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Avalon is a mostly residential neighbourhood located in south-central
Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It is a
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
an
subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...
, consisting mostly of low-density, single detached dwellings. As of 2007, the area is home to 3,214 residents. The neighbourhood is considered a middle-income area, with an average family income of $65,000, an average dwelling value of $168,444 and a home ownership rate of 77.3%.


History

Most of the land for the neighbourhood was annexed by the city between 1910 and 1919, with the remaining southern piece annexed between 1960 and 1969. A 1913 map shows that the present-day Avalon area overlaps three registered subdivisions of the day: Avalon in the northwest, Pacific Addition in the east and railway stock yards in the south. Home construction, however, did not begin in earnest until after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The layout of the streets reflects the changing urban planning philosophies of the day as the land was developed. The north part of the neighbourhood follows a traditional grid pattern. By the 1950s, the design of residential neighbourhoods used a modern system of curving residential streets, feeding into
collector road A collector road or distributor road is a low-to-moderate-capacity road which serves to move traffic from local streets to arterial roads. Unlike arterials, collector roads are designed to provide access to residential properties. Rarely, juris ...
s that connected to
arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...
s. Thus, the southern part of the neighbourhood follows this design practice. Many of the community's street names honour mayors and other community leaders from early in Saskatoon's history, including Wilson Crescent, commemorating
James Robert Wilson James Robert Wilson, (September 16, 1866 – April 3, 1941) was a Canadian politician. Born in Almonte, Canada West, he moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1884 and was employed at a grocery and hardware store. During the 1885 North-West R ...
, who was the Town of Saskatoon's first mayor and the City of Saskatoon's second. In recognition of Bruce Gordon's contributions to the community, Gordon was bestowed the Saskatoon-Grasswood Canada 150 Award. In addition to his career and dedication to the athletic community Gordon was a volunteer, and offered his time to PRIDE Saskatoon, the Saskatoon Road Runners Club, ''John Lake Home and School Council'', and the Saskatoon Sexual Assault Centre and may other local organisations. Residential build-out in Avalon was mostly completed by the late 1960s, however some additional residential development occurred south of Glasgow Street and west of Clarence Avenue in the mid-1990s, along with some limited remnant development west of Melrose Avenue in the 1980s. As noted below, plans for the southwest extension of Circle Drive initially caused some concern; construction of an interchange at Clarence Avenue and Circle, in the planning since the 1960s, was completed by the late 2000s, facilitating resident access to the freeway and to the Stonebridge commercial area to the southeast.


Government and politics

Avalon exists within the federal electoral district of Saskatoon—Grasswood. It is currently represented by
Kevin Waugh Kevin Waugh (born June 9, 1956) is a Canadian politician and former television sports journalist. Waugh was first elected to represent the riding of Saskatoon—Grasswood in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election ...
of the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
, first elected in 2015. Provincially, the neighbourhood is within the constituency of Saskatoon Eastview. It is currently represented by Darcy Warrington of the
Saskatchewan New Democratic Party The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (Saskatchewan NDP or Sask NDP), branded as the Saskatchewan New Democrats, is a social democratic political party in Saskatchewan, Canada. The party was founded in 1932 as the Farmer-Labour Group and was kno ...
, first elected in 2024. In Saskatoon's non-partisan municipal politics, Avalon lies within ward 7. It is currently represented by Councillor Mairin Loewen, who was elected to city council in a 2011 by-election.


Institutions


Education

*Georges Vanier Catholic Fine Arts School - separate (Catholic) elementary, part of
Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) is Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan's largest Catholic school division and the third largest school system in the province. Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools has approximately 22,000 students, with 53 school ...
Originally opened in 1958 as Christ the King School, it was renamed in honor of
Georges Vanier Georges-Philias Vanier (; 23 April 1888 – 5 March 1967) was a Canadian military officer, diplomat, and statesman who served as the 19th governor general of Canada from 1959 to 1967, the first Quebecer (demonym), Quebecer and second Can ...
in 1967. In 1979, it became the first designated fine arts school in Saskatchewan. The school began major expansion and renovation during 2014 which was completed by the fall of 2015. *John Lake School - public elementary school, part of the
Saskatoon Public School Division Saskatoon Public Schools (SPS) or Saskatoon S.D. No. 13 is the largest school division in Saskatchewan serving 28,924 students as of September 2024. Saskatoon Public Schools operates 47 elementary schools, one alliance school (Charles Red Hawk ...
. The school was constructed in 1959. *Avalon is also served by Aden Bowman Collegiate, located a few blocks to the north of John Lake School.


