points. Weather permitting, in early January, crews will continue to build the embankment along the. CN railway. During
ION Update January 2015 ION construction In Waterloo, a base layer of asphalt was placed on Caroline, from William to Allen, on Friday, December 5. This means that construction to upgrade and replace the underground services in this area is now nearly complete. In the new year, work crews will tiein the remaining utilities. This work may require periodic closures of Caroline and the William/Caroline intersection. Construction to upgrade underground services (i.e., water and wastewater) continues on Caroline, from William to just past Father David Bauer. A temporary asphalt base was poured in this section before Christmas. In the new year, crews will return to this section to continue work to upgrade the underground services. When work resumes, local access to businesses (for employees, customers and deliveries) and residents will be maintained, along with access for fire, police and EMS. Work to remove vegetation along the CN railway tracks and to build the railway embankment, from Northfield to King South, in Waterloo is on-going. GrandLinq Contractors’ crews are now working on the section from Columbia to Seagram. Crews are using the Columbia, University and
Seagram crossings as temporary access points. Weather permitting, in early January, crews will continue to build the embankment along the CN railway. During this time, GrandLinq will also build the Cedar Creek Culvert, which will run under the LRT tracks. In the spring, work to complete the remaining ION infrastructure (i.e., LRT trackway, poles, and overhead wires that power the train) will begin. Work at the ION Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility at 518 Dutton Drive in Waterloo continues. This facility will be home to the Region’s LRT vehicles. Grading at the site is on-going and work required to install underground servicing is scheduled to begin this month. A tower crane is now in place to facilitate the next phase of construction.
ION construction continues on Caroline
In Kitchener, construction to relocate and upgrade underground services on Borden, from Charles to Nyberg continued until lateDecember, before pausing for a Christmas break. During this time, access to businesses and residences continued to be maintained. Weather permitting, crews will return to this area early this month to tie-in the remaining services on Borden, from Charles to the CN railway. Later in 2015, work to complete the remaining ION infrastructure (i.e., final curbs and LRT trackway, poles, and overhead wires that power the train) will begin. Work to remove vegetation and build embankments along the CN railway tracks, from Borden to Hayward, in Kitchener continues. Crews are using the Hayward, Hanson, Ottawa South, Borden and Overland crossings as temporary access points. Weather permitting, in January, GrandLinq Contractors will continue to build the embankment along the CN railway and start work on the new railway bridge over Schneider Creek. The foundation work and placement of the bridge will be performed using a crawler crane. Later in 2015, work to complete the rest of the ION infrastructure will begin (i.e., LRT trackway, poles, and overhead wires that power the train). In Cambridge, ION adapted bus rapid transit (aBRT) construction continues along Hespeler
and is almost complete at the Ainslie Street transit terminal.
Hydro One construction update Hydro One’s work to relocate and bury a section of existing overhead transmission infrastructure is continuing along the Hydro One right-of-way in Kitchener, between Fairview Park Mall and Courtland East.. In recent months, Hydro One completed construction of the duct bank system west of Wilson, which will house the new underground cables and allow them to be accessed for required repairs. Crews have also installed additional new steel tower structures in the west end around Courtland and at the new junction in the Fairview Park Mall parking lot. In December, crews began installing the underground cables and will be continuing this work into the new year. Hydro One is still on target to complete construction by December 2015.
LRT construction in 2015
Stay in touch: construction website
All areas along the 19 kilometre ION LRT route will see some construction in 2015. With large projects such as ION, exact schedules evolve according to weather conditions and construction approvals. Throughout 2015, ION staff will continue to meet with stakeholders, including residents, businesses and community groups, to keep them informed of construction and how road restrictions and/or road closures will impact them. Once construction details are finalized, each resident and business owner within 125 metres of ION construction will receive a written notification before work begins. Road signage, including detour information and way-finding for businesses (how customers can access stores), will go up before construction commences. Advertisements will be also placed in local newspapers and detailed information will continue to be available at www.rideION.ca as well as on the ION social media channels. Residents can also sign-up for on-going construction updates through the construction website.
