MOOSE JAW — City hall’s public works department repaired more than 1,200 potholes during the second quarter of this year, which is almost 47-per-cent less compared to the same period in 2023, data show.
Crews filled in 1,240 potholes between April 1 and June 30, compared to 2,339 potholes during Q2 of 2023, according to a Q2 report presented during the Aug. 26 regular city council meeting.
Furthermore, other repair-related data for Q2 in 2023 and 2024 show:
- Pavement failures/excavations fixed: 40 / 30
- Dips repaired: 1 / 2
- Manholes repaired: 3 / 3
- Catch basins repaired: 2 / 9
Meanwhile, crews painted 98 metres of crosswalks and 8,430 metres of street lane lines, compared to 120 metres and 8,800 metres, respectively, during Q2 last year.
Furthermore, crews graded 39,764 metres of gravel roads and 23,981 metres of back lanes between April 1 and June 30, compared to 18,086 metres and 29,579 metres, respectively, during 2023’s Q2.
Parking meters
Department staff repaired 192 parking meters and replaced six metered heads, the report said. Also, the department collected $130,952.45 in coin revenue and $20,775.09 in HotSpot app revenue, totalling $151,727.54.
Solid waste
The department collected 9,723.79 tonnes of waste between April 1 and June 30, including 5,312.55 tonnes of commercial waste, 2,504.73 tonnes of residential waste and 1,906.51 tonnes of private waste, the report showed.
In comparison, in Q2 2023, the city collected 19,587.37 tonnes of waste, with 15,324.17 tonnes coming from commercial (mostly Buffalo Pound), 2,403.44 tonnes from private and 1,859.76 from residential.
Private waste is from residents who deliver the materials themselves to the landfill.
Also, during Q2, the city collected 369,465 kilograms of recycling, and after excluding contaminated materials, that number dropped to 359,069 kgs. In comparison, in Q2 2023, those numbers were 349,740 kgs and 335,996 kgs, respectively.
Transit
With regular transit, 51,026 people rode the bus between April 1 and June 30, compared to 42,938 riders during the same period last year. This is an 18.8-per-cent increase year-over-year.
Meanwhile, 10,015 people took paratransit during Q2, compared to 8,565 riders during Q2 2023, a year-over-year increase of 16.9 per cent.
Council comments
Council asked city administration why crews had repaired fewer potholes compared to last year, considering many pavement issues still existed.
Bevan Harlton, director of operations, acknowledged that there were still many potholes left to repair. He noted that before creating the report, he spoke with his staff and learned that contractors had laid down 497 tonnes of hot mix asphalt in Q2 2023 compared to 485 tonnes this year.
Year-to-date, though, the city has laid down 80 tonnes more of hot mix asphalt than last year, he continued. Yet, administration’s reports about this data will change in the future.
“Anecdotally, we are doing larger fills, so whether there’s more milling or cleaner cuts, we are putting down more mix per fill,” Harlton said, adding crews sometimes apply hot mix asphalt to adjacent areas when responding to specific service calls.
Coun. Doug Blanc wanted to see the parking meter revenues broken down, specifically, how much money was coming from First Avenue Northwest. While there were no physical meters there, motorists had to pay with the parking app.
City administration can review that data because paying by app was part of a pilot project, while it is true that not many people are parking there, said city manager Maryse Carmichael. She promised to provide a report in the future.
Coun. Jamey Logan said it was good news that transit ridership was up 18 per cent. He thought future councils should keep that in mind when budget discussions occur since transit is usually “a hot topic.”
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Sept. 9.
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