First, THANK YOU to the Province and the Federal government for the biggest grants ever given to the Region. 300 million from the province and 265 million from the feds. Unfortunately it leaves us around 225 million short. This could translate into a between 7 and 12 percent rise in property tax in one year. I can’t accept that, it’s too high a rise. The rest of council also feels the same. I also, due to the ghost of the RIM park scandal in Waterloo, cannot accept the Region taking on a high debt load. Right now we are proud of our aaA rating with Moody’s.

It is too short a time to make a decision before the election, so the next council will decide this.

We will look at some options staff will come up with, such as shortening the line or private partnerships. We will also look once again at the bus rapid transit.

I am still in favour of the light rail transit for all the reasons I have given, but the gap in funding is a bridge too far for taxpayers to  cross. So sad.

If you have any ideas on ways to fund the trains, please leave a comment and I will pass it along to staff for their consideration.

The province has given 300 million for rapid transit.

 Three things to remember as the Record notes the possible shortfall from the province.
1. I am sure staff is busy looking at plans and alternatives for council.
2. The feds have to put their amount in.
3. Regional councillors are not going to look kindly on any funny kind of money agreement like the RIM park financing. The accountants on staff (not to mention the accountants like Mayor Carl Zehr) are thankfully extremely prudent and conservative (small c)

 Further thoughts on LRT

Electric trains will be a lot quieter along King St. And people forget that roads and increasing lanes not only cut up a city but also increase noise and gridlock. Onlyhaving more roads  would cost the same and the dedicated bus 555 million. But most importantly in these times, this line will create approxitmately 35,000 permanent jobs around the stations.

Two statements that keep coming up.

The trains are going from mall to mall.  First, there is a certain amount of snobbery in people who use the word “mall” as if it was a bad thing. Secondly, the LRT stops at the universities, both downtowns, the RT park, hospital and King/Ottawa. Eventually it will go to Cambridge where, horrors, it may stop at a mall then onto historic Ainslie St.

The trains aren’t flexible like buses, the route can’t be changed.  There will always be transit in the central corridor. There is now with the number 7 buses and Ixpress  and there was in the deep past when I was a girl and took the bus and trolleys ran between Forwells and Rockway Center.  No need for flexibility when the main route will always exist and always be busy. Yup, Ixpress was busy on Monday morning even with the students gone for the summer.

Here is a comment from my cousin John in England about the LRT.

My speech on Tuesday in response to Tom Galloway’s motion to not include the sensitive SW corner of Kitchener as part of the protected countryside.  The motion was defeated, 14 to 3, and so the land will remain firmly agricultural and part of the countryside, not in the urban area.  Tom, Mayor Zehr, Jake Smola and Jim Wideman voting in favour.

The following would have been removed from the motion for the final changes for the official plan

Request the Province to modify Maps 4 – Greenland Network and 6g – Other Source Water Protection Areas to designate the southwest corner of the City of Kitchener as Regional Recharge Areas as originally recommended to Regional Council on June 16, 2009
d) Request the Province to modify Map 7 – The Countryside to designate the southwest corner ofthe City of Kitchener as Protected Countryside as originally recommended to Regional Council on June 16, 2009;

Speech

Kitchener is leaking out onto our farmland and deflating our environmental plans.

The owners of the land in the SW corner have been led on a string, first for 12 months now proposed for 5 more years, that their land might be developed.

Many developers, consultants and land owners from all over the region have come before us asking to have their piece of land put back into the urban area. They have been turned down.

Just like Kitchener  council did for the SW corner, the previous council of the City of Waterloo opposed designating the NW corner of Waterloo, another sensitive water recharge area, as part of the Environmentally Sensitive Landscapes.  The Region designated the area anyway, which I agree was the right thing to do.

Why should Kitchener be treated  differently than the rest of the region?

It is time we drew a line in the sand around the urban area.

Mayor Brenda said, “ It’s time to take a stand as a regional council and enforce a protected countryside line.”

