Kitchener helipad reopens after unexpected June closure

Tall crane forced temporary diversion to Breslau

KITCHENER — The downtown Kitchener helipad serving both of the city’s hospitals has reopened after being shut down suddenly in late June due to a tall construction crane erected in its flight path.

The helipad, located on Wellington Street South between Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital, reopened on Tuesday with approval of a new flight path by Transport Canada and Nav Canada.

“The approach has shifted,” said Grand River spokesperson Mark Karjaluoto.

While the helipad was closed for nearly three months, helicopters landed at the Region of Waterloo International Airport in Breslau and an ambulance covered the rest of the distance to either hospital, adding upwards of 20 minutes to the trip.

A couple of patients a week are transported by helicopter to the Kitchener hospitals from surrounding areas or taken to a larger centre for more specialized care.

“While it’s not a huge number, it’s an important number,” Karjaluoto said.

The time was well used while the helipad was closed to do some upgrades, including painting, replacing lights, and trimming back shrubs and vegetation, to bring it up to current standards.

“While it was out of service, it gave us an opportunity to do upgrades,” Karjaluoto said.

The crane blocking the helipad flight path for Ornge, which provides air ambulance services in Ontario, went up for a condominium development on Victoria Street. When another condominium tower went up on Victoria, there was no issue with the helipad’s operation.

This likely will become an issue again as future development in the core creates new obstacles blocking the helipad.

“We know the City of Kitchener is growing and there will be more construction,” Karjaluoto said.

Now that they’ve gone through this process to find a new flight path and get it approved, it’s expected that having to alter it again for new construction will be simpler.

“It will take less time,” he said.