I’m the 1st vice-chair of the GRCA, so will report on that organization from time to time.

This morning I went to Guelph for an announcement by the province of infrastructure finding for two washroom upgrades at GRCA conservation areas. This is important because usually the GRCA falls through the cracks as we are not a municipality or a provincial body or park. We are also getting some funding for upgrades in Elora from the federal government.

Thanks to Liz Sandals, MPP and Hon Michael Chong MP for their help.

Last night was the BIG night of a number of big nights this June at the Region. We’ve passed the new Regional Official Plan and new higher development fees, now the final piece in sustainable Waterloo Region puzzle, Light Rail.

Staff was teasing councillors that we were all dressed up for the decision. This time of year with the heat, you don’t often see the male councillors in full ties and suits.

There were only a few delegations, Councillor Ben Tucci ticking off Councillor and former Mayor Jane Brewer when he started to talk about how he thought people would vote until he was stopped by Regional Chair, Ken Seiling. She ripped into him later. But overall Ben was for Light Rail to Cambridge.

The plan calls for the first stage to be Light Rail in Kitchener Waterloo then the next stage in Cambridge with bus rapid transit going to Cambridge three years earlier than light rail to KW. 

Claudette Millar and Jane Brewer, both former long time mayors of Cambridge and now regional councillors voted for Light Rail as did Mayor Kim Denoudin from nearby North Dumfries county but they voted against the bus rail plan for Cambridge as their consituents want light rail too.  The motion on the floor said that Cambridge will have rail as soon as possible but without a timeline. Totally reasonable vote for the sensible Cambridge councillors.

Present Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig was the only councillor to vote against Light Rail. 

 Once again he took up his cudgel and flayed about . Gave his usual claim that the Region hates Cambridge and is always leaving them out (Never mind the clear statistics that Cambridge has 30 percent of the riders and 50 percent of the cost). Bullying that he will tell the province and the feds about our disgusting behaviour (I’m going to to tell Mom!)

He was for the rail going to Cambridge a few weeks ago, but now wants Bus rapid for the whole region. (If Cambridge can’t have it, nobody should have it!) Very “poor me” and “sour grapes”

Usually I get along fairly well with Doug, but when he goes off like that it is very offensive. The Region bent over backwards and added an amendment for 10 million over 10 years to help increase bus ridership and work towards bringing Light Rail to Cambridge. Doug is convinced that the Region will never bring light rail to Cambridge. I shake my head. 

 Doug voted against Cambridge getting the 10 milion to work towards Light Rail! Said it was basically nothing.  In a moment of passive/aggression I also voted against the amendment. If he feels Cambridge doesn’t want the money, heck, I’m not giving it to them.

Actually, if Doug is for Bus Rapid Transit and that is what Cambridge is getting, why’s he complaining?

My amendment that we only move ahead if we get sufficient funding from the Province and Feds passed unanimously.

At the end of the vote, with light rail passing, the audience clapped!  Very unusual and gave councillors a good feeling over a stressful topic.

A woman knitting a red sweater in the audience gave councillors some superstitious moments; Mme LaFarge knitting caps in the French Revolution as the guillotine goes down! But approached afterwards, she was for light rail and said she would have knit a different colour if she would have realized!

Quote from the Record’s editorial on Saturday, www.therecord.com

“Critics also charge that the $790-million price tag to build a light-rail line in Waterloo and Kitchener and a rapid bus system in Cambridge is too steep. But they should consider the stunning ongoing costs of the car. The regional government alone will spend $850 million on road construction and reconstruction in the next decade. The province, cities and townships will together spend hundreds of millions more on local roads and highways in the same 10 years.This week, governments agreed to spend $70 million to widen a four-kilometre stretch of Highway 8 in Kitchener.

Meanwhile, building a new Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph will cost hundreds of millions when it finally proceeds. Add up all the millions we spend on roads year after year in this region and, far from being exorbitant, light rail is an economical option. It should, in time help us control the road bills and give us all a more efficient, cost-effective way of transporting people.”

And don’t forget my previous comments that doing nothing will lead to 100 more lanes of road in the region, 12 lane Fischer Hallman, etc. Unbuildable.

Claims that no one wants LRT:

My email and phone calls and letters are running 63 to 75 percent in favour.

All the thousands at public meetings, responses over the net at the Region’s sites, mail show 75 % in favour.

(Yes, I’m amazed too.)

A generation split, it seems. Most in favour are between 25 and 45, against are retired.

