Rent reduced for Riders, early budget items approved by Regina Council
5h ago
Council retroactively slashed $1.33 million in rent owed by the Roughriders.
The worst roads in Regina could be getting more funding under the city’s Residential Road Renewal Program (RRRP).
Administration is recommending funding be shifted around within the program. That way there would be less for roads in fair shape and more money reallocated to roads in poor shape.
“It’s to accelerate those poor road rebuilds, reconstructions and realistically — it’s limited to a few wards,” said Norm Kyle, the city’s director of roadways and transportation.
In August 2016, based on public feedback, city council asked administration to review the RRRP to find ways to reduce the backlog of roads in bad condition.
A dedicated one per cent increase to property taxes each year is used to help fund the program, plus 25 per cent of the Street Infrastructure Renewal Program budget. In 2019, the city projects the RRRP budget to be $14 million.
As it currently stands, 10 per cent of funding is allocated to roads in good shape, 65 per cent goes to roads in fair shape and 25 per cent towards those in poor shape.
Under what administration has proposed in terms of reallocation, roads in poor condition would get a bump in funding to 45 per cent, while roads in fair condition would drop down to 45 per cent. Ten per cent funding to roads in good shape would remain.
“It’s those rehabilitation projects where we get in before the road gets poor that people will see less of those,” Kyle said.
A report from the city states this serves as a preventative maintenance option that helps prevent roads from deteriorating to poor condition, while addressing the backlog of roads in poor condition with additional funding compared to the current strategy.
He also said one of the other recommendations is to come back every four or five years and review the program’s model.
“It’s a long term strategy. We can’t make up for a lack of investment overnight.”
The proposal will be discussed at Thursday’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting while council is scheduled to vote on the recommendations at its July 30 meeting.