SASKATOON, Sask. — While some Saskatoon city councillors are insisting the city needs more bridges immediately, others are living by the motto “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

The latest figures indicate traffic on city roadways requires more river crossings to be built immediately. More than one billion kilometres were logged on city roadways last year, compared to only 200,000 40 years ago.

“We are getting to the point where we are in the ‘need’ stage,” says Coun. Rik Steernberg. “We should build one tomorrow. At some point in time there will be such congestion that you will have no choice.”

Don Cook authored the recent report calling for new bridges. He says if the city used the same philosophy it did several decades ago, it would have already addressed the issue.

“If we used the measurements we had used in the past, we would have had at least one additional bridge constructed at this time,” Cook tells local media.

City staff are considering putting in a budget proposal for 2003 that includes funds for the design of a new south bridge. However it will be five to 10 years before construction begins on the project. Cook feels that when the bridge does become a reality, it will very quickly become one of the city’s busiest crossings.