Cambridge opposes LRT
Posted May 4, 2011 05:20:36 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Cambridge council has unanimously expressed its objection to the region’s plans for rapid transit.
While Cambridge council will have no say in the final decision, Ward 3 councillor Karl Kiefer is hoping the motion — tabled by him and passed last night by council — will at least wield some influence.
“I think it’s important that the City of Cambridge — council and residents — bring forward a message to the regional council that we’re not happy with the proposals that are on the table for the light rail transit system,” Kiefer said.
The rapid transit proposal, supported by a recent staff report, calls for a system of light rail trains connecting north Waterloo and Kitchener. The system would then call on rapid buses to service Cambridge.
Kiefer calls that unfair. According to his motion, “the current LRT proposal will only benefit the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, with the City of Cambridge receiving no benefit from the proposed transit system.”
The motion, which passed 8-0 at council last night, asks that the eventual rapid transit system be mindful of the economic and investment needs of Cambridge. And most importantly, according to Kiefer, it has to be delivered at a reasonable cost.
“Affordability is a big thing,” he stresses. “There’s no way that we can afford (LRT) at this point in time given that the federal and provincial government grants aren’t going to reach the amount of money that we need. And that would put (the cost) on the backs of the taxpayers.”
The federal and provincial governments have pledged up to $565-million for rapid transit in Waterloo Region, leaving the municipality on the hook for about $250-million of the total cost ($818-million). The region says that cost would equate to a tax increase of about $25 per year for seven years for the average home in Waterloo Region.
Mayor Doug Craig abstained from last night’s vote after declaring a conflict of interest earlier this year from his seat on regional council. Craig is one of four regional councillors who have declared a conflict of interest as a mid-June vote on the issue approaches.
