Recreation:

Fairview Arenas: Located in the heart of the southwest neighbourhood, winter months see the Fairview Arenas become a hub of community activity for the popular hockey programs offered. It features two ice surfaces, changing rooms, spectator seating and concession – 3 min drive.

Fairview Pool - Swift Current’s only outdoor pool, it is open from late June to late August and features a lane swim and wading area, along with diving pool and two slides – 3 min drive.

Westlake Park  - offers a play structure and picnic shelter.

Additional Recreation Facilities:

·       Windscape Kite Festival & Long Day’s Night Music Festival (Flying Field) – home to one of the largest summer festivals in Saskatchewan, the magnificent open prairie near the southwest invites kite flyers from around the world to take advantage of the prairie skies, while in the evenings the grounds transform into the Long Day’s Night Music Festival attracting bands from across North America – 2 min drive.

·       Docs Town and Kinetic Exhibition Park – a hub of activity in the summer, hosting the Annual Frontier Days at the end of June, stock car races in the grandstand, and summer programming in Docs Town, the stampede grounds are also the location of the Stockade Building where winter months will see it converted into an indoor soccer facility – 6 min drive.

·       Swift Current Aquatic Centre – 8 min drive.

·       Swift Current’s Innovation Credit Union iPlex, home to the Swift Current Broncos WHL Hockey team, and other recreation activities and events – 8 min drive.

·       The Swift Current Dog Park and additional baseball diamonds – 9 min drive.

·       Mitchell Field, home to the Swift Current 57’s Baseball team, as well as other diamonds for Little League Baseball – 8 min drive.

·       The south side’s own Chinook Golf Course is a quick 4 min drive, while the Elmwood Golf Club is a 9 minute drive. Both offer 18 holes, a restaurant and lounge, pro-shop, putting and driving ranges as well as golf cart and club rentals.

 Schools:

The Fairview School is part of the Chinook School Division (Public) and services the southside of Swift Current offering grades K-8 programming. Here, and elsewhere in the city, both the Chinook School Division (Public) and Holy Trinity School Division (Separate) offer bus services to service all grades.

Elementary/Middle Schools:

Fairview School – (K-8) – located south of the railway tracks – 2 min drive or walking distance.

Central Elementary School (Grades: Pre K – 8) – an 8 min drive. Swift Current’s oldest operational school, the school was built in 1914, the same year the City was incorporated.

O.M. Irwin School (Grades Pre-K-8) – 8 min drive.

Ecole Centennial (Pre-K – 8) / All Saints Catholic School (Grades: Pre K-8) (Note: This is a French Immersion/English public school and Catholic school built as a joint project with shared spaces) – 13 min drive.

High School:

Swift Current Comprehensive High School (Grades 9-12) – (Note: For those wishing for a Catholic education, courses can be taken at SCCHS to fit curriculum requirements) – 10 min drive.

Shopping:

Servicing the residents of the south side of the city, Pioneer Co-op conveniently offers a fully stocked grocery store, with fresh produce, bakery items and meats, along with a gas mart and car wash. Avid gardeners will also enjoy the fresh offerings at the southside’s own greenhouse.

Other major shopping opportunities within the city, are a short drive away. 

·       Swift Current’s Historic Downtown: a mere 4 min drive, Swift Current’s historic downtown region offers a host of independently owned businesses, including health food stores, flower store, toy store, wedding store, fashion store, furniture stores, banks, restaurants, specialty coffee, and a Pharmasave outlet that is western Canada’s largest. The downtown is also host to the Lyric Theatre, a historic music and theatre venue, as well as Market Square a farmer’s market that happens every Saturday in the summer-season.

·       Swift Current Mall: a 10 min drive travelling through downtown, this mall and the developments surrounding it offer access to a Safeway and Wholesale Club for groceries. The Living Sky Casino and Sky Centre events venue, Staples, Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, as well as a number of gas stations, restaurants and fast-food outlets including a Starbucks.

·       Wheatland Mall: A 9 min drive through downtown, the Wheatland Mall is home to a Pioneer Co-op grocery, home store, liquor store, and gas mart, as well as a Sasktel outlet, Giant Tiger, Peavey Mart, and Coles Bookstore.

Health Services:

Dental and orthodontic services are located on the south side, while the area is located close enough to Swift Current’s downtown area, that residents of south side neighbourhoods looking for health services will find the city’s two optometrists, as well as specialist offices from dental, podiatry and obstetrics to chiropractic care, all located in the downtown core.

The southeast is also only a 10 min drive from the newly developed centralized health care area near the Swift Current Mall which includes:

·       Cypress Regional Hospital – opened in 2008, this modern facility offers 91 acute care beds and in addition to Emergency services is the hub of medical services for SW Saskatchewan with services that include: general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, on-site radiology, pathology services and an intensive care unit.

·       The Meadows – opened in 2016, this award-winning facility hosts 225 long-term care patients with more than 225,000 square feet of space. The facility also hosts its own separate Adult Day program and a large Community Centre for resident activities, family gatherings, and other important events. Its proximity and connection to the hospital, allows for efficient transfers if required.

·       Physician and Dental Clinics: Located across from the hospital this area hosts a number of physician and dental clinics, including the Cypress Medical and Surgical Specialists Clinic, the Southwest Medi-Centre, Swift Hearing Centre, North Side Medical Clinic, Careica Health (formerly Provincial Sleep Group) and Sask Valley Dental.

Walk Score: 3

Most errands in this portion of the city will require a car, though the proximity of the Southside Pioneer Co-op allows for grocery shopping within a walkable distance.

History:

While the coming of the railroad helped Swift Current grow into the city it is today, its large yard and multiple tracks made crossing safely, for those who settled on the south side of the tracks, virtually impossible. After the amalgamation of the communities to the north and south of the tracks in 1912 to become one town under the name Swift Current, southside residents knew, to truly become members of the newly formed town, a proper railway crossing would be needed.

Despite the C.P.R. erecting fences to keep residents from crossing due to safety concerns, residents of the southside continuously knocked them down to cross. And although overpass and subway possibilities were discussed by the city council, for many years, nothing was done. This led to the formation of the South Side Ratepayers Association in 1924. The initial purpose of this organization was to serve as an advocacy body to voice south side-specific grievances to city council. The association also hosted events such as whist drives, horticultural shows, and dances.

In 1929, town council member and south side resident Bill Weaver led a delegation of southside residents, consisting of nearly every man, woman and school-aged child across the tracks and to a council meeting to petition for the need for a proper crossing. His persistence paid off in 1931 when the City and the C.P. R. joined forces to and the championing of the need for a construct a steel pedestrian bridge over the tracks at Railway and 6th Avenue East. The victory was bittersweet, however, as the bridge proved to be too steep for many, and too far from downtown to be popular. Postwar growth and increased vehicle traffic from the south side brought fresh demand for a proper crossing, and the Second Avenue East overpass was opened in the summer of 1960.