Ride with Candidates: Venkat Kondam – Waterloo Ward 2

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 Tino Fernandes on their ride with municipal candidate for Waterloo Ward 2, Venkat Kondam

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.

So today I met with Venkat Kondam, candidate for councillor for Ward 2. We started at the Stork Family YMCA and cycled down Columbia Rd and into the local neighbourhood for a 26 minute ride. On our ride we discussed Venkat’s platform that he is running on for the election.  His key message was that he wanted to make sure that the city was run on a strict fiscal accountability and ensure that the continued rising costs to the local population did not continue to rise. All spending decisions should be carefully vetted and tightly controlled.

A number of topics were broached as we rode through the streets:

1. Venkat was very complimentary to the current Mayor and the Platinum award the city had won as one of the best cycling cities in the Country, he believed we need to continue building on this model.
2. He indicated that there was a strong place for active transportation with considering year round multi-use paths that are not tied to the main roads.
3. We talked about speeding cars on long city roads like Brandenburg and he was quick to suggest having stops at intersections to slow down the traffic.
4. I questioned about the city putting roundabouts within the Ward e.g. at Paris Blvd when just 100 meters they have an all way stop which was more effective and safer for pedestrians and active transportation and yet costs almost nothing as opposed to the costs of putting the roundabout in. This could help reduce the costs that he was keen to fix at city hall, Venkat agreed that any future suggestion should be questioned and a decision made based on its merits.
5. We talked about snow clearing of sidewalks and multi-use trails in winter and the idea of cities like Guelph taking the responsibility of doing this. Venkat’s opinion about this was that it would be costly and a better choice would be the City to enforce the bye-laws for residents to clear up the sidewalks in a timely manner.
6. In terms of ebikes, Venkat was very supportive of these to be continued to be seen as non-motorised vehicles and happy to see them continue to use bike lanes, especially it encourages our older population to experience the outdoors for both mental and physical health which they would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience.

In conclusion, it was a very good ride to be able to discuss and understand Venkat’s views and his platform to be elected as a councillor. Not only is he a strong proponent of reducing and maintaining high Fiscal Accountability but also believes in a strong Active Transportation system as the City continues to grow. Certainly Venkat seems to be a great candidate to push and support the Cycling and the Active Transportation Community at the City Level.

Here is our route map: