Week in review: November 13, 2016

By Mike Boos

Consultations and feedback deadlines

• COMMITTEES: City of Waterloo advisory committee applications due before 8am Nov 14
• CYCLING: Ontario Cycling Strategy funding priorities, comments due Nov 30
• REGIONAL BUDGET:
• Engage Waterloo Region budget survey, due Dec 2
• Public input session Nov 16 at 6pm
• IRON HORSE TRAIL: Victoria Park area improvements, comments due Nov 30
• REGIONAL ROADS:
• Ottawa Street South, November 22
• William and Strange Street water supplies, November 22
• University Transit Plaza, November 16
• MOVING FORWARD:
• What are your priorities for transportation in Waterloo Region?
• How would you like the Region to respond in these different transportation planning scenarios?
• CAMBRIDGE:
• Transportation Master Plan
• On-street parking
• GTHA: Next Regional Transportation Plan, feedback due Nov 30
• MAPS: Regional cycling map, first edition in need of feedback
• INTENSIFICATION: Development in established Kitchener neighbourhoods

Transit

• Next year's transit improvements are being considered for next year's budget. Let Regional Council know you support funding more frequent transit in this survey.
• Transit expert Jarrett Walker discusses how opponents use the prospect of future "innovations" as an excuse not to invest in transit with the technologies of today. (Waterloo Region saw its own fair share of this with aerobus, personal rapid transit, and even minibuses being proposed as alternatives to light rail, but the debate in other cities has now been ratcheted up with the new media fascination with yet-to-be-delivered driverless vehicles.)
• The Region is getting over half a million dollars from the province to study how to improve its low-income transit fare discount program. The current waiting list for reduced-cost bus passes is about 1000.
• South of the border, the U.S. elections included several local referendums regarding transit projects, many of which succeeded. The Transportation Politic and NextCity tracked many of these ballot measures. Laura Bliss on CityLab cautions that Republican control of the presidency and Congress mean that federal funding for some of these projects may not materialize. Jarret Walker observes that the election results mean that cities will need to do more to take care of themselves, and that the transit ballot measures show they are prepared to do so.

Cycling

• The Fountain Street bridge in Cambridge will be rebuilt with multi-use pathways on each side.
• Torontoist condenses the top six things learned from the TCAT/Ryerson study on cycling in the GTHA, while Cycle Toronto shows that the Bloor Bike Lane pilot has actually increased traffic capacity
• People for Bikes present two videos that capture perfectly how paint is insufficient to protect people who bike.

https://twitter.com/FtfyOakland/status/795337132994805760

• Strong Towns questions the value of sharrows, beyond encouraging people to bike (sometimes in places where it's less than ideal for them to do so!)
• Bloomberg highlights a study that shows that making bike lanes may be one of the most cost-effective ways of improving public health. Meanwhile, another study shows that the type and quality of bike lanes play a big role in preventing collisions and injuries.

Vision Zero

• The Ontario government announced its intention to introduce new legislation to allow the use of safety camera enforcement in school zones and community safety areas. The evidence shows that photo radar saves lives.
• The Globe and Mail has an article on how 'complete streets' are being built in the Greater Golden Horseshoe to make roads safer and better for all users. Waterloo's Davenport Road is featured.

From the Globe and Mail, November 12, 2016.

Land use

• City Observatory explores how zoning practices in North America effectively bans the creation of great walkable neighbourhoods.
• Strong Towns shares a video from Mississauga showing it's not just enough to densify suburban sprawl, if the underlying patterns and infrastructure are highly car-dependent.
• ACCESS Magazine has published its Fall edition, with a focus on parking policies. Articles include arguments that removing parking minimums is insufficient and more is needed to reduce parking oversupply, a study of London's (UK) switch from parking minimums to maximums and how important those maximums are for high-density areas, and how parking management is necessary for smart growth.

Ride-sharing

The Region's new vehicle for-hire bylaw takes effect December 2. Uber is hiring a local operations expert.