Saskatoon seeks new vision for Idylwyld Drive

The City of Saskatoon has launched a year-long effort to reimagine a street that is vital to transportation, but that doesn't exactly make the city shine.

When visitors drive into Saskatoon, there is a good chance they'll make their way into the heart of the city using Idylwyld Drive.

It doesn't really have that welcoming flavour- Lesley Anderson, City of Saskatoon

Idylwyld is a busy route moving north and south.

"We've categorized it as an urban main street," said Lesley Anderson, the city's director of planning and development.

Idylwyld is also a mish-mash of residential and commercial zones.

As Anderson said in an interview on CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning, it may well serve its utilitarian role as a heavy traffic corridor, but Idylwyld is not very inspiring.

"It doesn't really have that welcoming flavour right now."

"We want to look at how we can adjust Idylwyld to see deal with the future of Saskatoon and to meet people's needs better," Anderson said.

Public input needed

The city has now posted an interactive online survey on its webpage so that people can offer their thoughts on how to improve Idylwyld Drive.

The final concept and designs are to be presented to city council in the fall of 2017. Then, the hard work of trying to find the money needed to make those changes would begin.