Regional Council Approves Light Rail

In a historic decision on June 24, Waterloo Regional Council overwhelmingly approved the visionary staff recommendation for a rapid transit line for the region. Regional staff have been working on the project for three and a half years, and recommended a staged implementation of light rail, with the initial stretch from north Waterloo to east Kitchener, and an upgraded iXpress-style bus route between east Kitchener and south Cambridge.

At that meeting and the previous public meeting on June 10, numerous residents and delegations spoke in front of Council, the majority speaking in favour of the plan. TriTAG thanks its supporters who spoke at Council.

The vote will allow the Regional staff to proceed with funding negotiations with the provincial and federal governments, which are expected to cover the vast majority of the costs of launching our rapid transit system. Construction is expected to begin in 2011/2012, with the light rail line operational in 2014.