Regional council committee supports closure of Highway 85 ramps

A majority of Region of Waterloo council members showed their support for the closure of the Highway 85 ramps at Lancaster Street at Tuesday's planning and works committee meeting.

This comes after Kitchener city councillors said they are strongly opposed to the idea of closing the ramps located in their city.

During the regional committee meeting, Kitchener mayor Berry Vrbanovic had put forward a motion "to not support moving forward with the proposed closure of the Lancaster Street ramps," and to instead focus on other projects to improve safety in the area, including adding signals at the northbound off ramp at Bridgeport Road.

The motion was defeated.

A final vote on the project is expected to take place during the April 12 Region of Waterloo council meeting.

Waterloo's mayor, Dorothy McCabe, was one of the regional council members who spoke in favour of closing the ramps.

"It's not like we're being completely cut off access," she said to regional council in response to concerns voiced by Kitchener's mayor, Berry Vrbanovic.

"The Lancaster ramp is very close to the Bridgeport ramp. So it's not like you're cutting off driver's access to Kitchener or Waterloo," McCabe said, adding that the closure of the ramps is part of a larger project happening in the area.

"It's part of a project work that we're greatly anticipating to help us with redesigning Bridgeport and Erb Street, which are major arterials in and out of our city."

The region's commissioner for transportation services, Mathieu Goetzke, confirmed that Bridgeport cannot be redesigned if the Lancaster ramps are not closed.

Some businesses opposed to ramp closure

Vrbanovic said local business owners from the Lancaster area at Highway 85 have also told him that they are opposed to closing the ramps.

Chris Moser, the president of The Hacienda Sereda, told regional council on Tuesday that he is worried that closing the ramps will impact business.

Moser said he should have been consulted because of the closeness of the ramps to his event hall — but he was not.

The pressures are only going to grow in terms of the transportation needs of this area.- Kitchener mayor Berry Vrbanovic

Vrbanovic said he has heard similar concerns from other businesses like The Alpine Club of Kitchener-Waterloo, Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty and Kitchener residents who live in the area.

Vrbanovic said Kitchener will need the ramps to serve a rapidly growing population in the future.

"This access has existed for many, many years," he said. "The pressures are only going to grow in terms of the transportation needs of this area."

Impact on local cyclists

Waterloo resident Peter Lehman's primary mode of transportation is the bicycle.

He delegated at Tuesday's regional committee meeting to share his thoughts on why he believes closing the Lancaster ramps would make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists like him, who regularly pass through the area.

All it takes is one person not paying attention or one pothole and I'll be all over the road — literally.- Peter Lehman, bicyclist

"I feel like canned lunch meat in a car sandwich. I average between 20 and 25 kilometers an hour, yet motorists getting on and coming off the expressway inevitably feel the need to pass me," he said.

"All it takes is one person not paying attention or one pothole and I'll be all over the road — literally."

He said he has also heard from pedestrians who feel the need to pass quickly when they cross the off ramp because it's a blind curve for motorists.

Lehman said it's time for the region to start prioritizing the safety of vulnerable people over convenience for motorists.

"Make it safe. Do it now. No more excuses. No more funerals."