City of Regina to solicit feedback on a proposed Sask. Drive makeover

The City of Regina has a plan to turn Saskatchewan Drive into a more pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined “Grand Avenue” over the next five years.

The concept has been long outlined in the The City of Regina’s Official Community Plan for the downtown, but in January the city intends to conduct a public perceptions survey, according to a timeline for the project posted online.

The city held a stakeholder event in the fall to explore ideas, the timeline says. In April, there should be another one to review options and then in June, the city is slated to hold a public open house.

The city is eyeing most of Saskatchewan Drive, defining the project area as between McTavish and Winnipeg streets.

The corridor is one of three described in the Official Community Plan as an underutilized “significant opportunity area.” Broad and Albert streets are also earmarked for practical and aesthetic improvements.

“It is intended that these streets transform into grand, tree-lined avenues edged by high quality buildings,” the plan states.

“With imagination and commitment, they can transform to places of vitality and value.”

The plan, which emphasizes Saskatchewan Drive’s function to be connecting various areas of the city by virtue of its location, envisions “broad sidewalks and double rows of trees” along both sides of most of the road.

The plan examines the “wide right-of-way west of Albert Street,” suggesting it could become a pedestrian promenade connecting Mosaic Stadium and Evraz Place.

To the north, the plan calls for temporary pocket parks as the area is developed. It notes “a public desire to reinstate the former open space in front of the train station,” and proposes a partnership with Casino Regina to create another park there that would “ensure sight lines to the historic train station from Rose Street.”

According to the timeline, the construction of public improvements will begin in 2023 and continue into 2024.