Saskatoon sidewalk program underway to address 15-year work backlog

The City of Saskatoon 2017 sidewalk campaign is underway with increased funding for preservation and maintenance.

The civic budget allotted $7.9 million for the city programs this year, which is up from about $6 million last year.

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Based on the current pace for sidewalk maintenance and replacement, city officials expect it to take 15 years to tackle the backlog of projects.

The city’s annual sidewalk preservation program started in April, with crews fixing the worst condition sidewalks in areas with the highest foot traffic.

“So that would be around schools, hospitals, major destinations, downtown-type areas or BID locations,” Rob Frank, the city’s engineering manager of asset preservation, said.

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The program also focuses on walkways next to roads already scheduled for repairs.

Large cracks, broken concrete and tripping hazards are dealt with through the maintenance program, which started about four weeks ago.

Saskatoon has just over 1,500 kilometres of sidewalks.