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Weyburn council seeks public input on traffic bylaw changes

Extensive changes are proposed for the City of Weyburn’s traffic bylaw, including another attempt to alter the hours for the school zone speed limit, and the addition of a recreational area speed limit.
City council

Extensive changes are proposed for the City of Weyburn’s traffic bylaw, including another attempt to alter the hours for the school zone speed limit, and the addition of a recreational area speed limit.

City council gave first reading to the bylaw changes on Monday evening, and is asking for input by city residents on the changes prior to the next council meeting on Monday, June 28. Council met in person for the first time in a few months as COVID restrictions begin to ease.

The changes to the school zone speed limit is only to the hours, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 365 days a year, from the current restriction of seven days a week, 365 days a year. The speed limit will remain at 30 km an hour, and will pertain to the areas around the schools, which will include the new Legacy Park Elementary School.

Past attempts to change the school zone speed limit have failed, as residents wanted to keep the limit in place 24/7, 365 days a year.

Three elementary schools are closing once this school year is done, with Haig and Souris Schools put up for sale by the Southeast Cornerstone School Division. Queen Elizabeth School is slated to be torn down with the space used as a parking lot for the Weyburn Comprehensive School.

The school zone will come off the Souris area, but the one at Haig will change to the new designated recreational speed limit to accommodate the Don Mitchell Tot Lot and Young Fellows spray park and paddling pool (remaining at 30 km/h).

The new recreational speed limit will also be applied to Jubilee Park and River Park areas, and will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. also. Another speed limit change is to put a limit of 20 km/h on all alleys and lanes in the city.

On area highways, the City proposes to change the limit on Highway 35 on the north side of Weyburn from 40 to 50 km/h for an additional 150 meters north of Fifth Avenue North, and on Highway 13/First Avenue, they want to extend the 50 km/h zone to 600 meters past 18th Street, which would take it to the city limits.

For medical scooters and motorized wheelchairs, the traffic bylaw will add the requirement that riders of these devices stay on the right half of the sidewalk when approaching pedestrians, and on roads without a sidewalk, to stay on the right side of residential streets, to avoid collisions.

• In other council business, councillors approved two separate applications to amend the city’s zoning bylaw to allow for development.

In the first case, they approved the application from Skjerdal Enterprises to amend the zoning for the Riverfront Market area, to allow Vortex Plumbing and Megadry Disaster Restoration to renovate and relocate to the former location of the Home Hardware store just off Highway 39 on Third Street.

Council was told that the company is aiming to invest a significant amount of money to renovate the building and relocate their business there from Government Road South.

In the second case, a company that is building a three-unit commercial building at 84 Grace Street, next to the Microtel hotel, has asked the zoning bylaw allow for a cannabis retail outlet as the land is currently zoned as a Highway Commercial zone. Council passed first reading to allow the change to the zoning bylaw.

• Council approved a request from the Young Fellows Club for a five-year tax exemption on the property they use for their clubhouse and Christmas tree lot, which is provided to them by the Prairie Sky Co-op at the rear of the food store. The club just had a five-year exemption first granted in 2016, and council approved extending the status for another five years.

• Council approved a request from Low Brow BBQ to locate their food truck in River Park, in the overflow parking lot, for one or two week-days, and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with several conditions outlined. The conditions include that they are approved by a public health inspector, have a fire safety inspection, and they not interfere with the use of River Park by campers, and not obstruct access to the dock which is accessed from that parking lot onto the Souris River.