Prince Albert City Council will be asked Monday to make decisions affecting how residents move through the city, from the future layout of Central Avenue to the reliability of local bus service.
The May 11 regular council meeting includes a Downtown Rebuild design update and communication plan, along with a proposed seven-year contract renewal with First Bus ULC.
The downtown item asks council to approve a new streetscape direction for Central Avenue between River Street and 15th Street. The proposed design includes two-way traffic, parallel parking on both sides of the street except in front of City Hall and the University of Saskatchewan campus, a public plaza between those two buildings and updated surface features such as furniture, lighting, trees, and other amenities.
Kristina Karpluk, planning manager for the City of Prince Albert, said the decision before council is about changing the design direction that was selected in 2018.
“The decision that we’re asking city council to make is to approve the design change from the vision that was selected in 2018, which was a one-way with angled parking, to a typical streetscape two-way design, and to proceed with the public engagement plan,” Karpluk said.
The report says critical underground and surface infrastructure along Central Avenue has reached the end of its functional life. It says underground infrastructure dates back about 120 years, while surface infrastructure dates back to the early 1980s.
Karpluk said the project is still about infrastructure replacement, but it is also connected to the longer term effort to revitalize downtown.
“We still need to replace all of the underground,” she said. “We’re still going to replace all of the surface infrastructure too.”
The updated design follows an April 28 open house where residents and business owners raised questions about two-way traffic, deliveries, functionality, snow clearing and the impact of construction.
Karpluk said those concerns will be brought to the consultant hired for the next stage.
“Some of the feedback that we got that was directly related to the two-way design was around deliveries and functionality and snow clearing,” she said.
She said the City wants people to keep coming downtown during construction even if portions of the area are under construction. The communication plan includes wayfinding signage and online information so residents can see what is happening, who is affected, and where they may need to detour.
“Downtown revitalization is not just infrastructure replacement,” Karpluk said. “This is just the start.”
Council will also be asked to approve a 2026 to 2033 transit contract with First Bus. The report says Prince Albert’s transit system has faced persistent fleet problems since the City’s original Vicinity buses were removed from service in 2021 because of frame cracking.
The proposed agreement includes 11 new accessible, low-floor 35-foot diesel buses expected to begin arriving in early 2027. It also includes more annual service hours to support extended Saturday service.
Ward 2 Coun. Troy Parenteau said the contract is important because the current buses are not meeting residents’s needs.
“The number one thing is the buses that we’re running here in the city,” Parenteau said. “We know they’re older, that they’re not fitting the needs of our citizens.”
Parenteau said low-floor buses are especially important for seniors and residents with disabilities.
“The low-floor entrance buses allow the seniors to get on easily, without injury, with stability and with dignity,” he said.
He said extended Saturday service matters for people who rely on transit for work, appointments, school, and shopping.
“What we have going right now isn’t working, and we know that we need to have transit in the city, reliable transit,” Parenteau said.
Other items on Monday’s agenda include a 2026 road rehabilitation and construction contract, snow and roadways special tax surplus allocations, a proposed business renovations tax incentive, a rezoning application for 302 Riverside Drive, Prince Albert Minor Baseball’s license agreement renewal, naming rights agreements, and a destination marketing grant for the Battle of the Bands Minor Hockey Championships.
Council is also expected to consider motions dealing with a prototype fire station design, a possible new tax subclass for boarded-up or derelict properties, the condition of the 100 block of 13th Street West, and changes to the City’s First-Time Home Buyers grant.
The meeting begins at 5.00 p.m. Monday in council chambers at City Hall.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
