MESSAGE FROM COUNCILLOR TIFFANY PAULSEN – NOVEMBER 24, 2014
1. APPLICATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR APPOINTMENTS TO CIVIC BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES
There are currently openings on the Advisory Committee on Animal Control, the Saskatoon Environmental Advisory Committee, the Board of Police Commissioners, the Saskatoon Gallery & Conservatory Board of Trustees (Mendel Art Gallery)/The Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, the Development Appeals Board, and the Board of Revision/License Appeal Board.
Interested candidates should submit their applications by the deadline at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 1, 2014. All applications will be kept on file and reviewed throughout the year as openings occur. Appointments are served on a voluntary basis. The application form can be accessed and submitted online at www.saskatoon.ca, search under “A” for Appointments to Boards and Committees.
2. 2014/2015 Snow Removal
Snow updates are available on the Building Better Roads microsite – here is the address – http://www.buildingbetterroads.ca/weekly-progress-reports.
Snow Event
· City crews will be out sanding and salting along priority streets as soon as any precipitation begins. Drivers are reminded to please slow down and use caution on the roads as the rain freezes causing slippery conditions.
· Equipment available:
– Graders – 11
– Tandem sanders – 12
– Skid steer (bobcats) – 2
– One ton sanders – 3
– Front plows – 6
– Under slung plows – 2
– Trackless sidewalk plows– 8
– Loaders – 6
– Snow Blowers – 3
· Roadways staff is completely transitioned to winter hours and there is 24/7 coverage.
· maintenance area contractors (minimum four graders in each area) are ready to work once we declare a snow event.
· Regular snow & Ice updates will be issued during and following a snow event and the
http://rpbackapps2.saskatoon.ca/lapp/Geocortex/Essentials/GeocortexAnon/COSSV/Viewer.html?Viewer=iMap_PWStreetMaintenanceVW
will be updated as priority streets are graded. Updates will be shared on the City’s social media channels and website.
· Customer service staff are available 24/7 to report any dangerous locations at 306-975-2476.
Snow Route
· If the City experiences an extreme snowfall and vehicles must be removed from the priority streets in order for graders to make a path, a Snow Route Parking Ban may be declared.
· Snow Route signs have been posted throughout the City’s arterial and collector road network for several years. This year, we added a Green Circle to the Snow Route signs along the priority 1, streets and a mix of priority 2 and 3 streets. Blue Squares were added to the remaining priority 2 and 3 streets. To see a list of City streets included – here is the link – http://www.buildingbetterroads.ca/snow-routes
· Following such an extreme snow event, a declaration will be communicated on the City’s website and through local media channels.
Snow Storage Sites
· This year, the City will have four snow storage sites: Central Avenue, Wanuskewin Road, 8th Street East and Valley Road.
· Wanuskewin Road and Central Avenue sites will open by Friday, November 21, 2014
· A new tailgate slamming policy will be monitored and enforced at the temporary Valley Road and 8th Street East snow storage sites; and the 8th Street East site will have restricted hours of daily operation from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. only.
· The Valley Road site will open this weekend, once temporary No Tailgate Slamming signage is posted. The 8th Street East site will open over the next couple of weeks once the gate is installed.
Business Improvement Districts
· Again this year, the City is working with the Business Improvement Districts (BID) to coordinate snow removal.
· Businesses along the City’s snow grading priority streets, where there is no other storage space available, may shovel snow into the curb lane of the roadway within the first 24 hours after a snow event. The snow will then be removed as part of the priority street system following a snow event.
· Additional snow removal on the adjacent streets within the BID will be coordinated with the organizations over the following days.
3. PHOTO RADAR
Just some information provided by SGI:
RATIONALE
SGI’s focus for this pilot study is to work closely and collaboratively with municipal traffic engineers and law enforcement agencies to increase the perceived risk of apprehension for speed violation thereby leading to reductions in collisions, deaths and injuries.
Unsafe speed is purported to account for 31% of the fatalities on Saskatchewan roads each year with associated negative safety and economic impacts on Saskatchewan. Against the background of SGI’s support the use of photo radar as part of a comprehensive speed management program, and taking cognizance of lobbying by law enforcement agencies and City mayors in Saskatchewan, SGI is proposing a two-year pilot project. The pilot project is expected to be deployed on Circle Drive in Saskatoon, Ring Road in Regina and Moose Jaw Highway 1 corridor.
Circle Drive in Saskatoon was selected as one of the locations for the automated speed enforcement pilot project since it is a high-speed road, where collision frequency is high. In 2013 alone, a total of 956 collisions occurred on Circle Drive in Saskatoon resulting in 231 injuries and 2 deaths. Fifty-seven (57) of the injuries and one (1) death were speed related. It is worthy to note that speeding may also play a role in other collisions that may or may not be identified by police. Thus, by reducing speed of travel on the Circle Drive, the risk of crash involvement will be reduced.
All the locations identified for the pilot study, which includes Circle Drive in Saskatoon, were given critical consideration based on the fact that they:
· are high risk multilane locations;
· pose potential risk to safety of citizens and police if conventional methods were deployed; and,
· have a history of speeding problems.
Saskatchewan’s photo speed enforcement program differs from others as Saskatchewan’s locations are fixed, public, highly visible with large and obvious signage, and have been well advertised through traditional and social media.
Different jurisdictions have used different models – with traveling or mobile cameras that are not signed or promoted. SGI has been very transparent with our photo speed enforcement project.
There should be no confusion or surprises that drivers have entered a photo speed enforced location. Saskatchewan’s focus is on safety – not revenue. Our goal is for zero tickets and zero dollars. That’s why we’ve been so transparent about our program.
If even one life is saved, this program will be considered successful.
This is a two-year pilot. After the two-year trial period, the pilot will be assessed to determine effectiveness.
Saskatchewan police have been advocating for photo speed enforcement for years, meeting with SGI and government to press this issue.
STATISTICS
There are indications that
· Unsafe speed is a major contributing factor to traffic in Saskatchewan accounting for 31% of all fatalities, 15% of all personal injuries and 9% of all property damage only collisions.
· Each year, more than 45 people are killed and 979 injured in 24,600 unsafe speed related collisions resulting in severe social and economic costs to Saskatchewan.
· Crashes due to excessive speeding involve greater impact and are more likely to result in severe crashes; about 67% of collisions resulting from excessive speeding resulted in causalities compared with only 22% for non-speed related collisions.
· Speed-related crash emergency services, health care, property damage, lost earnings, and related human consequences represent an economic loss to the Saskatchewan society of over $200 million annually.
· Speeding may also play a role in other collisions that may or may not be identified by police. By reducing speed of travel, the risk of crash involvement is reduced. Law enforcement agencies, including the Saskatoon Police Service and the Regina Police Service, have lobbied for photo radar in Saskatchewan. SGI expects this to continue.
It is also clear that speeding is an aggravating factor in most collisions.
Tiffany Paulsen
City Councillor – Ward 9
(306) 955-0563 – phone
(306) 955-0567 – fax
222 3rd Avenue North
Saskatoon, SASK
S7K 0J5