Editing Yellowknife (section)

== Infrastructure ==

=== Emergency services ===
[[File:RCMP HQ Yellowknife.jpg|thumb|Headquarters for the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] (RCMP) G Division who provide policing in Yellowknife.]]
Policing in Yellowknife is provided by the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] (RCMP); Yellowknife is the headquarters for G Division, and houses more than 30 officers.
The City of Yellowknife Municipal Enforcement Division (MED) is responsible for municipal bylaw infractions and traffic infractions (within city limits). The [[Yellowknife Fire Department]] handles the city's fire, ambulance, rescue, and hazardous materials responses.<ref name="community profile 07">{{cite web |url=http://www.yellowknife.ca/Assets/Economic+Development/Community+Profile+2007-2008.pdf |title=Yellowknife Community Profile 2007 |publisher=City of Yellowknife |access-date=23 January 2008|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110212032125/http://yellowknife.ca/Assets/Economic%2BDevelopment/Community%2BProfile%2B2007-2008.pdf |archive-date=12 February 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> A point of debate in recent years has been the implementation of 911 services in Yellowknife (currently one may now dial 911)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nnsl.com/yellowknifer/a-history-of-unknowns-nwt-911-system-goes-live/|title=A history of unknowns: NWT 911 system goes live|last=Pearce|first=Nick|date=4 November 2019|website=Northern News Services|language=en-CA|access-date=7 January 2020}}</ref> through a partnership with five other Northwest Territories communities; the cost of installation is currently estimated at around $1 million a year. There have been a number of incidents where emergency services have been either misdirected, or improperly dispatched.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2007-12/dec7_07em.html|title=911 might finally come|publisher=[[Northern News Services]]|access-date=23 January 2008|df=dmy-all|archive-date=4 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204162124/http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2007-12/dec7_07em.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Health services are provided through the local [[Stanton Territorial Hospital]]. The Yellowknife Primary Care Centre has a broad range of practitioners including physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, counsellors, dieticians and more. Services provided at the Yellowknife Primary Care Centre include mental health, diabetes education, diagnostic imaging, psychiatry and some home care services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yhssa.hss.gov.nt.ca/health/clinics-and-health-centres/yellowknife/yellowknife-primary-care-centre|title=Yellowknife Primary Care Centre|website=www.yhssa.hss.gov.nt.ca|access-date=5 September 2014|archive-date=6 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906000228/http://www.yhssa.hss.gov.nt.ca/health/clinics-and-health-centres/yellowknife/yellowknife-primary-care-centre|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Utilities and services ===

==== Communications ====
Yellowknife's telephone services were established in 1947 by the independent Yellowknife Telephone Company, owned by investors mostly within the community. The system was sold at the end of 1963 to [[Northwestel|Canadian National Telecommunications]], now Northwestel. Northwestel also provides manual mobile telephone service on VHF frequencies, and by the 1990s also provided cellular services that were later transferred to [[Bell Mobility]]. In 2008, northern-based company [[Ice Wireless]] entered the market in Yellowknife, providing digital cellular products and services.

Yellowknife's television services, in addition to over-the-air transmission begun in 1967, included the Mackenzie Media cable television system placed in service 1 September 1972, which was sold to Northwestel in late 1995.

==== Electricity ====
[[File:Jackfish Lake generating station 02.JPG|thumb|The Jackfish Diesel Plant provides power for Yellowknife. It is operated by the [[Northwest Territories Power Corporation]].]]
Electricity is provided to Yellowknife by [[Northland Utilities]], serving 6,350&nbsp;residential and 800&nbsp;commercial customers. Yellowknife operates almost entirely on [[hydroelectricity]] from the Snare-Bluefish systems,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iti.gov.nt.ca/publications/2009/energy/FShistoryofelectricityNWT.pdf|title=Energy Generation|publisher=Government of the Northwest Territories|access-date=23 January 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> provided by the [[Northwest Territories Power Corporation]] (NTPC). NTPC's local production capacity is 67.9&nbsp;megawatts, 30.89&nbsp;MW from 10 generators at the Jackfish Diesel Plant, 28.8&nbsp;MW from Snare Lake, and 7.5&nbsp;MW from Miramar Bluefish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ntpc.com/communities/powergeneration.html|title=NTPC Profile|publisher=[[Northwest Territories Power Corporation]]|access-date=23 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321093108/http://www.ntpc.com/communities/powergeneration.html |archive-date=21 March 2009|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==== Solid waste services ====
Residential garbage removal is through a user pay system, in which residents are allowed three {{cvt|77|L}} garbage bags per week; any additional bags must have a purchased tag.<ref name="community profile 07" /> The City of Yellowknife Solid Waste Management Facility is located on the [[Ingraham Trail]] (Highway 4) {{cvt|2|km}} north of the city;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cjeffery.com/images/City_Facilities_Map.pdf |title=City Facilities |access-date=2 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708161440/http://www.cjeffery.com/images/City_Facilities_Map.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> salvaging is encouraged, and the dump is infamous for the number of still useful items often found in it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2007-09/sep19_07dm.html|title=Treasure hunting at the dump|publisher=[[Northern News Services]]|access-date=23 January 2008|df=dmy-all|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204161913/https://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2007-09/sep19_07dm.html|archive-date=4 February 2008}}</ref>

==== Water and sewage treatment ====
The City of Yellowknife provides pressurized [[Drinking water|potable water]] throughout the majority of the city, and has a network of gravity-fed sewage lines; trucked water and sewage is provided in areas not serviced by piped infrastructure. [[Sewage]], with the aid of lift stations, is pumped to a series of lakes, referred to as Fiddler's Lake Lagoon, where it is held and allowed to naturally decompose. Water is obtained from the Yellowknife River and is disinfected with [[chlorine]] and liquid [[Water fluoridation|fluoride]] is added, but is not otherwise filtered or treated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pws.gov.nt.ca/water/Communtiy_Desc/Yellowknife.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404140419/http://www.pws.gov.nt.ca/water/Communtiy_Desc/Yellowknife.htm |archive-date=4 April 2009|title=Yellowknife Water Supply|publisher=Public Works & Services, GNWT|access-date=23 January 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

=== Transportation ===
[[File:Snow removal in yellowknife.jpg|thumb|left|Winter conditions in Yellowknife require regular snow removal.]]