Dedicated to ION construction, www.rideION.ca features an interactive ION route map, information on ION stops as well as an opportunity to sign-up for regular construction updates. A link to Grand River Transit (GRT) is also included in construction updates. The latest ION Construction Updates are available at: http://bit.ly/1tpNcko Sign-up to have the latest Construction Updates emailed directly to you at: http://www.rideion.ca/sign-up-for-updates.html
Community outreach in 2014
ION in The Globe and Mail
Community engagement and input from residents has always played an important role in bringing ION to Waterloo Region. Throughout 2014, ION staff had personal interactions with over 10,600 residents through community engagement activities. During this time, staff attended or presented at numerous community events, including neighbourhood association meetings, one-on-one discussions with stakeholders and meetings with business organizations. The most successful community engagement activity took place in July. Over four days, an astounding 4,279 people toured the 60-foot mock-up of the ION LRT vehicle when it returned to Waterloo Region as part of the Days of #KWAwesome. Check out some messages from those who attended the event on this short video: http://bit.ly/1zRL6gD To have an ION staff member meet with your group or organization in 2015, contact Kimberly Moser, Manager of Community Relations at
[email protected] or 519-575-4757, ext. 3461.
In December, ION was featured in The Globe and Mail’s Perspective supplement. The feature included four pages of news and stories on rapid transit in Waterloo Region. The supplement also contained information on other Regional projects including the Community Building Strategy and the Region of Waterloo International Airport. You can access an online version of the supplement here: bit.ly/1BS7F57
ION/UpTown challenge concludes Congratulations to all #ionuptown challenge winners and thanks to everyone for participating in this campaign that encouraged guests to visit UpTown Waterloo businesses during ION construction. The campaign also reminded residents that access to all businesses remains open during ION construction. A second UpTown social media campaign will be launched in 2015, with details to be released on the ION and UpTown Waterloo BIA social media channels. A similar partnership with the Downtown Kitchener BIA will also be launched in 2015 to coincide with ION construction on Charles and Duke.
ION spotlight: Conestoga Mall transit terminal
bus services, providing access to residential neighbourhoods across Waterloo. The Conestoga Mall transit terminal is an important access point for major Waterloo Region destinations including Manulife Financial Sportsplex and the Healthy Living Centre, which are ten minutes away by bus. For more information on ION stops, see this link http://bit.ly/1m6vTAQ or access the ION route through an interactive map available at: http://bit.ly/1qJqL8Y
ION stop at Conestoga Mall transit terminal
The Conestoga Mall transit terminal serves as a major shopping destination with Conestoga Mall itself seeing more than six million visitors each year. This stop serves as a northern gateway to Waterloo Region, while the popular community of St Jacob’s is less than a 15 minute bus ride away. The stop is situated in the King Street boulevard beside Conestoga Mall and the existing GRT transit terminal. The stop will act as a major link between rapid transit and local
About ION ION, the Region of Waterloo's rapid transit service, which was approved by Council in June 2011, is a visionary plan that will help shape the community for the future by bringing LRT to the region in two stages. Stage 1, set to open in 2017, includes a 19kilometre LRT route from the Conestoga Mall transit terminal in Waterloo to the Fairview Park Mall transit terminal in Kitchener, with stops at 16 destinations including the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier, UpTown Waterloo, Grand River Hospital, King/Victoria transit hub and Downtown Kitchener. Stage 1 also features a 17-kilometre route of aBRT from the Ainslie Street transit terminal in Cambridge to the Fairview Park Mall transit terminal in Kitchener. aBRT service will begin in 2015. Stage 2 ION will see the Region convert the aBRT line to LRT, creating a seamless 37kilometre ION route with 23 stops between Cambridge and Waterloo.
