Watch above: ’10 Days for Transit’ campaign launches in Saskatoon. As Carly Robinson reports, public transit advocates are using a unique approach to challenge motorists to park their cars and take the bus instead.
SASKATOON – Driving everywhere is the norm for most in Saskatoon, with over 90 per cent of people relying primarily on their vehicles for transportation. However, as the city’s population of 257,000 is projected to double in the next 30 to 40 years, some say this car culture is unsustainable.
Ward 6 Coun. Charlie Clark is one of those people.
“If we think that we can keep moving 90 per cent of people by private automobiles then we are fooling ourselves,” said Clark.
“All of our long range planning shows us that we have to do things differently in the future. And a big part of that is a cultural change, to get used to the idea that as we get to be a bigger city transit is going to have to be a bigger role.”
Clark is part of the “10 Days for Transit” coalition, looking at starting a conversation about what would make transit better for Saskatoon. The goal is to have as many people as possible take transit over the next 10 days and share their story and ideas about how Saskatoon can become a transit city.
Right now less than 5 per cent of Saskatoon’s population are transit users. Coalition organizers believe that if more people take buses and if the transit system is improved in Saskatoon, it will lessen some of the traffic congestion in the city.
READ MORE: Saskatoon Transit website allows real-time tracking of buses
With roads like 8th Street, College Drive, 22nd and 33rd Streets already maxed out; the cost to build new overpasses is between $30-50 million.
Watch below: With less than five per cent of people in Saskatoon using transit, the 10 days for transit campaign aims to get more people riding the bus.
10 Days for Transit coalition member Michelle Beveridge sees this as an issue Saskatoon needs to talk about, just like other mid-sized cities looking at growth.
“They’ve built an infrastructure for a certain number of people and all of a sudden there’s this enormous growth and they have to think differently about what it’s going to look like in a couple of decades,” said Beveridge.
Outgoing University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU) President Max Fineday notes how a large part of Saskatoon Transit users are students.
“Students really rely on transit as their main mode of transportation to the university,” said Fineday.
The USSU is one group that is part of the 10 Days for Transit coalition. Fineday and incoming USSU President Jack Saddleback rode the bus with Ward 7 Coun. Mairin Loewen.
The first matched group were experienced transit users who rode the bus with new riders to discuss transit issues.
“Accessibility is something that needs to be amped up,” says Saddleback, noting how it can be a challenge for students to get to campus.
“It’s so convenient to use our vehicles in this city,” says Loewen.
“It’s tough to force ourselves out of our comfort zone. But that’s going to be required if we want to avoid congestion going into the future.”
The city launched the “Growing Forward” campaign also looking to hear community feedback on dealing with the projected population growth. Transit was one of the key issues identified.
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