Isn’t LRT only in cities of over one million?
No.
I’ve been researching this.
People have been using present day population figures.
Some cities.
Portland started in 1979, 382.619 population.
Depopulated downtown that is now intensified (lots of commercial, residential, etc)
Toronto subway, start in 1946, population, 675,754 in 1951 when first subway started.
Edmonton, 1974, population 445,000
The lowest number I have found so far is Hartford with 124,512, but Hartford County is 857,183.
Waterloo Region isn’t compact enough or have enough commuters for LRT.
I have ridden the number 7 main line at 2 in the afternoon on a week day and had to stand it was so packed. Not all of them were students. There are enough people.
See above, depopulated Portland. Phoenix Arizona just started LRT, very spread out and low density yet ridership above projections. (actually in all cities, ridership above projections.)

Time between trains? 7.5 minutes.
Why are the costs for light rail more expensive than bus rapid transit?
With light rail, we have to build the tracks and the cement bed. We don’t want any utilities underneath it so they will have to be moved (I know from other projects this can be expensive!), electrification substations and finally an underground tunnel will be built at Victoria and King in Kitchener to go under the regular train tracks. Should there be a multi-model station there in the future (that means Via-rail, intercity buses, LRT and buses, car park) this would be an underground stop.
Light Rail Vehicles cost 4.5 million but last 15 to 25 years
Buses are half that price but only last 10 to 12 years.
While the operating costs of rail is high in the beginning in the long run it is cheaper because there is one driver to many cars while buses have one driver per bus. Also fuel costs for diesel will rise again and light rail is electric. The electric can be changed to sustainable sources as is done in Calgary.

I’ve been getting some questions and had some of my own so I dropped into the LRT storefront on King St. in Uptown Waterloo (open Wed and Fridays, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm) for some answers.
1 What are the times for rapid rail transit to get anywhere?
Conestoga Mall to Ainslie St. 76 to 78 minutes. Same as Iexpress BUT that is a consistant time as there will not be the 401 and Hwy 8 traffic delays. There are now 21 stops for the LRT so that adds a few minutes. Recent update 10/8/10: LRT times now changed to one half hour faster than Ixpress
Time by car: 20 to to 90 minutes depending on traffic. Average for me going to GRCA, 45 minutes.
Conestoga Mall to Fairway Mall: 40 to 43 minutes.
Car: 20 minutes if no delays, see above. The same time if you go by Weber or King.
Charles Terminal to Fairview: 20 to 25 minutes.
Car: same if take the same route, actually the same if take the expressway as you have to go through downtown traffic to get to the expressway.

Went to a public meeting by the developers of a new mall on Ira Needles Boulevard and University (approx)

I was very pleased to see a design that resembles some of the malls I saw in Portland and Whistler. The buildings are around the edge with the car park inside. The cars are separated by trees and planters.

It is very easy for pedestrians to enter the mall by walkways from the sidewalk instead of trying to walk through the parking lot wasteland of a traditional mall. There will be outdoor cafes and a fountain in the middle.

Access to transit right from the get go.

Residents pleased at possibilites for teen-ager jobs. Liked idea of a movie theatre and Loews.

Only difficulties that came up,  people are leery walking across the roundabout to get to the mall. (You just have to meet the eyes of the drivers and they will stop as they must yield to pedestrians. )

Concerns about Thorndale open to Ira Needles, traffic on University pass the high school, illumination on Ira Needles for pedestrians.

And, of course, possible landfill odours as mentioned below.

In the spring, there were problems with landfill odours in Westvale due to some work going on in the dump. 

 Staff has been very diligent in working with the residents and members of the landfill liasion committee to try and solve things. Lately, the odours seem to have vanished.

I am proud of our staff who even go out late at night to explore the source of odours when a complaint comes in.

Also the Waterloo Landfill Liasion Committee have made a very significant contribution .

Recently, I attended a meeting by developers of a proposed new mall. One difficulty is the mall will be near the part of the landfill cells that will be expanding in the future. What will possible smells mean to the mall?

Listening to the CBC Today: the Vinyl Cafe from a moving train. Stuart MacLean commented that villages and cities grew up where the train went. That’ it!

In the 1800s, where the train tracks went, that’s where growth went. So cities like Kitchener and Waterloo grew because they had the train tracks and the train stations. A village without the train going through stayed small, even though they had roads going through them. Same idea.
Those areas of the city with rail and rail stations grow and intensify, those with buses and roads, not so much. Bus routes can change, rail much harder to move.