The Council Round-Up (October 2024)
The Council Round-Up (October 2024)
A snapshot of what's happening in council chambers around Waterloo Region
Region of Waterloo:
It seems that two of the things we love to complain about are the weather and traffic. While the Region of Waterloo may not be able to do much about the former, they are attempting to improve the latter by investing more than $4 million “to expand data collection at local intersections, a move it says will improve the travel experience for road users and help it achieve long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets.”
According to the press release:
The Miovision ATMS uses cameras, connected to the traffic signal controller at signalized intersections, to retrieve traffic data about all intersection users, including cyclists, pedestrians, cars, buses, LRT, and trucks, to help Regional staff optimize intersection usage. The camera is not used for enforcement. The camera resolution is very low, meaning no person's facial features or license plate information is recognizable. All the video captured is automatically overwritten every 14 days.
“This is certainly positive technology for our residents in terms of the movement of people and vehicles through the community, but more importantly it has positive environmental impacts and helps us achieve the goals that we have set as a community around the Paris climate change accord,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.
Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space, Spectrum, provides a permanent physical space where members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities can gather. They offer over 40 different peer support groups and recreational programs each month. Their website is also home to the Rainbow Pages Directory sharing information about 2SLGBTQIA+-friendly or owned businesses.
Their fastest growing program lately has been the 2SLGBTQIA+ Multi-Sport Drop-In, offered at both the Stanley Park Community Centre and the Downtown Kitchener Community Centre on Saturdays. Organizers say, “We’ve had great success with pickleball, basketball, volleyball, and other team sports as well as with guest coaches teaching boxing, yoga, and dance.”
Finding housing, let alone affordable housing, is more challenging than ever. So I’m always happy to see non-market affordable housing being built, such as the development at 82 Wilson Ave, where the Region of Waterloo is replacing a 16-unit walk-up building with 48 one-bedroom units for low-income seniors.
The fully-accessible, net-zero carbon building is expected to welcome its new residents by next summer. Residents will have access to amenities such as a commercial kitchen, community programming space, outdoor garden with benches, and it will also be home to the Region’s community paramedicine program.
“The previous building here had just 16 units, so this rebuild triples its housing capacity. It’s one of six affordable housing properties the Region is revitalizing. Once construction has finished, these six properties will be upgraded from 214 units to 883 units.”
Regional Council is asking Metrolinx to develop a new passenger rail connection from Cambridge to Guelph, connecting Cambridge to the GO rail network via Guelph Central Station. “With almost 2.7 million annual car trips between Guelph and Cambridge in 2023, this service would provide faster travel times for our growing population reducing a 26- to 55-minute car drive (depending on time of day) to a 15-minute train ride.”
Regional Council wants to see the Ontario government to continue funding existing consumption and treatment service sites (CTS) beyond their proposed end dates of March 2025. Council passed a motion in support of CTS sites in response to the Province’s announcement that it would close all sites close to schools and limit new locations. As noted in the press release, “Supervised consumption sites have helped to prevent thousands of drug overdose deaths. Their closure would put additional strain on emergency services and the healthcare system.” Kitchener Council passed a similar motion last month, as well.
Cambridge:
The exterior work on the 105-year-old Dickson Park grandstand was completed this summer. Last year, Cambridge city council approved $1.5 million in funding which provided a new roof and wooden bleachers, new concrete stairs, improvements to the drainage system, and a fresh coat of paint.
“The first grandstand was built around 1891 and later doubled in size before it burned down 25 years later. The existing grandstand went up in 1919 and has seen few updates save for some renovations in 1997.”
While the Region welcomes new affordable housing at 82 Wilson, Cambridge Council has seemingly gone a different direction as they recently voted to reduce the number of affordable units that could be built on city lands.
Apparently in response to concerns from nearby residents about traffic and neighbourhood character, “council voted not to initiate Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendment applications to allow 14 stacked townhomes at 10 Ethel St. in Hespeler and a 24-unit, three-storey apartment building at 1580 Queenston Rd., the former Preston Scout House building.”
Cambridge Councillor Adam Cooper does not want to “destroy communities with irresponsible development. To be putting up seven- and nine-storey towers in this area with the minimal parking is just not appropriate development,” Cooper said.
