Spur Line Trail

[Spokes]

Spur Line Trail

[Spokes]

Waterloo Spur Line trail to get complete overhaul
September 10, 2014 | CBC News | Link

Regional council has approved a re-vamp of the crosstown Waterloo Spur Line trail, which will transform it from a well-trodden dirt path into a wide, paved multi-use trail with lighting, landscaping and safety measures.

The trail re-vamp was suggested by provincial transit agency Metrolinx as part of a provincial project to build better connections for cyclists and pedestrians to reach current and new GO stations. The Spur Line trail, which runs diagonally from Ahrens St. in Kitchener to King St. in Waterloo, passes by the Kitchener GO train station.

The trail construction will cost about $4.75 million and the cost will be split between Metrolinx, the region and the city of Waterloo.

Ted Parkinson says he uses the trail to walk between the two city cores.

"A lot of people walk along it all the time, but it is bumpy," said Parkinson. "Sometimes walking in the middle of the tracks is better than walking on the muddy ground so, it's not really that convenient in terms of the actual terrain."

Plans include pedestrian-level lighting, thinned underbrush near the trail, landscaped features to separate the trail from the Spur Line railway tracks, and bollards and rumble strips to warn trail users of rail and road intersections.

Metrolinx previously promised $1.2 million dollars for the trail, the region is offering $2 million for the trail, and the city of Waterloo will pay $1.55 million.

[Spokes]

Region, city agree to help fund completion of Waterloo Spur Line Trail
September 10, 2014 | Paige Desmond | Waterloo Region Record | Link

WATERLOO REGION — Local officials are hopeful Metrolinx will follow through on tentative commitments to help fund completion of the Waterloo Spur Line Trail.

Waterloo councillors voted Monday and Region of Waterloo councillors voted Tuesday to endorse the cost-sharing plan.

The City of Waterloo has committed about $1.54 million in new money, in addition to about $400,000 already approved to complete storm sewer work along the route.

"I can tell you this is a great initiative, and I've heard from a lot of uptown (residents), specifically in the Mary Allen area, how they have been waiting to see this trail coming to be, so this is great," Coun. Melissa Durrell.

The region will kick in about $2 million to complete the trail and Metrolinx up to $1.2 million.

"This kind of a project is a real no-brainer for us," regional Coun. Geoff Lorentz said.

An agreement has not yet been reached between Metrolinx and the region, but it was the Ontario government agency that approached local officials about the potential partnership.

If the deal goes ahead, the trail would be complete late in the summer of 2015. Regional staff are planning a public consultation centre to talk about the plan with residents and hear feedback.

Commissioner of planning, housing and community services Rob Horne said more than 20 emails about the project have been sent to regional councillors in just a few days.

Metrolinx is interested in the trail because of its potential to funnel pedestrians and cyclists to the Kitchener GO Transit station and potential multi-modal transit hub at King and Victoria streets.

The trail would run along the rail line from Regina Street in Waterloo to Victoria Street in Kitchener.

"When we talk about livable and sustainable communities, it's these types of projects that go a long way," regional Coun. Tom Galloway.

Lane Burman of the Mount Hope-Breithaupt Neighbourhood Association said the trail's completion is long-awaited.

"There is no doubt for the need of this project," Burman said.

Waterloo Coun. Diane Freeman said she was stopped on the University of Waterloo campus Monday by a resident excited about the trail.

Freeman said it's an important link to existing trails.

"This is a direct connection to the Hillside Trail connection and the Laurel Trail and the Trans Canada Trail," she said.

The 1.3-kilometre section would be lit and would be about three metres wide. It would also be paved. Waterloo would do maintenance at a cost of about $10,500 annually.

The region has also agreed to pay Waterloo's costs upfront with the city paying the money back in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The Metrolinx money would come from a new active transportation fund.

[zanate]

Mark your calendars! A public information centre on the Spur Line Trail will be held in the lobby of Regional Headquarters at 150 Frederick Street, on Thursday February 26th between 6:30pm and 8:30pm.

Construction of the Spur Trail, along with the city of Waterloo storm drain refurbishment, is anticipated to begin in May 2015, and complete in October 2015.

I wish I had a link to direct you at, but beyond the mailed notice I received as a past public centre participant, I cannot find any sign of this PIC online.

[REnerd]

Mark your calendars! A public information centre on the Spur Line Trail will be held in the lobby of Regional Headquarters at 150 Frederick Street, on Thursday February 26th between 6:30pm and 8:30pm.

Construction of the Spur Trail, along with the city of Waterloo storm drain refurbishment, is anticipated to begin in May 2015, and complete in October 2015.

I wish I had a link to direct you at, but beyond the mailed notice I received as a past public centre participant, I cannot find any sign of this PIC online.

Pardon my ignorance - is there a map of this trail to be found anywhere?  Really interested to see where exactly it comes from / goes.

[clasher]

I think this is mostly the path it's gonna take. If you look google maps it basically is just a dirt path along the railway right now. I think this trail is gonna be pretty awesome for a lot of people and hopefully it encourages more trail-building and connecting in the area.

[mpd618]

The information is actually listed at the bottom of this page, including the invitation to the consultation centre.

I don't believe the trail will be going past Weber Street.

[MidTowner]

I don't believe the trail will be going past Weber Street.

According to the feasibility report, it will, but it was recommended that it stop at Wilhelm until after the Weber widening is complete.

[Andy]

I didn't see a thread for this, so I'm resurrecting this one. The Mary Allen Park expansion has an information session tonight. The city has published a master plan draft that can be found here: http://www.waterloo.ca/en/gettingactive/...ansion.asp

This park is intended to be the bench mark for any future city parks, so it looks like they are putting a lot of planning and effort into it. I like that they are planning for a dense space with the trees and plant life, and not just open lawn all around.

[insider]

Looks decent. A good addition to the neighbourhood for sure. I would love if they started to invest a bit more in public school grounds too, as they almost always also function as a public park.

[ookpik]

Spur Line Trail almost complete despite bumps in the path 

There is one unresolved issue with the project that won't be dealt with until the new year, Coun. Tom Galloway said.

The region intends to run the trail through property it owns that the Len's Mill Store on Moore Avenue is currently using for customer parking.

"Basically they were told that this is a problem that they have to resolve because we intend to make the trial go right through that property," Galloway said. "Being sympathetic to their needs we gave them some additional time."

Len's Mill Store representatives told council in August they will lose about 40 parking spaces, which is 80 per cent of its parking supply.

A temporary agreement was made between the region and the store to divert the trial to Waterloo Street until a solution was found.

He said a progress report is expected to be before council in January.

[tomh009]

So it's a trial trail as a temporary solution?

Pretty poor editing by the Record. Sheesh.

[Andy]

Is the trail lit yet? I haven't seen the lights on and I'm curious what the light pollution will look like.

Are the lights planned to be lit from dusk to dawn?

[plam]

Is the trail lit yet? I haven't seen the lights on and I'm curious what the light pollution will look like.

Are the lights planned to be lit from dusk to dawn?

I guess the article suggests that they are on, but I haven't seen them yet. I thought I heard that the lights would be on till 11 or midnight, and that the light fixtures were designed to not project light upwards.

[ijmorlan]

Is the trail lit yet? I haven't seen the lights on and I'm curious what the light pollution will look like.

Are the lights planned to be lit from dusk to dawn?

I haven’t seen the lights on yet. However there are now signs up at the William/Willow St. crossing and I suspect probably at other crossings as well warning people to stay off the tracks “active railway” and a smaller sign advising that the trail is closed 23:00-07:00 until July 2017 due to rail operations.

The larger sign is probably unavoidable, even the danger associated with the railway is essentially nil in this location, due both to the train schedule and to the slow speeds at which they move. But the smaller sign raises some questions. First, the trail is deliberately placed a significant distance from the tracks. There is absolutely no safety reason to stay off it while a train goes by, and therefore no legitimate grounds for closing the trail during train times. But the next question is what changes in July 2017? Well, allowing for some variation in the exact date, that is when the LRT is supposed to start operating. But what does that have to do with operations East of King St. where the spur line trail is? The trains will still run through at approximately the same overnight times they do now.

What I want to know is whether the lights will switch off at 23:00. It would be weird to have a perfectly good trail complete with lighting that is officially closed.