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<TITLE>FW: [All] The Waterloo-Wellington Bloggers Association</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>Being as Light Rail Transit is something that GREN took a position on, should we consider responding to this? Is this something we should put on the agenda at the November GREN meeting?<BR>
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John<BR>
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John Jackson<BR>
17 Major Street<BR>
Kitchener, Ontario N2H 4R1<BR>
519-744-7503<BR>
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------ Forwarded Message<BR>
<B>From: </B>RLT Milligan <<a href="mill@continuum.org">mill@continuum.org</a>><BR>
<B>Date: </B>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:51:56 -0400<BR>
<B>To: </B>GREN <<a href="all@gren.ca">all@gren.ca</a>><BR>
<B>Subject: </B>[All] The Waterloo-Wellington Bloggers Association<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="1"><FONT FACE="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:9pt'>Hi All,<BR>
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The below pro-BRT group T4ST intends to try to have a referendum on LRT vs BRT as part of next year's municipal election. Perhaps we need to join with Transport 2000 and other groups in opposing this narrow-thinking group.<BR>
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Robert<BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="7"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:36pt'><B>The Waterloo-Wellington Bloggers Association <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/</a>> <BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>Blogging from the Golden Triangle and Beyond<BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>Combating NIMBYism in the K-W LRT Debate <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/10/combating-nimbyism-in-the-k-w-lrt-debate.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/10/combating-nimbyism-in-the-k-w-lrt-debate.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By James Bow <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/">http://bowjamesbow.ca/</a>> on October 8, 2009 2:20 PM <BR>
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<I>Note: this piece reflects the <B>personal</B> opinion of the author, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other members of this community. Do you disagree? Do you agree? Say so! This post has been crossposted here <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/10/08/combating-nimby.shtml">http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/10/08/combating-nimby.shtml</a>> .<BR>
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<<a href="http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/">http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/</a>> <BR>
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Back in June, the Region of Waterloo voted in favour of an ambitious proposal to establish an LRT line running up the centre of Kitchener-Waterloo between Fairview Mall and Conestoga Mall. The line would be augmented by express buses running south from Fairview Mall into Cambridge. The total cost of this proposal is currently budgeted at over $790 million. The province has committed to covering a third of the cost, and the federal government practically tripped over itself in order to offer support for the line. In total, two-thirds of the cost would be covered by federal and provincial taxes, leaving the region on the hook for the remaining third.<BR>
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The proposal appears to have widespread support. Despite the presence of a few residents expressing concerns, ordinary people turned out to encourage regional councillors to vote in favour of the proposal. And although the proposal has been approved, the conversation isn’t finished. We have work ahead in determining where exactly the line should run, where the stations should be located, how often the service should operate, and how fares should be collected. It will be important to pay attention to this process and lend our voice to ensure that this proposal, as adopted, serves the community to the best of its ability.<BR>
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Unfortunately, a group of individuals who appear to be opposed to the concept of an LRT, are organizing to have yet another fight on whether we should build an LRT in the region. The thirty-member strong Taxpayers for Sensible Transit (T4ST) have set up a web site <<a href="http://www.T4ST.com">http://www.T4ST.com</a>> , and are speaking out in the local media. The community newspaper, the Kitchener Citizen <<a href="http://www.kitchenercitizen.com/">http://www.kitchenercitizen.com/</a>> ran an article on this debate, interviewing only Peter Gay, a representative of the group, rather than a wider selection of individuals.<BR>
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As I said, it is important for the public to remain engaged in the process so that the details of the implementation of the LRT serve the community well. In this, T4ST has an opportunity to contribute to the good growth of the region. It is unfortunate that, in trying to drum up support, T4ST has resorted to series of talking points and contextless links which seem designed to create a climate of fear. By their approach, they appear to want to polarize the community, and rather than talk about how the LRT can best serve the region and how the design can be improved, they simply seek to oppose change, regardless of its merits.<BR>
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The group is planning “an educational evening” this November where Andy Haydon, the former regional chair of Ottawa, will talk about his fight against an LRT plan in that city — a fight which culminated in the line’s cancellation. Oh, and a $36.7 million out-of-court settlement against Ottawa for breaking contracts with Siemens. Oh, and, best of all, a completely new LRT plan that operates <I>over much the same route the old plan ran over in the first place</I>. If T4ST want to talk about the mechanics of fighting a transportation proposal from the city, perhaps Mr. Haydon is a good expert to call. But in terms of working to ensure a smooth planning process, rather than jerking your knee and breaking your own nose by making costly decisions that you eventually have to go back on, there doesn’t seem to be as much forethought there.<BR>
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The most disingenuous claim offered by T4ST is that the LRT operating down the middle of King Street will “essentially turn King Street into a one-way street”. So says Peter Gay, co-chair of the opposition group. This seems a silly argument, and he compounds it with such handwringing lines as “What will happen to the Oktoberfest Parade if King Street is made into a one way street?” Oh, yes, why won’t anybody think of the children.<BR>
