Union Street East reconstruction

The City of Waterloo and its engineering consultant, WalterFedy, would like to provide an update regarding the reconstruction of Union Street East (King to Moore). The most notable change is the removal of separated bike lanes from the design.

The City’s Transportation Master Plan recommended that separated bike lanes be implemented on Union Street East; however, there are numerous challenges to implementing them such as space constraints, grading and utility relocation. These challenges have led to increasing projected costs for the project.

Most recently, a significant challenge was identified regarding overhead hydro lines. Addressing this would increase project costs by a further 30 per cent. Given the escalating costs and uncertainty, separated bike lanes will not be implemented during the reconstruction of Union Street.

This does not mean the City has abandoned plans for separated bike lanes on Union Street. The Official Plan specifies higher density and a wider right-of-way on Union Street. As properties on Union redevelop, the City will acquire more property at no cost, which will alleviate most current challenges and permit separated bike lanes in the future. This will also mean installation of the bike lanes will line up more closely with the installation of bike lanes on Union Boulevard in Kitchener (i.e. Union, west of King Street) and Union Street east of Moore Avenue in Waterloo.

The change in design does not affect some of the other improvements planned, such as:

• Alternate route for Spurline Trail to allow crossing at the traffic signals at Union and Moore.
• Narrowed roadway for traffic calming.
• Improved sidewalks, including removal of utilities poles from sidewalk and removal of driveway ramping from sidewalk.
• New boulevard space for increased physical separation between vehicles and pedestrians, snow storage in winter, and space for waste bin placement so they don’t obstruct sidewalks.
• Pedestrian crossing at Herbert Street.

The re-design will reduce the amount of property acquisition required, although some property will still be required to remove overhead utility poles from sidewalks.

The tentative new schedule is:

• Re-design and property acquisition in 2024
• Phase 1 (King to Willow) – Construction 2025
• Phase 2 (Willow to Moore) – Construction 2026

The exact limits, and which phase will be constructed first, are subject to change as the re-design progresses.

The City of Waterloo and its engineering consultant, WalterFedy, would like to provide an update on the Union Street East road reconstruction project.

Over the past year, the City and WalterFedy have been progressing the detailed design for the selected design concept, Concept 4. Concept 4 is summarized as follows:

• On-street painted bike lanes from King to Mary
• Curb separated bike lanes from Mary to Bowman
• In-boulevard bike lanes from Bowman to Moore
• Secondary Spurline Trail Crossing using signal lights at Union & Moore

The Council approved Transportation Master Plan specifies separated bike lanes on Union Street East. Due to current building constraints between King and Mary, separated bike lanes are not possible. On-street painted bike lanes are planned between King and Mary, as shown on Concept 4.

As the detailed design has progressed, the City and its consultant have engaged with the third party utility companies (Enova Power, Enbridge Gas, Bell, Rogers, etc.) regarding relocation of their infrastructure in order to accommodate the reconstruction. The City has also begun preliminary property acquisition discussions with certain property owners. This process has indicated a need to alter the previously noted schedule. The current tentative schedule is:

• 2024: Utility relocation and preliminary works to accommodate full reconstruction
• 2025: Phase 1 reconstruction (King to Willow)
• 2026: Phase 2 reconstruction (Willow to Moore)

This schedule is still tentative and assumes a smooth property acquisition process in advance of utility relocation, as well as improvements to supply chain disruptions currently being experienced by the third party utility companies that affects the speed at which they can acquire certain equipment and supplies. It is currently anticipated that King to Willow will be Phase 1, however this could be switched to Willow to Moore. The phasing limits are subject to change depending on a number of factors such as design, utility relocation work, property acquisitions and approvals from external stakeholders including Keolis, Region of Waterloo, and Canadian National Rail (CN) that is beyond our control.

It is anticipated that the City will contact property owners in the coming months to begin property acquisition negotiations, where property acquisition is required. Residents may be contacted by the City’s real estate agent when this process starts.

The City of Waterloo has tentatively selected Concept 4 (PDF) with on-road bike lanes, one-way cycle tracks with buffer and boulevard cycle tracks as the conceptual design for the reconstruction of Union Street. We are now working with our engineering consultant in the detailed design stage, addressing the various engineering challenges posed by the conceptual design and the existing conditions on Union Street. Once we have address those challenges in the design, the city will reach out to affected property owners to begin property acquisition negotiations. Once the property acquisition stage has made sufficient progress, we will hold a public information centre to present the design for public review before it is finalized.

