Prince Albert city council has approved a detailed design contract for the Central Avenue Streetscape project after another debate over cost, traffic flow and the future of the downtown core.
Council voted 7-2 Monday to award the consulting engineering services and detailed design contract to AECOM Canada ULC for $640,000, excluding taxes. The motion also authorizes the City Manager to spend up to $800,000 of the previously approved $1 million project budget to bring the design to a tender-ready stage.
The approval does not authorize construction or site supervision. Those items would need to come back to council for separate approval.
The project covers Central Avenue between River Street and 15th Street. Council previously approved a future streetscape design that includes two-way traffic, parallel parking on both sides except in front of City Hall and the University of Saskatchewan campus, a public plaza between those two buildings, and updated surface treatments such as street furniture, lighting, trees and other amenities.
Coun. Daniel Brown attempted to bring forward a recommendation to review the 2018 decision and design, saying he wanted more options before the City spends more money on another design. Coun. Blake Edwards questioned whether council should revisit a decision that had already been made.
Brown later spoke against the contract, saying he was concerned about fiscal responsibility and whether the project will move ahead after the design work is complete.
“I don’t believe it’s responsible to spend a million dollars of taxpayers’ money on something that might not even come to fruition,” Brown said.
Coun. Bryce Laewetz also opposed the motion. He said he has concerns with the design, particularly the two-way traffic component, and with the larger cost of the project.
Laewetz said he supports replacing the aging infrastructure, but not every part of the current direction.
“I agree, the infrastructure 100% needs to be worked on, needs to be replaced,” Laewetz said.
Edwards pushed back, saying council had already debated the street scape direction and voted to move ahead with two-way traffic. He said Monday’s item was about detailed design, not reopening the earlier decision.
“We voted on the two-way traffic, that discussion is done,” Edwards said.
Coun. Tony Head supported the motion, saying the project has been discussed for years and downtown infrastructure can no longer be pushed aside. He said the water pipes beneath Central Avenue date back to 1906.
Head said business owners he spoke with were more focused on getting the underground work and road improvements done than on whether the street remains one-way or becomes two-way.
Edwards also supported the contract, saying he had opposed the project in the past but now believes the City needs proper design work before the infrastructure becomes a bigger problem.
“The bottom line is the work needs to be done,” Edwards said.
Edwards said detailed design will also help the City understand how long construction could take and how downtown businesses may be affected.
Coun. Darren Solomon asked why the City Manager was being given authority to spend up to $800,000 when the contract award is $640,000.
City Manager Craig Guidinger said the extra room is meant to deal with unknowns that may come up because of the age of the downtown infrastructure. He said any change that alters the scope of the project would still come back to council.
Mayor Bill Powalinsky also supported the motion. He said the issue is no longer just traffic flow, but the risk of delaying work on aging infrastructure.
The staff report says the design phase will help define the full scope of work, refine cost estimates, establish construction timelines and better understand impacts on businesses, residents and drivers.
The report targets completion of the issued-for-tender drawing package by Dec. 15, 2027.
