Ride with Candidates: Eda Dede – Waterloo Ward 5

For the 2026 municipal elections, CycleWR volunteers have been taking municipal electoral candidates on bike rides to show off the best and worst of the cycling infrastructure in their ward/city/region.

Below is a summary written by CycleWR volunteer William Davis, on their ride with municipal candidate for Waterloo Ward 5, Eda Dede.

Disclaimer: CycleWR is a non-partisan organization that does not endorse a party or candidate. Summaries are written by volunteers or candidates and may not reflect the mandate or views of CycleWR. For more information, contact us at hello@cyclewr.ca.

We started our ride at Hillside Park, near the intersection of Columbia Street, Lexington Road, and Marsland Drive. From there, we followed Lexington to Bridge Street, then headed south to examine the University Avenue interchange. We later returned along University Avenue to Lexington, ending our ride at the intersection of Lexington and Bridge. The goal of this route was to highlight some of the missing links in Waterloo’s cycling network, as well as demonstrate how varying traffic volumes influence the type of cycling infrastructure that is appropriate in different areas.

While not a cyclist herself, Eda was very open to hearing about my experiences riding in Waterloo and discussing CycleWR’s priorities for improving active transportation in the city. One of Eda’s key platform priorities is keeping life affordable for residents, and we spoke about how giving people the option to eliminate one or even two vehicles from their household can significantly reduce monthly expenses. However, that is only possible when people feel safe and comfortable riding a bicycle.

We also discussed CycleWR’s preference for a municipal bike-share system similar to those in Toronto and Montréal, given the significantly higher cost of using Neuron or Lime e-scooters. Eda was receptive to the idea, particularly because she had previously used Neuron e-scooters while working in Downtown Kitchener.

Here are a few of the topics we discussed during the ride:

1. The need for a second crossing over Highway 85: Highway 85 acts as a barrier between northeast Waterloo and the rest of the city. Lexington Road is currently the only crossing where people can walk, roll, or bike across the highway without navigating a high-speed interchange. Eda noted that she has considered this issue before, as she frequently takes walks along the University Avenue crossing and her son uses that route to travel to school. While she is interested in exploring whether a dedicated pedestrian and cycling bridge would be economically viable, she also wants to work with the Ministry of Transportation to reduce the number of slip lanes and add traffic signals within the interchange.
2. Protected bike lanes: I emphasized that while painted bike lanes can work on lower-speed, lower-volume roads, paint isn’t infrastructure! Busy corridors such as University Avenue require physically separated infrastructure if we want less confident riders to feel comfortable using them. We also discussed the importance of planning for year-round maintenance, since many people continue to commute by bicycle throughout the winter.
3. Future cycling infrastructure: We talked about the planned bike lanes on Columbia Street and the proposed multi-use path along Lexington Road, and how these projects would strengthen cycling and pedestrian connections across the city’s only highway crossing that does not involve an interchange.

Overall, Eda was very receptive to discussing cycling issues in Waterloo and expressed an interest in working with CycleWR to advance many of our priorities if elected. Remember to get out and vote on October 26!