News roundup: February 17, 2026

By Tri-Cities Transport Action Group

Here’s the latest in walking, biking, and transit news for Waterloo Region for the last two weeks. (If you’re reading this on the web, you can subscribe to get updates delivered directly to your inbox!)

What's happening

• KITCHENER 2051: Drop-in and learn more about the draft Kitchener 2051 Official Plan. (EngageWR) Pop-ups from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m at:
  • Feb 24: Doon Pioneer Park Community Centre 
  • Feb 25: Victoria Hills Community Centre 
  • Feb 26: Bridgeport Community Centre
• WALK AUDIT: A winter walk audit in downtown Kitchener aims to share techniques to assess how supportive streets are for walking. Sun, Feb 22, 2026, 1:00 PM at the clock tower (Meetup)
• JANE’S WALKS: Registration is open to lead a Jane’s Walk (or ride!) in Waterloo Region on May 1-3 (Jane’s Walk WR)

Walking, biking, and streets

• The Record: Speed cameras gave out 88,599 tickets. Who got caught, and who caught a break?
• Speed limit reductions to 30 km/h and 40 km/h on residential streets in Waterloo have been effective in getting 85th percentile speeds down, according to a staff report (City of Waterloo council packet, p. 138)
• The Record: Opinion | ‘It feels almost like I’m in prison’: Uncleared snow is hardest on people with disabilities
• Cambridge Today: Accessibility advocate frustrated with snow-covered accessible parking spots

Transit

• GRT has a new real time map showing all in-service buses and trains (GRT)
• Cambridge Today: Grand River Transit deactivating alerts account on X. Software limitations and low engagement were the reasons given for the move
• GRT’s year-end ridership update showed a 16% year-over-year decline in 2025 due to lower international student enrollment. Ridership is still higher than pre-pandemic – even with a more conservative measurement and longer transfer window (Regional Committee agenda; The Record, CBC News)
• Cambridge Today: ION reimbursement motion 'creates division' between region and city, says regional councillor.
• Cambridge Today: Cambridge motion to seek LRT reimbursement from region fails. A motion by Coun. Helen Shwery was defeated in a split five to four vote at Tuesday evening's council meeting
• The Greater KW Chamber of Commerce held a panel on the future of transportation in Waterloo Region with the Ontario Minister of Transportation and the President & CEO of Metrolinx (YouTube).
• The federal government is cutting $5 billion from the recently launched $30 billion 10-year Canada Public Transit Fund, saying cities have access to other federal funds (Globe and Mail)
• A new report by John English recommends ways to bring down the high costs of transit infrastructure in Canada (CSA Public Policy Centre)
• CBC: Insufficient rail screws behind derailment that caused days-long GO disruptions, Metrolinx CEO says

The shape of our cities

• CBC News: Waterloo region’s chair should be chosen locally and not by province, councillors say
• Water supply crisis
  • The Record: Waterloo Region spending $15 million in hopes of increasing water supply
  • Cambridge Today: Regional council votes to balance growth and water limits with new plan. Facing mounting pressure from developers and industry leaders, the Region of Waterloo has voted to partially lift a freeze on new development approvals imposed due to critical water supply constraints
  • The Record: Water crisis sparks fears of privatization.
  • CBC: Region of Waterloo names interim water commissioner to tackle capacity challenges. Kenneth Brothers will oversee repairs and speed up projects to boost water capacity
  • The Record: Opinion | A truce is reached in the water crisis, but the hard work is ahead
• If approved by the City of Waterloo, a new development would bring two 34 storey towers to the Laurier-Waterloo Park station area. They would have 522 apartments in a mix of bedroom counts, 76 car parking spots, and 560 bicycle parking spots. (The Record, EngageWR)
• The Record: Cambridge updates zoning bylaw in the nick of time. The updated bylaw changes how homes can be built in the city and is meant to make it easier to build different types of housing, not just single-detached homes.
• Cambridge Today: Council votes for 7-metre driveways amid housing cost warnings. Aiming to address parking issues but drawing criticism from the development community, Cambridge council has approved a measure requiring longer driveways in future home builds
• A project called CivicBand extracts and shares information from North American government meetings, including 6 of Waterloo Region’s 8 municipalities (CivicBand)

Elsewhere

• Canadian Cycling Magazine: Brampton’s council votes to replace protected lanes with sharrows on Howden Boulevard, despite warnings of increased traffic and higher speeds
• CP24: Ford rules out public inquiry as officials laud completion of Eglinton Crosstown
• TTCriders: Advocates welcome Line 5 opening announcement, call for accountability on years of delays
• InSauga: $1.6B is the cost to re-add City Centre LRT loop in Mississauga: Premier Ford