Yorkton City council members approved a number of expenditures for the city on Monday evening including a master transportation plan that will accommodate both immediate needs and those into the future.
Council undertook a review beginning in 2003 as a means to ensure proactive planning says Gord Shaw of the city's Planning and Engineering Department. "The draft plan includes an evaluation of the existing transportation network including reviews of existing intersections and corridors, dangerous goods routes, downtown parking, truck by-pass routes, transit, pedestrian and cycling facilities, railways and collision analysis."
Recommendations for immediate improvements include signalization of the intersection of Broadway Street and Seventh Avenue; Queen Street and Highway #9; Yorkton Road and Gladstone Avenue; Darlington Street and Mayhew Avenue; and Darlington and Dracup Avenue.
More long term work is scheduled to continue until 2040.
"Also included in the review," adds Shaw, "is a study of the pathway network that the city has been constructing this summer. This pathway will provide an alternative to using motor vehicles to access work or leisure activities when completed."
While not everything in the plan will be completed, Shaw says, "the importance of the plan is that it provides the city with a better understanding of its transportation network and where it is necessary to make improvements..."
The long term total for the new master transportation plan which was adopted by council is $22,825,000.
A separate expenditure of $2,228,430 was also approved Monday evening. The plan for a new storm water pond on Brodie Avenue was approved and the contract awarded to Curtis Construction Ltd.
"The depth of the pond is approximately two metres (seven feet) from the existing elevation," details Shaw. "This pond will be dry except for when storm events occur."
It's anticipated the pond will detain run-off water so it doesn't overwhelm the downstream drainage network.
"This pond is one component of many designed to deal with storm water management in the western half of the city," adds Shaw. "Other upgrades will occur in the next 10 years to mitigate as much as possible the amount of flooding that has historically occurred in Yorkton."
Houses in the area where the pond is to be located have already been demolished and construction of the pond is ready to proceed.
New commercial lots were also in the agenda Monday evening. The city has agreed to award Ungar Construction Ltd. with a contract in the amount of $3,228,000 to develop a new commercial subdivision adjacent to the Yorkton Tourism Centre.
"The work encompasses site work and installation of water mains, sanitary mains and storm sewer."
It does not however, include roadwork, traffic signals, crown utilities or contingency.
"If these were factored in, the new budget is likely $5.4 million."
Currently there are very few commercial lots available in this area of the city says Shaw and "these six lots will be of interest to small and medium sized businesses interested in highway exposure."
Confident the city will recoup the costs involved in developing the new lots, council approved the plan.
