25 Sportsworld Crossing & 4220 King Street East | 18+14 fl | U/C

[jamincan]

It's literally right beside a highway interchange.

[ijmorlan]

Three more towers planned for King Street in Kitchener’s Sportsworld area

Deer Ridge resident Ross Bauer says with at least 1,200 units in the two developments, traffic will be a nightmare on an already busy road

Nimby: You can't build apartment buildings near our single family homes because: traffic.
Developer: OK, we will buld it in this commercial area far from the single family homes.
Nimby: No, you can't do that! Think of the traffic!

That last bit is not NIMBY but BANANA: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.

[mastermind]

His comment about the project needing to be 40% smaller seems somewhat arbitrary. I wonder if it's based on any hard data or if it's just a number pulled out of his hat.

[Joedelay Highhoe]

Entitled morons tend to think their opinions are worth more than gold. Obviously Mr. NIMBY hasn't done an analysis. His reaction is purely emotional, and he wants to feel 40% less outraged. Unfortunately he'd still be 100% outraged, no matter the size of the development, because it wasn't his idea, and the only ideas he values are his own. Most likely.

[nms]

How does the 40% reduction compare with any kind of increase in density that the developer may be requesting?

On a related note, if this development precedes the arrival of the LRT, how likely is that residents will significantly change their travel habits to include the LRT?

[panamaniac]

How does the 40% reduction compare with any kind of increase in density that the developer may be requesting?

On a related note, if this development precedes the arrival of the LRT, how likely is that residents will significantly change their travel habits to include the LRT?

Most people living at this location would probably have their eye on the 401 more than the LRT ...

[ac3r]

Yeah I can see most developments around here being geared to commuters with cars. Even with the LRT, it's a bit out of the way to get anywhere via transit. If you work in Cambridge, Kitchener or Waterloo that's a hell of a long train and/or bus ride.

Generally speaking, most people who will live in condos built near highways are going to be vehicle commuters.

[neonjoe]

Yeah I can see most developments around here being geared to commuters with cars. Even with the LRT, it's a bit out of the way to get anywhere via transit. If you work in Cambridge, Kitchener or Waterloo that's a hell of a long train and/or bus ride.

Generally speaking, most people who will live in condos built near highways are going to be vehicle commuters.

There is at least the GO bus station in the area, so maybe some intercity commuters may take the GO bus?

[ac3r]

Definitely a possibly. There's another bus company that stops around Sportsworld as well...maybe even three? The German FLiXBUS started operations here recently, though I don't know if they use the Sportsworld area like other bus companies have.

And while I doubt it'll ever happen with the pace Metrolinx works, there's that Cambridge to Toronto GO train proposal. People living in this area would have a much shorter trip to a potential Cambridge GO station, rather than having to go to Kitchener GO station or the future Breslau GO station. Only problem is that the trains are slow as hell, all day service is still just a fantasy and the likelihood of Cambridge getting its own GO train anytime soon is extremely small.

[KevinL]

There's two reasonably possible ways Cambridge gets GO trains: extending the Milton line, which would put the station in Galt somewhere near Samuelson St; or running a branch or shuttle down the spur from Guelph through Hespeler, likely with a station near Pinebush. Only the latter of those would likely be an easier Ion commute (compared to Kitchener) for a Sportsworld resident.

[Acitta]

Definitely a possibly. There's another bus company that stops around Sportsworld as well...maybe even three? The German FLiXBUS started operations here recently, though I don't know if they use the Sportsworld area like other bus companies have.

And while I doubt it'll ever happen with the pace Metrolinx works, there's that Cambridge to Toronto GO train proposal. People living in this area would have a much shorter trip to a potential Cambridge GO station, rather than having to go to Kitchener GO station or the future Breslau GO station. Only problem is that the trains are slow as hell, all day service is still just a fantasy and the likelihood of Cambridge getting its own GO train anytime soon is extremely small.

ONex Bus between Toronto and London stops at Sportsworld.