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Here’s the reality: the LRT plan calls for transit vehicles to operate north on King Street from Breithaupt to at least William along the centre of the street. To ensure that these vehicles can operate without being affected by traffic congestion, cars might be kept off these two lanes. One way to do this would be to build a centre reservation — essentially a raised curb — occupying the two centre lanes of King Street. <BR>
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Essentially, the LRT might change this portion of King Street into a boulevard, no different from what exists on Queens Boulevard between Highland Road and St. Mary’s Hospital, and nobody sensible complains that Queens Boulevard here is a one-way street. People on one side of the street, hoping to turn turn left, simply turn right, until they get to the next intersection, at which point they do a U-turn. This is what happens already on centre reservation streetcar lines in Toronto, such as on Queen’s Quay and Spadina Avenue. It’s not a major inconvenience. So why is Peter Gay resorting to such a misleading term? The group also raises the old canard about the loss of parallel parking on this street, but King Street along this section has very little parallel parking. Most stores, like the Central Meat Market, have their own parking lot, which often stands mostly empty.<BR>
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Moving on, Is Peter Gay worried about emergency vehicles being kept out of the centre reservation? Well, of course he is, as that’s the sort of attention-getting stuff NIMBY groups thrive on, but the centre reservation can actually improve emergency response times, since vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances can duck into it and dodge around stopped transit vehicles, without being blocked by competing automobile traffic. This is already in place on Spadina Avenue in Toronto. If you can hop a curb in a car, firetrucks can hop the curb leading onto the centre reservation.<BR>
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And as for the Oktoberfest Parade, I too would hate to see it taken off of King Street, but there is no reason why it and the LRT have to conflict. Toronto’s Santa Claus Parade has operated for over a century and its big floats have had no trouble navigating the overhead wires of Toronto’s streetcar networks. I see no problem temporarily suspending service on the LRT while this civic institution takes place.<BR>
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Gay goes on to get several facts wrong. He says, “the plan doesn’t even include stops at the major places people will want to go. It won’t stop at the airport, the high schools, the Centre in the Square, and it won’t go to either the Waterloo or Kitchener farmers’ markets or the Aud.” Well, the LRT plan <I>does</I> go past the high schools — two, in fact (Kitchener Collegiate and Cameron Heights). It most certainly passes the Kitchener Farmer’s Market and will include a stop there. <BR>
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What the LRT <I>does</I> serve includes Fairview Mall, the Schneider Plant and nearby industries, Cameron Heights Collegiate, the Kitchener Farmer’s Market, downtown Kitchener, the UW School of Pharmacy, Kitchener Collegiate Institute, Grand River Hospital, Sunlife, Uptown Waterloo, Wilfred Laurier University (albeit, at some distance), the University of Waterloo, the RIM Tech Park, the residents of lower Lakeshore and Conestoga Mall. In short, some of the biggest employers and major trip generators across the Region. <BR>
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It’s true that the LRT doesn’t stop at the airport, but no other transit service does: the airport is in the middle of nowhere. (And, unfortunately, it seems unlikely that any transit vehicle will have any reason to stop at the airport in the near future, given that the number of regular flights out each day can be counted on my hands.) It’s also true that the LRT doesn’t stop in front of the Centre in the Square, but other buses do, and the LRT is not designed to replace <I>them</I>.<BR>
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Look, Mr. Gay: an LRT works best as a (pretty) short (pretty) straight line. LRT advocates would like to include the St. Jacob’s Farmer’s Market, Centre in the Square, the Aud, and Highland Hills Mall in the mix, but to do that, we’d have to add separate lines, and I’m sure you would agree that it’s best that we start small.<BR>
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Finally, Peter Gay is quoted as saying “There is no other city of our size that supports an LRT,” but here he is wrong. While we would be the smallest city in Canada to operate an LRT when it opens, the city of Portland, Oregon today boasts a population of 575,930. Moreover, Portland opened its LRT back in 1986, it had a population of under 437,000 (Note: it is the centre of a wider metropolitan area of around two million, but the LRT largely serves just Portland). The City of Calgary opened its LRT in 1981, when it had a population of 591,857. It currently has a population of roughly 988,000. The City of Edmonton started construction on its LRT in 1974, when it had a population of 445,000. Today, 730,000 live in Edmonton.<BR>
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Today, over 478,000 call the Region of Waterloo home, which if you’re looking for magic numbers, appears to be right in line. (Total population is not a great way to gauge transit need: the truly telling thing is that the iXpress bus the LRT will paralell is routinely jammed full.) More importantly, for the past ten years, the Region of Waterloo has been exceeding its growth projections. In 2031, the Region expects to house almost three quarters of a million people. <BR>
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When that time comes, the people in the region will think one of two things: either they will thank us for having the foresight to build an LRT to serve the region’s needs, or they will curse us for being short-sighted, small-minded and fearful of change. Fortunately, I believe most residents in the region fall in the former category, not the latter, and I am confident that we will build an LRT, and that it will serve us well in the years to come. I hope that the members of T4ST will come forward with construction suggestions on how to improve the system, rather than simply standing firm and saying ‘not!’<BR>
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<I>(<B>Update</B>: Friday, 9:07 p.m.)</I>: Helen Hall publisher and editor of the West Edition of the Kitchener Citizen newspaper contacted me to let me know that the article I quoted was not the only piece they have done on the K-W LRT project. Indeed, they have been covering this issue since it went before council earlier this year, and have run a position paper by the Grand River Environmental Network endorsing the LRT. She was concerned that the wording of my article above implied that the Citizen was reporting only one side of the story with the article above.<BR>