 Tom’s motion was introduced by Jim Wideman, the chair, as an amendment even though it was contrary to the full motion on the table as moved by Sean Strickland and seconded by Jean Haalboom long before anyone moved and seconded Tom’s motion.  We complained but did not challenge the chair when he didn’t change it as “challenging the chair” can lead to councillors being ticked off unnecessarily. We carried on. At the end of the discussion, Jim called the question then spoke to the motion about the poor treatment of the  owners of the land that will be designated.  Jim stopped all rebutes on his words with this manouver but fed up councillors were having none of it.

Jane Brewer waved Tom’s paper in the air, calling it “This piece of paper”, refusing to call it an amendment and then she pointed out that the owners of the land had had a discussion with staff at the Ayr meeting and that if she was the owners,she would have pned the next day and arranged a meeting if this was such an important issue to them.

The ROP report on final changes and provincial response: http://bit.ly/abjUFG

ROP passed last year without SW corner included for one year for further consultation. http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/DocID/CA5BC18540AE6A2185257555006D0304?OpenDocument

After we also passed the transportation master plan, I thanked staff for all their hard work. I reminded council once again, that when I voted for the Light Rapid Transit, it was because I had been assured that the ROP with the firm countryside line protecting our farmland and environmentally sensitive areas and putting limits on urban sprawl; and the transportation master plan with its emphasis on more transit everywhere and more cycling and pedestrian routes would be passed. I was now satisfied that those requirements had been fulfilled. Because without those other pieces, the LRT would certainly not work as a method of intensification.

http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/8ef02c0fded0c82a85256e590071a3ce/AB487A489BD086708525774600577521/$file/P-10-059.pdf?openelement

I was at Waterloo City Hall tonight as Regional staff presented the latest about Light Rapid Transit. (On Rogers TV if you get it, council is televised tonight)
After the presentation, I was standing beside Mike Murray, our CEO as the press interviewed him, but the Chronicle wasn’t interested in a quote from me. One of the reasons I started this blog, so you can hear from me.
So here’s some info and thoughts about Light Rapid Transit.
We wil be having a public meeting in Regional council chambers on June 10 at 5 pm. Then final decision on June 24 between bus or light rail and the route. Here is the address of more LRT info
http://rapidtransit.region.waterloo.on.ca/

Tonight, Waterloo city council asked for a route that passes the R and T park, UW and WLU then the Iexpress route down King St. It was not clear but the block between Bridgeport and Erb cannot accommodate the LRT without removing car lanes and parking! So city counicl proposes one line down King and another down Bridgeport/Caroline. This will cost more than using the rail spur through Waterloo Park. The problem may be solved by running an Iexpress or Iexpress up University in the short term and streetcar or LRT/BRT along all along University in the long term.
Also, Stan Rektor made a presentation and I need to correct a few things.
Not the fact that the LRT will cost alot! It will, see the info in the link. Stan was right about that, though the proposed cost is 790 million not the 1.3 billion if we did the whole line as LRT.
Stan wants a pipeline to the Lake, preferrably Huron. He may be the only person in Waterloo keen on that. Despite what the article said in the Chronicle, Waterloo Region has enough groundwater for the 750,000 people in the future, particularly if we keep conserving. A pipeline may be needed around 2035.
We are presently building a bridge across Fairway Road to Kossuth, for around 50 million not 500 million, so that job is underway.
We cannot go on increasing and widening roads and increasing car traffic because we do not have the capacity, not to mention pollution and air quality.
We need to intensify in the cores to save our farmland and sensitive lands and water quality. So we must have a public transit solution.
After much thought and a long preference for Bus Rapid Transit, I have come round to the Light Rapid Transit. As long as we get most of the start up money from the province and the feds. Both BRT and LRT are incredibly expensive, but the rail has the most other benefits.
By the Way, how about the costs of building roads? Add it up and you will soon get over a billion dollars.
I’m glad Stan likes the new Ira Needles Road with its ring roads though.

More later on my thoughts about Cambridge.