Waterloo’s first woonerf transforms local road into a shared living street

The City of Waterloo officially opened the Larch Street woonerf, a unique makeover of a road in the University District.

According to the city, the concept comes from the Netherlands and is rare in Canada and new to Waterloo.

“The word woonerf translates to a living street,” said project manager Kyle Bossie at the official opening on Friday.

A “living street” means it is a shared space for everyone.

“As a place that is a park, part for people and some cars can even get in here too,” Waterloo’s mayor Dave Jaworsky said.

Larch Street in Waterloo transformed into woonerf. (CTV News/Dave Pettitt)

The city admitted it is “confusing to some drivers” by design.

“Between the concrete walls, the park benches, the bollards, the lights, the different colours, the serpentine pattern of the road,” said Bossie.

Bossie believes the more questions drivers have – the less speeding.

“And that friction. That feeling of a narrow road that 'one wrong move and I’m going to damage my car'. It slows people down. And it works.”

Construction for the woonerf cost around $2.3 million with under half a million of support from the federal government.

Jaworsky said it’s worth it and was a long time coming.

Waterloo's first woonerf seen on Oct. 28. (CTV News/Dave Pettitt)

“It took around four years of planning,” he said “It’s a novelty in Canada, so we wanted to make sure we constructed it and got it right, and I’m sure we did.

The city said it could be implemented in other areas in the future if all goes well, but it would be done on a project-by-project basis.

The goal is to have residents in the area not just stop by – but keep the living street alive.

“And show that this area is more than just a road. It's a public space,” said Bossie.