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Consultations, feedback, and events

• REGIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN: Mid-term review, due February 17
• LIGHT RAIL:
  • Stage 2 to Cambridge consultations February 23, 28, and March 1
  • Online feedback due March 17
•  KITCHENER:
  • Traynor/Vanier access across light rail, due February 24
  • GPS travel pattern study for downtown
  • Reporting sidewalk issues through social media
• CAMBRIDGE: Transportation Master Plan
• MOVING FORWARD: trade-offs in transportation
• CAR-SHARE: Feedback on Quantum  CarShare

(more…)

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Consultations, feedback, and events

• CYCLING: Coldest Ride of the Year, Sunday February 5 at 2pm
• LIGHT RAIL:
  • Stage 2 to Cambridge consultations February 15, 16, and 23
•  KITCHENER STUDIES:
  • GPS travel pattern study for downtown
  • Reporting sidewalk issues through social media
• CAMBRIDGE: Transportation Master Plan and parking
• MOVING FORWARD: trade-offs in transportation
• CAR-SHARE: Feedback on Quantum  CarShare

Vision Zero

A man cycling on King Street near Conestoga Mall Thursday was struck from behind and killed by a driver coming from the highway. Police say charges are pending. TriTAG notes that the conditions of this highway exit encourage fast speeds before merging.

Toronto lawyer Patrick Brown writes that recent court decisions in New York show how Ontario municipalities could be exposed to liability if they fail to heed calls for traffic and speed calming measures. He notes efforts to enact vulnerable road user (VRU) laws to Ontario, which would increase the penalties for killing or injuring people walking and cycling. (more…)

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Consultations, feedback, and events

• LIGHT RAIL:
  • Pedestrian crossing for Traynor-Vanier neighbourhood January 28
  • Stage 2 to Cambridge consultations February 15, 16, and 23
• WATERLOO:
  • Uptown streetscape construction public consultation January 31
  • Reconstruction of Spruce and Hickory Streets, feedback due Feb 1
•  KITCHENER STUDIES:
  • GPS travel pattern study for downtown
  • Reporting sidewalk issues through social media
• CAMBRIDGE: Transportation Master Plan and parking
• MOVING FORWARD: priorities and trade-offs
• CAR-SHARE: Feedback on Quantum  CarShare

Parking

Record reporter Catherine Thompson covers a recent City of Kitchener study that found that most lots and garages are never more than 69% full, thanks to onerous parking minimums. She also highlights our blog series on parking.

It tolls not for the DVP

The Premier has denied the City of Toronto’s request to allow it to toll the Gardiner and the DVP. Despite this prohibition being bad policy – tolls are effective tools for managing congestion, shaping travel incentives, and having highway drivers actually pay the full cost of the infrastructure they use – Toronto’s loss is Waterloo Region’s gain. As part of the announcement, the province will be doubling the share of the provincial gas taxes municipalities receive to help pay for transit, phased in over 2019 to 2022. Under the present rates, Waterloo Region is receiving $10 million this year, which could increase to $20 million under the new formula. (The Region’s share of the pie could further increase if ridership growth with ION outpaces the rest of the province.)

The federal government is pitching in $96 million to widen the 401 from 6 lanes to 10 between Hespeler Road and Townline. We’re just going to leave this here:

Omg stop doing this and give us a train. #TOWRCorridor https://t.co/PIk6LAIHCi

— Charlotte Prong (@CharlotteProng) January 27, 2017

Transit

The Region continues to gear up for building the multi-modal transit hub, inviting potential private partners to submit qualifications. It is expected that the final developer would be selected within the next 18 months. Meanwhile, Kitchener and the Region are holding a public meeting today (January 28) at 1pm concerning providing pedestrian access to the far side of the ION tracks for the Traynor/Vanier neighbourhood.

