The City of Saskatoon has grown and prospered, becoming an even more desirable place to live, work and play. The City attracts professionals and families eager to experience the quality of life and amenities its communities have to offer. To manage this growth, the transportation infrastructure will need to expand to support additional people and goods movement. However, simply adding infrastructure will not be sufficient.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are a critical tool for monitoring the network and ensuring safe and efficient operations. ITS can help build better communities by maximizing the efficiency of the existing network and providing the users with safe, efficient journeys. The City of Saskatoon retained Associated Engineering to undertake the Needs Assessment phase of the ITS program. The Needs Assessment phase is a key component and first step to developing the ITS Strategic Plan
The ITS Needs Assessment included:
- the preparation of a project management plan, a communications and risk management plan and quality assurance
- review of all relevant reports, studies, identification of highway corridors, and preparation of a Discussion Paper to document assumptions;
- development of a unique “ITS Primer” to send to internal departments with a questionnaire and follow-up with key stakeholders - the ITS Primer is an information brochure that explains the basic elements of ITS, how it works and the expected benefits
- facilitation of an ITS Workshop to discuss the components of the ITS plan and results of the questionnaire
- preparation of a needs assessment and gap report
The Final Needs Assessment Report was submitted and the City of Saskatoon has since proceeded to prepare the ITS Strategic Plan.