Sask. roadside pottery store owner secures passing lane victory

After months of advocating, business owner Marea Olafson has received confirmation that a proposed highway expansion will not impact visitors to her store.

Olafson has been running Freba Pottery, located outside her home near Wynyard, Sask., about 175 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, since 2013. The shop is run through an honour system where customers can take products from the store, which is left unlocked, and pay with cash or by e-transfer.

The original highway improvement plan, proposed in May 2024 by the engineering firm Santec, would have rerouted driveways used to access Olafson's business Freba Pottery. Olafson has been working tirelessly since then gathering community support and petitioning for a revised plan.

On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways said in an email to Olafson that it will, "ensure the location of the passing lanes is not in front of your property and that neither of your two accesses will be impacted, including your driveway." 

This decision marks a significant victory for Olafson, who feared the original proposal would devastate her roadside store. 

"I'm very happy though that this is where the decision has been and thankful that my MLA was able to advocate for me," said Olafson. 

"I'm feeling very heard in the sense that they are doing something with my concerns."

The Ministry of Highways confirmed earlier this week that it is standard practice to work with landowners during the design stage of projects to minimize impacts.

Despite this, Olafson feels there was not much communication between the ministry, Santec and herself.

"We have lots of highways," she said. "Is there a better way of doing some of this planning and communication?" 

Olafson said she is excited to continue welcoming visitors, but that the advocacy process affected her work schedule.

"I mean the amount of time that it took for me to advocate from when I heard in May to present, I mean, the past seven days actually took me away from producing pottery and doing my job," Olafson said. 

Construction on the passing lanes is set to begin in 2026. Overall, Olafson is grateful with how things have worked out. 

"I'm very happy and now I can just focus on making pottery and hosting my applications, rather than having to work on where a highway passing lane should be."