This week, CityLab published two articles on transit. The first looks at the importance of good transit as an equity issue for women, especially minorities, in light of congested Metro trains to the Women’s March on Washington. The second shares new research showing that buses are significantly safer than driving in cars.

Taxis and ride-hailing

The Region is still rolling out implementation of its new vehicle for hire bylaw, as taxi drivers complain about a lack of taxi stands (or the inconvenient placement thereof).

Cycling

Waterloo Bikes has a write-up on the upcoming public consultation for the Uptown Streetscape redesign. Construction, which will introduce protected bike lanes to King Street for the first time, is expected to begin this spring. Kitchener has approved its 2017 budget, which includes improvements to the southern stretch of the Iron Horse Trail.

The Metcalf Foundation has published a new report on how to make Toronto a world-class cycling city. It’s recommendations, which include integrating cycling routes with transit connections, winter maintenance of cycling facilities, and building protected bike lanes are likely equally applicable here. And the CROW Design Manual for Bicycle Traffic, the bike infrastructure bible from the Netherlands, has just been updated (in English too!)

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Consultations, feedback, and events

• SIDEWALKS: Volunteers needed for Kitchener sidewalk clearing study
• LIGHT RAIL:
  • Pedestrian crossing for Traynor-Vanier neighbourhood January 28
  • Stage 2 to Cambridge consultations February 15, 16, and 23
• WATERLOO:
  • Uptown streetscape construction public consultation January 31
  • 2017 Bicycle Map feedback due January 27
  • Spruce and Hickory street reconstruction consultation January 24
•  KITCHENER:
  • Shape DTK 2020 short and long surveys
  • Study: reporting sidewalk issues through social media
• CAMBRIDGE: Transportation Master Plan and parking
• MOVING FORWARD: priorities and trade-offs

Walking and Cycling

• New drawings of the first phase of the Uptown Streetscape and protected bike lanes have been published in preparation for a public information centre. They’re a considerable improvement over preliminary designs, featuring tighter corners and shorter crosswalks, straighter bike paths, and cross-rides (like a crosswalk for people cycling) at Bridgeport where a new trail is planned. A significant addition appears to be previously ruled-out protected bike lanes between Erb and the ION tracks, which will provide more direct connections to trains and the Spur Line Trail. Attend the public consultation January 31 to find out more!
• Frustrations mount over the ineffectiveness of Kitchener’s sidewalk clearing policy and how long it takes for complaints to be addressed.
• Kitchener company Miovision is launching Miovision Labs to mine and analyze the wealth of data its equipment collects for new innovations. One project, in collaboration with University of Toronto researchers, will analyze conflicts and near misses with bikes along Bloor Street.
• Trail resurfacing and upgrades are being planned for UW’s Research and Technology Park.

Transit

• The Record looks at some of the ION route options considered for Cambridge during 2015 consultations. New consultations on a recommended route are happening mid-February.
• The Region has retained legal counsel for issues related to the King-Victoria Transit Hub. This is among the first of many steps to bringing GO and VIA trains, light rail, city buses, and intercity transit to one central location.
• Late last year, the Region passed a new development charges bylaw that would help pay for ION light rail and bus service expansion. The Waterloo Region Homebuilders’ Association has launched an OMB appeal of the bylaw. At present, the bylaw remains in effect until the OMB rules otherwise.

Car sharing, ride-hailing, autonomous vehicles, and of course, parking

• Walkable City author Jeff Speck offers ten ideas for maintaining walkable cities in the emergence of autonomous vehicles.
• A study from UC Berkley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Centre looks at car sharing’s impact on students, showing how access to shared vehicles defers vehicle ownership while improving quality of life in communities where not all destinations are easily accessible without a car.
• Transit expert Jarrett Walker writes about the challenges of hailing and ‘rating’ his Lyft drivers during a snowstorm that exposed some weaknesses of ride-hailing apps.
• In honour of Martin Luther King day in the US, City Observatory looks at two of the racial biases still inherent in our transportation system: “driving while black,” and discrimination in taxi hailing.
• New research shows that parking demand for dense, mixed-use developments near good transit can be less than half of what is predicted in standard guidebooks.

