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Kitchener Budget Analysis: 2019 and 2020

Posted on December 11, 2019December 26, 2019 by Emily Slofstra
Posted in: Advocacy

It’s budget season! Municipalities are starting to release draft operating and capital budgets for the 2020 fiscal year. We’ll be posting our analysis of both the 2019 budgets and the draft 2020 budgets for Waterloo Region municipalities as they’re released. Find them all on our Budget Advocacy page.

First up: Kitchener

Kitchener is the first local municipality to release its draft 2020 budget, and we’re excited about the strong commitment to improving access to active transportation options. Before 2019, only 0.6% of the roads in Kitchener had protected bike lanes, so we’re glad that we’ll be achieving a little more balance on our roadways.

Read on to see how cycling fared in Kitchener’s 2019 budget and what’s coming up in the 2020 budget.

Kitchener’s 2019 budget

Kitchener introduced several separated bike lane projects in the 2019 budget, then funded and built them all in the same year, which was very exciting! Kitchener’s 2019 budget had a commitment of $4.535 million, more than twice what we asked for in our election pledge! Here’s what that covered:

  • A Dutch-inspired roundabout at Huron & Strasburg (deferred to 2020) and separated bike lanes (Water, Belmont, and Queens): $1 million
  • Projects in the Cycling Master Plan: $300,000:
    • Contraflow bike lanes on Young Street and Duke Street East
    • Franklin Street bike lanes (Weber to Trafalgar)
    • Stirling Avenue bike lanes (Mausser to Russel)
  • Trails
    • Courtland Avenue multi-use trail: $365,000
    • Iron Horse Trail improvements: $480,000 for trestle bridge replacement & approximately $1.92 million spent in 2019 (expecting to be 80% complete a $2.4 million tender)
    • Laurentian Trail paving from Fischer Hallman to Williamsburg: $60,000
    • Butler Lane multi-use trail: $30,000
    • Strasburg Road multi-use trail (East side, Huron Road to Huron Heights Secondary School): $80,000 (from Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling program [80% provincial funding; 20% from the city])
  • Winter maintenance: $300,000

Besides investing financially, Kitchener staff are invested in making the city a better place to travel for all road users. They do a great job of answering questions from residents and have been working hard on Complete Streets and the Cycling & Trails Master Plan. We look forward to working with them again in 2020.

Kitchener’s 2020 budget

The 2020 budget for the City of Kitchener includes over $3 million for cycling infrastructure and continuing to build the grid—we have high hopes for a minimum downtown grid by 2022!

  • $1.3 million for implementation of the Cycling & Trails Master Plan (CTMP). The plan will go to council in the spring and will determine specific project timelines.
  • $600,000 for paving the Traynor-Vanier trail.
  • Road projects with active transportation components including Mill Street, Stirling Avenue and Ontario Street.
  • $1.1 million specifically for funding strategic plan projects (including the downtown protected grid and Gaukel Street pedestrian greenway).

We also look forward to seeing the completion of the Dutch-inspired roundabout and reports on the outcomes of the protected cycling pilot on Belmont & Queen’s.

What you can do to help get adequate funding for cycling infrastructure in Kitchener:

  1. Fill out the Kitchener budget survey on EngageWR by January 3, 2020.
  2. Send a thank you message to your city councillor to let them know you appreciate the investments in cycling and trails!
  3. Join our mailing list to ensure you get calls to action in 2020 such as showing up at council to support the CTMP if necessary or providing input on the final maps on EngageWR.
  4. If you don’t live in Kitchener, but bike through the city, you can still email council to let them know you appreciate the work that’s being done or send an email of thanks to the mayor (mayor@kitchener.ca).
  5. Like & share this video with all your friends to promote the Cycling & Trails Master Plan:

Stay tuned for our analysis of the rest of the Waterloo Region Municipalities as they release their budgets over the next month. Think we missed something? Send your comments and feedback to hello@cyclewr.ca.

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CycleWR
CycleWR is now a non-profit. Become a member today CycleWR is now a non-profit. Become a member today and help us change the conversation about cycling in Waterloo Region. Members help support and guide our work, get access to discounts, and more!Get your membership:
cyclewr.ca/join(Link in bio)
Cycling Risk SurveyCycleWR is keenly interested Cycling Risk SurveyCycleWR is keenly interested to learn more about how people in our community view cycling infrastructure. We have created a survey that delves into how people perceive the many infrastructure options that we find in Waterloo Region.We know that there is a lot of diversity in the comfort levels that people experience while cycling. We want to know: Will you only ride on trails and physically separated facilities? Which street designs do you find safest? How do you feel about one-way versus two-way cycle tracks? Which cycling facilities do you prefer to see when you are driving a car? We ask all these questions and more.This survey will inform our advocacy and the results will be shared both publicly and with municipal staff who are designing new facilities. The survey is quite detailed, so you’ll want to set aside 10-15 minutes to complete it. Please share it widely – we want to reach many people with varying levels of experience, from non-cyclists and beginners to daily riders.Start the survey now - the link is our bio (https://forms.gle/RLASz6joa27NUX8T7)Please respond by March 21st.Thank you!
What cycling projects are Waterloo, Kitchener, Cam What cycling projects are Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, and the Region funding in 2021? Find out in our budget analyses. Link in bio.
Join us online on Thursday, January 21, from 7:30 Join us online on Thursday, January 21, from 7:30 – 9:00pm for a look at what we accomplished in 2020 and what’s coming up for cycling in the region in 2021 and beyond.Active transportation leads from the three cities and the region who will be joining us:
• Lisa Chominiec
Sustainable Transportation Coordinator, City of Cambridge
• Liz Christensen
Design & Construction Project Manager, City of Kitchener
• Darren Kropf
Active Transportation Planning Project Manager, City of Kitchener
• Louise Finlay
Project Manager, Bikeways, Trails and Greenspaces, City of Waterloo
• Kornel Mucsi
Manager, Transportation Planning, Region of WaterlooCheck the link in our bio for meeting instructions.
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