their loading and unloading and everything done in an appropriate way,” said Ward 9 coun. Bev Dubois, before sharing her support for the first design option.
But Aebig says the council’s decision dismisses the concerns of a venue that brings “animation and safety” to downtown and may not be able to operate as effectively, given that loading equipment is central to its business.
“We’re assuming that they will find a workaround when the business has been very clear that they don’t have workarounds in light of not only the plan that was adopted yesterday, but their current situation,” he said.
Aebig added his advocacy group had pushed for the option designed with the venue’s concerns in mind as the loss of it would have devastating impacts on the portion of downtown it resides.
“It puts more eyes on the street, it puts more feet on the sidewalk, and that kind of surveillance usually means that people not only feel safer, but it is safer because it is attracting legitimate users to stretches of a downtown that would otherwise go dark,” he said.
Camey Gader-Hryhor, Capitol’s owner, told Global News in an email that she is processing the news, which is likely to have “a huge impact” on the business but not commenting further at this time.
Councillors also tasked the administration back in April with reporting on high-level operations plans for 1st Avenue, including winter maintenance, snow removal and emergency vehicle access.
During the council meeting, administrators spent several hours presenting councillors with reports comparing the options and addressing high-level questions. A third-party engineering consulting firm was also present to share a report it conducted on the BRT options.
Councillors then heard from half a dozen speakers, some in support of the designs presented to the council, while others pushed for additional options.
Nelson says she wants to see the city establish a business advisory committee moving forward, so advocates are consulted before major infrastructure projects are pushed through.
“Whether it’s downtown, whether it is in Riversdale, Eighth Street, Broadway, the North End, the businesses in those areas or the associations that represent businesses in those areas, are brought to the table sooner than they are because maybe we wouldn’t have wasted this much time,” she said.
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