Kitchener working to buy land for crosswalk on LRT tracks near Fairview Mall

The City of Kitchener is in the midst of negotiations to acquire the land where a pedestrian crossing on the LRT tracks near Fairview Park Mall is set to be built. 

Since city council approved buying the land in August 2018, Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo has been able to allocate funding for the crosswalk. 

"We had to wait until the design was completed to find out exactly how much land was needed," Ward 3 Coun. John Gazzola told CBC News. 

The City of Kitchener is working with the Region of Waterloo to finalize the project. The region is responsible for designing the crosswalk portion that will go on the tracks, while the city is responsible for the walkways connecting Traynor Avenue to Fairway Road. 

"We've completed some of the design already and it's still progressing," Matthew O'Neil, senior project manager for the region's rapid transit unit, told CBC News. 

Gazzola and O'Neil were not able to say exactly how much funding was allocated from the city and the region for the crosswalk, but Gazzola said the project could cost as much as $1 million to build. 

Residents in the Traynor/Vanier neighbourhood have voiced concern with the lack of a pedestrian crossing in the area ever since a fence along the LRT tracks went up in 2016. 

Residents said they were cut off from quick trips to the mall and other stores along Fairway Road, adding it now takes people between 30 and 45 minutes to walk the length of the fence to get to where they need to go. 

Concerns around safety have also been raised in the past, as some have cut holes in the fence to cut across the tracks. 

O'Neil said the crosswalk will not be overhead, rather it will be at ground level — similar to the crosswalk on Quiet Place in Waterloo, near Bearinger Road and Albert Street, but with a few more features.

"Because of the operating conditions at [the Fairview] location we will need to have gate arms, flashing lights and bells to protect the public so they know when it's safe to cross," O'Neil said.

There is still no set date for when the crosswalk at Fairview will be complete, but Gazzola hopes that it will all be completed by the fall.