What we’re reading

• Streetsblog shares 8 transportation engineering euphemisms that should be abolished. Changing these words and phrases helps expose the biases towards traffic volumes inherent in the profession and allows many of the problems of transportation to be framed in more inclusive ways.

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Consultations, feedback, and events

• SIDEWALKS: Volunteers needed for Kitchener sidewalk clearing study
• HEALTHY CITIES: Panel discussion at Kitchener Public Library January 18
• LIGHT RAIL:
  • Pedestrian crossing for Traynor-Vanier neighbourhood January 28
  • Stage 2 to Cambridge consultations February 15, 16, and 23
• KITCHENER:
  • Shape DTK 2020 short and long surveys, or attend the roundtable January 17
  • Budget survey, public input meeting January 16.
  • Study: reporting sidewalk issues through social media
• MOVING FORWARD: priorities and trade-offs
• CAMBRIDGE: Transportation Master Plan and parking

Winter walkability

• TriTAG gears up for its study on winter sidewalk clearing, with the aim of understanding how effective Kitchener’s policies are for allowing people to get around. Sign up to volunteer!
• Anum Syeda writes for the Community Edition about the risk of slips and falls, and how injuries stemming from falls in winter can be devastating to quality of life.
• On Strong Towns, Rachel Quednau writes about how, in cities where sidewalk clearing responsibilities are passed off onto property owners, clear sidewalks are how you tell who your engaged neighbours are.

Transit

• The 2017 Regional budget was passed on Wednesday. New or more frequent trips for routes around Conestoga College and Cambridge, and for the 201 and 202 iXpress are being introduced this fall (bundles 1 and 2). Meanwhile, the already postponed 205 Ottawa Street iXpress (bundle 3) has been further delayed until spring 2018. For more details on the service changes, see the budget issue papers.
• Frederick, between King and Duke, is due to close for four weeks, causing routes 1, 4, 8, and 200 to return to detours via Water.
• Dates have been announced for the next round of public consultations, concerning the extension of ION light rail into Cambridge. Regional staff will be presenting their preferred route in mid-February.
• On the 10th anniversary of the opening of Charlotte’s LYNX Blue Line, Modern Cities looks at the transformations and developments that light rail system has catalyzed. Something to look forward to in Waterloo Region.
• New research shows that busy traffic can make your wait for the bus feel even longer.

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Consultations and feedback deadlines

• REGIONAL BUDGET DAY: Wednesday January 11. Voice your support for the proposed 2017 transit improvements through our Council contact form.
• 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?
• KITCHENER:
  • Shape DTK 2020 short and long surveys
  • Budget survey, public input meeting January 16.
  • Study: reporting sidewalk issues through social media
• CAMBRIDGE:
  • Transportation Master Plan
  • On-street parking

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12 days of TriTAG!

To celebrate the coming of a new year, we’ve been sharing our top 12 blog posts from 2016 via social media. Here they all are, in one place:

