Kitchener moves to make LRT crossing a reality
KITCHENER — More than two years after LRT tracks cut off residents in the Traynor-Vanier area from nearby shops and services, there appears to be the political will to find a solution.
Kitchener council passed a motion Monday night from Coun. John Gazzola, who represents the area, approving the idea of buying land to allow a safe crossing over the tracks, and asking staff to come back in two weeks with ideas for how to fund the purchase.
Sam Kamminga, a resident of the area who has been pushing for a safe crossing of the tracks since at least 2016, said in an interview he’s encouraged to see that Kitchener councillors agree that a solution must be found.
But he’s frustrated at how long it has taken to get even this far.
“This conversation should have been happening years ago,” he said Monday.
“The test trains are running now. It is very urgent. People are crossing. Hopefully this actually does move quickly.”
The LRT tracks run over a hydro corridor, used for decades by people in the neighbourhood as a shortcut to walk to stores and services on Fairway Road. A fence prevents any pedestrian access to Fairway for the kilometre stretch from Wilson to Courtland avenues, but many people still cross the tracks to avoid a long detour.
“This crossing is a vital piece of infrastructure for this neighbourhood, where many people get around on foot, by bicycle or by using transit,” said James Howe, who urged council to expedite the project.
“Soon the trains will start running, yet more than two years
later there is no firm planning timeline or funding in place.”
Hundreds of people cross the tracks every day, he said.
“Move it forward for the three teenage girls I saw crossing the tracks, for the mother and her young son who happened to cross the tracks during the rally, carrying bags of groceries.”
Some councillors questioned why the city should pay for the land, when the LRT is a regional responsibility.
It’s possible the crossing was missed when LRT plans were being drawn up because people crossed informally along dozens of paths cutting across the hydro corridor, Gazzola said.
“The region has hired a consultant to do the design and engineering work on the crosswalk,” he said.
And he wants to push the project ahead to get the land sale completed, so that the crossing work can start as soon as the design is finalized, rather than waiting to find the money in budget discussions early in 2019.
“I’m just trying to do something here before we have a tragedy,” he said.
“Wherever the responsibility lies, the most important point is that there are people who are at risk every single day who are crossing those tracks,” said Coun. Yvonne Fernandes. “As representatives of this community that is where we need to put our focus.
“Many of these people don’t own vehicles and this is the way they get their everyday needs. So let’s push forward and forget about blaming and make sure something happens for the safety of families, young children and seniors.”
The crossing would be a simple level crossing, since buried hightension wires and the existing hydro corridor make it too complicated to build a pedestrian overpass or tunnel. Waterloo Park has a similar crossing, Kamminga said.
“It’s not inventing anything new. The model exists,” he said.
“Why is this being brought forward now at the 11th hour?’ asked Coun. Bil Ioannidis, the only council member to vote against the motion.
“That to me is surprising.” “At the end of the day, we have to do this,” said Coun. Kelly Galloway-Sealock. “There is no doubt in my mind. It has to be done. It was missed. It was an error and we need to do what we can to fix it.”
The preferred location for the crossing would be near 642 Fairway Rd. S., about halfway down the block, and directly across from a traffic light that lets people cross to the Food Basics grocery store on the south side of Fairway Road.
But there are a couple of spots where a crossing might go, said Justin Readman, Kitchener’s general manager of development.