We're updating the city's transportation master plan and we need your help!

This email concerns the new bike lanes in Waterloo. I live in the north west end of the city and travel east on Columbia frequently. The bike lanes with the white posts erected for cyclists are very rarely used, although there is some use in the U of W area. The recent positioning of the black and orange pylons/posts placed on Erb, Bridgeport and Westmount are absurd.
Traffic is much lighter in the summer with schools closed, families on vacation and the Covid 19 pandemic. In a few months when life returns to normal, these lanes closed to vehicles will cause long lineups of traffic as well as much idling of vehicles which is poor for the environment. Congestion will become a nightmare during rush hours. What kind of municipal planning is this?
I will also comment on the redesign of the downtown area. Frankly, it is dreadful! ...... with the Ion tracks on King, reduced parking on King, no left turns at many intersections, Willis Way closed to vehicles, now pylons on Erb and Bridgeport, etc. I make a point of avoiding downtown Waterloo unless I absolutely must be there. I understand that if a resident lives downtown and can walk to retail/restaurants/etc. the changes may suit, but, as a senior who doesn't live in the downtown core, the changes are discouraging for travelling there.

Bike lanes will never work. I don't want to encourage anyone to take to two wheels in the middle of winter and slip under the traffic. Most places don't have showers so cycling in hot weather is not practical. A lot of adult cyclist don't wear a helmut. These temporary lanes are ridiculous....we already have to dodge these around construction sites so lets double the number of these and block more lanes of traffic.NOT!The majority of cyclists do not pay attention to the rules of the road with not stopping for stop signs and doing those 90 degree intersection turns which endangers both drivers and pedestrians as two examples. Night cycling without any lighting is another challenge for drivers. To date I have not seen any bike initiative that would encourage cycling by car drivers and the current number of cyclists does not justify the current expenditures. Let us go to zero additional spending until we are able to get some of the covid spending under control. When you see the shortfalls in revenue the cities and region is facing along with the additional costs coming from education one can only imagine how much they will be looking to get from the taxpayer and please remember there is only one taxpayer whether it is the city,the region, the province or the federal government.

Please make Waterloo more bike and pedestrian friendly. Bridge Street, between Northfield and Eastbridge has practically become a highway due to a long stretch of road, with half of it four lanes, with nothing to discourage speeding. Children who live in Colonial Acres go to the elementary schools in Eastbridge, which involves crossing at Bridge Street. Even with the traffic light there it is very dangerous. And it's loud like a highway. The lanes should be reduced to two with a boulevard in between, and wider bike lanes on Bridge Street. Also, we should convert to electric buses for the environment and to reduce noise. Please consider reducing further roads across Waterloo to max 40 km/hr, for safety, and enforce!

I think we should plan to convert to electric buses.

Instal a pedestrian scramble at University and King St. to make right/left turns from cars easier and safer for pedestrians. Not sure if this would result in more car build up between signal changes.

You want us to "describe how to develop a community that is less reliant on cars for travel". Good luck that won't happen.
I have to wonder if these educated planners have noticed that there are more walkers than cyclist in the City of Waterloo. If not, maybe they should get out of their "ivory towers" and start walking or are they too busy driving their cars to work, just like those who will make the final decisions the new transportation master plan. Waterloo Region, is not Europe. We are not cyclist. We rely on our cars to get us from point A to point B. If you want to improve the moving of people then convince GRT to improve their dis-functional transportation system. Stop wasting taxpayers money on bike lanes, with the replacement of the "flower planters" on Albert St because cars & trucks are running into them. Stop with those posts, for the bike lanes, on Columbia St. as they are being replaced because cars and trucks are hitting them. The snow plow will also do their thing in removing those posts. If you want to improve things in this city, why not improve you by-law enforcement. First, get the students off our area streets. If they don't want to pay for the parking at the college or university, then let them take the LRT or bus. Improve your dis-functional enforcement of snow removal. One officer in December and 2 in January and February lets get serious.
With respect to changing the flow of certain streets in Waterloo, I realize that streets such as Bridgeport Rd, King St. etc are regional roads, but reducing Bridgeport Rd, the only major access to Waterloo off the expressway is just shy of stupidity. For once stand your ground. You ignored the business people in the Waterloo core when you permitted the Region to reduce the number of lanes on King St and decreased the number of parking spots.
You want us to describe" how the city can leverage recent investment in light rail transit (ION)..." Forget it. I will never give up my car. I have better things to do than take over one hour to get from home to Conestoga Mall when I can drive it in less than 15 minutes. Yes there are those who rely on GRT and the ION but the vast majority don't. As I said previously, maybe GRT should review their dis-functional system.

