Saskatoon residents raise concerns over pedestrian tunnel
A tunnel connecting Saskatoon's Fairhaven community to the Meadowgreen neighbourhood is raising concerns.
The tunnel is in close proximity to Saskatoon Tribal Council Wellness Centre.
“I’m seeing a very large increase in people I don’t know in my space, and some other people have expressed that exact same experience,” said Meadowgreen resident Ryan Giesinger.
Giesinger specified by his area, he meant his yard.
On Thursday the Meadowgreen Community Association held a meeting to discuss possible solutions to the increase in foot traffic. The association says since the Wellness Center was brought to Fairhaven foot traffic has increased significantly.
“We want to see how we can take care of this group and where they are walking around and take care of the safety of the people living in the community,” said Meadowgreen Community Association Sultan Alisadhe. “We want to have a safe community for everyone.”
Alisadhe and the Association are calling on the city and province to do more to help the residents' situation. The main concern for Alisadhe is that people pass through the tunnel for school and work and to use public transportation.
“The safety of homelessness around the tunnel, people are just using injections and drugs, and people are sleeping in the tunnel, and some people just do not feel comfortable crossing the tunnel after certain hours,” he said.
On Thursday the association met to come up with solutions to the tunnel and the increased foot traffic coming in. People suggested closing the tunnel permanently or during certain hours, monitoring it over video.
“Right now there are random people, late night, wee hours of the morning, so that’s the main concern,” said Alisadhe. “Right now it brings lots of traffic that we don’t know who it is.”
A member from the Saskatoon Fire Department and Saskatoon Police Service were both in attendance at the meeting.
“What’s happening in this community is being replicated in other areas of the city, and the concerns regarding homelessness and poverty are something that needs to be addressed by our community,” said Saskatoon Police Service Inspector Tonya Gretsey with the community engagement division.
CTV News did reach out to the Saskatoon Tribal Council for a comment but was told Chief Mark Arcand is away during this time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

What do Indigenous Peoples across Canada really need and want?
The federal Liberal government has made a lot of promises to Indigenous Peoples. But do those promises line up with what communities on the ground really want and need, or reflect their diversity?
Toronto family shocked they have to rip out $20K synthetic grass putting green
A Scarborough family said they were shocked to get a notice from the City of Toronto that the artificial grass in their backyard, including a putting green, will have to be ripped out.
Walking just this much more per day can lower your blood pressure: study
A new study finds walking an additional 3,000 steps per day can significantly reduce high blood pressure in older adults with hypertension.
Here's how a U.S. government shutdown could impact Canadians
Economists warn both Canada's economy and individual Canadians could suffer from impacts of a U.S. government shutdown, and that those impacts will deepen and broaden the longer it lasts.
India's foreign minister says Canada has 'climate of violence' for Indian diplomats
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Friday there was a 'climate of violence' and an 'atmosphere of intimidation' against Indian diplomats in Canada, where the presence of Sikh separatist groups has frustrated New Delhi.
Defence minister insists $1B spending reduction is not a budget cut
The country's top soldier and outside experts say that finding almost $1 billion in savings in the Department of National Defence budget will affect the Armed Forces' capabilities, although the defence minister insisted Friday the budget is not being cut.
Bail bondsman charged alongside Trump in Georgia becomes the first defendant to take a plea deal
A bail bondsman charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others in the Georgia election interference case pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges on Friday, becoming the first defendant to accept a plea deal with prosecutors.
Last living suspect in 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur indicted in Las Vegas on murder charge
A man who prosecutors say ordered the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur was arrested and charged with murder Friday in a long-awaited breakthrough in one of hip-hop's most enduring mysteries.
Tragedy in real time: The Armenian exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh
For the past five days, vehicles laden with refugees have poured into Armenia, fleeing from the crumbling enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in neighbouring Azerbaijan. In a special report for CTVNews.ca, journalist Neil Hauer recounts what it's like on the ground in Armenia.