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My comments were related only to the article above, and did not take into consideration the other work the Kitchener Citizen has done covering the LRT issue. I apologize for giving that impression and would like to retract the insinuation.<BR>
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<B>Further Reading<BR>
</B></SPAN></FONT><UL><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>Taxpayers For Sensible Transit <<a href="http://www.T4ST.com/">http://www.T4ST.com/</a>>
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>Facebook Page for Supporters of the K-W LRT <<a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=81680629050">http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=81680629050</a>> . Current Membership? 1,628. Current membership of the T4ST Facebook page? 39.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>What is an LRT? Consult the citizen-produced Toronto LRT Information Page <<a href="http://lrt.daxack.ca/">http://lrt.daxack.ca/</a>>
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>Light Rail Now <<a href="http://www.lightrailnow.org/">http://www.lightrailnow.org/</a>>
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>MAX (Portland) Light Rail <<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAX_Light_Rail">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAX_Light_Rail</a>> <BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>Guelph Doctors Seek Patients <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/guelph-doctors-seek-patients.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/guelph-doctors-seek-patients.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By Darcy Casselman <<a href="http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/">http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/</a>> on July 15, 2009 11:40 PM | No Comments <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/guelph-doctors-seek-patients.shtml#comments">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/guelph-doctors-seek-patients.shtml#comments</a>> <BR>
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Guelph has too many doctors.<BR>
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I just managed to find a doctor in Kitchener after several years of being doctorless. I find it hard to believe that there’s a <I>patient</I> shortage anywhere in the region. Guelph, however, has this enviable problem.<BR>
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They managed to bring in 10 new doctors, but have been having a hard time getting enough patients to sign on. <BR>
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If you’re interested, check out guelph.ca/doctor <<a href="http://guelph.ca/doctor">http://guelph.ca/doctor</a>> , or tweet @guelphchamber <<a href="http://twitter.com/guelphchamber">http://twitter.com/guelphchamber</a>> and they’ll match you up.<BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>Waterloo Park Master Plan <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/waterloo-park-master-plan.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/waterloo-park-master-plan.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By Darcy Casselman <<a href="http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/">http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/</a>> on July 4, 2009 6:08 PM | No Comments <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/waterloo-park-master-plan.shtml#comments">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/waterloo-park-master-plan.shtml#comments</a>> <BR>
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The City of Waterloo has posted a preliminary concept plan for the new Waterloo Park Master Plan, meant to guide development over the next 20 years. <BR>
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Looking it over, there are some things I really like about the proposal. I like that there are more and more well defined entrances to the park. Having two stages in the Centennial Park area could make for some cool festivals if you can keep the folks in Luther Village from complaining about the noise. I like the perimeter walkway idea…<BR>
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I’m a little nervous, though, that the park as it is now isn’t terribly recognizable in the plan. Trees take a long time to grow, and bulldozing a park doesn’t seem like a good way to start. Also, as Ellen points out <<a href="http://www.strangeattractor.ca/wp/2009/07/04/waterloo-park-master-plan/">http://www.strangeattractor.ca/wp/2009/07/04/waterloo-park-master-plan/</a>> , the document is mute on the impact of the LRT line.<BR>
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The seem to be looking for feedback, though. I missed the chance to go to the June 25th meeting, but there’s a questionnaire <<a href="http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282-c6475cdb7ee7/PWS_PARKS_documents/Questionnaire_WMP_Preliminary_Concept_Plan.pdf">http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282-c6475cdb7ee7/PWS_PARKS_documents/Questionnaire_WMP_Preliminary_Concept_Plan.pdf</a>> they’d like people to fill out asking for darts and laurels. <BR>
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Link <<a href="http://waterloo.ca/WaterlooParkMasterPlan">http://waterloo.ca/WaterlooParkMasterPlan</a>> via Strangeattractor <<a href="http://www.strangeattractor.ca/wp/2009/07/04/waterloo-park-master-plan/">http://www.strangeattractor.ca/wp/2009/07/04/waterloo-park-master-plan/</a>> <BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>Community Building <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/community-building.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/community-building.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By Darcy Casselman <<a href="http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/">http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/</a>> on July 1, 2009 4:57 PM | No Comments <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/community-building.shtml#comments">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/07/community-building.shtml#comments</a>> <BR>
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At DevHouse Waterloo <<a href="http://devwaterloo.pbworks.com/">http://devwaterloo.pbworks.com/</a>> on Monday, Jesse Rodgers <<a href="http://whoyoucallingajesse.com/">http://whoyoucallingajesse.com/</a>> and Joseph Fung <<a href="http://www.josephfung.ca/">http://www.josephfung.ca/</a>> broke from the usual software demo format and opened up a round-table discussion about how to build an online identity, a community, visibility, engagement and excitement around Waterloo.<BR>
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The longer I live here, the more I can sense the <I>potential</I> of this place. Particularly when you hang around with high tech folks all the time. But right now it’s mostly just potential. True, there are lots of exciting things going on that few people know anything about, but it feels like a lot of the energy here is being dissipated on the wires.<BR>
