SASKATOON — The City resumes its pitch for the Downtown Event and Entertainment District, or the District, with Mayor Charlie Clark and the Ward Councillors continuing their discussions as part of the City Centre and District Plan roadmap.
Clark and the team behind the development will meet with the Governance and Priorities Committee on Wednesday, Sept. 11, on plans for the roadmap of Saskatoon's cowntown and the surrounding area.
The City Centre and District Plan guide the land use, public realm, and transportation required to revitalize downtown. It identifies actionable items that, in partnership with private investment and the community, will help make downtown a more vibrant, safe, and livable area.
Planning and Development Director Lesley Anderson said the revitalization project's result would make downtown a place that reflects Saskatoon's present and future and is inclusive.
"A safe and vibrant downtown is a welcoming and inclusive place for all people to come together in a cooperative spirit. This supports a strong economy, strengthens our diverse community, and its intention to attract people to live, work, play and learn," said Anderson.
She added that it outlines strategic directions for the City of Saskatoon, civic partners, rightsholders, stakeholders, and the public to translate the plan's vision into action. It establishes the District as a broader City Centre and updates all plans in the area.
City staff, in consultation with technical consultants and incorporating input from the community, incorporated the decisions made since the approval of the existing City Centre Plan in 2013.
"While the event centre-arena and expanded convention centre are anchors for the District, the City Centre and District Plan is the much broader geographic and thematic plan to revitalize the entire Downtown through land uses, connections, green spaces and other approaches," Anderson said.
"It will be important with or without the anchor facilities as a platform for creating the conditions needed to create a vibrant Downtown Saskatoon."
The plan outline provides guidance and direction for designing streets, creating new plazas and park spaces, and shaping land-use policy for the District and the broader City Centre.
It includes strategies to improve connectivity and mobility and a framework to promote safety, heritage, and culture to foster an inclusive, accessible City Centre and District.
Developing and re-envisioning Downtown Saskatoon has been identified as a priority area in the City's
The GPC's agenda has the full report at .
