Cycling in Waterloo Region

[dtkvictim]

Who is actually doing the work? Is it CN (CP?) or the city? I was surprised to see that the trail crossings use wooden logs rather than concrete or pavement, so I'm wondering if it's CN/CP that's doing this work. If that's the case, we need to blame them, not the city.

CN owns the crossing, the city will not touch it. The wooden logs were kind of confusing, I think someone was throwing a bone, since CN was not officially permitting a crossing there, and would only officially permit a crossing after it was built (which they are apparently doing now).

CN is doing the work now, and they may deserve some blame, but whether it's city, or city standards, or CN or whatever, there is a lack of consideration for cycling as a form of transportation.

I was wondering why it was closed. I didn't realize both crossings were closed at once too. There really is no other safe way onto the IHT...

The improved crossing should be great though, I often use a 16in wheel bike or an e-scooter, both of which I had to dismount to cross.

[clasher]

I checked out both crossings this evening and they've got bigger timbers on both crossings, looks like they'll have to re-grade the trail where it approaches the crossing since the timbers are well above the level of the rails. They better not be leaving the crossings in their current state.

[danbrotherston]

It is frustrating that they are not done...I will have to find an alternate route to daycare tomorrow morning.

The CN staffer showed me the plates they intend to use on the crossings, so I know their plan is not to leave it in a bad state with timbres on the crossing, however, he also said their plan was to be done tonight.

[Acitta]

It is frustrating that they are not done...I will have to find an alternate route to daycare tomorrow morning.

The CN staffer showed me the plates they intend to use on the crossings, so I know their plan is not to leave it in a bad state with timbres on the crossing, however, he also said their plan was to be done tonight.

They were paved this afternoon. I passed by before and after.

[danbrotherston]

It is frustrating that they are not done...I will have to find an alternate route to daycare tomorrow morning.

The CN staffer showed me the plates they intend to use on the crossings, so I know their plan is not to leave it in a bad state with timbres on the crossing, however, he also said their plan was to be done tonight.

They were paved this afternoon. I passed by before and after.

Yes, I saw, I guess the "plates" I saw were actually made out of timbers. I'm not sure it matters, they are reasonably good, similar to the metal plates used in other locations. I have no idea why the difference in material.

I am very happy it is paved though.

[dtkvictim]

I noticed half of the Joseph St island at Water has been dug up and recreated. Any idea why they would do this? Seems very strange.

Side note: I wish this space wasn't wasted with concrete. It would be nice to have a splash of green here.

[danbrotherston]

I noticed half of the Joseph St island at Water has been dug up and recreated. Any idea why they would do this? Seems very strange.

Side note: I wish this space wasn't wasted with concrete. It would be nice to have a splash of green here.

Yeah, this is pretty confusing. I'm not sure if there was a change order requested, or a mistake following the original plans, or if they perhaps for some reason felt constructing it this way made sense. Very strange. Green definitely would have been nice here, especially given the loss of trees on the other side.

I think part of this is as a result in the change of direction of Joseph. I know that was under pressure from Vic Park neighbourhood...who again, have caused significant harm to this project anyway, which really is their modus operandi at this point.

[ac3r]

Amusingly, one of our regions best architecture professors lives in the neighbourhood. Must drive him crazy to hear all the backlash towards progress from those in the neighbourhood.

[nms]

Rick Haldenby did give a talk in May through KPL that asked, "What Kind of City Are We Building." (available on YouTube) 

He didn't speak specifically about cycling infrastructure but he had more general comments.  From near the end of the talk: "We need to think about what we're doing. And we need to make sure that these buildings do not overwhelm the public space and the experience of the downtown."

And later: "People living in small units will need a public living room"

His main six points:
1. Increase in density and reduction in amount and quality of private space requires expansion and enhancement of public space, green space and resources for culture and recreation, leisure and the spirit.

