LRT plan passed
Possible route change for uptown
Light rail transit is coming to Waterloo.
The question now is just where the on-street tracks are going to go.
Regional councillors approved the $818 million plan at a meeting Wednesday night.
They also called for a review of the route in uptown Waterloo.
“Light rail transit benefits Waterloo,†Coun. Jane Mitchell said. “It will develop our industrial corridor on Northfield Drive and the research and technology park.â€
Councillors voted heavily in favour of LRT.
Mayor Brenda Halloran was the only councillor opposed to the train technology.
“Vision means different things to different people†said the mayor, who advocated a bus rapid transit plan. “This recommendation does not represent what the people want.â€
Halloran also opposed a move to reroute trains in the uptown.
Under the original proposal, rail lines will make a square around an uptown block, with southbound trains leaving Waterloo Park and traveling down Caroline Street and northbound trains following King Street, turning left at Erb Street and going into Waterloo Park.
Coun. Sean Strickland called for an examination of running trains along the existing Waterloo spur line in the uptown. Trains would travel from Kitchener north on King Street then cut through the existing rail path through Waterloo Town square and into Waterloo Park.
Waterloo city council gave its approval to the original route in 2009. The change came as a surprise to the city, Halloran said.
“There was no consultation done with our city staff,†she said. “We have no interest in having our public square interfered with in any way.â€
Strickland softened the motion, instead asking for regional staff to review all route options in Waterloo’s core.
“We want to explore the feasibility of changing the route,†he said, noting that no decision on route has been made.
The rest of the route is set. Trains will leave Conestoga Mall, travel along Northfield into the research and technology park and move south through the University of Waterloo campus.
The trains will then enter Waterloo Park, and after the uptown, travel south on King Street to Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener.
Councillors also approved an enhanced bus service for Cambridge.
For more on the story, pick up next Wednesday’s edition of the Chronicle