Ride with Candidates: Stephanie Stretch – Kitchener Ward 10

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 Jessica Romero on their ride with municipal candidate for Kitchener Ward 10, Stephanie Stretch.

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 met Stephanie Stretch this past week for a fall bike ride to discuss cycling infrastructure in Ward 10 and across Kitchener. As an avid cyclist who has lived in Ward 10 since 2009, I appreciated the opportunity to discuss accessibility, connectivity, and sustainable growth. Here are a few key points from our ride.

Accessibility

Kitchener downtown trails and roadways are used by many, including kids on roller skates, scooters, pet walkers, cycling commuters, and recreational cyclists. I have cycled with and without dedicated cycling infrastructure and know the importance of making our roads and trails accessible to people of all ages and experience levels. Stretch raised an important point about encouraging more people to embrace active transportation, including cycling. This means not only building better infrastructure but also helping people feel confident and safe using it.

Driver and cyclist education is important when it comes to sharing the road. Understanding how to navigate shared roads and interpret cycling infrastructure, such as sharrows, especially on streets like Queen Street. Many students use these routes to commute to and from school including my children and it was essential to me to bring this up to Stretch who also has school aged kids.

Connectivity

Trail connectivity as an area for improvement. Following a trail route can be confusing or feel unsafe especially when dedicated infrastructure ends or changes abruptly. During the ride, we passed the intersection of Margaret Ave. and Wellington St. to discuss a specific example in our ward. The path ends abruptly at Wellington Street, only for separated cycling infrastructure to begin again as the route continues along Margaret Street. If you are going north(ish) towards Waterloo, this requires the rider to leave the separated bike way on the left side of the road and make a left turn at the lights crossing to the right side of the road then to continue on Margaret Ave. It is the opposite move if you are coming from Waterloo to downtown Kitchener. This is a well-travelled route for people commuting to and from Midtown and Waterloo. Improving the connection would create a more predictable, continuous, and safer ride for people travelling through this area.

Smart and Sustainable Growth

Sustainable and smart growth recognizes that our trails and roadways serve many different users. We need to plan for all forms of transportation and consider how they can work together.

Overall, it was a nice ride and discussion, and a good opportunity to cheer the successes and voice concerns about trail infrastructure in ward 10 and across the city.