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Jesse and Joseph are mostly talking about the local startup community, and there are particular needs there. Finding mentors and peers, getting funding, and promoting your idea are all fundamental to getting a startup off the ground, and nobody outside of Silicon Valley seems to know how to do those things well. <BR>
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But more than that, we need to build spaces and groups for people to meet and co-mingle, online and offline. <BR>
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Offline, there’s plenty of cool stuff going on. Meetups and Tweetups, camps and clubs. It was pointed out, though, that they all seem to exist in silos. It seems to be hard for people to find out about them and there’s very little cross-over between groups. There’s also a lack of decent meeting space. Waterloo casts an envious eye at Guelph’s eBar <<a href="http://www.bookshelf.ca/">http://www.bookshelf.ca/</a>> : a pub with decent atmosphere, free wifi, and a predisposition towards hosting meetups.<BR>
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Online, as James pointed out <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-building-a-waterloo-wellington-bloggers-identity.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-building-a-waterloo-wellington-bloggers-identity.shtml</a>> there’s a lot of building to do to bring together a cohesive community. I signed on to the Waterloo Wellington Bloggers Association <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/</a>> because I think it’s a step in the right direction. (If you haven’t already, get your blog in the aggregator there). People are piling on Twitter these days, and you can find out a lot of great stuff that’s going on locally there too. But there’s still a long way to go. We don’t have nearly the online resources of places like Toronto or San Francisco. There’s lots of stuff going on in town that I only find out about <I>after</I> the Record posts a review. For a town that’s supposedly tech savvy, we really ought to be able to do more.<BR>
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So I’m going to redouble my efforts and do more. This is a great place to live and an exciting place to be, and people ought to know about that.<BR>
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Cross-posted from the flying squirrel <<a href="http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/index.php/2009/07/01/community-building/">http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/index.php/2009/07/01/community-building/</a>> <BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>On Building a Waterloo-Wellington Bloggers Identity <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-building-a-waterloo-wellington-bloggers-identity.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-building-a-waterloo-wellington-bloggers-identity.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By James Bow <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/">http://bowjamesbow.ca/</a>> on June 27, 2009 2:17 PM | No Comments <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-building-a-waterloo-wellington-bloggers-identity.shtml#comments">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-building-a-waterloo-wellington-bloggers-identity.shtml#comments</a>> <BR>
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This group blog has been growing in fits and starts. I regret that I haven’t had as much time to devote to writing articles for this group blog as I have for my personal blog <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/blog.shtml">http://bowjamesbow.ca/blog.shtml</a>> , but that hasn’t meant that the community of bloggers in County Wellington and the Region of Waterloo is quiet. Recently, bloggers have been debating the merits of the proposal to build a LRT line and a rapid bus branch through the spine of the region. Ruth at Yappa Ding Ding <<a href="http://yappadingding.blogspot.com/">http://yappadingding.blogspot.com/</a>> has been arguing passionately that we should be seriously considering whether this proposal will do more harm than good and, today, regional councillor Jane Mitchell joined this group <<a href="http://chicktrip.com/blog/">http://chicktrip.com/blog/</a>> , with a blog that, among other things, talks up the merits of the LRT proposal <<a href="http://chicktrip.com/blog/?p=49">http://chicktrip.com/blog/?p=49</a>> .<BR>
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I’ve said privately that, thanks to the onslaught of the media, I know far more about the goings on at Toronto City Council than I do Kitchener City Council or even Regional Council. That’s a shame, really. Because as you can see, this region can have passionate political debates of their own.<BR>
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I’m about to head out to a bloggers gathering at the Huether Hotel, which starts today at 4 p.m. I know that a number of bloggers will be there. We have a strong regional identity. We may not have as large a blogging community as, say, Toronto, but like Stuart McLean says in the Vinyl Café: we may not be big, but we’re small.<BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>On Waterloo Region's Car-Dependency <BR>
Part 3: The Bad News <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-waterloo-regions-car-dependency-part-3-the-bad-news.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-waterloo-regions-car-dependency-part-3-the-bad-news.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By James Bow <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/">http://bowjamesbow.ca/</a>> on June 1, 2009 9:29 AM | No Comments <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-waterloo-regions-car-dependency-part-3-the-bad-news.shtml#comments">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/06/on-waterloo-regions-car-dependency-part-3-the-bad-news.shtml#comments</a>> <BR>
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<<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tvot/193063135/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/tvot/193063135/</a>> <BR>
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This photograph is entitled Last Bus <<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tvot/193063135/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/tvot/193063135/</a>> and is by Jeremy Ladan <<a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tvot/">http://www.flickr.com/people/tvot/</a>> . It is used in accordance with his Creative Commons license. This article has also been crossposted to Bow. James Bow <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/06/01/on-waterloo-reg-2.shtml">http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/06/01/on-waterloo-reg-2.shtml</a>> .<BR>