The schedule for the overall project is not final yet, but we are certain that the work will not start in 2023. This delay allows the city further time to complete some of the complicated tasks leading up to construction, such as property acquisition and utility relocation. It also allows for the reconstruction of Herbert Street between John Street and Union Street. This project will install a new, larger and deeper storm sewer, which will help the design and construction of a new storm sewer on Union Street and allow it to be properly upsized to meet current standards. The current working schedule is for construction to occur on Phase 1 in 2024 and Phase 2 in 2025. The exact limits for Phases 1 and 2 will be determined as detailed design progresses, dependent on other required tasks such as property acquisition, utility relocation timing and coordination with other agencies (such as the Region of Waterloo and CN Rail).

Based on feedback provided by Council and the public, the project team has prepared a new concept for the reconstruction of Union Street. Concept 4 (PDF) has been added to the project library for review and comment. Please note that this is a technical design document and not accessible. If you require this information in another format, please contact our project team.

The new concept proposes on-street painted cycling lanes From King Street South to Mary Street, curb-separated, buffered cycling facilities between Mary Street and Bowman Street, and in-boulevard cycling facilities between Bowman Street and Moore Avenue South. A designated, signed and marked pedestrian crossing is also proposed at Herbert Street.

For several reasons, such as the increased complexity of the design, the need to relocate some utilities in advance, and the nature of property acquisition processes, construction is now planned for two phases, tentatively scheduled for 2023 and 2024. The limits of each phase will be determined at a later date once the detailed design has been finalized, and the construction timing will remain subject to change as we move forward.

Due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as Council’s recent request for the project team to consider additional conceptual design options, construction for this project will not begin 2021 as originally planned. Additional updates will be provided in the coming months as more information becomes available.

In addition to the questions received via this project page, the project team has received and answered some additional questions via email. Their responses are included here for your information.

Question/Comment 1: The one-way cycle tracks between Mary Street and Bowman Street do not provide sufficient separation between cyclists and vehicular traffic and won’t prevent vehicles from stopping or parking in them. The one-way cycle tracks should include a full-height barrier curb or bollards like in Uptown Waterloo.

Response:

The City recognizes that, similar to the design through Uptown Waterloo, the rollover curb would not satisfy many potential users of the cycle tracks. The City is working with a narrow right-of-way between King Street and Bowman Street. Even with the proposed property acquisitions and removal of turning lanes, space will still be insufficient for a design that includes greater separation while still providing space for utilities and snow storage.

It has been suggested that bollards be installed to prevent vehicles from driving or parking in the bike lanes, similar to the retrofit to the bike lanes on King Street in Uptown Waterloo. The reason King Street has bollards are because there are no driveways to consider, whereas this Union Street project has multiple driveways (more than 40), making placement of bollards very challenging. The design of the infrastructure has to take into account the context of each street for various services and operations using the street. This street is classified as a Major Collector roadway. Municipalities are currently testing different types of separation for cycling facilities under winter conditions, once this pilot project is complete we’ll be in a better position to move forward on preferred techniques. Until such time, the raised cycle track with roll-over curb is included in this design and meets current provincial design guidelines for separation. In the winter, snow will be cleared from the cycle tracks by the wing of the street plow and pushed into the wider boulevard which is being added as part of the design to address snow storage issues.

Another suggestion was to use a barrier curb and raise the cycle tracks to a similar elevation as the sidewalk, and the barrier curb would prevent vehicles from driving or parking in the lanes. This design would pose a safety hazard to cyclists as a curb facing bike lane would not be a smooth, flat surface. Ramps would need formed into the bike lane at every driveway entrance leading to frequent and abrupt changes in elevations.

Regarding vehicles parking in the cycle tracks, there are fewer businesses, and most have their own parking lots. There is already no on-street parking on Union. This is different from Uptown where there are commercial businesses lining the street. On Union Street there should be less pressure to park in the bike lanes. Some parking in the bike lanes can still be expected from parcel delivery vehicles and the like, however these should be less frequent and intermittent than in Uptown and manageable via enforcement.

Question/comment 2: Why don’t the one-way cycle tracks connect to King Street in Alternative 1? Removing the existing right-turn lane at King Street would provide enough space to do so.

