News roundup: June 24, 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! You can also follow us on Bluesky and Instagram.

What’s happening

• Shape Cambridge’s multi-year accessibility strategy (Cambridge Today). The online survey can be found here until July 25 along with five in-person sessions
• City of Cambridge wants feedback as it reworks its website (EngageWR). Survey is open until June 30
• The Region of Waterloo is updating its taxi by-law and is seeking input in a survey on taxi services (which includes ride-hailing services like Uber)
• The City of Kitchener survey for its Dundee Secondary Plan closes on June 27. This plan will shape development on a greenfield site larger than downtown Kitchener

Walking, biking, and streets

Region

• “Roundabout safety enhancements will cost region $1.1 million” (Cambridge Today)
• “Region of Waterloo aims to reduce collisions at ‘hidden intersection’” at Weber Street and Sterling Avenue (The Record)
• “Speed cameras: Where are they and how much will they cost you?” (The Record)
• “Region unveils inclusive option in bike, scooter program” (CityNews, The Record)
• “Over 600,000 near-miss incidents with pedestrians, cyclists recorded at intersections across Canada” including in Waterloo (CP24, CityNews)
• “Waterloo startup wants to make car pooling easy” (The Record)

Kitchener

• “Kitchener parking bylaw enforcement using AI to increase compliance” (City News, CBC, The Record)
• “‘Off-road’ path in Kitchener to replace part of Trans Canada Trail on sidewalk” (The Record)

Cambridge

• “Ainslie Street reconstruction on hold as region, city reassess cycling needs” (Cambridge Today)
• “City of Cambridge unveils W.I.T.Y the budget bot” (CityNews)

Townships:

• “North Dumfries forming liaison committee for Hwy. 24 plans” (Cambridge Times)
• “‘Kissing Bridge’ project in West Montrose exceeds Waterloo Region budget by $4.6M” (The Record)
• “Speeding cars by Breslau school prompt petition for camera” (The Record)

Transit

ION LRT

• “Opinion | Ion light rail is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Cambridge” (The Record)
• “Opinion | We need to keep Cambridge light rail plans on track” (Cambridge Times)
• “Life with the LRT: A Student’s Perspective on Transit and Transformation in the Waterloo Region” (Climate Action WR)
• “Cambridge LRT expansion options to be tabled again in August” (Cambridge Today)

GRT

• “Opinion | Grand River Transit woes mean more to those with less” (The Record)
• The Region of Waterloo is starting construction soon on a new bus loop and multi-use path by Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort in Kitchener, as well as infill sidewalk along Morrison Road (GRT)
• Some of the new bus priority signals are already in operation, turning existing right turn lanes into queue jumps (Bluesky: Matt Rodrigues)

Metrolinx/GO Transit

• “Opinion | We’re getting left behind at the GO station” (The Record)
• “Breslau & Kitchener Central GO; Future GO Stations” (YouTube: Rail Documenter Ontario)
• “Metrolinx spent $21K entering its own communications team into awards” (Global News)
• “Toronto [Region]: A Huge Setback for the Greatest Transit Project in Canadian History, and How to Save It” (Reece Martin: Substack, Youtube)

VIA Rail

• “VIA Rail and Unifor reach tentative agreement, strike averted” (The Record)
• Canada Strong Pass offers free VIA Rail tickets to children under 18 when accompanied by an adult, and 25% off for adults aged 18 - 24 (Government of Canada, VIA Rail)

The shape of our cities

Region:

• “Business community and UW will track the Waterloo Region’s plans for growing population with score cards” (The Record, BestWR, University of Waterloo News)
• “Home building is in ‘reverse gear’ and Ontario is a ‘train wreck’ as housing crisis deepens” (The Record)
• Region and developer settlement of $13.7M development charge error will see developer paying over 75% of it (CBC)

Kitchener:

• “Kitchener arenas, pools, other facilities in poor condition: Report” (CityNews)
• “Provincial funding will build quad-gym at Kitchener Indoor Recreation Complex” (The Record, Ontario Newsroom)
• “Vive Development plans 5 towers on Kitchener site bought out of receivership” (The Record)
• “‘Stop the bleeding’: Residents urge City of Kitchener to push forward with renoviction bylaw” (CityNews)
• “Committee votes to move forward with development of Kitchener renoviction bylaw” (CTV News, CityNews)

Cambridge:

• “Permits lag behind approvals as Cambridge misses provincial housing fund target” (Cambridge Today)
• “Cambridge moves forward with boundary expansion into North Dumfries” (The Record, CityNews)
• “Hespeler site developers and City of Cambridge continue fight at OLT” (The Record)

Townships:

• Wellesley Township considering subdivision approval for around 160 homes on 10 hectares of currently agricultural land next to the village of Wellesley (Wellesley Township agenda)
• Woolwich Township considering a new Mixed-Use and Mid-Rise Urban Design Guidelines planning document (Woolwich Township agenda)

Beyond:

• “Ontario quietly signs new affordable housing deal with feds” (Global News)
• “Canada is facing a housing crisis. Could it take a page from Europe? In the Austrian city of Vienna, more than half of its residents live in some form of subsidized housing” (CBC)

Elsewhere

• “Ontario wants to remove urban design from development applications. Toronto’s chief planner thinks that’s a mistake” (Toronto Star)
• “Eglinton Crosstown LRT officially handed over to TTC, Metrolinx Interim CEO Says” (Toronto Star)
• “Cost of Scarborough Subway Extension almost doubles from initial estimate” to over $10 billion (Global News)
• “City of Brampton and Zenobē announce historic partnership to electrify transit fleet in landmark UK-Canada collaboration” (City of Brampton)
• Motion to permit the Hamilton Street Railway to hire new full-time operator positions to support 2026 transit service expansions is defeated (Bluesky: Joey Coleman)
• Oh The Urbanity: “Do Urbanists Want to BAN CARS?” (YouTube)