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In the first part of this series, I talked about the desire on the part of certain citizens of this region to live car free <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/02/09/on-waterloo-reg.shtml">http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/02/09/on-waterloo-reg.shtml</a>> , and in the second part I discussed the positive steps the region had taken in improving its public transit access in the past twenty or so years <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/02/27/on-waterloo-reg-1.shtml">http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/02/27/on-waterloo-reg-1.shtml</a>> . In this part, I’ll highlight some of the challenges that remain and, more frustratingly, areas where the region has taken a backwards step.<BR>
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For the past couple of years, I’ve been privileged to give a presentation on transportation to the grade eight students of The York School in Toronto <<a href="http://www.yorkschool.com/">http://www.yorkschool.com/</a>> . As the editor of Transit Toronto, I’m one of a list of speakers providing their take on the issue for the benefit of a project the students are working on.<BR>
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In my presentation, I point out to them that, though I am an advocate for improved public transportation, I still own a car. I have nothing against car ownership. I think the automobile is a wonderful luxury that everybody should enjoy. I just wish it would remain a luxury only, and not become a necessity of life.<BR>
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Think about your neighbourhoods, I tell the students, many of whom come from suburban climes with inadequate public transportation. Think of where you live and how it relates to where you shop, where you go to school, where your libraries are, your pools, your friends’ houses, your video stores, et cetera. And then think of what would happen if you or your family no longer had access to an automobile to get them.<BR>
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And this is not some vague notion, I tell them. I tell them about how my wife, who until a couple of years ago suffered from a debilitating condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia <<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia</a>> , had her license taken away from the government, because as soon as any doctor or other official within spitting distance of the government hears the phrases “debilitating bouts of pain causing one to black out” and “without warning” in the same breath, it practically becomes their obligation to do so.<BR>
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It is now two years after Erin has been cured of TN, and she still doesn’t have her driver’s license back. You do need to have gone through a year with no incidents in order to get your license back; the other year is either Dr. Vlad’s mad-scientist attitude to paperwork (“paperwork? what’s that? now where’s that new equipment I get to play with?”) or bureaucratic sticky-tape applied to the feet of civil servants at the Ministry of Transportation. Erin’s going to give them a call today to see what’s what.<BR>
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But the point is, for the time that Erin was sick and lost her license, to today, she has been dependent on me to drive her anywhere. And this has made her feel sometimes like a prisoner in her own home. This phrase is commonly used in any household where two people can afford one car and one of the two tends to use it for his or her day-to-day work. In situations where we have chidren or younger teenagers in the home, the phrase becomes “a chauffeur mom (or dad)”. Recently, Erin picked up a bike at a garage sale, and used it to ride out to a library to get some time to herself so she could write. The hills were hard, but the burst of independence that this gave her was more than worth it.<BR>
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(And I should point out that the loss of Erin’s driver’s license is no picnic to me either. I like to drive, and I do like the challenge of long drives, but it is nice to be able to spell each other off. As we are planning to drive to Des Moines this summer, it would be great if Erin could get her license back before then).<BR>
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So, why doesn’t Erin take the Grand River Transit <<a href="http://grt.ca">http://grt.ca</a>> bus more often? Well, actually, she does. We are not in the situation that some people find themselves in where we’d be terribly isolated if we lost access to our automobile. We’re a thirty-minute walk from downtown Kitchener. We’ve a five minute walk from a bus stop featuring fifteen minute service during rush hour. Erin often picks up Vivian from pre-school and takes her on a bus ride home; it takes about forty minutes, and delivers us close to our door. And before we had the kids, we made do for two years without an automobile. We car pooled with friends, and we took groceries home on transit.<BR>
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But the forty-minute trip back from Vivian’s school by bus takes only six minutes by car. The bus requires one transfer while the car requires none. Kitchener’s route 8 picks up students from the University and heads down Westmount, only to divert onto Belmont Avenue on the way downtown. Route 12 also travels on part of Westmount Road, but diverts over to Fischer Hallmann and runs up to the Keats Way, lengthening the trip. There is no through service on Westmount Avenue, providing a service to the University that would practically be door-to-door for some. although there are vague plans to get some. To get anywhere in the region, you will likely have to take a bus that will take you out of your way, and then transfer.<BR>
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This wouldn’t be so bad, were it not for the biggest design flaw of Grand River Transit; that being the location of Kitchener’s Downtown Terminal. Although I can see why planners chose to locate the terminal where they did — in the middle of Kitchener’s long and thin downtown, rather than at either end — it does make for some frustrating commutes.<BR>
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Consider a trip that I might take from my house to Uptown Waterloo or the University of Waterloo. At first glance, it might seem straightforward: take the Victoria Street bus (either route 19 or 20) towards the downtown, transfer at King Street to the 7 Mainline bus, and head north. And plenty of people make this transfer. However, the official transfer between 7 Mainline and the Victoria Street buses is at the downtown terminal, and Victoria Street buses must turn right onto King, travel south three blocks to Gaukel, then turn right again to make the one block jaunt to the terminal. Taking this full trip means doubling back over an eight block stretch.<BR>
