Night sky photographers Tara Magee and Colin Chatfield said they’re worried the proposed Saskatoon Freeway will devastate the Northeast Swale and harm the wildlife around it with light pollution.
“As the city grows out — with the urban sprawl that the city seems obsessed with — this whole area is going to be destroyed,” Chatfield said.
“And not just our night skies for us, but the wildlife and the plants that rely on the dark.”
“We’re going to lose habitat, and for what? So we can drive out cars faster?” Magee said.
“(It) seems unnecessary to me.”
Magee and Chatfield said they come to the Northeast Swale, just outside of Saskatoon, up to four times a week for night sky photography. According to the City of Saskatoon’s website, the Swale “has long been regarded as a unique environment, having ecological and hydrological characteristics.”
The site says the area is home to more than 200 plant species and more than 100 animal species.
The city and the Meewasin Valley Authority have preserved a portion of the Swale, but the area where Magee and Chatfield like to come would be directly in the path of the freeway.
The freeway would also come close to Wanuskewin Heritage Park, the administration of which is currently applying to be a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The four-lane, 55-kilometre freeway would circle the city and is designed to reduce traffic in Saskatoon. Portions of the plans are completed but are still just plans — the provincial government has made no formal commitment to the project and there is no timeline for construction.
As such, there has been no study of how the freeway, and the construction of it, would affect the environment.
Geoff Meinert, a Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure senior project manager, said environmental assessments are usually done at least three years before a project begins. He said any construction on the freeway — were it to go ahead — is likely “10-15 years in the future.”
“If you (perform an environmental assessment) too soon, the information becomes stale and it’s no longer valid when you go to construction,” he said.
He said the route was determined in 2005 and was based on a number of criteria: bridge crossings, environmental impacts and the ability to tie into existing infrastructure.
He said the ministry is still working with stakeholders, including environmental partners, to “minimiz(e) impacts to the Swale, including the Saskatchewan River crossing.”
He said that highways in Saskatchewan aren’t continuously lit and that any lighting would be dark-sky compliant, thereby minimizing light pollution as much as possible.
“There’s wildlife here that will go away. They can’t survive here if they can’t hunt in the dark, if they can’t mate in the dark,” Magee said.
The howls of several coyotes could be heard as Chatfield spoke to Global News.
“Their habitat is going to be gone,” he said.
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