It’s back to work for city alderman after having the summer off from council meetings.

Monday there will be a combined meeting of council then on the 24th, a regular council meeting.

In an exclusive interview with 660News, Mayor Naheed Nenshi says his team will be working on some long term projects.

One of the priorities this year will be City Transit’s “Route Ahead”.  Nenshi says that is a 30 year plan that will look at capital and operating investments as well as customer service.

“I think it will make life a lot better for the people that use transit today and for those who can be enticed to use transit,” said Nenshi.

Another project will be cutting red tape from the city’s Planning, Development and Assessment department, making it easier for construction projects to get the green light.

“Coming out of it, we should have system that is very streamlined, much less bureaucratic and really focused on serving citizens more than serving the process,” says Nenshi.