1. Announcing our ION station button campaign, through which we raised over $4000 to help fund our incorporation as a not-for-profit. (Stay tuned for more details on that process in the new year!)
2. Don’t overlook the humble bus: while there’s lots of attention on getting better GO train service to the Region (as there should be!), it’s easy to overlook the potential GO buses to nearby communities have.
3. Don’t panic: why you shouldn’t worry about declining GRT ridership just yet.
4. Housing and parking minimums – or why the rent is too damn high: how mandatory parking needlessly increases the cost of living. especially for those in apartments. Part of our series on parking in the City of Waterloo zoning bylaws.
5. Missing the connection: Will the University iXpress bypass ION? We raise the alarm on how administrative resistance at UW could mean less functional transit.
6. Could the City of Waterloo move beyond parking minimums?  The first in our seven-part series on parking requirements in zoning bylaws.
7. What’s in store for Grand River Transit? We look at the proposed GRT business plan and how it will shape getting around in 2017-2022.
8. ION, walkability, fences, and it’s never too late to fix mistakes:  a look at how the Traynor/Vanier community got cut off from local businesses, and what’s needed to restore the connection.
9. Could parking minimums hurt light rail? Another from our series on parking minimums, we look at how damaging car-dependent zoning can be to sustaining rapid transit.
10. A potential game changer for downtown Kitchener: another parking one! This time, we look at how Kitchener’s proposed exemption on parking requirements for the first 10,000 square metres of floor space will help downtown to thrive.
11. This corner shows what’s wrong with transportation planning in Waterloo Region: the corner of Queen and Charles is awful for pedestrians. We show how it’s symptomatic of misplaced traffic planning priorities.
12. Big changes for Bridgeport, Erb, Caroline, and Albert: as we watch light rail construction transform our city cores, there’s been a lot of interest in what’s next, making this our top post for the year.

From us at TriTAG, we wish you the the very best in 2017. Happy New Year!

The past 7 days of TriTAG:

Your regular weekly update continues below: (more…)

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Consultations and feedback deadlines

• 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?
• KITCHENER:
  • Shape DTK 2020 short and long surveys
  • Budget survey
  • Study: reporting sidewalk issues through social media
• CAMBRIDGE:
  • Transportation Master Plan
  • On-street parking
• MAPS: Regional cycling map, first edition in need of feedback

Local government

• CBC KW has been interviewing several local elected representatives to talk about the past year. Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky talked about LRT construction, trails, protected bike lanes, and making transit more grid-like, Regional Chair Ken Seiling said ION light rail will give the Region a more European feel, and Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife lamented our sluggish and infrequent GO train service.
• Chris Klein shares his insights on how to best affect change when serving on a municipal advisory committee.
• The Record serves up an A-Z guide to local politics in 2016.

Vision Zero

• The Record editorial board makes a surprising, but very much welcome pitch for banning right turns on red lights to reduce collisions with pedestrians.
• Lawyer Patrick Brown suggests in the absence of an Ontario vulnerable road users law, that cities declare all of their streets “Community Safety Zones” to provide an added deterrence to speeding and other forms of reckless driving.

Transit

• Woolwich Council votes against spending more money to expand transit service in the township. A few councillors’ statements seem to betray a lack of understanding of transit – from how much it must be subsidized in low-density areas, to the fallacy of empty buses and the belief that smaller buses can cost considerably less than regular ones.
• As GRT prepares for a delayed launch of the EasyGO fare card in the spring, it is figuring out how to best provide cards to social agencies that currently give out paper tickets to residents who need them.
• The new Cambridge Centre bus terminal is now open. The ION aBRT route will now be able to operate more directly.
• Metrolinx has developed a GO Rail Station Access Plan. It provides several recommendations for improving walking, cycling, and transit access for the Kitchener and Breslau stations (see pages 81-87).
• ION light rail construction is now 90% complete, up from 29% at the beginning of the year, but the first ION vehicle which was due to arrive December 21 is now expected in February. With new development charges beginning next year, planned tax increases for light rail will be reduced in 2018 and 2019.
• TransitCenter introduces the concept of tactical transit – low cost, temporary improvements to test and deliver enhanced transit corridors in the short term, rather than through extended assessment and procurement processes.

"The New Sleigh" is today's #Christmas cartoon in @TorontoStar pic.twitter.com/eQ8LC6bYfu

— Theo Moudakis (@TheoMoudakis) December 23, 2016

Bicycling

• San Fransisco publishes the results of their testing of different styles of protected bike lanes. They recommend lanes that are level with the sidewalk, have a vertical curb, and provide buffer space between both cars and pedestrians.
• The Toronto Centre for Active Transportation launches a new study on active transportation best practices for ‘outer ring’ communities outside the Greenbelt. We’re guessing they’ll be watching the future Uptown protected bike lanes with great interest.
• Tom Babin shares insights from the Calgary downtown cycle track network pilot, which has now been made permanent.
• It’s a small change, but the MTO has expanded its section in the driving manual on how to drive around people cycling.

