General Road and Highway Discussion

[Pheidippides]

After reading about the consultant selection for the EA and design Lancaster between Victoria Street to Bridgeport Road I confirmed with the region that, "a grade separation at the railway will be one of the options considered" even though that is not evident in the staff report (i.e. "A preliminary assessment of deficiencies within the project limits has identified a need for full depth road reconstruction, traffic signal modernization, intersection turning lane reconfiguration, railway level crossing improvements, construction of cycling facilities and sidewalks, trunk watermain replacement, and local storm, sanitary sewer and watermain repairs. ").

I hope they will consider the grade separation option. If Lancaster St W is rebuilt in the next few years as a level crossing, the opportunity to convert it to a grade separation will likely be lost for at least 30 years, likely many more, resulting in, slower train trips to and from our community, large delays for EMS/police/fire/GRT/snow removal, delays for motorists and other road users, and greater potential for serious crashes.

I understand that with having two recent grade separation projects, Weber and King, one of which is still underway, there may not be much public patience for similar projects, but these delays and potential consequences will grow exponentially once GO train service becomes much more frequent in coming years.

With the awarding of this contract the EA process is only beginning so much for opportunities to comment on the preliminary design.

Some fully separated bike lanes would go a long way to starting to make it easier to cycle from the Bridgeport/Eastbridge/University downs/lexington/colonial acres neighbourhoods to downtown Kitchener and beyond.