Response:

There is insufficient room to provide cycling infrastructure between King Street and Mary Street without purchasing entire abutting properties. Strictly in terms of capacity, the traffic assessment notes that removing the southwest bound dedicated right-turn lane is possible; however, this lane provides an important connection for turning vehicles from the adjacent properties to the north given sightline constraints (i.e., vehicles exiting onto Union Street from Dodds Lane or the travel agency parking lot). The traffic assessment also suggests that eliminating this lane results in significant vehicle queueing beyond Mary Street. Additionally, its removal only provides space for active transportation users on the northwest side of the road. Given that the alignment of Union Street through King Street is already less than desirable; further skewing of this intersection would not meet current transportation design guidelines and could pose a safety concern.

Question/comment 3: Why would the City choose to construct new cycling infrastructure on this short section of Union Street when it doesn’t connect to existing networks (i.e., Margaret Avenue or the Iron Horse Trail and Belmont Avenue)?

Response:

The current Transportation Master Plan, completed in 2011, recommends bike lanes along Union from King Street to Margaret Avenue. The plan recommended that the bike lanes on Union Street be implemented in a 5+ year time horizon, as funding became available. Typically, this means implementing bike lanes in tandem with other major works, such as road reconstructions. Cycling infrastructure will be implemented on the remaining section of Union Street, from Moore Avenue to Margaret Avenue in the future. An exact timeframe cannot be provided at this time as an update to the Transportation Master Plan is currently in progress and will have updated recommendations for timing.

The City of Waterloo cannot implement bike lanes west of King Street as Union Street crosses over into the City of Kitchener; the implementation of any bike lanes from King Street to the Iron Horse Trail or Belmont Avenue would need to be completed by the City of Kitchener. Residents interested in what Kitchener is proposing within their boundaries should consult the Engage Kitchener webpage for the Cycling and Trails Master Plan.

Question/comment 4: The turning radii at intersecting streets are too large. They should be reduced in order to minimize pedestrian crossing distance and slow vehicles.

Response:

The City has yet to establish a standard for turning radii for projects with significant active transportation components; however, this is currently under evaluation. Turning radii on the conceptual alternative plans are placeholders until the project moves to the detailed design phase. Appropriate turning radii will be determined for this project using engineering standards and based on various factors such as the types of vehicles that use the street, width of the departure street, and width of receiving street. The actual turning radii will be presented with the detailed designs, to be posted for review and comment at a later date (currently scheduled for November 2020).

Question/comment 5: Would the City be willing to make changes to the existing one-way streets perpendicular to Union Street to make them more cycling friendly, such as the installation of contraflow cycling lanes on Herbert Avenue?

Response:

Work beyond the limits of Union Street is outside the scope of this project. Herbert Street between Union Street and Allen Street is tentatively scheduled for reconstruction in 2022, with design work starting in 2021. An assessment of the feasibility of contraflow bike lanes can be completed during the design phase. Please keep an eye on Engage Waterloo, the City’s news and notices webpage, or other social media platforms, in 2021 for information regarding the reconstruction of Herbert Street.

Question/comment 6: Can the overhead hydro be buried to create additional space for wider boulevards or active transportation facilities and improve aesthetics?

Response:

Burying overhead hydro and utilities is extremely costly. As such, the Council-approved budget for the project does not include funds for burying of overhead utilities, only relocation where required for the implementation of the preferred design alternative. For context, the City had given consideration to burying the overhead hydro on Albert Street when new cycling infrastructure was implemented between Bridgeport Road and Erb Street, but decided against it as it would have nearly doubled the cost of the project.

Question/comment 7: What is the plan for replacing trees that are removed as a result of the project?

Response:

The City will plant new trees where feasible following the completion of construction. Alternative 1 impacts existing trees more significantly than Alternative 2. Most of the trees that would be removed as part of Alternative 1 are currently on private property that the City will need to acquire in order to facilitate the installation of the one-way cycle tracks. Due to limited proposed boulevard space, replacement of trees on public property will likely not be possible between King Street and Bowman Street. The City may be able to aid with the replacement of trees on private property following completion of construction; however, this will be subject to further discussion between the property owner and the City.

A number of preliminary design alternatives have been designed for Union Street East. All of the alternatives have focused on improving the active transportation experience on Union Street, following the applicable regulations including the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), the City’s Transportation Master Plan and other applicable City policies, and other guiding documents.

