Saskatoon looks for councillors' OK on another bus rapid transit planning contract

The City of Saskatoon is looking for council's nod of approval Monday for another contract related to a proposed bus rapid transit system.

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On Monday the city will ask councillors to OK a $314,000 contract with a$36,000 contingencyto Dialog, a Toronto-based company.

Dialog, if it gets the contract, will be tasked with helping the city plan both the location and design of the major terminals and hubs of the city's planned, multi-million-dollar bus rapid transit system.

The work will also help the city plan for buildings located near the stations, such as shops and grocery stores.

"Significant development opportunities will occur at these, so we want to proactively plan for that," said Randy Grauer, the city's general manager of community services.

2nd contract in 2 weeks

Monday's contract awarding will come just two weeks after councillors approved a separate$3-million contract to an Omaha, Neb.-based company, HDR Corporation, to design the BRT line itself.

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"These are all interrelated," Grauer said, of the Dialog and HDR projects, along with the internal work being done by the city to map out the longer-term route of the BRT line.

Dialog, which will work with Watt Consulting Group and Colliers International, beat out four other companies as the city's top choice for the job, including the Saskatoon office of WSP Canada.

The city issued a request for proposals because that will help the project qualify for federal funding.

The planning work is expected to be done in a year.