A home for zebras

A warm winter housing facility for the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo’s newly acquired zebras is on the agenda at today’s City Council Meeting.

The zebras have been in Saskatoon Since July 13th, and City Administration says a winter habitat is required to support their care.

The five zebras are currently owned by the Government of Saskatchewan, so the winter shelter will be completely funded by the Province. One-hundred-thousand dollars has been provided for the project, which will provide at least 750 sq ft of additional space and be comprised of a 4 ft cement block pony wall, with a fabric topper.

In addition, Administration is recommending that the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation be awarded the role of project manager for the Zebra Facility.

Money for diverting food waste

Saskatoon City Administration is requesting City Council Approval to submit an application into Environment Canada’s Food Waste Prevention and Diversion funding program.

If directed to do so, Administration can apply to receive up to $150,000 for projects that aim to reduce and divert food waste from landfills in order to reduce landfill methane emissions.

Administration will be submitting a project called Second Chance Food, which will further the ability of organizations accepting food donations to accept recovered food items, and also improve local capacity to recover more edible food from the waste stream.

The report from Administration states that in Saskatoon, there are an estimated 13,000 tonnes of edible food waste generated by the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional sector that could be reclaimed. It adds that about 2,000 tonnes per year is ending up in the City’s landfill, and the remainder is ending up in private landfills.

Speed limit-related recommendations 

The Public Standing Policy Committee on Transportation will be proposing amendments to the Traffic Bylaw in regard to speed limits on several Saskatoon roadways.

The recommendation proposes that the speed limit on McOrmond Drive between College Drive and Brighton Common be revised from 50 km/h to 60 km/h. It also suggests that the speed limit signage for Zimmerman Road be updated to reflect speed limits of 60 km/h and 80 km/h in the respective zones between Highway 16 and College Drive.

The final report on the Vehicle Noise Mitigation Study will also be presented, and subsequent adjustments to The Noise Bylaw will be recommended in an effort to align the bylaw with SGI’s vehicle noise policy. They include a noise level limit of 101.3 dB for motor vehicles be added to the bylaw, that the noise level limit for motorcycles be increased to 101.3 dB, and that the Noise Bylaw be updated to allow police officers to order sound testing of both motorcycles and vehicles. With this, a corresponding offence would also be created for failure to comply with such an order.

Active Transportation Plan

An update will be provided on the implementation of the Active Transportation Plan at today’s Saskatoon City Council meeting.

The AT Plan contains 88 action items. Since being implemented in 2016, twelve have been completed, fifty-seven of the items are part of the Administration’s daily operations, 13 action items are underway, and 6 action items haven’t been started yet.

Some of the items that have been carried out include 27 kilometres of cycling facilities being constructed, 5.5 kilometres of sidewalk being installed, and 400 pedestrian accessible curb ramps have been installed through Transportation’s Pedestrian Accessible Curb Ramp Program.

While many of the action items are still valid and underway, the Administration intends to refresh the current AT Plan in 2024-2025.