City eyeing Sask. Drive upgrades for future

The City of Regina is looking at options to transform Saskatchewan Drive into a “grand avenue”.

According to the Sask. Drive Corridor Project information up on the city’s website, the road is an important gateway to the city centre. It said that, as the city looks to replace the aging infrastructure on Sask. Drive, it also wants to transform it.

The project is in the very early stages right now — a stakeholder event was held in October and in January a public perceptions survey is set to be held. Through the following years, other reports are expected to be created, and more meetings held, and construction wouldn’t be expected to start until at least 2023 or 2024.

According to the Regina Downtown Neighbourhood Plan, the key design moves include things like broad sidewalks with double rows of trees.

The changes could also include buildings set further back from the road, paving, lighting, and banners distinctive to the downtown, crosswalks at all intersections, permanent on-street parking, bike lanes, and bump-outs on sidewalks at intersections.

Albert Street and Broad Street could get a similar treatment, according to the neighbourhood plan. The plans said those three areas are “today underutilized; with imagination and commitment, they can transform to places of vitality and value.”

The Sask. Drive project will include a corridor plan with a focus on planning for future land use while integrating that with existing land use. It was also include a function plan, which will identify opportunities for future land use, consider ways to provide amenities and infrastructure in the future, and identify buildings and landforms.

Example of what a grand avenue could look like, from the City of Regina’s Downtown Neighbourhood Plan.