The City should continue to discourage the use by motorists of streets designated as "local" in the current Transportation Master Plan "TMP" as cut-through opportunities by proactively planning for the use of proven traffic calming principles and associated measures implemented by city planners from other urban areas in their TMPs. It is vital for the health of our residential neighbourhoods that intra-city motorized vehicular traffic in the TMP continue to be encouraged to flow from local neighbourhoods, to minor and major collector roads, and then onto the major arterial/regional roads, and to limit opportunities for such traffic to infiltrate local streets. The re-classification of "local" streets as "collector" roads to manage congestion on such arterial/collector roads, or increasing acceptable volume levels on local roads to greater than the current 2,000 cars per day in the current TMP, should be resisted as options in the new TMP since these measures would significantly effect the liveability and walkability of our residential neighbourhoods. This issue is particularly acute for the Uptown residential neighbourhoods of Mary-Allen, Albert McGregor and Uptown West which are more prone to cut-through traffic due to the grid-like structure of their streets. (Waterloo's more recently planned suburban areas make use of crescents and dead ends to keep non-local traffic to the main collector/arterial road by design, although unforeseen cut-through and volume issues can still arise there too). Key guiding principles should be established for the TMP at the outset to ensure that the liveability/walkability score of all residents, including low-density residential neighbourhoods, remains high rather than placing the needs of auto commuters first. The City's current traffic calming policy needs to be updated.The trend toward favouring alternative forms of transportation by the City's planners (public transportation with the ION/bus route, cyclists, skateboardeers, pedestrian, scooter, etc.) is highly encouraged to continue as pivotal to the updated TMP. The key transportation-related issues associated with cut-through, non-local vehicular traffic are increased volume which results in potentially increased speeds and decreased safety for pedestrians/cyclists etc. in areas designated as low-density residential areas under the zoning bylaw set forth in the City's current Official Plan. Excess speed in such residential areas could be effectively addressed I believe by implementing a city-wide 40 kph limit on all local streets as put forth by Mayor Jaworsky, down from the 50 kph (unless otherwise posted) currently in effect. Reduced speed in residential areas will increase safety. Traffic calming measures to address volume, speed and safety issues need to be proactively planned for in the revised TMP and holistically applied in order to be effective (as opposed to the current adhoc approach) with standards created and implemented to ensure all residential environments are protected and the safety of pedestrians and those using alternative forms of transportation is paramount. These measures will help the City reach its goal of reducing residents' reliance on the auto and will help to retain Waterloo's reputation as great urbanized place in which to live.

It is currently difficult to travel East - West on the Northend of the City by bike. It would be great if the Lexington MUC/Hillside trail network could be connected via MUC along Weber to Parkside Ave. We would love to quickly get from Eastbridge/RIM park to McCormick CC or even to the YMCA by bike but currently biking on Weber to Albert or Parkside is uncomfortable for me on bike - even though I am an experienced and confident cyclist.

Hi! I think Albert, north of Columbia could easily be narrowed to two lanes, with protected bike lanes added to the sides. Especially near it connecting to Weber, a narrowing could allow the creek next to it to be widened, to meander more. The creek could be restored to a more natural state to increase flood protection and to create ecological habitat and more connection between people and nature.

A protected crosswalk for the Laurel Trail where it crosses Columbia is sorely needed as it sees a lot of foot and bike traffic going to and from the university and Columbia has a lot of high speed car traffic.

As others have stated here, just painting a line doesn't make for a safe bike-lane. It needs to be protected from car traffic and it needs to be plowed in winter.

Thanks!

As a commuter, I commute every day to Hamilton to Waterloo to support a parent with Alzheimers in the evening. I am concerned that bike lanes are being put on major arterial roads. I too ride my bike on the weekends at home for short trips. I do not feel safe on majpr arterial roads when riding my bike and either take a dedicated bike path or side streets. A painted line will not protect you from heavy traffic. The half lane half baked Dawson street solution is really dumb. With heavy congestion on major arterial roads and infrequent cyclists using bike lanes. The Erb street Bridgeport road bike lanes are a joke. They have been hijacked and I do not see any bikes. The bike lanes should be on trails or secondary streets where traffic is not so busy.

I do not support bike lanes on major arterial roads. The down town bike lanes on king street are really dumb and are a hazard. You cannot see traffic or bikes with a stop sign in at an intersection. \

Also, I think the transportation plan is not forward thinking enough. If electric vehicles are going to become prevalent, where are the charging stations? Where is the plan for autonomous vehicles as well?

I fully support bike lanes and trails, but quit doing it at the expense of our already congested traffic lanes. It took several minutes to drive through the congestion of two laned Erb street on a Saturday, and meanwhile not one cyclist using the lane that was hijacked for their use.

Union Street is very wide and should be rebuilt with bike lanes that are separated from traffic. Union Street is currently very wide, which results in very fast moving traffic. It is very uncomfortable when walking and biking. It is also a convenient route into Midtown from Belmont Village and Margaret Avenue. The City needs to work with the Region to improve Weber Street, as there are long distances between pedestrian crossings and the multi-use trail doesn't even continue into Waterloo from Kitchener.

