LRT marks four-year anniversary in Waterloo region

On June 21, 2019, the first ION Light Rail Transit (LRT) train departed Fairway Station.

"It brings back a lot of memories," said long-time regional councillor Tom Galloway, who helped launch the project. "Some good memories and bad memories. The construction was not-so-good memories.

"The success of the project now is undisputed."

Galloway said it was also an emotional time when the launch happened.

“All of council and the region and cities put a lot of effort in this project,” he said.

HISTORY OF THE LRT

The launch came after more than a decade of planning and five years of construction.

The idea for the LRT first came up in 2002, but didn't get the green light until 2011.

Shovels first went into the ground in the summer of 2014, with Uptown Waterloo and parts of downtown Kitchener being ripped up for months.

The original start date of 2017 for the service was continually pushed back until the start date of spring 2019 was finally announced.

CONSTRUCTION

It was a difficult time for small businesses especially in uptown Waterloo.

Words Worth Books on King Street said they took the challenge head on.

“It was scary, but right away we got this fairy tale sense we were going to be okay – right away people came out,” said David Worsely, the co-owner of the book store.

Worsely feels the project has been a success, but with the increased investment comes higher real estate costs.

“The LRT has exacerbated that, it’s an unintended consequence perhaps, but it’s happening because what was $24 a square foot is now 42 and that of course changes the game,” Worsely said.

SUCCESSFUL RIDERSHIP

About 13 million people have boarded the ION system, according to GRT staff.

“System-wide, we sometimes get 100,000 system wide per day, over 20,000 of those are riding on ION on a regular weekday,” said Neil Malcolm, the assistant director with GRT. “We anticipate in 2023 we will have our higher ridership than in 2019 which was our highest year of overall ridership.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Four years in, the path forward remains unclear. The planned extension into Cambridge has a hefty pricetag.

The anticipated cost jumped from $1.7 billion in 2019 to $4.5 billion earlier this year.

“That $4.5 billion price tag – do we want to see that spent in Calgary by the federal government? Do we want to see it in Ottawa or Hamilton? Or do we want to see it spent here? We have half a system – why would we ask for less than we deserve? Why would we ask Cambridge to take less than we deserve?” said Region of Waterloo Chair Karen Redman.

Redman is optimistic the province and federal government will step up when it comes time to pay for the extension, and said the investment will be worth it.

“We have seen $5 billion of investment in the Kitchener Waterloo transit corridor, and we anticipate we will have the same when we go to Cambridge,” she said.

The Cambridge extension of the LRT would see a 17.5 kilometre route from Fairway station to downtown Galt.

Former Cambridge mayor and current regional councillor Doug Craig has said he does not think the plan is feasible at the $4.5 billion cost but, many on council are still very eager to push ahead.