Local News and Views (Feb 2026)
An overview of local news and other happenings in and around Waterloo Region
Transportation news:
Apparently, Waterloo Region’s first roundabout (at Erb and Ira Needles) was installed over 20 years ago! And now, the Region is home to about 40 roundabouts. You can learn more about our local roundabouts, including recent safety improvements, on the Region’s “Your Region Pod” podcast, or by visiting the website.
A recent TriTag newsletter shared the following: A major funding announcement was made by the Federal, Provincial, and Regional governments for local transit capital projects, with a funding split of 40% Federal, 33% Provincial, and 27% Regional. Projects include the Kitchener Central Transit Hub, hybrid bus purchases, and improved pedestrian connections. (News release, backgrounder, CBC, The Record)
The opening of Toronto’s Finch West LRT faced a number of challenges. Some transit advocates say there’s value in learning from Waterloo Region’s ion.
Apparently, Cambridge Councillors Helen Shwery and Adam Cooper don’t share that same enthusiasm for the ion. They believe Cambridge taxpayers deserve to be reimbursed because the LRT does not yet serve Cambridge. Shwery’s motion to ask Regional Council to reimburse Cambridge citizens failed 4-5. It was disappointing to see Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett throw her support behind this motion.
They may not be deterring speeding any more, but the Region’s 28 speed cameras are still live, until the end of this month. They are being used to collect traffic and vehicle speed data. “The traffic and vehicle speed data collected from the cameras will be used to help identify and prioritize … areas that may warrant new road safety measures,” said staff.
Housing Updates:
In response to the frigid temperatures we’ve had this winter so far, the Working Centre has transformed St. John’s Kitchen to also serve as a warming centre from 8:30pm to 7am every night until the end of March. While the space won't have beds for people overnight, it will offer a warm place out of the cold.
"We just know there's so many individuals that come to St. John's Kitchen each day and they don't have a place to go and we've made the organizational changes so that we can be open in the evening as well in this new space," said Joe Mancini, a co-founder of The Working Centre.
Click to view a list of warming centres in Waterloo Region.
Housing and homelessness advocates delegated to Regional Council last month regarding the encampment at 100 Victoria. Lesley Crompton, who was a co-creator on the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, spoke to the idea that encampment residents should simply relocate to local shelters. “95% of shelter beds are filled every night. Vacant beds are not necessarily interchangeable due to gender and age. Also, there are no new shelters or housing service providers opening between now and March 31 2026.”
Waterloo Council passed a renoviction bylaw that requires landlords to buy a license from city hall before evicting a tenant to renovate a unit. “Staff’s recommendation was to keep the level of service the same with the work the city’s Rental Housing Licensing Program is doing, but after hearing from several delegates, council decided to go ahead with a full renoviction bylaw.”
Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife shared last month why she believes Waterloo needs a renoviction bylaw.
A Waterloo church will eventually house 57 rental townhomes assuming the concerns of some nearby residents don’t stop the project. The church hopes to keep using it’s existing building while a Toronto-based development partner builds housing around it. The proposal includes 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units with one-third rented out at below-market rates.
However, “neighbours are pushing back, saying the proposal is too high and dense, is out of step with the detached houses around it, and will bring too much traffic to streets that are already too busy.” Councillor Jen Vasic responded to some of the neighbours comments by saying, “I’m having a really hard time listening to people saying, not just today but over and over, ‘We don’t want new neighbours in our lovely neighbourhood.’”
Click to learn more about the project at 445 Anndale Road.
Cambridge is looking to update their 40-year old residential zoning bylaw, shifting focus from housing type and density, to a form-based model that considers a building’s ‘fit’ on a lot (height, parking, setbacks, etc.). Staff say the outdated rules make it difficult to add even small additions to existing housing. The updated bylaw would mean “more housing would be permitted as of right, meaning fewer developments would require zoning amendments, public meetings or council votes.”
City Info:
With Kitchener’s e-billing self-service portal, you can view and pay bills, monitor your utility usage, connect with customer service and more. If you sign up for e-billing before March 28th, you will be entered into a weekly draw for a $200 credit on your utility bill.
The Cambridge Food Bank has a new home and the larger building (at 384 Franklin Blvd.) will have “a larger community pantry, a bigger commercial kitchen, expanded programming areas for children, youth and adults, and the addition of a greenhouse.”
Work is being done to prepare the space, with the goal of opening next year. Dianne McLeod, CEO of the Cambridge Food Bank, says, “This new home will allow us to operate more efficiently, welcome more families in our pantry, and expand our programs that go beyond food, helping children, youth and adults build skills, confidence and connection.”
