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Region of Waterloo Budget Analysis: 2021

Posted on April 25, 2021April 23, 2021 by Laura McDonald
Posted in: Advocacy

In 2018, 16 elected representatives across Waterloo Region pledged to fund a minimum grid of cycling infrastructure within the next four years and a number of other councillors also expressed their support for CycleWR’s work. Since then, we’ve been digging into the municipal budgets each year to see how this support is translating into real investments in cycling infrastructure.

Achievements in 2020

Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a busy construction year for the Region of Waterloo. In addition to the temporary bike lanes, there were some substantial additions to cycling infrastructure on regional roads, most notably the multi-use paths (MUPs) on both sides of Victoria St. N and on Franklin Blvd. in Cambridge. The former looks to be almost complete, finishing up in 2021. The total budget expenditure for these projects was almost $10 million, well in excess of the election pledge that many of our councillors signed on to.

2020 completed projects

Project2020 budget Expected completionDescription
Dundas Street: Franklin Blvd to Roxboro Road$150,0002024Sidewalk and on-road cycling constructed in 2020 on Dundas from Briercrest to Lowell St.0.7 km cycling facility in 2020 from Lowell St. to Monroe St.
Victoria Street North: Kitchener/Woolwich Boundary to Bruce Street$3.6 million2021Multi-use pathway (MUP) on both sides of the road from Bruce St. to Centennial Rd.MUP on the south side from Forwell Rd. to Centennial Rd.
Weber Street: Forwell Creek Road to Blythwood Road$820,0002021On-road bike lanes on both sides of the road
King Street East: Freeport Bridge to Freeport Hospital entrance$110,000MUP on the north side
Listowel Road: Timber Trail to Arthur Street$450,000MUP on the north side of the road
Study: New pedestrian bridge over the Speed River (Preston)$450,000Study only at this stage
Bleams Road at Fischer-Hallman Road$75,0002021
Erb Street: Gateview Drive/Beechwood Drive to Erbsville Court and Ira Needles Blvd to Wilmot Lane$400,0002021separated cycling facility on both sides of the road 0.7 km in 2020 and 1.2 km in 2021
South Boundary Road: Water Street to Franklin Blvd and Franklin Boulevard, South Boundary Road to Carpenter Road $1,113,000MUP on the north side

MUP on both sides

Coming up in 2021

The Region has a number of projects planned for the coming season, in addition to completing some of those listed above. We have learned from experience that delays are common with large capital projects, so view this more like a weather forecast than a hard and fast plan.

ProjectMunicipalityBudget Type of Facility (if known)
Arthur St.N. – Sandy Hills Dr. to Waterloo/Wellington boundaryWoolwich$301,000
Dundas St., Franklin Blvd. to Hespeler Rd.Cambridge$772,000Painted bike lanes 
Highland Rd., Fischer-Hallman Rd. to Ira Kitchener$127,000MUT
Highland Rd. W, Highland Hills Mall Entrance To Ira Needles Blvd.Kitchener$786,000MUT
King St., Bishop St. to Dover St.Cambridge$1,338,000Painted bike lanes
King St., Central St. to University Ave.Waterloo$642,000
Notre Dame Dr., 0.38km South of Erb’s Rd. to St. Ann Ave. NWilmot$933,000
Ottawa St.S., Fischer-Hallman Rd. to 100m West of Trussler Rd.Wilmot / Kitchener$2,138,000MUT
Ottawa St., Alpine Rd. to Fischer-Hallman Rd.Kitchener$892,000MUT
Ottawa St., Nottingham Ave., King St. & Weber St. from Sheldon Ave. to Borden Ave.Kitchener$757,000
Sawmill Rd., River St. to Snyders Flats Rd.Woolwich$590,000
Snyder’s Rd. E, Christian St. to Gingerich Rd.Wilmot$801,000
Lackner Blvd., Ottawa St. to Victoria St.Kitchener$375,000MUT
Bleams Rd. at Fischer-hallman Rd.Kitchener$186,000MUT
Ottawa St., King St. to Charles St.Kitchener$218,000
Erb St., Gateview Dr./Beechwood Dr. to Erbsville Ct and Ira Needles Blvd. to Wilmot Ln. and Ira Needles Blvd. to Wilmot Ln.Waterloo / Wilmot$1,365,000
Total$12,751,000

The total budget is well in excess of the election pledge. Some of these are multi-year projects and the budget is not necessarily reflective of the spend in 2021 — for example, most of the work on Ottawa Street South is complete and 2021 will see the last section to Fischer-Hallman completed. By the way, this facility is a wonderful addition with bi-directional multi-use trails on both sides of the street with some really scenic views, albeit with a bit of a climb.

We’d love to hear from you about which completed or upcoming projects excite you the most! Photos and videos of trips on new facilities would be most welcome and would help spread the word. You can send those to hello@cyclewr.ca or tag us on Twitter using @Cycle_WR or #CycleWR.

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Are you heading out to the belmontvillagebestival Are you heading out to the belmontvillagebestival this Friday and Saturday? It's the cityofkitchener's last #BikeCheck of the year!
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