2. Affordable housing must be built as people are pushed out by "the juggernaut" of new development. Find the "Missing Middle"

3. All urban space should enhance the pedestrian experience and give it priority over other modes of travel.

4. Respect existing resources: what is left of the heritage architecture in the downtown must be preserved, modern buildings renewed, stable neighbourhoods protected.

5. The new centre of gravity in the downtown is at the intersection of King and Victoria, and that area needs a beautiful, public focal point.

6. Use the power of the Planning Act to establish design review.

[panamaniac]

Re #5, I don't know whether the plaza at the new transit hub will serve the purpose. Shaking the dust off my magic urban development wand, I'd like to see the City expropriate Ziggy's for an expansion of Francis Green.

[tomh009]

5. (Rick Haldenby said) the new centre of gravity in the downtown is at the intersection of King and Victoria, and that area needs a beautiful, public focal point.

I'm not entirely convinced of this. Certainly, we have Station Park on the NW side of Victoria, but we also have large projects upcoming on Ontario and on Queen -- and the east end is also changing quickly. There may not be an actual "focal point" to downtown, apart from the Carl Zehr square (which probably is pretty close to the centre of gravity anyway).

[danbrotherston]

5. (Rick Haldenby said) the new centre of gravity in the downtown is at the intersection of King and Victoria, and that area needs a beautiful, public focal point.

I'm not entirely convinced of this. Certainly, we have Station Park on the NW side of Victoria, but we also have large projects upcoming on Ontario and on Queen -- and the east end is also changing quickly. There may not be an actual "focal point" to downtown, apart from the Carl Zehr square (which probably is pretty close to the centre of gravity anyway).

Also, centre of what?  Culture? Transportation? Population? Restaurants? Government? Business? Development? Some of these things maybe, definitely not all, and there’s considerable difference if you ask new people or existing locals wealthy people or less wealthy people. 

People like simple answers but people, and by extension sociological questions rarely have simple answers. It’s why people create narratives like “this is the centre” but it’s worth remembering who and what a narrative is centred on and what its author seeks to achieve.

[ac3r]

I don't think Victoria/King will become the "centre" of downtown Kitchener for any reason apart from that it will have a huge cluster of tall buildings/skyscrapers as well as becoming our central node for transit. That will mean that in about a decade from now when the current proposed/current projects are complete (with more coming), it will absolutely be one of the busiest areas. Maybe with time it will evolve into what we could consider a central business district, with Google being the obvious company defining that but with the potential for a lot more growth as there is a lot of land there to utilize for business (even if that means a mixture of condos/office buildings). But apart from business and transit, there's not a whole lot around there yet, though I'm sure projects like Station Park, Victoria and Park and many more will result in more businesses capitalizing on that street activity, hopefully by providing new restaurants, shops, a grocery store, stores and so on. Whenever they redesign Victoria Street (nothing confirmed, but it's likely inevitable as it's an old roadway) it can hopefully make it a more pleasing area to walk or cycle around through.

In terms of things like culture, shops, street activity and so on I think that will become more spread out. We don't really have any specific areas downtown that I'd say you can define. There's the Market District for sure which, with all the Asian community related shops, provides a pretty nice area for food. There is also the Civic District which - despite the name - I relate more to culture, with the Centre in the Square, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery and Kitchener Public Library.

Overall, we're not a big enough region to really have a main downtown with distinct areas yet, though for sure in the decades coming, different areas will have different uses. For me personally, since I've lived here on and off for 30+ years, I still think of City Hall as the centre of downtown. Everything else is no more than a 10 minute walk away.

[taylortbb]

Looks like the blocks sitting in the Joseph St bike lane are getting used sooner rather than later, seems that work is beginning on the Queen St section.

   

[tomh009]

Looks like the blocks sitting in the Joseph St bike lane are getting used sooner rather than later, seems that work is beginning on the Queen St section.

The retaining wall is in now. But I am mystified as to why they did this. The existing slope was not terrible, and the amount of additional sidewalk (?) width is minimal. So, what was the rationale for this project?