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If you are transfering from the Victoria Street bus to the King Street bus, this isn’t much of a problem; you can get off at Victoria and King, cross the street to the King Street bus stop, and be assured that a 7 Mainline bus will be along within five or ten minutes. Going the other way, however, is more problematic, since buses on Victoria Street travel at thirty minute intervals throughout the day (and fifteen minute intervals at rush hour). So, what do you do? Do you get off the 7 Mainline at Victoria and wait as long as 30 minutes for Victoria Street bus? Or do you continue on to the terminal, and run the risk that you’ll arrive just as the Victoria Street bus is pulling out? And what about transferring to the iXpress for trips north? Again, you are forced into doubling back.<BR>
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Similar problems occur at the east end of Kitchener’s downtown, by Market Square. If you’re arriving from Fairview Mall, do you transfer from the 7 Mainline to 8 University via Weber, 15 Frederick, 1 Stanley Park or 23 Idlewood at Market Square? Or do you brave the three block jaunt to the downtown terminal? This is made all the more frustrating given that King Street between Frederick and Francis compresses to just two lanes, and buses crawl along this stretch.<BR>
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It is a shame that we can’t have two separate terminals at either end of the downtown core, with some frequent, rapid connection between the two.<BR>
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As frustrating as the location of the Kitchener Downtown Terminal was, at least it used to offer smooth connections between local transit and inter-city buses. Emphasis on “used” to offer. In the fall of 2008, Greyhound Canada made the boneheaded decision to suspend ticket sales at the downtown terminal, forcing riders to trek a new terminal that being set up at Sportsworld. This makes catching the bus to Toronto a lot less convenient for those of us who don’t have a car, or don’t wish to drive to Sportsworld. At least with the Downtown Terminal, you could be sure of using, on average, one city bus to complete your trip from the transit centre to your home. Not so with Sportsworld, which can only be accessed by buses from Fairview Mall. And just what are people travelling to Guelph (which doesn’t access Sportsworld) supposed to do? <BR>
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It seems Greyhound has acknowledged the foolhardiness of this arrangement by stationing someone with a wireless credit card machine to issue tickets, but if they’re going to do that, why not just reinstate downtown ticket sales?<BR>
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Mind you, there is some blame to be laid at Grand River Transit’s door as well. GO Transit has announced that bus service between Milton and Kitchener will start this October, and it will likely serve park ‘n’ ride stops along Highway 401. It seems to me very likely that this service will terminate at the Sportsworld complex rather than continue on into downtown Kitchener. If this is the case, perhaps it’s time for the region to add a stop on the iXpress at Sportsworld, so that anybody who has to transfer at the downtown terminal need only take one express bus to get to the Greyhound ticket office, instead of transferring to yet another bus at Fairview Mall.<BR>
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Connections are also a problem between Grand River Transit and VIA Rail, which runs a popular commuter service into Toronto’s Union Station. Accessed only by the half-hourly Route 18 bus from the downtown terminal, passengers from other services again have to double back. I either travel to the corner of King and Victoria and walk the remaining blocks, or take a taxi.<BR>
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These little inconveniences are what keeps cars in the driveways of most people who would otherwise happily do without them. I have lived in this region for eighteen years and have lived relatively car-free for almost ten of them, so I know that one can live in the region without one. The region still has a long way to go, however, before it offers mobility approaching a level of what people enjoy in larger, more transit and pedestrian friendly centres like Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. Fortunately, steps do appear to be being taken. More on this later.<BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>The Wanderers of Ontario? <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/05/the-wanderers-of-ontario.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/05/the-wanderers-of-ontario.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By James Bow <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/">http://bowjamesbow.ca/</a>> on May 7, 2009 8:47 AM | No Comments <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/05/the-wanderers-of-ontario.shtml#comments">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/05/the-wanderers-of-ontario.shtml#comments</a>> <BR>
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This post has been crossposted to Bow. James Bow <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/05/07/the-wanderers-o.shtml">http://bowjamesbow.ca/2009/05/07/the-wanderers-o.shtml</a>> .<BR>
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I do hope that billionaire Jim Balsillie is successful in purchasing the Phoenix Coyotes and moving the hockey team to an arena in southern Ontario <<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009/05/05/spphoenixbalsillie.html">http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009/05/05/spphoenixbalsillie.html</a>> . A lot of people are really rather excited about the prospect of having a new team to cheer, and the enthusiasm they’ve shown suggests to me that they deserve a team. If Balsillie has the money, and can make the move with a minimum of taxpayer investment, then this would be a boon for the local economy. And, given the short sightedness of the NHL board of directors <<a href="http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090505.wsptcoyotes5/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home">http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090505.wsptcoyotes5/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home</a>> , I have to say that I am motivated to get behind this move out of spite.<BR>
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I’m sorry, but the level of disdain the NHL directors have shown to Balsillie and, by extension, the very committed Canadian hockey fans who are behind him, not only shows poor business sense, but it’s an insult to my national pride. I mean, here is a man who wants to buy in, and is investing a lot of his own money to buy in, only to be thwarted by these nitwits because they think that Canadian markets don’t matter. He tried to buy the Nashville Predators for over $200 million, only to have the owner sell to an American interest who was offering almost $50 million less. He’s had the NHL directors directly step in to thwart his attempt to purchase and move the Pittsburgh Penguins, and now the idiots at the NHL are threatening to fight the move out of Phoenix in the courts. Since the courts have previously ruled that the NFL had no power in keeping the Rams out of St. Louis, I hope that Balsillie and the judge gives these guys what for.<BR>
