Cycling in Waterloo Region

[the_conestoga_guy]

It appears that the active transportation expansion for Duke Street in DTK is no longer going being recommended by council (page 18 of link below). Staff are instead recommending separate facilities between Victoria and Water that would provide a connection between the Water St facilities and the future underpass at the new transit hub.

https://pub-regionofwaterloo.escribemeet...entId=7153

Having some progress is certainly better than none, but I hope our planners are taking this as an opportunity to evaluate other options to move people safely through this area. 


I hope that this can be used as a chance to advocate for finally closing King St through downtown to cars so that the local residents have a safe space to move through their neighbourhood. I know it's an unpopular idea politically for suburbanites who don't want their Uber Eats drivers to lose access to parking in front of restaurants, but I think it's an idea worth exploring sometime in the next 10 years.

I mean, I called this...

They had better also recommend removing the word "network" from the name.

I know I'm an absolutely cynical asshole, but there is zero chance there will be a cycling connection in this area in the next 10 years.

Duke is out (despite there being enough room, but the idea of running busses on the LRT ROW is something they're unwilling to consider) and Weber is obviously out (cars will NEVER be impeded).

King is possible, but I'd rather see it become a pedestrian plaza, and while the Dutch can mix bikes and peds, I don't think people in Canada can do that...but either way, I don't see it happening either.

So frankly, the downtown cycling grid is effectively dead...and people think people like me leaving are wrong and that there's great hope and progress in North America. Gimme a f***ing break.

I'm certainly disappointed, but I don't want to let it completely crush my hopes for this city. I don't plan on moving, so the best I can hope for is to continue advocating for a better future for everyone. Progress may feel glacial, especially with the city sprawling faster than it can build active transportation facilities.

KW is lucky to be insulated from most of the effects of climate change, so it's harder to push for real progress on climate-resilient infrastructure here. Obviously compared to the Netherlands, where they're basically sinking into the sea, the political climate is very different.

I actually think this is something that differs between departments within the City and Region, which reflects terribly on upper leadership. On one hand, we're permitting sprawl and everything that comes with that. But on the other hand, the city is spending ten of millions to make Region infrastructure resilient to the increased flood risks along GRCA areas. It just feels like we're lacking real leadership overall, not just with bike lanes.