Today the Region of Waterloo’s Planning and Works Committee is meeting at 9:00am in Council Chambers at 150 Frederick St., Kitchener. Here’s a run-down on important projects and reports that are being brought forward. (more…)
It can be insightful to take another perspective on something we’re used to. Yesterday I walked the length of Kitchener-Waterloo’s Iron Horse Trail and photographed it from its most common vantage points — the roads crossing it. There is little immediately evident in these photos, but I will explain below. (more…)
If you are interested in what we are doing in Waterloo Region and would like to share your suggestions in person, or better yet to figure out how you can contribute to TriTAG’s activities, please come out to our public meeting next Wednesday. We will discuss transit and active transportation issues we expect to be dealing with, and chart a course for ongoing action.
The meeting will be at the main Kitchener Public Library in Meeting Room B, on Wednesday, January 27, at 7:00pm. (Details are also on Facebook.) We hope you will join us.
(This time has changed from the initial posting.)
Investigation by the Tri-Cities Transport Action Group (TriTAG) reveals that the planned 2010 budget for the Region of Waterloo is heavily skewed towards road expansion and makes minimal investments in transit, cycling, and pedestrian infrastructure.
“While the Region is budgeting $100 million for road infrastructure in 2010, little of that money is for sidewalks and bicycle lanes — and most of that expenditure is almost incidental”, said Tim Mollison, a TriTAG founding member. “Major Regional roads such as Franklin Boulevard, Ottawa Street, Fischer-Hallman Road, Coronation Boulevard, Westmount Road, King Street, and Hespeler Road are all still missing sidewalks. Of the Region’s proposed $100 million transportation budget, less than $1 million is planned for sidewalks, and out of a total expenditure of $2.2 million for sidewalks and bike lanes, only $300,000 is not part of an existing road project.”
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At last night’s Regional budget committee public input meeting, TriTAG spoke in support of more funding for transit, pedestrian, and cycling infrastructure. The 2010 Regional transportation budget includes $71 million set aside for growth-related road expansion, but only $2.1 million for improved sidewalks and bike lanes. The entirety of the Federal Gas Tax Fund, intended to be used for environmentally sustainable municipal infrastructure projects, will be spent on roads. If even half of the Federal Gas Tax Fund were diverted from road spending, the budget for sidewalks and bike lanes could be increased threefold. TriTAG also advocated for transit funding to alleviate the overcrowding crisis on many routes.
The full text of TriTAG’s speech is included below.
