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Consultations, feedback, and events
- TRAILS:
- Iron Horse Trail to transit hub connection, comments due June 16
- Potential relocation of pedestrian signal to Laurel Trail at Bridgeport, due June 16
- WATERLOO: Draft zoning bylaw, comments due July 1
- KITCHENER:
- CAMBRIDGE: Transportation Master Plan
- TRANSIT:
- REGION: Trade-offs in transportation
- CLIMATE ACTION: Our Progress, Our Path, June 22
Vision Zero
In a victory for sidewalk infill policy, Regional Council declined this week to cancel plans for completing a gap in the sidewalk on Westmount Road, to which fronting homeowners were objecting. A pedestrian crossover – an unsiganlized crosswalk where people walking have the right of way – is planned for Victoria Park at a busy crossing. And Kitchener’s new neighbourhood-led traffic calming program is now on the city website.
- Achieving zero traffic deaths and a quieter trauma room at Sick Kids (The Star)
- Can algorithms design safer intersections (Streetsblog)
- NACTO wants to find out how cities can design better streets, faster (Streetsblog)
- London and the mainstreaming of vehicular terrorism (CityLab)
Climate (in)action
Climate Action Waterloo Region has published its 5 year progress report. As we noted last week, transportation emissions have grown instead of shrunk, accounting for half of our carbon footprint. Climate Action is hosting an event to discuss the report and kick off a series of public engagements on June 22.
Elsewhere, John Lorinc questions Toronto’s climate plan’s dependence on a hypothetical sudden surge in electric vehicles and expectations of only modest emission reductions due to transit use. And Joe Cortright takes governments to task that claim support for the Paris Agreement but undercut their own efforts by building or widening roads and highways.
Cycling and trails
On the blog, we shared how Kitchener is considering ‘advisory cycling lanes’ for narrow portions of Krug Street. Meanwhile, the Iron Horse Trail through Victoria Park is getting some long-overdue lighting to improve safety when the trail is widened this year.
- The unintended consequences of bicycle helmets (MedPage Today)
- A national cycling strategy: a triple win for public health (Physicians for the Environment)
- The future of transportation is already here, but everybody is missing it (Shifter)
- Male cyclists need to stop the “macho nonsense” (Streetsblog)
- Bike parking and the bottom line (Mobility Lab)
Transit
Kitchener Post columnist James Bow argues that GO Transit should take over more of our intercity bus routes from private carriers, and do a better job of it.
- “Give Mrs. McG her bus stop”? Reasons to pause (Human Transit)
- The future of European transit: driverless and utilitarian (NY Times)
- Pity the poor operator: success and failure in subway systems (Spacing)
Parking and land use
- Great idea: rethinking parking (Public Square)
- Low income renters pay a high price for parking requirements (UCLA Economic Letter)
- How did the province do on land-use plan amendments? (Torontoist)
- Gardiner off-ramp removal transforming Toronto’s south core (Urban Toronto)
I don’t think anyone has notified Uptown North neighbourhood association that our crossing light at BridgeportRd/Peppler may be taken away! I never heard it till now! Doesn’t look as if they did any counts of ppl crossing at the street and the trail to compare them. Frequently when I push the button to cross, a car also gets a chance to turn left onto BridgeportRd. I’m worried about ppl trying to dangle across without a light. Add a push-button light at the trail if you like, but don’t take away the light at Peppler.
It’s really frustrating that the climate report has been billed as a “success” purely because the provincial phase-out of coal power has reduced our region’s emissions -while the emissions under local control have actually climbed significantly -especially transportation. Lets take credit for our own success and failure.