A 'significant' moment: Ainslie Street will house the south terminal for Cambridge's LRT

The region has moved a step forward in Stage 2 of the LRT to Cambridge after council unanimously voted to place the south terminal on Ainslie Street.

Regional staff had explored a total of four locations for the south terminal and concluded the Ainslie Street location was the most economical option, provided the best trip time and would have the least impact to traffic and surrounding properties.

The other locations for the terminal included Bruce Street, Concession Street and Dundas Street.

"The Ainslie site can store extra trains beyond the station or off the main line. This will improve operation reliability and help reduce operating costs," Matthew O'Neil, manager of rapid transit coordination for the region told council Tuesday.

O'Neil said next steps for the project include creating a terminal layout and design options. 

"The different layout will juggle different priorities like transfer, bus stop capacity, road access and train storage," O'Neil said.

Public consultation on the designs will also be scheduled for the first quarter of 2024 and then presented to regional council in the spring.

A 'significant' moment

Coun. Pam Wolf said having the LRT terminal at Ainslie Street will provide better transportation for students going to the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture in the area and for the community to access social services.

"Most students attending the university do not own a car and commute to the main campus for research using public transport. This takes them at least 90 minutes," Wolf said.

"To truly connect the region we need quick, active transportation which the LRT can provide."

Cambridge Mayor Jan Ligget and  Cambridge Coun. Doug Craig also voiced their support for the location.

Coun. Colleen James, said a unanimous vote is a "significant" moment.

"It's significant for our community, it's significant for residents," she said. 

"I'm really taking a second here because we had people come in and delegated and spoke in favour today and last week and it shows the impact that this is having on our community."

There was also discussion during council about potentially combining the terminal with a GO station. Mathieu Goetzke, commissioner of transportation services, said staff can look at the feasibility of it and come back with a report to council in the spring.

"We can look into bringing to council the option of acquiring land as part of that project," he said.

"There's a station planned at Pinebush so that's where the connection can be made between the LRT and GO in the future if both projects proceed."