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Higher density means you need better public transit, according to a Portland, Ore.-based consultant and author.

Jarrett Walker, author of the book Human Transit, is scheduled to address Saskatoon city council Monday afternoon as the city’s new transit-based growth plan is considered.

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The plan’s centrepiece is the introduction of a bus rapid transit system to more efficiently move people from one side of the city to the other.

Rapid rise

Walker said in an interview the city’s plan to introduce a bus rapid transit system at some point in the future is “very logical.” The overall focus of the plan is to reverse the city’s growth pattern, which is focused mainly on suburban development so it takes place as much through infill in a 50-50 split. “That will require sooner or later that you have very attractive public transit,” Walker said. Simply, he added, denser development means there’s less room for private vehicles.