[Bjays93]

I'm inclined to agree that this will make traffic in an already bad stretch worse. The problem is not the development bringing more traffic though, it's the roads. King street should be dug up and completely reimagined through this stretch. Theres got to be 5 stoplights in less than 1km with some lights that run on timers regardless of what the traffic is like.

It's an urban planning nightmare, unfriendly to pedestrians and cyclists, with poorly designed roads and no West bound 401 access from the highway further contesting the stretch.

The solution here is to actually add access to and from the 401 in both directions from the king street bypass, reconstruct kind street to facilitate pedestrians and cyclists, and replace everything but the light at sportsworld and king with roundabouts.

[robd]

The road was supposed to be reconstructed by now but the ION design has delayed this somewhat. There will be a MUP going in on one side from Freeport to the 401. Realistically it will be close to useless, the area will remain cut off from Preston and there is no infrastructure past the river towards Kitchener. Multi-lane roundabouts aren't pedestrian or cyclist friendly, most drivers are looking for cars and cars only.

With the addition of the ION and the MTO stating that the 401 access isn't in the 20 year capital plan the area will remain an uninviting car sewer for the foreseeable future. 

I live 2.5 km away from Costco, but will take the 9 km route via Doon Valley golf course just for safety. It is quite frankly a ridiculous detour that can't be done in the winter. The number of times I drove on King street this winter with cyclists and pedestrians on the road is frankly completely unacceptable ignorance by both the MTO and the region. The on-ramp towards London makes the road the scariest I have been on and I will ride pretty much anywhere. The most dis-pointing part is that there is probably close to 3000 people in the area near Shantz Hill, with a lot of low income families.

As much as the land in the area is prime for redevelopment it represents all the is wrong with Ontario land use. For the new development there is pretty much zero green space in the are, no active transportation outside of the area and surrounded by oversized single family homes. I see low uptake of the ION, once you live next to a highway ramp you are far more likely to use a car.

Some of the above could be solved with some political will. I assume the proposed developments will go ahead, and there will likely be a few more. The city should look at buying the sportsmen club or golf course to address parkland issues in the area. Removing traffic lanes and more importantly slowing speeds to discourage driving would go a long way.

[neonjoe]

The road was supposed to be reconstructed by now but the ION design has delayed this somewhat. There will be a MUP going in on one side from Freeport to the 401. Realistically it will be close to useless, the area will remain cut off from Preston and there is no infrastructure past the river towards Kitchener. Multi-lane roundabouts aren't pedestrian or cyclist friendly, most drivers are looking for cars and cars only.

With the addition of the ION and the MTO stating that the 401 access isn't in the 20 year capital plan the area will remain an uninviting car sewer for the foreseeable future. 

I live 2.5 km away from Costco, but will take the 9 km route via Doon Valley golf course just for safety. It is quite frankly a ridiculous detour that can't be done in the winter. The number of times I drove on King street this winter with cyclists and pedestrians on the road is frankly completely unacceptable ignorance by both the MTO and the region. The on-ramp towards London makes the road the scariest I have been on and I will ride pretty much anywhere. The most dis-pointing part is that there is probably close to 3000 people in the area near Shantz Hill, with a lot of low income families.

As much as the land in the area is prime for redevelopment it represents all the is wrong with Ontario land use. For the new development there is pretty much zero green space in the are, no active transportation outside of the area and surrounded by oversized single family homes. I see low uptake of the ION, once you live next to a highway ramp you are far more likely to use a car.

Some of the above could be solved with some political will. I assume the proposed developments will go ahead, and there will likely be a few more. The city should look at buying the sportsmen club or golf course to address parkland issues in the area. Removing traffic lanes and more importantly slowing speeds to discourage driving would go a long way.

EB 8 to 401 WB and 401 EB to 8 WB ramps would solve a ton of problems. Luckily the new bridges over the Grand River are being built to facilitate these new movements. They will probably be completed in 2547

[Chris]

They definitely need the WB bypass. Remember when the Tu Lane and the gas stations on King opposed the bypass because they'd all go out of business if everyone could just go directly to the 401 and use the ON Route. Using King St to get to the WB 401 is a miserable experience.