Yellowknife, while isolated geographically, has a modern transportation system.

==== Air ====

[[Yellowknife Airport]] is the busiest airport in [[northern Canada]], having 70,699&nbsp;aircraft movements in 2007 and handling over 400,000&nbsp;passengers and 30,000&nbsp;tonnes of cargo yearly.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/51F0010PIE/2007000/part2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307173924/http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/51F0010PIE/2007000/part2.htm |archive-date=7 March 2008|title=Aircraft Movement Statistics|publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]|access-date=23 January 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It has two asphalt runways, one {{cvt|7500|ft}} strip and another of {{cvt|5000|ft}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dot.gov.nt.ca/_live/pages/airports/airportProfile.aspx?AirportCode=YZF |title=Airport Profile |publisher=Department of Transportation, GNWT |access-date=23 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227121630/http://www.dot.gov.nt.ca/_live/pages/airports/airportProfile.aspx?AirportCode=YZF |archive-date=27 February 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> while the Yellowknife Airport is classified as an [[airport of entry]] by [[Nav Canada]] and is staffed by the [[Canada Border Services Agency]], it is certified for [[general aviation]] aircraft only. The Yellowknife airport is designated by the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] (RCAF) as a forward operating location for the [[CF-18 Hornet]].<ref name="CFS">{{CFS}}</ref> Despite its shorter runways, the airport can still accommodate [[Boeing 747|747s]] and other [[wide-body aircraft]] for emergency landings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2007-02/feb21_07rway.html|title=MLA says airport needs longer runway|publisher=[[Northern News Services]]|access-date=23 January 2008|df=dmy-all|archive-date=4 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204161908/http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2007-02/feb21_07rway.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2007-01/jan12_07em.html|title=Emergency landing from Germany|publisher=[[Northern News Services]]|access-date=23 January 2008|df=dmy-all|archive-date=4 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204161902/http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2007-01/jan12_07em.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Air traffic control]] services, [[Instrument landing system]] (Category 1), and radar services are provided by Nav Canada.

==== Transit ====

[[YKTransit]] (formerly Yellowknife Transit) is the [[public transport]]ation agency in the city, operating three regular services Monday-Saturday and one express route on weekdays. It is the only transit system in the Northwest Territories.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yellowknife.ca/Assets/City+Clerks/Forms+And+Publications/TransitRouteAnalysisStudyFinalReportOctober2008.pdf |title=Transit Route Analysis Study Final Report |publisher=City of Yellowknife |access-date=26 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706213754/http://www.yellowknife.ca/Assets/City%2BClerks/Forms%2BAnd%2BPublications/TransitRouteAnalysisStudyFinalReportOctober2008.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Holden |first=Robert |date=2024-04-10 |title=Yellowknife unveils new city buses, rebranding of transit fleet |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/new-city-yellowknife-buses-unveiled-1.7168880 |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=CBC}}</ref>

==== Road ====

Road construction in Yellowknife is often a challenge due to the presence of [[permafrost]] which requires that roads generally be regraded and resurfaced every 10 to 20&nbsp;years. Most roads in Yellowknife are paved and road width varies from {{cvt|9|to|13.5|m}}. Winter snow removal is done on a regular schedule by the City of Yellowknife public works department.<ref name="community profile 07"/> Speed limits are {{cvt|45|km/h}} on most roads, {{cvt|30|km/h}} in [[school zone]]s, and {{cvt|70|to |100|km/h}} on highways. School zones and playground zones are in effect 24&nbsp;hours per day, 7&nbsp;days per week. The highway system in the NWT is maintained by the Government of the Northwest Territories. Highway&nbsp;4 (Ingraham Trail) and [[Yellowknife Highway|Highway 3]] (Yellowknife Highway) both run through Yellowknife and are all-weather roads.<ref name="community profile 07" /> One well-known, almost infamous, road in Yellowknife is [[Ragged Ass Road (street)|Ragged Ass Road]], after which [[Tom Cochrane]] named an album.

Until 2012, Yellowknife did not have a permanent road connection to the rest of Canada's highway network, as the [[Yellowknife Highway]] relied, depending on the season, on [[ferry]] service or an [[ice road]] to cross the [[Mackenzie River]].<ref name=bridge>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1295527--deh-cho-bridge-ends-north-s-reliance-on-ice-road |title=Deh Cho Bridge ends North's reliance on ice road |last=Green |first=Jeff |date=29 November 2012|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] | access-date=30 November 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> With the completion of the [[Deh Cho Bridge]], which officially opened on 30 November 2012, the city now has its first direct road connection to the rest of the country.<ref name=bridge /> One still-used ice road connects Yellowknife with the neighbouring community of [[Dettah]], {{cvt|6.5|km}} to the southeast across an arm of Great Slave Lake; or a {{cvt|27|km}} drive via the [[Ingraham Trail]].