Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski excited to see 11th Avenue reopening

After months of work, Regina’s 11th Avenue is scheduled to reopen on Monday, wrapping up this year’s construction season.

The City of Regina said the street will reopen to vehicle traffic between Broad and Albert Street.

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“I am extremely excited to see 11th Avenue getting wrapped up,” Mayor Chad Bachynski said on Wednesday.

“It’s been a long time waiting, especially for the businesses that have lived through the construction, which obviously can be very, very frustrating and is impactful to them.”

11th Avenue is considered the focal point of Regina’s transit service. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

Bachynski said he’s pleased with the results after all the work.

“It looks amazing – absolutely incredible,” the mayor said.

“I’m extremely excited to see it wrapping up and opening up so people can actually enjoy it.”

The 11th Avenue Revitalization Project began in 2023 and is scheduled to end in 2027.

The project has been proceeding in phases between Broad and Albert streets, roughly two to four blocks at a time. The project aims to bring roadway, streetscape, and sidewalk upgrades to the route while also replacing 11th Avenue’s aging underground infrastructure.

Some portions of the road have been made narrower to increase the size of sidewalks at certain points.

“There are some ebbs and flows in the sidewalk space, and I think it’s just part of the design of trying to make that walkable space downtown,” Bachynski said.

According to the city’s Transit Master Plan, which was drafted in 2022, 15 of 21 fixed transit routes pass through 11th Avenue, with many being put out of service throughout the construction project.

Eleventh Avenue has often served as the “focal point” of transit service, as the many different routes leading there have typically been scheduled to arrive at the same time. The buses that stop on 11th usually wait five minutes before leaving.

The plan proposes to end the five-minute waits and to remove 11th Avenue’s status as a transit focal point, although the street will continue to be accessible by transit users.

The plan also recommends stopping the simultaneous arrivals for different routes, counting on improvements to service frequency to make the plan work.

Bachynski said the city will provide more details about some of the changes as they are rolled out.

Mayor pleased with federal infrastructure funding

Mayor Chad Bachynski said he was glad to see the federal government earmark $51 billion for municipal infrastructure in the budget tabled this week, especially after he lobbied for more funding during a trip to Ottawa along with other Saskatchewan leaders last month.

Bachynski said he wasn’t sure if the trip was going to result in any new funding during this budget cycle.

“The fact that we did, I think it hit a mark,” he said. “We had some very positive feedback from the federal ministers in Ottawa.”

However, Bachynski did say the the amount isn’t enough for the type of changes municipalities across Canada need. The mayor also voiced concerns about having the necessary workforce to invest in major infrastructure projects.

“My expectation is that with this injection, it is a signal that those trades are going to be viable career opportunities, and my expectation is that there’ll be the appropriate levels of funding and support for education to make sure that we can get tradespeople ready to start building as we do the planning part on our end,” Bachynski said.