While it may look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man has descended upon Laurier’s campus, in fact they have installed a new sports dome over its football field. “The 118,000-square-foot inflatable winterized structure is believed to be the biggest temporary indoor turf facility in Ontario.” The structure will be in place each year between December and June.
The City of Kitchener welcomes two new staff to grow the city’s art scene.
“Carin Lowerison is co-founder of the local theatre company Green Light Arts and will now take on a role with the city as manager of arts and entertainment venues. Will Muir, who has previously worked at Centre in the Square as a senior leader and worked alongside various local musicians, is the city’s new music officer.”
Since 2000, Enbridge Gas has been allowed to build natural gas pipelines under municipal roadways in Ontario without paying any rent or other land-based fees for them (which seems kind of wild, right?). Some municipalities, including Waterloo Region and Guelph, are asking whether that arrangement still makes sense.
Existing agreements like this, “continue to absolve Enbridge Gas of responsibility for removing outdated pipelines, leaving the costs and labour of doing so with cash-strapped municipalities.” This seems to be largely an Ontario issue, as municipalities in many other provinces, including “British Columbia and Alberta, where pipelines are built in greater numbers, can charge gas companies that want to build pipelines on their lands.”
The current agreement is set to expire this May and Regional Council is asking for changes. As Regional Councillor Matt Rodrigues said, “We have a for-profit enterprise that uses public property and generates a profit from that. That’s concerning.”
Coming up with a new agreement may be easier said than done though as provincial law requires municipalities to sign these agreements. In fact, “Enbridge Gas is taking Guelph to the Ontario Energy Board, a non-partisan regulator, to compel the city to sign that dotted line.”
Guelph Today takes a closer look at this concerning issue here and it’s definitely worth reading.
One Million Neighbours Waterloo Region has created a mapping tool “designed to help community groups and non-profits advocate for more services in neighbourhoods as Waterloo Region moves toward one million residents.”
Neighbourhoods are ranked as having the most access, average access and least access based on transit, green space, schools, health care, libraries, and community spaces. “This map is an advocacy tool: it’s meant to arm community groups with information about access to services on a hyper-local level. This knowledge can be used to guide investments and effective advocacy.”
Listen to CBC’s Carmen Groleau chat with Sam Nabi, project coordinator for One Million Neighbours, about how the idea for an interactive map started.
Kitchener has given “an informal heritage designation” to the bright green spiral exit extending from the Duke Street parking garage. Michelle Drake, a senior heritage planner with the City of Kitchener, explains why she thinks the parking ramp is special.
Creating an inclusive and accessible region should mean easy access to public washrooms. While we have seen some important improvements in this area with the addition of the Uptown Loo in Waterloo, the region still lacks any public washrooms that are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
“This shortage is more than civic oversight—it is a public health and human rights issue: for people experiencing homelessness, those with medical conditions, parents with young children and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.”
Learn more about this issue with The Community Edition’s article. For a deeper dive, read Lezlie Lowe’s No Place To Go.
Did you know? Kitchener is home to a stop on the Mississippi Blues Trail - the first marker in Canada.
The stop is in honour of Mel Brown who moved to Kitchener from Mississippi in 1989 and remained here until his death in 2009. “The legendary guitarist performed and recorded with a long list of famous musicians, including B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Willie Nelson, and inspired and mentored a new generation of blues artists.”
I have shared a couple of posts about the December 16th Regional Council meetings (which you can read here and here). Since then, I have learned that at January’s council meeting, there was some discussion about approving the minutes of that meeting.
Mayor Vrbanovic announced that he would vote against the minutes of the December 16th meeting as a way to express his concern about what happened at that meeting. The Clerk responded that staff seek council approval on the minutes and if Council isn’t happy with them, staff would like them to be corrected prior to approval.
In response, Vrbanovic asks if a transcript could be included in the minutes. Staff said that a transcript doesn’t currently exist but they can review the recording and try to capture the conversation. Vrbanovic proposes an amendment to the main motion (of passing the minutes) to allow a transcript to be added. Councillor James suggested that the legal report included in the minutes may be sufficient. Councillor Salonen is supportive of the amendment as it will provide additional context. The amendment to add the transcript fails 6-9 with Foxton, Gowing, Huinink, Rodrigues, Salonen, and Vrbanovic voting in support. The minutes pass with everyone in support except for Salonen, Gowing, and Vrbanovic. Mayor Liggett is absent.
Quick Links:
If you’re interested in learning more about heat pumps, check out Get Pumped Waterloo Region.