I would like to see trails such as Spur Line granted right of way with vehicles having stop signs, particularly on lesser side streets. In particular the crossing at William St E/Willow St, Allen St E, John St. E, Roger St, Guelph St., and Wihelm St. Ideally crossings would be raised and textured at these locations. Engineering Standards should see that pedestrian refuges (like those at Hillside/Laurel trail crossings on Weber and University) are wide enough for a bike + trailer and long-tail or bakfiet style cargo bike - this is currently not the case. I would like to see no Right Turns on Red at intersections with bike boxes (in particular Bridge St./Lexington and Lexington/Davenport) and pedestrian and bike scrambles at intersections like Davenport/Lexington (where the eastbound Lexington MUC ends at Davenport).

We have serious and urgent concerns with the major intersection at University/Auburn. Reference Chapter 6 - Transportation, this 4-way intersection is EXTREMELY dangerous for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. The volume of traffic, combined with the speed limit does not usually allow enough time for pedestrians to cross University Avenue without running.  Most often we have had to wait half-way across on the narrow median.  Not only is volume and oftentimes excessive speed an issue along University Avenue, but to add to the danger, there are almost always cars turning at this Intersection. The University Avenue at Auburn Drive Intersection does not allow for safe transportation demands, as westbound motorists commonly exceed the speed limit in an effort to arrive at the following intersection to avoid a red light before entering Hwy 85.  This intersection is located within a major bus corridor to Conestoga Mall, where the Route 202 Ixpress Eastbound connects with the Ion, and Westbound connects to The Boardwalk as well as both universities. We have witnessed from our front porch a number of near accidents at this intersection. In fact, a single vehicle accident occurred on the morning of Sunday, July 28th at this location. The car mounted the sidewalk and landed in the backyard of a corner residence. We fear that a catastrophic accident could have and will inevitably happen without addressing the serious dangers of this major intersection. St. Matthew Elementary School is very nearby, as is shopping at Freshco Plaza, and University Downs Park is located at Auburn Road/Rosette.  The University Avenue at Auburn Drive Intersection does not provide safe passage for motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, seniors, or persons with challenges as there are no traffic calming measures in place. Cars often race through turns from Auburn Drive onto University Avenue, putting pedestrians at serious peril. 

There are two very important places I would like to get to, neither of which is served by transit. The first is the Waterloo Rec Centre and in winter particularly it is absolutely impossible to walk there from either Westmount or Erb. Sidewalks are often much too icey, the walk is too far and that translates to me as they will only serve folks who can drive, leaving out seniors and anyone without a car. The second place is The Cedars which is located at the side of Erb St. with no access by transit unless one can walk uphill, in bad weather which is quite impossible. At least a week end stop Satruday and Sunday mornings would allow folks to get to their church/syngagoue for services, if they don't drive.

Overall, the bus transit service has gotten worse since the introduction of streetcar service. I can list countless trip examples where it takes longer than it did previously. The connection between buses and streetcars at the Block Line station is horrendous. A streetcar arrives at the station, passengers exit, and as they are going toward the bus stop, routes 201 and 22 leave right in front of them. If you expect people to take the service of Grand River Transit seriously and actually use them on a daily basis, you cannot have people waiting for a bus at a streetcar station for 30 minutes. 10 minutes is acceptable but anything more in the hot summers or cold winters is not acceptable.

Need more protected bike lanes, off road trails maintained year round to connect to places. Need more LRT routes - East/West, down King St.. Need more roundabouts at key intersections - Columbia and Erbsville, Erbsville and Conservation Drive.

I would really like to see designated Waterloo staff involved in transportation and road improvements encouraged to walk the walk in Waterloo. Let them experience the issues that pedestrians do at traffic lights, sidewalks blocked with snow dumped from the adjoining road and construction or residential debris that prevents safe passage. Let them wait 4 or 5 minutes for a pedestrian crossing at controlled or uncontrolled intersections. It takes direct experience to see how poorly planned pedestrian travel is in this city.

Is there any opportunity to create a connection between Bechtel and Hillside parks via the Laurel Creek Culvert to make cyclist travel between RIM Park/University Downs/Kiwanis Park area into the Glenridge/University safer than braving the Expressway interchange and high speeds on University Avenue? Similar to the pathway under Lexington at Hillside/Dearborn, but longer in length, potentially requiring ventilation.

I would like to see connected bike trails. We have great trails but they aren't always connected to each other. Also, where trails cross major streets (Victoria, Weber for example) I would like there to be lights or some trigger to stop/slow oncoming car traffic. Separate bike lanes along busy streets (Weber for example) should be implemented instead of the current non-protected bike lane. Once you reach your destination via bike, secured bike parking is required. Secured bike parking infrastructure is lacking.