Heated LRT stations are not wasteful. They’re a brilliant idea

I’ve been doing a happy dance ever since I found out that there is going to be heat at light rail stations when they open for business. How wonderful!

At the touch of a button, infrared radiant heat will beam down, taking the chill off the shivering travellers as they wait for the train.

Yes, I know it has been so hot lately that we might be forgetting what a miserably cold place Waterloo Region can be for at least half the year.

“What a waste of energy to heat a transit shelter!” you might tell yourself, as you took another sip of iced tea and cranked up the air conditioning in your car.

But it is actually a brilliant move, because it recognizes the importance of comfort and the quality of the experience, which are required for this massive investment to be successful.

Waterloo Regional Coun. Tom Galloway said the units at the stations will operate the same way as they already do in some hockey arenas, where heating units on the ceiling offer some warmth to the spectators below.

It will only be available during the hours that the trains are running, and then only if someone pushes the button.

These units are “really just taking the chill off,” he said.

Other cities, such as Minneapolis-St. Paul, have used heated stations as well.

In Waterloo Region, just five stations on the light rail line will have the heating units at first, Galloway said. But they are roughed in for all the stations.

The stations that are getting them right away are:

Grand River Hospital, because it is expected that patients and family members of patients, many of them elderly, could use a little extra comfort;

Fairview Park and Conestoga malls, which are the end points of the route and are major transfer points from bus routes;

Block Line Road in Kitchener and Northfield Drive in Waterloo. Block Line is expected to be a major transfer point between bus routes and the light rail line, so more people will be waiting there.

And also, these two stations are more exposed to the elements. Unlike stations in more urban areas, there aren’t as many buildings nearby to break the winter wind.

The whole development is a welcome recognition that public transit right now gets you where you need to go, but not always in comfort.

In winter, you’re under siege from the biting winds, painfully cold air and bone-chilling rain, sleet or snow while you wait at most stops.

You would never endure such discomfort unless you had no other choice.

And this is a big part of the reason that public transit in Waterloo Region is still used mostly by people who can’t afford to drive. Almost everyone who has a choice, chooses to drive a car.

That has to change dramatically, if we want to get ridership up and ease stress on the environment and on our roads.

People from all walks of life need to be able to get around without looking or feeling like an Antarctic explorer from 100 years ago. Heat at the station will help.