Quote:
Originally Posted by roryn1
Why not? 25th and 5th is the most population dense area of Saskatoon so it’s time we got a more urban school - school bus picks up quite a few kids in my building, but would definitely be more if the school was located more in the downtown
I think an elementary school is necessary in both locations.
The new library is supposed to have a lot of green space / could have been / still could be very collaborative.
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Why not? I think the better question is why. Why try to force a collaboration between the SPL and SPS? Why try to get them to agree on a shared building that would meet all of their (rigorous, diverse) needs? Why close three Westside elementary schools (community schools!) and force their students to commute downtown? Why build an elementary school in a spot that doesn't have nearby parks? Why build an elementary school at one of downtown's busiest, least pedestrian-friendly intersections? Etc. etc. etc. And you think a new elementary school is needed in the Westside AND downtown? Respectfully, how would you know --- because you saw a school bus in front of your building? Vancouver has a new elementary school downtown so we should too --- is that it? The placeholder name they're using is "City Centre School" --- would calling it "Westside School" have nipped all of this in the bud? Downtown was never in consideration for this new school, nor should it have been for these and a hundred other reasons. I don't know if you've been following the controversy around the school closures at all, but just imagine the anger that completely chopping schools out of the Westside would cause.
If an elementary school were needed downtown, it would already exist or be in the pipeline. Not enough people live downtown yet to justify a school. But who knows, maybe downtown's industrial area will suddenly become a place people want to live and raise children.
In all seriousness, making downtown attractive for families will matter more and more as Saskatoon continues to grow in the coming decades. Floating optimistic, pie-in-the-sky proposals isn't a bad thing, but it's important to be realistic too, especially here. Saskatoon is small, so things happen slowly. There might eventually be an elementary school in downtown Saskatoon, but there are a thousand steps between there and where we are now. For starters, I'm sure the new library will offer lots of programming for children, and that's great --- it will help address the larger issue you're raising, which is the accessibility of educational services for children who live downtown. Don't hold your breath on a new school anytime soon, though.