New bylaw clearly designates truck routes in Swift Current

The City of Swift Current plans to implement a new bylaw that clearly designates truck routes in the community and includes enforcement measures to ensure compliance.

Council members approved a notice of motion during a regular council meeting on May 2 to advise the public of their intention to introduce a new truck route bylaw.

City Manager of Engineering Services Jolene Peters provided details about the proposed new truck bylaw during a presentation to the meeting.

“This bylaw will allow the RCMP to enforce if the trucks are in contravention of the bylaw,” she said. “The previous bylaw was pretty grey and it was difficult for enforcement to occur.”

The implementation of the new bylaw will include updated signage throughout the city and a communication strategy to share the details of the bylaw with organizations such as SGI, the Saskatchewan Trucking Association and enforcement agencies. The bylaw will also be posted on the City website for reference purposes and to inform the public and truck drivers of the changes.

“So along with just communication, education, new signage and enforcement, I think all roads within the city will benefit from having trucks off of our residential areas,” she said.

The new bylaw will clearly designate three truck routes through the city that are based on the type of load carried by a vehicle.

The heavy vehicle route (Highway No. 1 and 4, North and South Railway Street) can be used for pickup and delivery of goods in the city. Trucks must follow the most direct way to a business location in the city when they leave this route.

The over-dimensional vehicle route (Highway No. 1 and 4, South Railway Street) is for loads exceeding standard dimensions and weights. The maximum clearances match with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure standards. A vehicle that requires a permit from SGI will also need one from the City.

The dangerous goods route (Highway No. 1 and 4) must be followed by vehicles carrying materials considered dangerous goods in bulk, such as chemicals and fuels. These trucks can only leave this route to make pickups or deliveries.

Peters said bylaws need to be reviewed periodically and where necessary to meet the needs and changes of a community over time. The Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) department reviewed the truck routes within the city over the past two years.

“The I&O department has developed a new truck route bylaw to make modifications to the existing truck routes and enforcement abilities,” she noted. “In order to implement the new truck route bylaw, amendments to the existing Traffic Bylaw are required to eliminate potential conflicts.”

A first offence for driving a vehicle off a designated truck route will result in a $200 fine. The summary offence ticket fee will increase to $300 for a second offence within a 12-month period, and a third or subsequent offence in a 12-month period will result in a fine of $500.

Parking a heavy vehicle in an unauthorized location will result in a $100 ticket and parking a vehicle with dangerous goods in a restricted area will result in a fine of $200.

Council approves creek bank rehabilitation project:

The City identified the repair of a creek bank failure along 6th Avenue NE as a priority for rehabilitation in 2022.

City Manager of Engineering Services Jolene Peters presented a report about the 2022 creek bank rehabilitation program at the regular council meeting, May 2.

“Multiple locations have been identified where the creek bank has failed within the city,” she said. “An annual program has been implemented to rehabilitate locations that impact infrastructure or pose a potential safety concern.”

Four creek bank failures were rehabilitated in 2021. All these failures were a result of bank scour. The priority for 2022 is the rehabilitation of a mass creek bank failure along 6th Avenue NE.

“This failure occurred because of the large rainfall and overland runoff experienced in 2019,” she said.

The GEOWEB slope reinforcement system will be used for the rehabilitation work. It will be the first time the City will use this system for creek bank rehabilitation work. The City did a lot of research about the system and talked to geotechnical suppliers. It acts as a reinforcement and is filled with soil material. It will have the appearance of a vegetated hill once the work is done and plant material has regrown.

“Each type of failure requires different methods of rehabilitation to prevent future erosion,” she explained. “Bank scour is generally repaired by reshaping the slope and installing armouring materials such as rip-rap to protect the soil material. Mass failure is repaired by installing new soil materials and strengthening cohesion in the bank by adding anchors and geotextiles.”

Five contractors submitted bids for this project. Knudsen Excavating Ltd. of Swift Current received the highest grade during the review of these submissions.

Council therefore approved the contract and awarded it to Knudsen Excavating Ltd. for a total upset fee of $93,165 (PST included, GST excluded).

The City submitted permit applications for this project to Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA) due to the environmental impact regulations that control any work done near waterways.

Peters said the rehabilitation project has been tentatively scheduled to take place in August. The City just received the WSA permit and it hopes to receive the other permits before then.

Purchase agreement for industrial property:

Council approved a motion at the regular council meeting on May 2 that directed administration to develop an option to purchase agreement with RDC National Inc. for the purchase of a 4.98-acre parcel of land in the South Munro industrial park.

City General Manager of Planning and Development Marty Salberg said administration is excited about this potential development and is committed to developing an agreement. The company’s request for a purchase agreement was the result of months of discussions.

“Given their request for confidentiality, the nature of the business cannot be revealed at this time,” he noted. “However, it has been determined that it fits within the M2 heavy industrial zoning district.”

The basic terms of the agreement will include a purchase price of $971,100 for the 4.98 acres. The company will have a due diligence period of up to 10 months before signing the agreement. It will provide a refundable deposit of $5,000 for the initial six months of this period.

If the company requires more time thereafter, it will provide a non-refundable deposit of $5,000 per month for a maximum of four months. These funds will be part of the eventual purchase price when the company decides to continue with the transaction.

“The City will assist RDC National Inc. in obtaining a development and building permit as well as install an acceptable water and sewer connection to the property line,” Salberg said.

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