Every community, big or small, has a network of roads and lanes that form the lifeblood of its daily activities, connecting residents, businesses, and various amenities. Proper maintenance and management of these transportation arteries are essential to ensure safety, efficiency, and longevity. While approaches to road care can differ from one municipality to another, we’ll delve into the intricate practices adopted by the City of Saskatoon as a representative example. Their comprehensive strategy, which spans routine tasks to large-scale projects, offers insights into the complexities of street maintenance.

1. City Maintenance: Back Lanes and Roads

   • The City of Saskatoon oversees a vast network of back lanes and roads, with over 400 kilometres of gravel back lanes alone. These lanes face wear and tear over time due to numerous factors: weather extremes, vehicle traffic, drainage from properties, vegetation growth, and large equipment use. By mid-June, city workers begin the process of grading these gravel lanes based on neighbourhoods. The overall condition of these lanes is assessed every spring, with select areas being earmarked for comprehensive reconstruction.

2. Construction and Upgrades

   • Saskatoon is always in the process of infrastructure enhancement. This involves intersection upgrades, road and bridge rehabilitation, sidewalk development, water main replacements, and other infrastructure improvements.

3. Dust Control Measures

   • Dust can pose both environmental and safety challenges, especially on high-traffic gravel roads. To combat this, the City employs a biannual dust control treatment on chosen roads within its limits. The process uses calcium chloride to bind gravel and fine particles, hardening the surface. However, it’s important to note that back lanes are currently exempt from this treatment. One significant road, the Beef Research Road, poses a unique challenge due to its high traffic and proximity to residential areas. Despite multiple suppressant materials tested, it’s impossible to eliminate all dust, mainly due to the high traffic it handles.

4. Road Safety: Line Painting

   • A critical aspect of road safety in Saskatoon is line painting. Road lines provide vital cues to drivers, helping with lane discipline and direction. Equipment used for this task requires space, so if you ever come across a line painting crew, it’s advisable to maintain a safe distance. The fresh paint needs time to dry, and any interference might not just spoil the paint but also pose a danger given the limited visibility of the truck operators. Every year, the city undertakes an extensive line painting drive, covering lane lines, crosswalks, edge lines, chevrons, and sharrows. Special durable pavement markings, known to last between 7 to 10 years, are now increasingly being used on high-traffic routes.

5. Pothole and Utility Cut Repairs

   • With changing seasons come road challenges. As snow melts, the city gears up to repair known potholes and utility cuts. Residents can use the city’s online map to report any potholes they spot. Once reported, city and private crews set out to address these issues, prioritizing driving lanes on major streets. Interestingly, potholes are formed when moisture seeps into pavement cracks, freezes, expands, and then causes the asphalt to break. The city has set protocols to address these based on their severity and potential danger.

6. Utility Cut Details

   • Utility cuts are necessary excavations made to access underground utilities. Unlike potholes, these cuts have straight edges and are part of a separate repair program. Any construction activity requiring such cuts needs city approval, and the restoration work post the cut must meet city standards.

7. Road Treatments in Saskatoon

   • Every year, the City of Saskatoon allocates more than $61 million towards road care. This covers everything from basic maintenance to advanced rehabilitation. Roads are surveyed frequently to prioritize their treatment based on condition and traffic volume. Some of the treatments include microsurfacing, patch paving, resurfacing, and complete reconstruction.

8. Street Sweeping Operations

   • To keep the streets clean, Saskatoon undertakes a biannual street sweeping operation. The goal is to rid the streets of sand, leaves, and debris. The primary sweep happens during early spring, focusing on removing dirt accumulated over winter. By April, specialized crews work diligently on major roads to collect bulk debris, ensuring a reduction in dust and debris by up to 90%.

Importance of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Concepts from Traditional and First Nations Perspectives

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The Significance of Recycling and Sustainable Development

The mobius loop, often recognized as the universal recycling symbol, encapsulates the complexities of the recycling process. A common misconception is the belief that placing recyclables on the curb completes the act of recycling. That’s merely the beginning. True recycling is only accomplished when these materials are transformed back into new products.

