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Consultations, feedback, and events

• PROTECTED BIKE LANES: Pilot study feedback online
• ION LIGHT RAIL: Cambridge extension online due Dec 31
• UNIVERSITY AVE: Streetscape public consultation
• LONG TERM: Goals for transportation in the Greater Golden Horseshoe
• KITCHENER BUDGET: Online budget feedback, due Jan 5
• MOVING FORWARD: Transportation choice, behaviour, and values
• TRAYNOR: Crossing alternative locations, feedback due Dec 22

In transit

Some Deer Ridge area residents, likely anticipating disruptions on King Street and Shantz Hill from construction, have joined with other voices to oppose the staff-preferred route for ION. The pushback has prompted some troubling questions from Regional council as to why including a stop in the Preston core is so important. (Hint: thousands of folks would use that stop daily who wouldn’t be taking ION otherwise.) It’s a good reminder that it’s not too late to share your feedback on the route alternatives.

• High Speed Rail project for Waterloo Region and beyond moves forward (570 News)
• Transit and paramedics big ticket items in regional budget (CBC)
• What the 2018 election could mean for your commute (TVO)
• The biggest transit need in southern Ontario is local, not regional (Torontoist)
• Boston tests faster bus service simply by laying out orange cones (Streetsblog)
• Why do Americans (and Elon Musk) hate public transit so much, and love chasing “Cyberspace Techno-dreams”? (Treehugger)
• An affordable fare is part of what drives transit adoption by future generations (MobilityLab)
• Make city travel much more ‘sociable’ (The Star)
• Applying behavioural insights to transportation demand management (Alta Planning + Design)

By bike

Two public consultations for the Region’s separated bike lane pilot took place last week. If you didn’t get a chance to come out and participate, you can share your thoughts and ideas online.

• Cambridge council calls for changes to Franklin Road bridge plan (The Record)
• City of Waterloo councillor Diane Freeman takes the chill out of winter cycling (CBC)
• Could Guelph become a leading cycling city? (Guelph Mercury)
• To fight ‘bikelash,’ get your boss to back protected bike lanes (CityLab)

• Under-reporting bicycle accidents collisions to police in the COST TU1101 international survey: Cross-country comparisons and associated factors (Accident Analysis & Prevention)

On foot

• Making KW’s streets safe for pedestrians (Community Edition)
• New downtown traffic light coming for New Hamburg pedestrians (The Record)
• Message to the city: Be nice, clear our ice (The Star)
• Stratford’s 1-sidewalk policy has residents fuming (CBC)
• Advocates disappointed as Queen’s Park votes down vulnerable road users act (Metro)
• A 3-D zebra stripe crosswalk appears in Iceland (Colossal)

Underfoot

The Ontario government has now passed legislation to replace the Ontario Municipal Board with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

• New office building the latest sign of downtown Kitchener’s rebirth (Globe and Mail)
• $26.6M adult centre planned for Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex (CBC)
• The velocity of density: can we build more sustainable cities fast enough? (Sustainability)
• Hartford removes parking minimums citywide (Streetsblog)
• San Francisco is taking demand-based parking prices citywide (Next City)

On the road ahead

• Ten steps toward autonomous urbanism (CNU)

Photo credit: Mikael Colville-Andersen on Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0