KITCHENER -- The cost of housing was again the focus of a Kitchener city council meeting on Monday night as the city looks at what it's going to take to keep it affordable in the city.
The city unanimously passed its first housing strategy, with the goal of getting a thorough understanding of the housing needs at every level of the housing market, from homelessness to home ownership.
According to the report, Kitchener is not an affordable city for most. Almost every segment of the housing market needs help, starting from the bottom.
A study found that the city needs to create 450 supportive housing units for people currently living on the street or for those who are in the lowest income bracket.
For those earning slightly more, there are about 5,000 people on the community housing waitlist who are in need of subsidized housing.
The study also found that the affordable rental market is in even greater need, with over 9,000 units needed to meet the current demand.
Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said the report marked the start of a long journey.
"What we are seeing today is the first piece of work, the beginning of the journey, not the end that will see us working in partnership with the region, with other cities, and with our provincial and federal partners," he said.
The hope is to work closely with the region and other cities to have a unified strategy and make a better case to the province and federal government when looking for financial help.
Also on the docket at council was the proposed downtown cycling grid, which council approved.
The plan will bring 10 kilometres of bike lanes to the downtown core, many of them separated from on-street traffic.
The grid will also see many current two-way streets converted into one-way streets to accommodate cycling.
They plan to have the grid finished within a few years.
