Environmental Programs

Access Transit Bus Storage Facility

The City of Saskatoon’s Access Transit Garage has achieved LEED® certification. LEED Certification for new civic buildings supports the Strategic Goal of Environmental Leadership and this achievement aligns with the City’s sustainability initiative, in keeping with the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan.

The Access Transit Garage, located in an established industrial area of Saskatoon, has a clean bright atmosphere and functional work environment, crucial to meet the City’s plans to expand its public transit service.  This facility stores Access Transit buses, conventional buses, equipment for bus washing, fueling and fluid dispensing.

A highly energy efficient building, the garage is expected to have 25% less energy costs than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB) baseline. The building will also decrease water consumption by 65%. This is accomplished through the following initiatives:

• High efficiency boilers
• Low temperature in-floor heating
• Extensive use of motion sensing lighting to reduce power consumption.
• Rainwater is harvested for use in water closets, irrigation, and washing buses.
• High efficiency lighting fixtures.

During construction, we were able to avoid throwing away materials as much as possible, diverting 70% from the build which was recycled or used in another way. Building materials have a recycled content of at least 18% or more. With all adhesives, sealants, paints, and products with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOC) were used.

The clean, highly functional facility is a crucial part of the City’s plans to expand its accessible transit system.