Category Archives: TriTAG

ION station buttons

Light Rail, News, TriTAG February 2, 2016 Mike Boos

Update: ION station buttons are now available from our online store!

Show your support for light rail and your neighbourhood pride

You’ve seen the construction, the tracks getting put in the ground, the stations falling into place.

At TriTAG, we’re excited to soon be able to get around town with rapid, frequent transit service. For the last six years, we’ve been advocating for more transit, protected bikeways, and better walking conditions to our cities to make our communities great places to work and live.

We want you to share your excitement for the transformation happening in our Region, while helping us to take our efforts to the next level.

We’re creating buttons for each stop along the ION light rail route. Inspired by the anchor wall designs, these buttons will feature a unique pattern for each ION station, letting you show off your neighbourhood pride. We’re giving these buttons as ‘perks’ for your support of our Indiegogo campaign. You can get the whole set, or special collections featuring different neighbourhoods and places along ION.

We’re looking to raise $5,000 to continue TriTAG’s advocacy efforts through incorporation as a not-for-profit and better engagement with the Waterloo Region community.

To find out more, visit http://igg.me/at/tritag.

News Release: Community Members Applaud Uptown Bike Lane Proposal

Cycling, News, TriTAG May 7, 2015 Mike Boos

For immediate release

Recommended Uptown streetscape design includes wider sidewalks and protected bike lanes on King Street from Erb to Central.

WATERLOO, ON – May 7, 2015. Residents are celebrating a staff recommendation for protected bike lanes on King Street in Uptown Waterloo. The recommended design, if approved by Waterloo City Council, would see the installation of wider sidewalks and raised bicycle lanes, some protected from traffic by parked cars, along King Street from Erb to Central. (more…)

Photo credit: laurelrusswurm on Flickr, 2012. https://www.flickr.com/photos/laurelrusswurm/14014027920

TriTAG open meeting March 31

News, TriTAG March 17, 2015 Mike Boos

If you’re interested in talking about Waterloo Region walking, biking, and transit, please join us for an informal gathering on Tuesday, March 31 at the Barley Works (upstairs of the Huether Hotel in Uptown), between 6:30pm and 9:00pm.

We’d love to have you join us and share your ideas concerning local transportation issues. This is also a great opportunity to ask us about the work TriTAG is doing or how to get involved. Hope to see you there!

Photo credit: laurelrusswurm on Flickr, 2012. Licensed under CC-BY.

Transit and the 2015 budget: a letter to Regional Council

News, Transit, TriTAG March 4, 2015 Mike Boos 1 Comment

Dear members of Regional Council,

Over the past several years, transit has been squeezed to meet arbitrary cost-recovery targets. Now that GRT has achieved those targets, TriTAG is pleased to see that the proposed 2015 Regional budget does not include any more painful cuts to transit, but instead focuses on continuing to prepare for integration with ION light rail and adapted bus rapid transit service.

We hope that 2015 also marks an end to the sharp fare hikes of the last few years. As the Region develops its new Strategic and GRT Business Plans, it has the opportunity to set fare and cost-recovery policies to satisfy concrete goals for transportation, ridership, social equity, and the environment. We encourage council to be proactive in considering these goals when deciding on fare and service changes. (more…)

It’s time to vote

News, TriTAG October 27, 2014 Mike Boos

Today, October 27, is Municipal Election Day in Waterloo Region. Because so much depends on the outcome of this election, please take this opportunity to let your voice be heard by voting.

If you don’t know where your polling station is, you can look it up by city or township using the links below:

Polls are open from 10am to 8pm.

Voter resources from TriTAG

If you’re still on the fence, TriTAG’s Election Candidates’ Survey will help you figure out what candidates will do to improve transit, walking, and bicycling. If you haven’t looked at the survey since we first released it, we now have responses from more than 2/3 of all candidates!

TriTAG has also created an election myth-busting series on issues surrounding light rail. Please share with family and friends who might have misconceptions about light rail transit.

