‘Imperfect’ downtown trail plan moving ahead
KITCHENER — The region is moving ahead with an “imperfect” multi-use trail connecting the Iron Horse Trail to the future transit hub in downtown Kitchener.
Waterloo Region staff presented a report to a council committee on Tuesday to further explain its reasoning for the recommended hybrid route, an indirect path criticized by both councillors and delegates when it was first shared at an August meeting.
“It is an imperfect solution,” said Coun. Tom Galloway, chair of the planning and works committee. “I think we have to look at this as an interim solution.”
The recommended hybrid route that combines two alternatives goes from the Iron Horse Trail at Gage Avenue and follows the north side of Schneider Creek into Raddatz Park, Waverly Road, Cherry Park, Park Street, the south side of the Goderich-Exeter Railway to King Street and the future transit hub.
The entire length is off-road, which was important to many respondents during public consultations held in June.
The project is complicated in part because half of the funding is coming from the federal and provincial governments under the public transit infrastructure fund, and there’s a looming deadline of March 31, 2018, to use the grant. That wouldn’t cover land acquisitions, which would be required for the more direct trail routes.
The estimated cost for the recommended route is $2 million.
Even if the region wanted to
pay the significant land acquisition costs, that couldn’t be accomplished by the deadline, said Thomas Schmidt, commissioner of transportation and environment services.
Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic asked how the region can avoid getting in this situation again to build trails where the community wants them and not have to make these compromises.
Schmidt said time is not the only factor in this project.
“There are not a lot of great alternatives,” he said. “Part of what we’re doing here is providing options.”
The report included a recommendation that staff continue to pursue more direct routes as properties in the area are redeveloped.
Several councillors agreed, pointing out that this trail will remain even if a better connection to the transit hub is eventually built.
“I think this is a great addition of multi-use trail for the community,” said Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky, adding that the recommended route adds less than two minutes for a pedestrian.
“It will be part of the trail network,” said Coun. Geoff Lorentz, who encouraged other councillors to support the recommendation.
He said the region’s active transportation advisory committee endorsed the hybrid route, with a caveat echoed by several other councillors.
“That was the recommendation: we look at this as the short term,” Lorentz said.
An amendment was added to the recommendation to have staff do an annual review of the progress on developing a more ideal route following the suggestion brought up by Coun. Elizabeth Clarke.
“I really struggled with this one,” she said.
While she appreciated it as an option for recreational users, Clarke said she is not sure how useful it is as a commuter route.
“If, as Coun. Lorentz has said, this is one piece that we can do now and we’ll continue working quite aggressively to try to find an alternative that is more useful for commuters, then that’s fine and I’ll support it,” she said.
Clarke said that rather than the region saying in the future it may try to create a more direct trail, there should be regular reports about next stages.
“I think that would be reassuring,” she said.
Vrbanovic said there’s a lesson to learn from this project.
“We need to come up with a master plan with approved routes so that we can take meaningful advantage in all our communities of the trail money that is going to be available,” he said.
People want to walk and cycle, he said, “but they’re asking for certain amenities to be in place.”
The planning and works committee approved the plan to move ahead with the trail on Tuesday. Final approval is needed at the next council meeting.