Parks and recreation

*C.P. Seeley Park (1.3 acres) *John Lake Park (4.1 acres) *Avalon Park (4.2 acres) Bruce Gordon was active as a swimmer, weight lifter, cyclist. As a Crossfit training and national Crossfit competitions such as the CanWest Games a British Columbia CrossFit competition, marathons, competing in triathlons as well as the Ironman, such as the Penticton Ironman which he completed nine times. In 2019, Crossfit 306 held the #BeLikeBruce Fitness Festival combining CrossFit Competition with a Triathlon in honour of Gordon, and raised $15,000 towards Pancreatic Cancer Research. Additionally Gordon was active in bike races. In the last days of Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer, hundreds of people came to ''Saskatoon's Avalon Park'' in a cross-fit flash workout to honour Gordon. The Avalon Community Association exists to represent the educational, recreational, and social needs of residents, to promote a sense of community and enhance quality of life in the area.


Public services

Avalon is a part of the east division of the
Saskatoon Police Service Saskatoon Police Service (SPS; ) is the municipal police service in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It holds both municipal and provincial jurisdiction. Police Chief Cam McBride is the head of the service. The deputy chief is Deputy Chief Dave ...
's patrol system. Saskatoon Fire & Protective Services' east division covers the neighbourhood. Transit services to Avalon are provided by
Saskatoon Transit Saskatoon Transit (formerly Saskatoon Municipal Railway) is the public transport arm of the Saskatoon, City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It operates a fleet of Diesel engine, diesel buses. A total of 23 bus routes serve every area of the c ...
on routes No. 6 (Clarence - Broadway) and 13 (Lawson - Exhibition).


Commercial

The main commercial development is the Avalon Shopping Centre, a strip mall located on the corner of Broadway Avenue and Cascade Street; opened in early 1960, the plaza used to house a branch of Canada Safeway, and from the 1990s to 2021 was the location of a "Sarcan" recycling depot. There are also two small commercial areas along Ruth Street: one between Lorne and Vernon avenues, and another at Melrose Avenue. In addition, there are 40 home-based businesses in the neighbourhood. It is also separated by an interchange from the Stonebridge "big-box" shopping centre to the immediate southeast.


Location

Avalon is located within the Nutana Suburban Development Area. It is bounded by Ruth Street to the north, Circle Drive to the south, Idylwyld Drive to west, and Clarence Avenue to the east. Roads are laid in a grid fashion in the north part of the neighbourhood, while the south part features crescents and cul-de-sacs. The community has the distinction of being either directly connected by, or directly adjacent to, all four major roadways leading to downtown: the Idylwyld Freeway (via Lorne Avenue), Victoria Avenue (via Wilson Crescent), Broadway Avenue and Clarence Avenue. Vernon Avenue is a local oddity. On maps it is a one-
block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...
long one-way street for northbound traffic between Bute and Ruth Streets. It actually begins at Bute Street as the back alley for houses along McPherson Avenue to the east. It then merges with the Idylwyld Freeway offramp to become a true road until terminating at Ruth Street. St. George Avenue in the neighbouring
Exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...
neighbourhood is similarly used as the southbound exit from the Idylwyld Freeway to Ruth Street. The combination of houses and exiting freeway traffic makes this type of street a rarity in Saskatoon. Early planning for the southwestern extension of Circle Drive led to some concerns as early concepts for the proposed flyover interchange with Idylwyld Freeway would have required demolition of many homes on or near Glasgow Street. The final design, which opened to traffic on July 31, 2013, sacrificed some greenspace in the southwest corner of the community, and the construction of sound attenuation fencing, but otherwise required no home demolition.


References


External links


Avalon neighbourhood profile - 2007Avalon Community Association
{{Neighbourhoods of Saskatoon, selected=Avalon, Saskatoon Neighbourhoods in Saskatoon