Victoria Avenue has a new look leading up to the Traffic Bridge and much of it is to encourage walking and cycling.
The City of Saskatoon unveiled revamped sidewalks, with raised bike lanes, on Thursday, which officials said will make it much easier for cyclists and pedestrians to commute downtown.
The look of the avenue has also been improved.
“Part of what you see today is the changes in infrastructure that reflects the concerns of the community as well as traffic,” said David LeBoutillier, the city’s acting engineering manager.
“We want to highlight the raised cycle track which offer physical separation from motor vehicles for cyclists.”
The street alignment was also reconfigured to bring the avenue in line with the city’s current street guidelines and the median restored.
Officials said there is still some small finishing touches to complete, which will take a couple of more weeks, but it is ready for the opening of the new Traffic Bridge on Oct. 3.
The bridge averaged over 7,000 vehicles per day before it was closed. Similar vehicle numbers are expected, with an increase in bike and foot traffic expected.