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Indeed, why stop there? “Make it seven <<a href="http://www.makeitseven.ca/">http://www.makeitseven.ca/</a>> ”? How about we make it ten or eleven, by doing what we can, if anything, to encourage or cajole the NHL to pull teams away from where no natural ice exists at any time of the year, and relocate them to places where the fans actually give a damn. It’s not like any of these teams down south is making a lot of money, so let’s lose the Predators of Nashville and restore the Winnipeg Jets. Let’s ditch the Florida Panthers and bring back the Quebec Nordiques. Let’s give the Atlanta Thrashers a decent home in Halifax, and for good measure, let’s add a team for Regina and <I>third</I> team to the GTA; a GTA East to complement Balsillie’s GTA West offering.<BR>
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And if the NHL directors don’t like it, let’s get Governor General Michaelle Jean to ask for her silverware back. She does technically still own it, doesn’t she?<BR>
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Okay, probably not.<BR>
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And, yeah, I’m probably taking this too seriously. I don’t even follow hockey.<BR>
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Well, as much a I appreciate the enthusiasm <<a href="http://canadaconservative.blogspot.com/2009/05/nhl-cyotes-to-kw.html">http://canadaconservative.blogspot.com/2009/05/nhl-cyotes-to-kw.html</a>> of some area bloggers, and despite Balsillie’s obvious connections with the area, I think it unlikely that any of us will be cheering for the Waterloo Coyotes anytime soon. The Region of Waterloo just does not have the population on its own. The City of Hamilton boasts half a million people and Copps Colliseum. They’re also well located in a centre of a circle that includes such cities as St. Catharines, Oakville, Mississauga, London, Brantford as well as Kitchener-Waterloo. Not only would Balsillie have to invest in a new rink here, a Waterloo team would likely sacrifice support from St. Catharines and the Niagara Region, with no comparable centre to the north or northwest of us to take their place. Really, only Hamilton’s proximity to Buffalo and the territory of the Buffalo Sabres keeps a move to Hamilton from being a slam dunk. This is why they’re talking about building a new rink in Vaughan or Mississauga.<BR>
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However, since there is strong support for a new team throughout southern Ontario, maybe Balsillie doesn’t have to put all his marbles in Hamilton’s Copps Colliseum. Perhaps there are rinks around the area which can host a few home games. The Ricoh Centre in Toronto’s Exhibition grounds, already the host of IHL (correction: AHL) games, can offer an outlet to those thousands of Torontonians unwilling to mortgage their homes and sell their first borns into slavery for Leaf tickets. Maybe the Aud in Kitchener could sell out a few times for a few special games around mid-season. Does London have a good rink? Does Oshawa?<BR>
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We can call them the Wanderers, likening them to the Montreal Wanderers <<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Wanderers">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Wanderers</a>> of yore, that won five Stanley Cups in the early part of the twentieth century.<BR>
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Might work.<BR>
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<B>Further Reading</B>:<BR>
</SPAN></FONT><UL><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>KHL Founder Interested in Buying NHL Team <<a href="http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090505.wsptmed5/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey">http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090505.wsptmed5/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey</a>> . I especially appreciated this quote: “It’s a very strange situation when real hockey [cities] like Quebec don’t have an NHL team.” <BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>Kitchener-Waterloo Social Media Meet-up <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/kitchener-waterloo-social-media-meet-up.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/kitchener-waterloo-social-media-meet-up.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By Darcy Casselman <<a href="http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/">http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/</a>> on April 27, 2009 2:22 PM | No Comments <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/kitchener-waterloo-social-media-meet-up.shtml#comments">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/kitchener-waterloo-social-media-meet-up.shtml#comments</a>> <BR>
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Local blogger, podcaster and entrepeneur, Will Spaetzel <<a href="http://spaetzel.com/">http://spaetzel.com/</a>> , is organizing a meet-up for people interested in social media: blogs, podcasts, twitter, and so forth. <BR>
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I have been attending the London Blogger/Podcaster Geek Dinner for over two years now and have always had an excellent time at the meetups. There is always great conversations and I’ve made a number of close friends from the people that I’ve met there.<BR>
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[…] So I have created the Kitchener-Waterloo Social Media Meetup. We will meet on the third Wednesday of every month. The first meetup is on May 20, 2009 at 7:30 PM at Symposium in downtown Waterloo.<BR>
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Link <<a href="http://spaetzel.com/2009/04/kitchener-waterloo-social-media-meetup/">http://spaetzel.com/2009/04/kitchener-waterloo-social-media-meetup/</a>> .<BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>Pasta Buffet for Earthquake Relief <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/pasta-buffet-for-earthquake-relief.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/pasta-buffet-for-earthquake-relief.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By Darcy Casselman <<a href="http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/">http://www.flyingsquirrel.ca/</a>> on April 18, 2009 12:39 PM | No Comments <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/pasta-buffet-for-earthquake-relief.shtml#comments">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/04/pasta-buffet-for-earthquake-relief.shtml#comments</a>> <BR>
