WAKAW — The Civic Address Registry (CAR) is a province-wide standardized system of identifying and locating properties by establishing unique property access point locations.
In 2022, the Saskatchewan government introduced the Saskatchewan Civic Address Registry (CAR) to support the provincial 911 system. This is a voluntary provincial program that enables community authorities to manage address location and information in a geographic database through an online interactive mapping website.
In August 2021, the Government of Saskatchewan created a policy relating to the installation of Civic Address Signage in municipalities. “The municipality may install civic address signs as per this policy. If the conditions of this policy are followed, there is no requirement to obtain a permit from the ministry.” (Government of Saskatchewan, Roadside Management Manual: RSMM 1240-100).
The push for a rural addressing system, however, started long before that with delegates at a SARM convention.
Rural addressing systems are based on an access point on a road network. The Rural Municipal Signing System, which includes the rural addressing standard, was adopted by SARM resolution No. 7-05M at the mid-term convention of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities. “One of the driving forces behind the desire for a common rural addressing system is the movement towards the establishment of 9•1•1 systems to cover the province providing protective services dispatch services. A simple and concise method of providing a location to the 9•1•1 operator is required. The addressing system has also been developed to provide a standard address for use by crown utility corporations, Canada Post, and the many other service companies that need to make deliveries to rural customers and are finding it harder and harder to keep track of locations and routes to access those locations.” (saskcamps.ca/saskatchewan-provincial-standard-system-of-rural-addressing-2006 PDF)
Some have questioned the need for civic addressing when all rural properties have a legal land description. A legal land description identifies the general quarter section on which a building is located. A civic address provides a more defined method to locate the building as it identifies the access location along a road to the building as opposed to the centre of the quarter section. This additional detail can prove critical in emergency response situations, especially when there are multiple residences that share the same quarter section.
The geographic location of the addresses registered in CAR is based on the driveway access to a residence or business. The rural civic addresses system utilizes the township and range road network for assigning civic addresses. Each section on either side of a one-mile segment of road is subdivided into approximately 40 lots with each being 40 metres wide and of an indeterminate depth. The lots are numbered from 1 to 80 with the numbers increasing in a northerly direction on range roads and in a westerly direction on township roads. Even numbers for properties on the south or west side of a road and odd numbers for the opposite. Lot numbers may exceed 80 if there are diversions in the road that increase its length within the section.
For properties with access along Range Roads, their civic numbers are a combination of the Township Road number to the south of the access location, regardless if the township road exists or has a different assigned road name and the lot number by which the access is located along the section. For example, the address is 28034 Range Road 3134, the civic number is 280 (Township Road number to the south) and lot number 34 (access location) is appended at the end.
For properties with access along Township Roads, their civic numbers are a combination of the Range Road number to the east of the access location, regardless if the Range Road exists or has a different assigned road name and the lot number by which the access is located along the section. For example, the address is 313464 Township Road 281, the civic number is 3134 (Range Road number to the east) and lot number 64 (access location) is appended at the end.
In Saskatchewan, 911 calls are answered at primary safety answering points (PSAPs) or Emergency Communication Centres (ECCs) located in Saskatoon, Regina and near Prince Albert. Civic addressing is utilized by these emergency communication centres in addition to traditional methods such as landmarks or legal land descriptions to pinpoint emergencies using the geographic coordinates effectively. The Civic Address Registry (CAR) program contains nearly half a million civic address locations across the province, including the unique rural addressing system available for municipalities to adopt and implement. Municipal personnel verify and manage the civic addresses using an online interactive mapping website, which is then integrated into the 911 call-taking system. The CAR program enables emergency communication centres to efficiently identify the closest first responders. Missing or incorrect civic address information in the Registry inhibits the effectiveness of locating emergencies and dispatching first responders.
The civic address signs at each property on the various beaches along Wakaw Lake are complete. The RM of Hoodoo had to change some of the names of roads along the beach to distinguish between roads with similar names and to simplify the road names as per each beach. The Ministry of Highways approved the final choices, and the civic addresses are recorded in the registry and available for 9-1-1 responders.
The RM of Fish Creek has already installed the road signage and Council has decided to complete the identification and registration relating to residential signage in-house rather than hiring an outside firm to do that. An employee is currently taking the training on how to do this and current plans are that the individual signage will start being installed later this year.
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) encourages all communities to utilize the voluntary program to assist emergency responders such as police, fire and emergency medical services locate Saskatchewan residents in need quickly.
The CAR Signage Incentive Project, introduced by the provincial government, was available to communities such as municipalities, First Nations and parks as a subsidy to help cover the cost of road and civic address signs. There was no cost to apply, but several communities were not aware of the incentive.
