Saskatoon’s Traffic Bridge, or at least the bridge's roadway section, will not be renamed.
On Tuesday, city councillors voted in favor of a motion to affirm the existing name of the Traffic Bridge rather than to change it. However, councillors left open the possibility of renaming the pedestrian walkway portion of the bridge at a later date.
The decision follows a request made to the city to change the name of the bridge to the Truth and Reconciliation Bridge.
The city’s planning and development committee recommended the name not be changed due to the historical purpose behind the Traffic Bridge name. It said the impact of changing the name would be city-wide and would require much more public input, and noted city council would have to provide further direction on community engagement.
Darren Hill, city councilor for Ward 1, said he was disappointed councillors separated the walkways from the rest of the bridge in regards to the name of the structure.
“There was a great deal of consultation and citizen engagement that went into the official naming of that bridge in 2007, and you can track that name all the way to the opening of the bridge in 1907.”
The Traffic Bridge was officially named in 2007 in celebration of the Centennial Year of the Bridge. It was the first bridge built in Saskatoon for vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
In 2016, the city voted to name the new North Commuter Parkway Bridge in recognition of an Indigenous event, figure or concept, as part of the city’s reconciliation efforts.
