An expansion of the Regina Police Service headquarters, and the construction of a liquor store in Cathedral were among some of the issues discussed during Regina City Council’s monthly meeting on Wednesday.

Council passed a proposal to close a portion of Osler Street to allow RPS to expand into the vacant Saskatchewan Transit Corporation bus station across the street.

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere says ever since the city bought the old STC building, expanding RPS has been a priority.

“This is very important for the safety and security of our citizens, and was a major investment by our city,” said Fougere. “We look forward to seeing it built over the next two, or three years.”

Council decided to go ahead with the closure of the 1700 block of Osler St. from 11^th Avenue to Saskatchewan Drive, because it will have a minimal impact on traffic and pedestrians.

The Mayor added that while it will be a lengthy project, it will be worth it.

“It’s a complex project, but it will be the ability to house the police service for many, many years into the future,” said Fougere. “It’s welcome news, and it was one of our biggest priorities for infrastructure renewal.”

Construction of the RPS expansion is set to begin in 2022, with public consultations starting this summer.

Another hot topic discussed during the meeting was the proposal of building a Sobeys Liquor Store in the Cathedral neighbourhood. Some people were against the store, saying it “didn’t contribute to a family- friendly neighbourhood.

City council decided to go ahead with the proposal after hearing promises from Sobeys, and the developer, to work with the community to serve customers the best way possible.

Fougere said that, the bid being from Sobeys, helped the project go forward.

“Given the design of it, and the owner of this one, with Sobeys being the one who would actually have this,” said Fougere. “They have good standing around the city, it’s a service that will attract people to 13^th Avenue and provide more business for other businesses downtown. It seemed to be a very good thing.”

The new liquor store is set to be built at the corner of 13^th Avenue and Retallack Street, the lot has been vacant since the building that stood there was destroyed by a fire in the 90s.

Another item passed by council was the creation of single-use plastic bag ban, which council says wouldn’t take effect until after the pandemic.