Ride with Candidates: Julie Wright – Waterloo Ward 7

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 Natalie Wennyk on their ride with municipal candidate for Waterloo Ward 7, Julie Wright.

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.

I had the privilege of touring Ward 7 in the City of Waterloo with Ward 7 Councillor and re-election candidate Julie Wright.

Julie is comfortable on a bike. Her family is a single-car household and uses a range of transportation modes, including walking, cycling, transit, taxis, and driving.

As we rode past the removable speed bump and speed radar sign on John Street East, we discussed the importance of continuing to implement traffic-calming measures. Julie’s platform recognizes the challenges of speeding and distracted driving and the need for further measures to address them. She has also pointed many residents to the City of Waterloo Service Centre where free “Slow Down” signs are available.

Connectivity was a recurring theme of our ride. Julie supports the City of Waterloo exploring a connection to the multi-use path (MUP) on Park Street between John and Union, coordinated with any future cycling infrastructure along Park Street by City of Kitchener. This is one of the top 15 missing connections CycleWR identified through it’s Cycling Route Effectiveness Model (CREM) for high priority routes.

As we rode through Uptown Waterloo and Hughes Lane, Julie shared the history of her advocacy for safety improvements there, which began before she became a Councillor. We discussed how the City and Region can continue working together to investigate improvements.

We also visited the secure bike storage cage and additional bike lockers at the Uptown Parkade and throughout Uptown. We discussed the trade-offs between different storage options, including security, costs to users, availability, and waitlists. Julie emphasized the importance of reviewing how the program is working.

The Laurel Trail brought us a little ‘nature’, too, when a small squirrel visited us along the path. You don’t get that from a car! Julie explained the City’s work to remove invasive plants to improve the health of natural areas. Unfortunately two trails we cycled during our tour were lined with invasive buckthorn – Laurel Trail pictured, and trails through Waterloo Park.

At Weber Street, significant Friday rush-hour traffic made crossing challenging. The pedestrian refuge island, installed through City-Region collaboration, allowed us to cross in stages. Julie, who regularly cycles through this area, highlighted the need for improvements that provide greater separation and enough space to accommodate a bicycle trailer.

On Marshall, Ezra and Albert Streets, we rode in mixed traffic and discussed upcoming road reconstructions and opportunities to improve cycling separation. We also considered pedestrian and cyclist safety at crossings, including the Intersection Pedestrian Signal (IPS) at Albert and Central and the slip lane ‘stop here on red’ where Albert meets Bridgeport.

Julie shared about the upcoming (now open) pedestrian crossing improvements along Regina St – which is a signed cycling route of City of Waterloo – which will likely provide traffic calming too.

We extended our ride to explore the trails connecting University of Waterloo’s Parking Lot C with Waterloo Park. Julie discussed opportunities to improve these trails including adding wayfinding, secure bike parking, curb cuts, and nature-based solutions to absorb spring and stormwater flooding and help keep the connections passable year-round.

Julie also raised concerns about vehicle speeds on Seagram Drive, where despite its MUP and on-road bike lanes there is risk of vehicles losing control if travelling too fast around the bend, and on Father David Bauer Drive, where the City has identified higher driving speeds despite a 40 km/h limit. We discussed potential improvements to address these challenges.

With rental e-scooters available in Waterloo again, Julie shared her work with operators to experience and discuss where scooters are parked in Uptown, including how placement can help discourage use by people who are under the influence.

We ended our ride at infrastructure Julie supported: the improved trail connection between Father David Bauer Drive and Euclid Avenue.

It was clear throughout our ride that Julie knows Waterloo’s cycling network well, cares about safety and connectivity, and takes a pragmatic approach to helping people get around using the transportation modes that work best for their trip.