Design alternatives overview

Two primary design alternatives have been developed for Union Street:

Alternative 1 – new cycling infrastructure, detailed in three sub-alternatives

Alternative 2 – pedestrian-focused

Alternative 1 includes sidewalks and one-way cycle tracks between King Street and Bowman Street, with three possible sub-alternatives for the area between Bowman Street and Moore Avenue. Cycle tracks are separate lanes for bicycles that are next to the road and separated from motor vehicle traffic, with features to clearly identify the area designated for cycling and not motor vehicle traffic.

Including cycle tracks in Alternative 1 requires a wider road, and will have a greater impact on existing trees and some properties. For this design, the city needs to acquire land from some properties, as shown on the plans. (Additional details regarding the property acquisition process is available in the Property Acquisition document in our Project Library.)

Alternative 2 has been developed as a “pedestrian-focused” corridor, with wider sidewalks and boulevards. There are no dedicated cycling lanes as part of this design, and as a result, nearby properties will be less impacted compared to Alternative 1. Instead, cyclists would be directed to a yet-to-be determined parallel route, to be identified in the coming update to the city’s Transportation Master Plan.

Both alternatives include the following:

• Relocating existing overhead hydro poles to new boulevard space.
• Eliminating some existing left-turn lanes in order to provide more available space for pedestrian and cycling facilities. Alternative 1 requires the removal of the existing left-turn lanes at Bowman Street, Herbert Street, and Mary Street. Alternative 2 would remove the existing left-turn lanes at Bowman Street and Mary Street while maintaining the left-turn lane at Herbert Street. (Additional information regarding removal of the existing left-turn lanes is available in the Background document in our Project Library.)
• A new secondary route for the Spurline Trail, allowing trail users the option to cross at the signalized intersection at Moore Avenue or continue using the existing crossing with the refuge island.

The various options are described in greater detail below, and in our project presentation video. Technical drawings for each alternative are available in the Project Library. If you require an alternate format to access the designs for review, please contact a member of the project team.

Alternative 1 – new cycling infrastructure

This alternative features one-way cycle tracks on both sides of Union Street from Mary Street to Bowman Street, along with 1.5 metre wide sidewalks and increased boulevard space. The cycle tracks would be similar to those already in place on King Street through Uptown Waterloo, and on Columbia Street, west of Fischer-Hallman Road.

The city is not proposing to extend the cycle tracks south of Mary Street in any version of this alternative. Property requirements, the location of existing buildings, the alignment of the intersection of Union Street and King Street, and a lack of connectivity to existing cycling facilities were all considerations in this decision.

Between Bowman Street and Moore Street, there is additional roadway space which allows for multiple options:

Alternative 1A – cycle tracks with sidewalks from Mary Street to Bowman Avenue, and multi-use trails from Bowman Street to Moore Avenue (begins at 4:00 in the presentation video)

As part of Alternative 1A, new multi-use trails are proposed on each side of Union Street between Bowman Street and Moore Avenue to provide direct connections to neighbouring properties on Union Street, Lucan Avenue and Bowman Street.

Cycle tracks with sidewalks, Mary Street to Bowman Street


Multi-use trail, Bowman Avenue to Moore Avenue

Alternative 1B – cycle tracks with sidewalks from Mary Street to Moore Avenue (begins at 5:28 in the presentation video)

Alternative 1B would simply continue the cycle tracks proposed between Mary Street and Bowman Street all the way to Moore Avenue.

Cycle tracks with sidewalks, Bowman Street to Moore Avenue

Alternative 1C – cycle tracks with sidewalks and boulevard cycle tracks from Bowman Street to Moore Avenue (begins at 6:03 in the presentation video)

Alternative 1C includes boulevard cycle tracks that are set back further from the road and sidewalks. The boulevard cycle tracks continue to Moore Avenue on the east side of Union Street, and to the Spurline Trail connection on the west side.

Boulevard cycle tracks, Bowman Street to Moore Avenue

Alternative 2 – Pedestrian-focused

Alternative 2 (begins at 6:38 in the presentation video) focuses on improving the pedestrian experience on Union Street. Wider 1.8 metre sidewalks are proposed for the entire length, rather than the 1.5 metre sidewalks in all options for Alternative 1. This wider sidewalk allows for two wheelchairs or strollers to pass side-by-side, and are well set back from the roadway by wide grassed boulevards. This design includes a new pedestrian refuge island at Herbert Street, while maintaining the existing left-turn lane.

As this option does not feature dedicated cycling lanes on Union Street, cyclists would be directed to a yet-to-be determined parallel route, to be identified in the coming update to the city’s Transportation Master Plan.

Boulevard and wide sidewalk, Mary Street to Moore Avenue