Waterloo's plan for a living street a great start, but city needs more: Expert

Waterloo's plan to build a living street just north of University Avenue is a great start to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists, but the city needs to think on a larger scale to really make a difference, one expert says.

The city announced this week it will turn Larch Street into a woonerf, a concept from the Netherlands where cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles use the roadway equally.

It would mean adding thinks like benches, bicycle racks, bollards, trees, coloured paving stones and different lighting. Work is expected to begin next spring.

Larch Street is a short residential street located behind the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University where many students currently live.

"We're very good at building tangents, so a small piece, but we're not great yet at connecting that into a network," says Brian Doucet, an associate professor in the University of Waterloo's school of planning and the Canada Research Chair in Cities.

"I would want to see how this 140 meter stretch of a large street is actually connected to other places."

Residents want focus on people, not cars

Jeff Henry is the city councillor for the area and he says there are many people who live on the street and even more who pass through it on their way to Laurier's campus.

"What I've heard during the design process is primarily that folks are glad we're getting this done and are looking forward to seeing it in action," Henry said. 

"When we did the land use plan and streetscape master plan for the whole neighbourhood, residents identified Larch Street as a great opportunity to create a place for people."

Doucet says the woonerf concept dates back to the 1970s and 1980s in the Netherlands, where streets in older neighbourhoods were retrofitted to create a shared space.

"It's an interesting initiative that I think is welcomed," he said, noting there's a lot of change happening on Larch Street where single family dwellings have been replaced by student housing and apartment towers.

But he noted the plans don't appear to address how people will cross Balsam Street or Hickory Street W., where traffic will proceed as normal.

"Is it maybe the most logical place? I'm not sure. But it could be quite an important through-route for people to walk between different parts of the university or between students walking from where they live to where they're studying," he said.