News roundup: May 21, 2025

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

What’s happening

• SURVEY: Grand River Transit is running a customer satisfaction survey until May 28
• WORKSHOP: The City of Cambridge is engaging the public on its Preston Secondary Plan along ION stage 2. Details at EngageWR.
  • Where: 637 King St E, Cambridge, Ontario
  • When: Thursday, May 22
    • 12:00pm – 2:00p.m. (Drop In Session)
    • 6:30pm – 8:30 p.m. (Community Workshop - Presentation and Activities)
• FEEDBACK: The City of Cambridge has multiple drop-in public engagement sessions and a survey for its new comprehensive zoning by-law with form-based residential zoning. Details at EngageWR.

Walking, biking, and streets

• Pedestrian/cyclist bridge over Highway 7/8 to Strasburg Rd in Kitchener is unofficially open (City News)
• Regional councillor Matt Rodrigues bringing forward a motion on improving the Region’s approach to winter clearing (Region of Waterloo agenda)
• Speed cameras
  • “Speed cameras proposed in 15 new community safety zones in Waterloo Region” (The Record)
  • “Cambridge launches new speed reduction efforts, chooses 10 new speed camera locations” (Cambridge Today)
  • “‘It’s a revenue tool’: Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants changes to speed cameras” (CityNews)
• “’It will kill life’: Cambridge councillor urging city to curb road salt use” (CBC News)
• “Much delayed Black Bridge Road project set to begin in August” (The Record)
• “‘It’s very dangerous:’ Cambridge man pleas for extension to Galt truck ban” (CityNews)
• “Kitchener’s Bike Day offers a host of activities on two wheels” (The Record)

Transit

• GRT is proposing 10 new transit queue jumps at Regional road intersections. They would use bus priority signals and existing right turn lanes to prioritize busy routes, saving 13K riders a day on average 3 minutes during peak period trips and improving service reliability. (Region of Waterloo committee, CambridgeToday)
• ION
  • “A 31-year-old man faces careless driving charges after colliding with an LRT train in Kitchener, causing lengthy road closures.” (The Record)
  • “‘I don’t know how people manage to hit trains. It just boggles my mind’: Waterloo Region sees an average of 15 crashes a year involving ION trains.” (The Record)
  • “Cambridge council raises concern about LRT and transit service gaps” (The Record)
  • “Region of Waterloo considering alternative to LRT in Cambridge” (CTV News)
  • “Heritage designation for Queenston Road home has no bearing on planned LRT route, says region” (CambridgeToday)
• “Seniors feel left behind by affordable transit in Waterloo Region” (The Record)
• Overview from Steve Munro of Ontario’s budget and transit (Steve Munro’s blog)
• “Metrolinx quietly drops Deutsche Bahn, Aecon from multibillion-dollar GO expansion project” (The Star, CityNews)
• “Unifor moves toward strike at VIA Rail” (Progressive Railroading)
• “Opinion: To build Canada’s future, we need to invest in public transit” (Daily Hive)
• “How Canada could be building transit affordably — like other countries” (National Post)

The shape of our cities

• International student caps reduced Waterloo Region’s growth but the region’s population still grew in 2024 and is estimated to reach 1 million by 2051 (The Record)
• Preston interim control by-law
  • “Cambridge councillor says push to pause development in Preston ‘doesn’t make sense’” (CBC News)
  • Citizens for Cambridge urges council to reject Preston growth freeze with concerns about risk to LRT planning/funding and conflict with housing mandates (CambridgeToday)
  • “Cambridge councillor halts Preston bylaw, wants more dialogue” (The Record)
• Wilmot land assembly:
  • “Region of Waterloo gets dishonourable mention for lack of transparency” (The Record)
  • “‘Wrong plan for our community:’ Group reacts to Wilmot land update” (CityNews)
  • Local advocates worry Wilmot could become one of new Special Economic Zones (The Record)
• City of Waterloo sells 34 acre property to developer for a community of 1800 homes that would include a full grocery store and public trails (City of Waterloo, CityNews, The Record May 3, The Record May 6)
• City of Cambridge looking to use former St. Ambrose school property for a mixed-use housing development with over 200 homes (The Record)
• “Ontario seeks to speed up construction of housing, roads, transit with new bill giving it more control over municipal processes” (Toronto Star)
• “Province looks to slash development fees while Waterloo Region municipalities have millions in reserve funds” (The Record)

Elsewhere

• “London is looking to increase housing downtown and along BRT/transit corridors by offering up to $10 million in forgivable loans to developers” (London Free Press)
• Not Just Bikes is a big fan of trams, i.e. light rail (Not Just Bikes / Youtube)
• New report on transit-oriented displacement in a Canadian context (Leading Mobility)
• “Ford to target more Toronto bike lanes for removal in Ontario budget” (CityNews)
• Ford government looking for bidders to study Highway 401 tunnel but government docs suggest the project isn’t feasible (Global News, The Trillium, The Trillium)
• “Ontario permanently cutting the Gas Tax and taking tolls off Highway 407 East” (Ontario Newsroom)