Elizabeth Ziegler Public School will reopen in September 2027, with needed repairs expected to cost over $14 million.
Grand River Transit is reworking agreements with contractors given this year’s clearing of snow around transit stops wasn’t meeting expectations.
Out with the old and in with the new as Kitchener’s Victoria Park’s 70+ year old picnic shelter comes down due to safety concerns. A replacement is expected to be built by 2027.
Despite extreme weather this season, Cambridge’s new $93-million recreation complex is on track for a late 2026 opening.
Kitchener’s recent website refresh “now uses an advanced search function powered by AI and developed by municiPal AI.”
A hit to our local music scene as Riverfest Elora shuts down due to financial difficulties.
Regional Council passed a motion last month that will see staff engage with the public on the creation of a Region of Waterloo Arts Council. The report is expected to come back to council later this summer.
Kitchener approved Inclusionary Zoning in January. The province has other plans as they want to “pause affordable housing requirements for new residential developments near transit hubs in Toronto, Mississauga and Kitchener, saying they are deterring construction during a housing crisis.”
A new design, Fossil Excavation, has been selected for the Father David Bauer Drive Play Area. The design will now be finalized and preparation for construction begins.
Provincial links:
“Months after the Ford government pulled funding and forced several supervised consumption sites to close, the City of Toronto is reporting an increase in visible drug use and calls to clean up needles.”
Last fall, “Bill 68 received royal assent in Ontario, which includes new amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act to establish an Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency.”
In December, Bill 60 passed which “says a municipality shall not, by bylaw or otherwise, reduce or permit a reduction in the number of marked lanes available for travel by motor vehicles on a highway or a portion of a highway under the municipality’s jurisdiction and control for any of the following purposes: a bicycle lane; any other prescribed purpose.”
It’s municipal election season and it seems quite possible Premier Ford may find a way to involve himself in municipal politics once again. “Active discussions are underway, predicting regional chairs will be appointed instead of elected and directly elected regional councillors would also be gone by the 2026 municipal election.”
What’s Next?
Upcoming posts include the Region’s water capacity challenges, the rollout of new waste management procedures starting in March, and a new Council Round-Up. If you have a specific question about any of these issues, let me know in the comments.
I live in the neighbourhood impacted by the proposed development at 445 Anndale Road. I think a more rational design is a slightly smaller footprint and addressing the longstanding roadway design problems. The biggest concerns in the neighbourhood are 1) the loss of the community garden on the church property that has allowed food security for a number of lower income homes. 2) the intersection at Lexington and Davenport is one of the most accident prone in the region.
The cluttered and restricted roadway in that stretch of Lexington is a case study in how not to design shared transportation corridors. When an accident occurs along that stretch areas are cut off from adequate emergency response. The neighbourhood is designed as an oubliette.
Davenport is overloaded with traffic looking for a shortcut to Conestoga Mall.
Do we need more housing in Waterloo? Certainly. What most of the neighbourhood is asking is simply address the associated issues before adding to the problem.
The neighborhood I lived in before 2023, Clair Hills, had some small trees along the street. I am now in the Vista Hills area and there are ZERO trees here. There are some thin, spindly, almost comical looking sticks that someone has tossed in the ground here and there, some of them have already fallen over. I never realized how dead, lifeless, and bland a neighborhood is when there are no trees. There is no shade from anything in the summer anywhere, nor from the rain. If it rains when I am out biking, I have to take shelter in a bus stop or in the tiny sheltered area of a kids' playground (lol). There are barely any benches to sit on. There is a playground nearby, the benches have no shade or shelter so parents bake in the sun while their kids play. There is nothing community-oriented that has been bothered with here? It is such a dead, lifeless, pointless neighborhood. I can't feel happy without trees near me,
Thankfully there is the forest nearby and while I am there I feel generally okay, not so much anywhere else in the neighborhood. The place I like most other than the forest is an empty field that will likely be filled with houses soon, I love all the grasshoppers and insects that gather there in the warmer months. I can stand and watch them for hours without getting bored or tired. It doesn't feel like a neighborhood planned or built with human beings in mind.
I have never liked living with this casteist Hindutva household but in the warmer months, the 2 trees in the backyard of the house in Clair Hills would be full of green leaves and when I would look out of my window, I would only see a lovely sea of green. I wasn't safe, happy, or healthy, but I felt joy thanks to those trees which have sadly since been chopped down. I will never forget them.
A neighborhood without trees is such an awful thing. I like walking through neighborhoods where there are nice old trees.