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

 Next Tuesday, May 18th, councillors will be hearing the public response to the Regional Transportation Master Plan. You can come either at 9 am for Planning and Works or at 7 pm for a public meeting.

There have already been public consultation meetings. I attended the meeting at First United Church.  I talked to several constituents. Two men were enthusiastic about the master plan including bike paths and pedestrian sidewalks. They also like that there will be an Ixpress along Fischer-Hallman.

The master plan includes integrated rapid transit and bus network and strategic road improvements. Types of streets are classified with different uses. All this can go forward with or without the LRT, though it would be better with the LRT (when will we see our money???)

http://www.movingforward2031.ca  for more details on the master plan.

A couple who live in Eastbridge talked about how hard it is to bicycle to the University as the bridge over the expressway isn’t bicycle friendly. Here I’ve been talking about the problems of bridges in Cambridge and here’s an example in my own Waterloo.  World O’ Cars indeed.

Tritag came to council to talk about an innovative idea for the Lang Tannery property. Lang would give the Region money to improve the transit and Lang would not demolish the old warehouses for a parking garage. The idea was referred to staff. The fact that this would involve the city, region and Lang Tannery working together in an innovative way, leads me to believe, sadly, that nothing will happen.

http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2010/04/14/win-win-win-solution-for-the-lang-tannery/ is the post about this issue. Keep the innovation coming guys, the bureaucracy changes slowly but it is changing.

 Next Tuesday, May 18th, councillors will be hearing the public response to the Regional Transportation Master Plan. You can come either at 9 am for Planning and Works or at 7 pm for a public meeting.

There have already been public consultation meetings. I attended the meeting at First United Church.  I talked to several constituents. Two men were enthusiastic about the master plan including bike paths and pedestrian sidewalks. They also like that there will be an Ixpress along Fischer-Hallman.

The master plan includes integrated rapid transit and bus network and strategic road improvements. Types of streets are classified with different uses. All this can go forward with or without the LRT, though it would be better with the LRT (when will we see our money???)

http://www.movingforward2031.ca  for more details on the master plan.

A couple who live in Eastbridge talked about how hard it is to bicycle to the University as the bridge over the expressway isn’t bicycle friendly. Here I’ve been talking about the problems of bridges in Cambridge and here’s an example in my own Waterloo.  World O’ Cars indeed.

Tritag came to council to talk about an innovative idea for the Lang Tannery property. Lang would give the Region money to improve the transit and Lang would not demolish the old warehouses for a parking garage. The idea was referred to staff. The fact that this would involve the city, region and Lang Tannery working together in an innovative way, leads me to believe, sadly, that nothing will happen.

http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2010/04/14/win-win-win-solution-for-the-lang-tannery/ is the post about this issue. Keep the innovation coming guys, the bureaucracy changes slowly but it is changing.

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.)

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.

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.

Went to the Children’s groundwater festival today at Doon Heritage Crossroads. Was there as a Regional Councillor and as first vice-chair of GRCA. There are now 14 groundwater festivals in Ontario. The school kids love it. All hands on learning about water. Saw the watercup challenge with local media and grade 5 students from Sandhills school. In the “Are you smarter than a 5th grader” format. Uhh, Mike Farwell isn’t when it comes to questions about water.  LOL He has time to bone up though as he is the honourary chair of the festival.

The musueum’s walls are up. It seems a lot closer to Homer Watson than in the drawings. Here’s more info:

http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/DocID/E419E25D551A1F92852573DA007176AF?OpenDocument

After the watercup contest, council members of the committee looking into the Development Fee by-law said they have done some tweaks. It is proposed to raise development fees to cover the cost of the infrastructure needed for growth. But we’ve hit the recession and no one’s buying homes or building new factories. So tweaking is in order. (Sorry, can’t tell you the inside scoop)

Went to the LRT public meeting in Waterloo tonight.  The place was buzzing. Most people for the Light Rail, discussion around the form of the route in Waterloo. One woman concerned about the train going through Waterloo Park, one man wanted Bus Rapid Transit and one man said it was too expensive.  Good discussions.

Went to the Children’s groundwater festival today at Doon Heritage Crossroads. Was there as a Regional Councillor and as first vice-chair of GRCA. There are now 14 groundwater festivals in Ontario. The school kids love it. All hands on learning about water. Saw the watercup challenge with local media and grade 5 students from Sandhills school. In the “Are you smarter than a 5th grader” format. Uhh, Mike Farwell isn’t when it comes to questions about water.  LOL He has time to bone up though as he is the honourary chair of the festival.

The musueum’s walls are up. It seems a lot closer to Homer Watson than in the drawings. Here’s more info:

http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/DocID/E419E25D551A1F92852573DA007176AF?OpenDocument

After the watercup contest, council members of the committee looking into the Development Fee by-law said they have done some tweaks. It is proposed to raise development fees to cover the cost of the infrastructure needed for growth. But we’ve hit the recession and no one’s buying homes or building new factories. So tweaking is in order. (Sorry, can’t tell you the inside scoop)

Went to the LRT public meeting in Waterloo tonight.  The place was buzzing. Most people for the Light Rail, discussion around the form of the route in Waterloo. One woman concerned about the train going through Waterloo Park, one man wanted Bus Rapid Transit and one man said it was too expensive.  Good discussions.