Pillars of Recycling: Why It Matters 

• Environmental Impact: Contrary to some beliefs, recycling significantly diminishes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to research by Environment Canada and various global institutions, recycling is a potent tool against GHG, as repurposing materials requires less energy than sourcing from raw resources. The environmental footprint of collecting and shipping recyclables is also minimal compared to the extraction of raw materials.
• Economic Implications: The financial dynamics of recycling underpin the demand for recycled materials and the viability of the entire process. A study conducted on Alberta’s recycling sector in 2018 revealed that it generated $700 million in economic value and provided 7,500 direct jobs. The projection suggests that with the right investments and policies, the sector’s worth could rise to $1.4 billion, providing over 13,000 jobs.
• System Evolution: The traditional recycling system demands an overhaul to achieve greater efficiency. Extended producer responsibility has emerged as a favored model in many provinces, shifting the recycling responsibility from local governments to the very producers of goods. This transition promises greater system effectiveness, design for recyclability, economies of scale, and potential taxpayer savings.

Collectively, these pillars underline the urgency of embracing recycling and progressing towards a circular economy—a system that advocates reduced consumption, innovative design for reuse and recycling, and a deviation from the linear “take-make-dispose” framework.

First Nations’ Perspective on Sustainable Development  

Traditional knowledge has blessed First Nations people with a unique understanding of local ecosystems, leading to a distinct interpretation of environmental preservation and sustainable development. The conventional definition of sustainable development might focus on ensuring present needs without jeopardizing future generations, but First Nations offer a different narrative. A collaborative report titled “Towards Sustainable Development” by representatives from multiple regions like British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan sheds light on the First Nations’ ethos: it emphasizes cooperation, coexistence, and mutual respect with the environment.

Emerging Trends in Solid Waste Management
The Integrated Waste Management Master Plan (IWMMP) of the City of Saskatoon, established in 2003, was designed to guide waste management for 20 years. However, as the approach to its completion, there’s a growing realization that traditional waste management approaches, which largely depend on landfilling and exporting garbage and recyclables, will not sustain clean and liveable communities in the long run. So, as we contemplate the next Solid Waste Master Plan, it’s essential to understand the current global perspective on waste and the primary trends and challenges we face:

1. Rising Waste Generation 
The World Bank predicts that by 2050, the world’s population will generate about 3.4 billion tons of waste annually, a significant rise from the current 2 billion tons. This uptick poses challenges for municipal waste management systems, especially as urbanization increases, pressuring reduction, collection, processing, and disposal systems.

2. The ‘Evolving Tonne’ 
Over the years, waste composition has changed, termed as the ‘Evolving Tonne’. Examples include:

• Transition from heavier to lightweight packaging.
• The shift from print to online media for newspapers and magazines.
• Increased cardboard packaging due to the growth of e-commerce.

However, while the weight of recyclables has decreased, their volume has risen, leading to increased collection and processing costs. The situation became even more intricate with China’s 2018 National Sword policy, which banned the import of certain post-consumer plastics and paper. Despite these challenges, new recycling facilities are being developed in North America, offering hope for the future.

3. The Plastic Surge 
Since the 1950s, plastic’s use has exponentially grown due to its affordability, convenience, and manufacturing ease. The most significant issue arises from single-use plastic packaging, and the surge in non-recyclable flexible plastics. Responding to increasing public and governmental pressures, many companies are adopting initiatives to reduce single-use plastics and explore alternative packaging solutions, including bioplastics.

4. Demographic and Lifestyle Changes 
Canada, like many countries, is witnessing demographic shifts such as an aging population and more single-family households. These changes, combined with fast-paced lifestyles, have consequences:

• Increased disposal of electronic items in the quest for the latest technology.
• Growing demand for convenient packaging, notably single-use plastics.
• Consumer preference for inexpensive, short-lived products, leading to quick disposal.
• Increased cardboard waste due to the popularity of online shopping.

5. Collection Challenges
Some municipalities are facing disruptions in curbside collection due to driver and crew shortages, pushing them to consider alternatives like automated cart collection. There’s also a shift towards eco-friendly collection vehicles, replacing diesel-operated ones with those running on biofuels or electricity.

Influence on the Solid Waste Master Plan

With the development of a new Solid Waste Master Plan, Ottawa can strategize to tackle current and future waste management issues. Over the upcoming months, discussions will involve policy, program, and legislative changes to enhance waste reduction and diversion. Potential responses could include:

• Educational policies to promote waste reduction and diversion.
• Focusing on waste hierarchy’s first two Rs: Reduction and Reuse.
• Implementing bans and charges on single-use items.
• Encouraging a circular economy and green procurement.
• Supporting repair businesses and technologies.
• Developing strategies to minimize Greenhouse Gas emissions, including food waste reduction.

The coming years will be crucial in shaping a sustainable waste management future.