Transit projects to get $25M from federal and provincial governments

A new cycling and pedestrian bridge over Highway 7/8, the expansion of transit service to Conestoga College and trail construction and improvements are some of the regional projects that received federal and provincial funding on Tuesday.

In a joint announcement with regional officials, the federal government pledged $13.6 million while the province pitched in $11.35 million for 10 transit projects proposed by the region back in March 2019. The total cost of the projects is estimated at $34 million, with the region paying for the remaining $9.1 million. 

Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Catherine McKenna and provincial Infrastructure Minister Laurie Scott were both on the video conferencing call to make the announcement.

McKenna says the federal government has been focused on COVID-19 for the past several months.

"Now we're making it through to the restart and I think it's important that we also focus on improving lives for people in the community in both the short, medium and long term," McKenna said.

Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris called the projects "game changers for the region."

Regional Chair Karen Redman thanked both governments for the funding.

"Collectively, these investments address the growing needs of our region and will help us to reach our goal of lower carbon emissions and to take action on climate change," Redman said.

Projects 

Other projects covered under the funding announced Tuesday include:

• A transit shelter canopy at the University of Waterloo.
• Reconstruction of Ottawa Street to include a bike lane.
• A multi-use trail on Lackner Boulevard.
• On-street transit infrastructure and improvements to the Iron Horse Trail.

The funding is in addition to $104.5 million announced in 2019 for other transit projects, which include a new bus maintenance facility in Waterloo as well as new buses and upgrades to the current fleet.