02-22-2017, 10:44 AM
We make transit stops based on current and future intended density, and you'll usually see this expressed as jobs and residents per hectare (UpTown Waterloo is ~200). There is no "discrimination" taking place against the people of Preston or Hespeler or Galt or Cambridge, it's all about a business case. LRT was first built from Conestoga to Fairview and not Fairview to Ainslie (roughly equal length, equal price segments) because more than 4 times as many transit trips were taken in the former compared to the latter, making it the obvious wise investment.
Similarly, stop locations are chosen based (very clearly repeated in councillors' words) on potential land use changes, specifically intensification and densification. The four evaluation metrics considered for stop selection were the transportation effects (e.g. ability to work with an active transportation network, potential ridership, engineering challenges and costs), the Social/Cultural environment (e.g. non-personal residence locations served, heritage impacts, help to active transportation), Natural Environment (and the impacts on it), and Economic Environment (ability to intensify, create jobs). Based on these metrics, the only "You need transportation here" victory for the Preston route was intensification potential. If we remove that potential, then there is zero reason to develop LRT through Preston. It's hilarious, too, in that "knocks" against the alternative routes were that they would not intensify Preston, so not only does a no-development attitude hurt the Preston route's justification, but it helps the alternatives.
Well-maintained Victorian houses are nice, but when I hear that, it says to me that this area is one which should not be touched or changed, and hence it should not be touched or changed by LRT. There are indeed many old houses in Kitchener and UpTown, and I'm absolutely one who thinks it's a bit insane that fully one third of Downtown is untouchable heritage, but I'm also glad to see that we're getting 1Vic, the One Hundred, proposals for high density at King and Victoria, new density on the to-be-obsoleted Charles St Terminal. I'm glad that in neighbourhoods like those to the east of downtown, where residents surely appreciate the beautiful library or CITS, we also have very tall, dense apartment buildings which provide a massive affordability boost to hundreds of families. This is the kind of question we need to see Preston answer as we go through this process.
Similarly, stop locations are chosen based (very clearly repeated in councillors' words) on potential land use changes, specifically intensification and densification. The four evaluation metrics considered for stop selection were the transportation effects (e.g. ability to work with an active transportation network, potential ridership, engineering challenges and costs), the Social/Cultural environment (e.g. non-personal residence locations served, heritage impacts, help to active transportation), Natural Environment (and the impacts on it), and Economic Environment (ability to intensify, create jobs). Based on these metrics, the only "You need transportation here" victory for the Preston route was intensification potential. If we remove that potential, then there is zero reason to develop LRT through Preston. It's hilarious, too, in that "knocks" against the alternative routes were that they would not intensify Preston, so not only does a no-development attitude hurt the Preston route's justification, but it helps the alternatives.
Well-maintained Victorian houses are nice, but when I hear that, it says to me that this area is one which should not be touched or changed, and hence it should not be touched or changed by LRT. There are indeed many old houses in Kitchener and UpTown, and I'm absolutely one who thinks it's a bit insane that fully one third of Downtown is untouchable heritage, but I'm also glad to see that we're getting 1Vic, the One Hundred, proposals for high density at King and Victoria, new density on the to-be-obsoleted Charles St Terminal. I'm glad that in neighbourhoods like those to the east of downtown, where residents surely appreciate the beautiful library or CITS, we also have very tall, dense apartment buildings which provide a massive affordability boost to hundreds of families. This is the kind of question we need to see Preston answer as we go through this process.