Councillor Scott Hamilton disagreed with that assessment, saying, “I see these as being in line with the future of the city, providing that need for affordable housing we’re seeing. I definitely hear the residents and the nature of this job is you have to make difficult choices.”
Kitchener:
Kitchener’s new Corporate Climate Action Plan was endorsed at Council earlier this year. Through the 47 actions outlined in the plan, this strategy aims “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce costs through investments in energy efficiency and prepare our community for the increasing effects of climate change.”
At their September 30th meeting, Kitchener Council discussed automated speed cameras, fireworks, and Consumption and Treatment Services sites. You can read my thread on the meeting here.
Ward 5 residents welcomed a new community centre and Catholic school to their neighbourhood in south Kitchener last month. The 17,000 square foot Williamsburg Community Centre is home to a double gymnasium, four program rooms, offices and space for a future outdoor rink.
“South Kitchener is the fastest growing area of Kitchener, and this new community centre will provide much-needed space where neighbours can come together, families can enjoy programs, and this growing community can thrive,” said Ward 5 Councillor, Ayo Owodunni.
Kitchener reminds residents that “the most sustainable and environmentally friendly way to manage fall leaves is to compost and mulch them on your property. Or, you can keep leaves on the ground, spreading them over your gardens as a shelter for over-wintering bees and butterflies. These pollinators are an important part of our local ecosystem, and you can help them thrive by giving them shelter through the coldest months.”
Click to view all leaf management options for Kitchener residents.
Waterloo:
Are you looking for a space to connect with others in Waterloo? The new Gathering Spaces map “pulls together all the spaces in Waterloo that can be used for gatherings, whether that's a meeting or a casual hangout with friends or neighbours.” It includes parks, schools, community centres, and more.
Click to view the Gathering Spaces Map
Waterloo ward 2 councillor Royce Bodaly highlighted Waterloo’s Official Plan Review Launch in a recent newsletter:
The Official Plan is a long-term policy document and is the strategic document for planning across the City of Waterloo. There are three priority areas of focus for this revision, with the first being facilitating more housing in our community and refining the urban form through a review of our nodes and corridors plan, height and density plan and through inclusionary zoning. The second area of focus is to encourage compact and complete communities, through mixed use permissions, updating commercial/employment policies and encouraging the principles of 15 minute communities. Lastly, we are looking to streamline and clarify a variety of policies through this process.
Find out more at Engage Waterloo
As part of October’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Waterloo has launched smartphone operated controls for its elevators at City Hall.
The Contactless Access™ app supports access to elevator buttons and doors through your phone. It can be downloaded for free to any smartphone and it provides independence to visitors and staff who can’t reach or depress standard elevator controls.
Have Your Say:
The City of Waterloo is seeking ideas and suggestions to help update their rental licensing regulations. “The goal is to enhance tenant safety and the livability of rental units in high, mid and low-rise long-term rentals, as well as short-term rentals.” Survey closes November 2nd.
Upcoming Events:
The next installment of Pinch Cabaret is this Saturday, October 26th, starting at 8pm at the Button Factory in Waterloo. This month, you’ll be treated to singer-songwriter and guitarist Johanna Daze, contemporary dance artist Niomi Anna Cherney, author Brian Prousky, multi-disciplinary artist RainbowChilde, and a surprise act!
The following two events were highlighted in this week’s edition of TL;WR and if you haven’t yet subscribed, I highly recommend doing so now to stay on top of the many great events happening in Waterloo Region. You’ll come for the event listings, but stay for the punny headlines!
Saturday, October 26th: The Kids’ Science Open House is a free event for school-age kids to visit the University of Waterloo and explore science in a multitude of ways! Explore the universe, be transported to the inside of a biological cell, defy gravity, and marvel at chemistry in action! 10:30 am - 4:30 pm at the Science Teaching Complex and Earth Sciences Museum, University of Waterloo.
Changing The Flow is excited to announce an innovative grassroots fundraiser in partnership with Sanguen Health Centre and 4Bidding Inc., offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a real impact in the lives of vulnerable community members. A local Cambridge family, after 25 years in the Region, is donating the contents of their house to support their community.