News

After 99 years, the city is ordering mandatory inspections of downtown's historic storage rooms to ensure the sidewalks above aren't in danger of collapse. But the policy is getting mixed reviews from property owners, some of whom say it's not their responsibility to foot potentially hefty bills to fix the areas or fill in the tunnels. In Saskatoon's early days, many downtown property owners built basements that extended to the curb, under sidewalks. The space under the sidewalks -leased from the city under an "encroachment agreement" -provided storage for merchants and access from outside the building for deliveries of coal and freight. The only physical signs of what lies below are the translucent glass tiles, called prism lights, set in reinforced concrete panels in the sidewalk to redirect sunlight into the dark basement areas. T o read more of David Hutton's article, please go to: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Safety+worry+down+below/4462032/story.html#ixzz1GxtkzY3w