Sidewalk Preservation

Our Program

The City of Saskatoon is committed to keeping the sidewalk infrastructure in satisfactory to good condition. By completing annual condition surveys, covering approximately 15% of the city each year, sidewalks are selected for rehabilitation based on the current condition, treatment requirement, and pedestrian potential. The priority of the sidewalk program is to reduce safety concerns not to address sidewalk aesthetics.  

Sidewalk preservation aims to rehabilitate sidewalk defects from intersection-to-intersection and may be coupled with the roadway preservation program when alignment exists between available funding, pedestrian potential, and defect density.  Sidewalk preservation also occurs independently from road preservation to address locations where the road surface is otherwise in good condition.

Sidewalks that are outside the planned preservation program locations are prioritized according to severity and safety implications.  Citizens who have concerns about the safety of sidewalk infrastructure are requested to contact the Customer Care Centre at 306-975-2476 and report the safety concern.

Our Treatments

The City of Saskatoon uses a variety of treatments to repair and rehabilitate sidewalks and curbs based on their conditions and the City’s sidewalk and curb preservation criteria. Repairs can include one of the following:

Slab Lifting – Slab lifting is performed to repair sloped and distorted concrete panels in order to correct the elevations to match adjacent sidewalk, curb and gutter or to bring the current structure up to pre-determined elevation as provided. Only sidewalk panels that are almost completely free of other sidewalk distresses are good candidates for slab lifting.

Concrete Overlay – Concrete overlays, with an approved two component high strength structural repair mortar, are used to repair medium and high scaled sidewalks that are structurally sound or panels with missing sections to return the surface to a smooth broomed finish. Panels generally should not have any cracks or distortions with the exception of panels amongst other overlayed panels.

Trip Ledge Removal – Trip ledge removal is a cost-effective alternative to sidewalk replacement. Sidewalk panels with trip ledges are cut or ground down to eliminate trip hazards due to frost heaves or differential settlement. This method is used to remove any tripping hazard to ensure safe navigation for all ages and demographics.

Crack Filling – Crack filling treatment uses a polyurethane elastomeric sealant to seal cracks resulting from expansion and contraction during the concrete curing process, due to temperature, or damage caused by other forces. Crack fill reduces moisture infiltration preventing freeze that cycle pushing panels apart, and stops future deterioration of the sidewalk.

Concrete or Asphalt Patching - Concrete or asphalt patching is a temporary treatment that is used to address many different types of safety concerns on sidewalk segments that are not planned for rehabilitation.

Sidewalk Panel Replacement – Panel replacement is the last option for sidewalk repair in order to ensure safe pedestrian traffic. If other treatment options are not achievable due to safety, logistics, cost, or aesthetics, a sidewalk panel is to be replaced. Panels with two or more distresses will be evaluated for replacement. In combined curb and sidewalk, the sidewalk shall be replaced separately of curbs unless curb has a defect as well.

Curb Replacement - Curb replacement is only option for repair. When full segments of curbs are being replaced, alignment, height, and gutter need to be evaluated and confirmed with transportation to ensure placement is in ideals location.

How Residents Can Help

Residents can help maintain and extend the life of our sidewalks by:

• Trimming back trees and shrubs that grow over the sidewalk;
• Keep sidewalks clean all year long. This means raking leaves in the fall, clearing snow in the winter, and cleaning any other debris;
• Avoid the use of salt or other harmful substances that can deteriorate the sidewalk. Citizens are encouraged to utilize alternative substances such as sand or cat litter that do not deteriorate concrete and are safer for the environment & animals.