Photo Credit: Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce on X

Any Saskatoon residents hoping for improvement of traffic flow at 51st Street and Millar Avenue, will have to continue to deal with the challenges it presents.

Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block said it was her first experience with a full stalemate within City Council.

The Transportation Committee had proposed Option A while administration proposed option C. Both were defeated on a tie.

Option A would improve accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists but makes no changes to the driving lanes or driveways. This option accommodates the active transportation facilities recommended by the Connecting Millar Avenue project, a shared-use pathway on both sides of Millar Avenue.

Option C involved a full reconstruction of the intersection to improve accessibility, safety, and operations and it would have incorporated option A.

Saskatoon City Councillor Zach Jeffries was in favour of option C.

“We’re going to have to do this work eventually, anyway. Like eventually that pressure is going to get so bad that we just know that Millar is just one of those key routes that people take. And ultimately that’s going to lead them through 51st Street. So, this a question of do we do something now when it less expensive or do we do it later when it’s more expensive?”

He also noted that if the intersection were going to be shut down or restricted because of construction, it should make meaningful change.