The City of Saskatoon says traffic conditions have improved but acknowledges its plan around the start of the university school year did not work as smooth as expected. The past week has been a grind for drivers trying to navigate around Royal University Hospital (RUH), including staff and patients trying to get in and out of the parkade. Long delays became a reality when University of Saskatchewan classes resumed last Wednesday, with a bridge closure and extensive construction on College Drive contributing to significant congestion around the hospital. But for some hospital staff, the concerns go beyond driver frustration. “Heart attacks also happen during rush hour traffic times,” said critical care cardiac nurse Leanne Wedewer, who works on call, as do the heart doctors on her team. She says for days, she and members of her team were caught in the traffic backups while entering and exiting the parkade, raising concerns about how congestion could affect access to care. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) says it does not track how many missed appointments, if any, could be attributed to traffic tie-ups. For RUH staff, however, the delays have been significant. “It was a nightmare. At RUH, staff was backed up in all four levels of the parkade trying to get out. It took me 90 minutes to get out of the parkade to see the light, and two hours to get home,” Wedewer told CTV News. She says the congestion was unlike anything she had experienced. “In 25 years of service, I have never seen the backup on College Drive like this before.” Social media posts also raised questions about whether the extent of the congestion could have been anticipated by experts in charge of the roadwork. The City of Saskatoon acknowledges its traffic plan looked better on paper than it did on the ground. “There’s a difference in looking at it as part of a plan sequence and then what we see in reality day to day, which then we try and monitor and make adjustments as we can in order to reduce the pressure and frustration for everyone,” said Rob Dudiak, special projects manager with the City of Saskatoon. SHA says it is actively working with the city to identify and implement traffic-flow measures to ease congestion. “The SHA is actively working with the City of Saskatoon to identify and implement traffic flow measures that will help ease congestion around the hospital campus and improve traffic circulation. As part of these discussions, we have emphasized the importance of maintaining priority access for emergency medical services and providing priority entry and exit access for staff, physicians and patients accessing care,” SHA said. The city is also asking drivers to use alternate routes as additional lanes reopen. Dudiak says some restrictions remain in place and could change in the coming weeks. “The right-hand turn that we opened a portion of right now still has restrictions. As you come out of the hospitals, we expect that we’ll be able to open that lane in the coming couple of weeks,” he said. The University of Saskatchewan says it appreciates the patience and understanding of the campus community as infrastructure work continues. “While construction may create temporary inconveniences, these projects will provide long-term improvements to campus infrastructure, accessibility and transportation access,” the university said in a statement. The university is encouraging students who experience unexpected delays to communicate directly with their instructors. Some of the closures and traffic restrictions are expected to remain in place through the fall. Wedewer says it’s apparent that some staff have altered their arrival and departure times to compensate for the delays and help ease congestion during peak periods, adding that traffic was marginally better by the end of the workweek.