Autonomous cars soon? Maybe not

• Uber’s self-driving cars, operating without permission in California, have been caught performing dangerous ‘right hook’ turns in bike lanes.
• In response, Linda Bailey, executive director of National Association of City Transportation Officials highlights the dangers of partially automated cars, while Joe Cortright of City Observatory suggests some tongue-in-cheek pedestrian safety “innovations” to avoid inconveniencing passengers of autonomous vehicles.

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Consultations and feedback deadlines

• REGIONAL BUDGET: Engage Waterloo Region budget survey, due Dec 21
• 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?
• KITCHENER:
  • Shape DTK 2020 short and long surveys
  • Budget survey
• CAMBRIDGE:
  • Transportation Master Plan
  • On-street parking
• MAPS: Regional cycling map, first edition in need of feedback

Winter walkability

• Confusion between the Region and Kitchener over plowing responsibilities led to a day or two where the Kitchener half of the Spur Line Trail wasn’t being cleared of snow. The city has since committed to plowing the rest of this winter and will be negotiating a more permanent agree with the Region. Waterloo, on the other hand, understood the original trail agreement with the Region to mean that they needed to plow the trail going forward and has been clearing the snow regularly.

A tale of two cities? Hundreds of people use @SpurLineKW trail daily, @CityKitchener. Disappointed it's not clear today, and my knee hurts. pic.twitter.com/PuvhNcflCk

— Chris Klein (@cd_klein) December 13, 2016

• Robin Mazumder is interviewed by Eric Drozd on 570 News concerning last week’s blog post on designing for pedestrians with empathy. Listen to the audio.

Transit

• The province announces $10 million in gas tax funding for transit in Waterloo Region for 2017. That’s about $300,000 less than the Region’s share in 2016.
• The Community Edition covers the Alliance Against Poverty’s efforts to bring free transit passes to residents on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disabilities Support Program.
• Sean Marshall bemoans Metrolinx’s suburban station paradigm, with emphasis on abundant free parking and passenger drop-off areas over pedestrian access, noting that even plans for infill stations inside Toronto follow this pattern. We note the planned Breslau station has its own challenges:

Future @Metrolinx Breslau @GOtransit Station for instance, has poor highway access, and will not be "on the way" for buses @RegionWaterloo pic.twitter.com/B1JLARXqen

— TriTAG (@TriTAG) December 14, 2016

• Henry Grabar at Slate highlights the worrying trend among some North American cities to cut transit with the belief that services like Uber will replace it. But when the venture capital stops flowing, ride-sharing can never be cost-competitive with transit. Meanwhile, Joe Cortright of City Observatory notes that as ride-sharing fleets expand, they will have to contend with the ‘camel’ of travel demand during the morning and evening rush hours, limited in both fleet and roadway capacity.
• Seattle is providing loans to help build affordable housing near bus and rail lines.

Vision Zero

• The Toronto Star has been running a “Deadly Streets” series this week, looking at why 2016 has been so deadly for pedestrians.

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Consultations and feedback deadlines

• REGIONAL BUDGET:
  • Engage Waterloo Region budget survey, due Dec 21
  • Public input meeting, December 14
• PROVINCIAL BUDGET: Submit and vote on project proposals by December 11
• 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?
• KITCHENER:
  • Shape DTK 2020 short and long surveys
  • Budget survey
• WATERLOO:
  • Cycling solutions for Lexington across Highway 85, December 12
• CAMBRIDGE:
  • Transportation Master Plan
  • On-street parking
• MAPS: Regional cycling map, first edition in need of feedback

(more…)

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