News roundup: February 12, 2025

Here’s the latest in walking, biking, and transit news for Waterloo Region for the last two weeks. Subscribe to get updates delivered directly to your inbox, and you can also follow us on Bluesky and Instagram.

What’s happening

• VOTE: Ontario Election Day scheduled for February 27, 2025 (ElectionsON)
  • Vote at any advance voting in your electoral district from 10 AM to 8 PM from February 20 to 22. Remember to bring your ID.
  • We have sent out a transit & cycling questionnaire to candidates in the Region and will share results by February 20.
• VOTE: Laurier Graduate U-Pass (WLU GSA)
  • Voting for WLU graduate students is now open from 8 am EST on February 12th, 2025 until 6 pm on February 13th, 2025. Results will be announced virtually at 6 pm at the GSA’s online Annual General Meeting (AGM).
  • Referendum Question: Do you support the renewal of Grand River Transit’s Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass) Program and the associated increase to the U-Pass fee for unlimited use of GRT buses and ION trains?
    • Effective September 1, 2025, the U-Pass fee would be assessed at $124.91 per term, with an annual increase of no more than 5% until August 2030.
• ATTEND: High-Performance Development Standards Community Sessions. The High-Performance Development Standards (HPDS) are a set of standards planned for new development applications in the Cities of Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo, and the Townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich. The HPDS embeds the energy transition and climate resilience into the planning approvals process. Standards include EV parking & charging, tree planting, water efficiency, reduced carbon emissions, design that encourages mobility, and transition to low carbon development. (EngageWR)
  • Thurs Feb 13 - Woolwich: Woolwich Council Chambers @ 5:30-7:00 pm
  • Wed Feb 19 - Waterloo & Kitchener: Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex, Community Pavilion @ 5:30-7:00 pm
  • Thurs Feb 20 - North Dumfries: North Dumfries Community Complex, Dumfries Room @ 5:30-7:00 pm

Walking, biking, and streets

• Neuron electric bike/scooter program renews and expands to 2029 with new vehicles like upright tricycles and handcycle tricycles, becoming available along e-bikes and e-scooters (Region of Waterloo)
• Waterloo Region roads crumble under winter’s wrath (The Record)
• Hiking enthusiast completes two-year mission to walk every GRT route (Around the Region)
• New data take a closer look at cycling infrastructure in Canada (Statistics Canada)

Transit

• Feds in Waterloo to announce nearly $90 million in housing and transit support for region (Cambridge Today, The Record, Grand River Transit, Government of Canada)
• Region of Waterloo committee approved changed to fares for the Affordable Transit Program. The proposed fares will come into effect on July 1, 2025, as follows (Region of Waterloo):
  • Monthly Pass - ATP - $47 (reduced from current $48)
  • Stored Value – ATP - $1.35 (reduced from current $1.50)
  • MobilityPLUS ATP Tickets (strip of 5) - $6.75 (reduced from $7.50)
• Grand River Transit bus carries passengers and a message: diversity is a strength (The Record, CTV News)
• Construction Imminent For New Kitchener Central Transit Hub (Urban Toronto)
• GO 2.0/Expansion:
  • PCs promise ambitious GO Transit expansion. But experts question its feasibility (CBC News)
  • 23 new Ontario train stations part of expanded GO service promised by Conservatives (Insauga)
• Metrolinx to begin work at Georgetown GO station February 6th (Halton Hills Today)
• Doug Ford says he’s ‘confident’ of Eglinton Crosstown LRT will open in 2025 (Toronto Star, BlogTO)
• Ottawa LRT Upload to Metrolinx:
  • Ottawa could lose oversight over LRT under Metrolinx, Toronto councillor warns (CBC News)
  • PC Party, Liberals both promise to upload Ottawa LRT if they win Ontario election (CTV News)
  • Only Doug Ford and the Ontario PCs Will Protect Ottawa’s Economy (Ontario PC)
• Canada’s Hydrogen Bus Trials Canceled Due To High Costs & Emissions (Clean Technica)
• What is Toronto’s SmartTrack project (More Transit Southern Ontario: Youtube)

The shape of our cities

• Highway 407:
  • ‘Third rail’: Why Hwy. 407 has become an Ontario election issue (CTV News)
  • Ford vows to remove tolls from 407 East but stops short of ETR (City News)
  • Ontario election: Parties promise to cut Highway 407 tolls but disagree on where (Global News)
• Ford commits to building Hwy. 401 tunnel if re-elected (CBC News)
• Bigger apartments proposed in taller Waterloo tower in campus neighbourhood, adding bedrooms, height, people, and affordable units. (The Record)
• Stacked townhomes proposed for Weber Street corridor in Kitchener (The Record)
• Doug Ford stands by Wilmot land assembly process, says Waterloo Region has missed out on big opportunities over lack of available land (CTV News)
• Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie vows to ‘press restart’ on contested Wilmot land assembly (The Record)
• Up to 1,000 townhouses proposed for east end Main Street property (Cambridge Today)
• How Developers Think About Parking In The Age Of Transit-Oriented Development (Storeys)

Elsewhere

• Metrolinx completes Hazel McCallion LRT elevated guideway (Railway PRO)
• Google Maps changed the way we get around. The app just turned 20. (The Guardian)
• Donald Shoup, American engineer, urban planning professor and author of The High Cost of Free Parking passes away. Shoup has left a major impact on parking policy, changing the way we think about parking minimums, paid parking, and the wider ways parking affects city planning. (Parking Reform, Streetsblog California)
• NYC Sees Pedestrian Traffic Increase in Congestion-Pricing Zone (Bloomberg)
• A new Finnish study has found people who commute by bicycle tend to have fewer days off sick and a reduced risk of long-term absences due to illness. (Science Alert, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports)
• Study finds air pollution reduces people’s ability to focus on everyday tasks; even brief exposure to particulate matter found to impede selective attention and emotional recognition. (The Guardian, Nature)
• Hudson Bay Railway receives new federal, provincial funding (Trains Magazine)
• Shovelling public sidewalks will be mandatory for Niagara Falls residents — but not this or next winter (Niagara Falls Review)