TriTAG calls on Aissa to disclose transit plan

Light Rail, News, Transit, TriTAG October 22, 2014 Mike Boos

Municipal candidates opposed to ION light rail asked to provide details on what they would build instead

The Tri-Cities Transport Action Group is calling on regional chair candidate Jay Aissa and other municipal candidates opposed to the ION light rail project to reveal to the public what rapid transit solution they would implement as an alternative to ION. To date, TriTAG is not aware of any detailed, fully costed rapid transit plan from any candidate promising to cancel ION.

“Mr. Aissa says he has a plan for transit that is somehow both cheap and comprehensive, yet he hasn’t shown it to voters,” said Michael Druker of TriTAG. “We believe the public deserves to hear the details.”

“If Jay Aissa has the respect for voters he claims and truly believes in transparency, he will share the details of his supposed ‘plan’,” added Druker.

Specifically, TriTAG is asking Aissa and other candidates to provide details concerning:

the form of rapid transit they would build (e.g. more iXpress buses, buses with dedicated lanes, subways, etc.);
the route their planned rapid transit would take;
the debt and tax impact of their plan for both capital and operating expenses, and
the timeline for implementation of their planned rapid transit network

“If Mr. Aissa’s plan is dedicated rapid bus service for the ION route, that means more debt and higher taxes over the lifetime of the project. Ottawa has shown BRT means sky-high operating costs and a system that must be converted to light rail at huge expense,” said Taylor Byrnes of TriTAG. “The public needs to know whether Mr. Aissa’s plan can overcome both the cancellation costs for ION and high expenses to meet swelling ridership demand; or whether Mr. Aissa is just making empty promises he can’t keep.”

ION went through a decade of planning and public debate in Waterloo Region. If Mr. Aissa and other candidates want to overturn it overnight, TriTAG asks them to disclose their transit plans so voters have the weekend to scrutinize them before heading to the polls.

More TriTAG election resources:

TriTAG 2014 Municipal Election Voter’s Kit

News, TriTAG October 2, 2014 Mike Boos

Find our election survey for Waterloo Region, Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo candidates at tritag.ca/election2014

February pub night

News, TriTAG February 18, 2014 Michael Druker

If you’re interested in talking about Waterloo Region walking, biking, and transit, please join us at our pub night on Monday, February 24 at the Huether Hotel, between 6:30pm and 9:00pm (Facebook event page). We’ll also be discussing ION rapid transit and what support is needed as it comes to its biggest milestone.

BarleyWorks is upstairs as you enter the Huether Hotel (map), and we’ll be on the second level of BarleyWorks in the large room at the back.

Demand for better transit, cycling infrastructure, safer roads as election season begins

News, TriTAG February 11, 2014 Mike Boos

Of all the infrastructure and services municipalities provide, transportation is the one thing we notice the most. Utilities like gas, water, and electricity are, with few exceptions, generally consistent and reliable, and emergency services are hopefully only called upon for rare occasions. Travel, however is a daily requirement for most of us, and our experience of it has the power to shape the rest of our day: from the motorist stuck on the Conestoga Parkway, to the bicyclist dodging cars or squeezed into narrow and pitted bike lanes, to the pedestrian slipping on snow-covered sidewalks, to the person waiting and wondering when their late bus will arrive. (more…)

iXpress loves you and wants you to be happy

Proposed 2013 GRT Service Improvements

Buses, News, TriTAG February 22, 2013 Mike Boos 3 Comments

The Region of Waterloo’s Planning and Works agenda has come out for next Tuesday, including proposed 2013 service improvements in Waterloo and the service planning implications of cuts to existing transit service in the 2013 budget.

Public consultations on the service changes will be held at various locations in Waterloo and Kitchener between March 18 and 26.

We are very pleased to see a movement towards a grid system. A trade-off is present here however: it will take longer for customers within the neighbourhoods bordering Bridge Street to reach their bus stop. Once they get to a bus though, it will take much less time for them to reach their destination. We believe this change represents a net gain for GRT users and residents in general. [1] (more…)