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I happened to see a flier yesterday for the Cortina Club <<a href="http://www.cortinaclub.org/">http://www.cortinaclub.org/</a>> ’s all day pasta buffet in support of earthquake relief projects in Italy. <BR>
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The Italian Cortina Club has been in Kitchener-Waterloo for over 40 years, helping to bring together some 185 families in the local Italian-Canadian community. Many of their members have friends and family in who have been displaced or otherwise affected by the Abruzzo earthquake <<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_L%27Aquila_earthquake">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_L%27Aquila_earthquake</a>> last week. <BR>
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I made the trip down to check out their savoury spaghettata. A heaping plate of pasta is $20 ($10 for kids), and they are very generous with seconds. Not only that, these folks really know how to make pasta.<BR>
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The Cortina Club is located at 22 Kevlo Place in Kitchener <<a href="http://maps.google.ca/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=22+Kevco+Pl.+in+Kitchener.&fb=1&split=1&gl=ca&cid=0,0,17011678365930826213&ei=HQfqSb6kGJrGM5HE0cwF&ll=43.410488,-80.442731&spn=0.011426,0.016479&z=16&iwloc=A">http://maps.google.ca/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=22+Kevco+Pl.+in+Kitchener.&fb=1&split=1&gl=ca&cid=0,0,17011678365930826213&ei=HQfqSb6kGJrGM5HE0cwF&ll=43.410488,-80.442731&spn=0.011426,0.016479&z=16&iwloc=A</a>> , just off Wabanaki Drive. The buffet runs till 6pm. today, Saturday April 18.<BR>
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If you would like to donate directly, they ask that you donate to the O.S.J Trust Fund L’Aguila Earthquake. They chose that organization on the suggestion of the Italian Consulate. <BR>
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And if you miss today’s fundraiser, they’re planning a $100 a plate dinner June 13. Watch their website <<a href="http://www.cortinaclub.org/">http://www.cortinaclub.org/</a>> for details.<BR>
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</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18pt'><B>Taco Bite, 24 King Street East, Kitchener <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/03/taco-bite-24-king-street-east-kitchener.shtml">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/03/taco-bite-24-king-street-east-kitchener.shtml</a>> <BR>
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By James Bow <<a href="http://bowjamesbow.ca/">http://bowjamesbow.ca/</a>> on March 29, 2009 12:59 AM | No Comments <<a href="http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/03/taco-bite-24-king-street-east-kitchener.shtml#comments">http://waterloowellingtonblogs.org/2009/03/taco-bite-24-king-street-east-kitchener.shtml#comments</a>> <BR>
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Waterloo Region has, for as long as I’ve cared about the issue, had a dearth of good, authentic Mexican restaurants. The food that calls itself Mexican is either fast food, or of the heftier, greasier Tex-Mex variety. There was Guelph’s Latino’s restaurant to fill some of the cravings, but its style was more Latin American than specifically Mexican.<BR>
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So, it was with some anticipation and a little bit of dread that my wife Erin, my mother-in-law Rosemarie and I gathered up the kids and tried out Taco Bite, an authentic Mexican restaurant that has just opened up in the heart of downtown Kitchener. The good news was, the food was authentic, and worth the wait. The bad news is, if you go, you have to expect a wait. <BR>
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Taco Bite is located on the second story of a small commercial building on King Street, just east of Queen. You have to go up a steep set of stairs to get to the restaurant (which is not wheelchair accessible, I believe), giving it the feel of a secretive little find. That said, the restaurant itself is spacious and although it is sparsely decorated, it manages to evoke a decent Mexican atmosphere.<BR>
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Vivian ordered the chicken enchiladas, while Erin decided to try the nachos supreme. Rosemarie and I each had the Mexican fajitas. Each dish was expertly prepared, and Erin’s nachos supreme put Taco Bell’s offering of the same name to shame. The food in all cases was delicate (although the red sauce of Vivian’s enchiladas had quite a kick to it), with the ground beef on the nachos bearing a faint hint of cinnamon. The fajitas offered sizable chunks of beef, chicken and a good portion of shrimp, along with onions, green peppers and red peppers that were caramelizing on the hot plate. We ate everything and had no left overs.<BR>
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The only drawback of the evening was the service. The servers seemed a little overwhelmed by all the customers, with our server taking several minutes to come to the table to take our order, but it was the kitchen that appeared to be struggling the most, almost as if each dish was worked on one at a time. My father, coming to the restaurant with two friends, noted a twenty minute gap between his first friend receiving his meal to the last meal (his own) being served.<BR>
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Erin, Rosemarie and I were able to make the best of this situation, by eating our dinner family-style, with everybody sampling from every dish as they came. This provided us with a good selection of wonderful tastes which salvaged the evening and made it special, but the restaurant needs to work on their service problems, or adapt to their limitations (perhaps by encouraging family-style eating), so that fewer customers are disappointed.<BR>
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This restaurant serves excellent Mexican food and deserves to stay in business. And although the place seemed busy enough when we were there, I hope that these customers remain satisfied enough to keep coming.<BR>
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Taco Bite is located 24 King Street East, 2nd Floor, Kitchener.Apparently a location exists in Cambridge at 1203 King Street East, near Union Street.<BR>
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<B>Further Reading<BR>
</B></SPAN></FONT><UL><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>Waterloo Region Record: A Real Mexican Comes to Town <<a href="http://therecord.metrolandwest.com/arts/NightLife/article/505818">http://therecord.metrolandwest.com/arts/NightLife/article/505818</a>>
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'>Further details from the Waterloo Region Record <<a href="http://news.therecord.com/article/489640">http://news.therecord.com/article/489640</a>> <BR>
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