Run rapid-transit buses on 1st Avenue, not 3rd, say Midtown Plaza and World Trade Centre builder

Big business has spoken and it wants Saskatoon's planned bus-rapid-transit system to change direction — literally.

Both the Midtown Plaza and the builder of a proposed World Trade Centre want the downtown BRT line to run on First Avenue and not Third Avenue as the city has planned.

The suggested shakeup comes only months before the city plans to make its final route recommendations — unless more consultation takes place, that is.

"First is becoming the centre of Saskatoon," said Mike Mehak, a representative from Cushman & Wakefield, which just announced plans for an $80-million renovation of the Midtown Plaza mall.

• Midtown Plaza plans $80M in mall renos, asks for $2.8M tax break

Mehak said bike lanes and other transportation projects have helped boost traffic at the company's commercial properties in Calgary.

He got chuckles from some watching at city hall Wednesday when he shamelessly said putting the BRT line on First Avenue would help deliver Midtown Plaza shoppers right to the mall's front entrance.

But he wasn't alone in suggesting the route switch-up.

So did John Williams, the president of Canwest Commercial and Land Corporation, which has announced plans for a $55-million World Trade Centre on Third Avenue.

• Construction of World Trade Center Saskatoon expected to begin this fall

Williams said a BRT line on Third Avenue "would reduce the parking, reduce the visibility and branding and reduce the traffic flow on Third Avenue."

"Third Avenue is also the only through-street in downtown Saskatoon from 19th Street to 25th Street," he added.

• Bike lanes and BRT: Colliding interests converge at Saskatoon city hall

Construction on the World Trade Centre was originally slated to begin at the corner of Third Avenue and 22nd Street last fall. Williams denied that uncertainty over the BRT line was a factor in the delay for the World Trade Centre.

The Downtown Business Improvement District also supports the move of the BRT line to First Avenue.

Musical chairs

Moving the BRT line to First Avenue could mean moving the bike lanes that current sit on Fourth Avenue to Third Avenue, the city has said.

Keith Moen, the executive director of the North Saskatoon Business Association, said the majority of the 750 businesses the group represents are opposed to bike lanes "period."

• Business group put up 'surveillance' cameras to track downtown bike lane usage

But city manager Jeff Jorgensen prefaced Wednesday's discussion by saying of the BRT system and an expanded bike lane system in the city's downtown core: "This is not an 'if' decision. This is a 'how' decision."

The city plans to make its final route recommendations for both projects in the third quarter of 2018.

Saskatoon Cycles, a local cycling advocacy group, said it received 600 cards in support of the larger bike lane network.