Councillor advocating for all-day two-way transit connection between Cambridge, Guelph

One regional councillor hopes GO Transit from Waterloo Region to the GTA will take a big step forward this week.

Regional Councillor Jim Erb is one of the many voices that has been advocating for a transit line that better connects Waterloo Region to the GTA, and says plans will once again be discussed this week to connect Cambridge to Guelph, and beyond.

“This connection and working towards all-day two-way transit is just part of a big puzzle in creating a very efficient transportation network between here and the GTA,” he said.

The Pinebush GO project team will take a report to the Sustainability, Infrastructure and Development Committee on Tuesday.

The team will recommend the committee endorses their concept design study, direct regional staff to develop a concise plan, and push a message forward to Metrolinx to add the concept to their regional transportation plan.

“There was a study done in 2020 that indicated that there was some preference for a connection between Cambridge and Milton, but there were some significant barriers in implementing that and it seems that the connection to Guelph makes the most sense,” added Erb.

The councillor added that if local, provincial and federal governments are serious about tackling climate change, creating widely available mass transit is key to curb the public from using personal vehicles and adding to air pollution.

“Do we want to grow to a million people in Waterloo Region and have these people all in a car commuting back and forth to work?” asked Erb.

Forecasts expect Waterloo Region’s population to grow to over one million residents in the next 25 years.