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Notice of Public Input Meeting
Class Environmental Assessment for Fountain Street and King Street -
Shantz Hill Road to Eagle Street, City of Cambridge
The Regional Planning and Works Committee is holding a special meeting to receive public input on the preferred design concept for the Study area on King Street from Eagle Street to Fountain Street and on Fountain Street from King Street to Shantz Hill Road in the City of Cambridge consisting of:
- roundabout intersection at King Street/Fountain Street,
- realigned intersection at Fountain Street/Shantz Hill Road
- other intersection improvements at King Street/Eagle Street
- Fountain Street - two lanes in each direction between Shantz Hill Road and King Street
- on-road cycling lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the corridor
- transit priority measures
At this meeting, the Committee will receive an update on the Project Team’s Preferred Design Concept and the Project Team’s responses to the main issues received from prior public consultation.
If you wish to speak at this meeting, please register before noon on Thursday, June 3, 2010, with the Region’s Council and Administrative Services Division at (519) 575-4420.
All comments and information received from individuals, stakeholder groups and agencies regarding this project are being collected to assist the Region of Waterloo in making a decision. No formal decision on the preferred design will be made at the Public Meeting. Information received at the Public Meeting and in written submissions received before June 23, 2010 will be considered before a final recommendation is submitted to Regional Council for approval at a later date
Please direct questions about this study to:
Wayne Cheater, P.Eng.
Senior Project Manager
Region of Waterloo
150 Frederick Street, 6th Floor
Kitchener, ON N2G 4J3
Phone: 519-575-4757 Ext. 3183
Fax: 519-575-4430
E-mail: WCheater@regionofwaterloo.ca | Written comments may be submitted to:
Kris Fletcher
Regional Clerk
Region of Waterloo
150 Frederick Street, 2nd Floor
Kitchener, ON N2G 4J3
Fax: 519-575-4481
E-mail: regionalclerk@region.waterloo.on.ca |
Documents available in advance of Public Imput Meeting:
For further information on this study, please visit the Region’s study website at www.region.waterloo.on.ca/fountain .
A copy of the Planning & Works Committee report will be available on the study website after June 4, 2010.
Under the Municipal Act, personal information such as name, address, telephone number, and property location that may be
included in a submission becomes part of the public record. Questions regarding the collection of this information should be referred to Wayne Cheater.
Accessibility: This event is accessible for people with disabilities. Accessible parking is available. If you require assistance to
attend or participate in this meeting, or to access information in alternate formats, please contact Wayne Cheater at least five days prior to the meeting.
This Class EA Study is being directed by a Project Team consisting of staff from the Region of Waterloo, City of Cambridge, Regional Councillor Jane Brewer and City of Cambridge Councillor Karl Kiefer. The engineering consulting firm of Stantec Consulting Ltd. has been retained to assist with this Class EA Study.
The Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) is a formal planning process approved under the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act.
The Class EA provides the framework for municipalities to plan, design and construct municipal infrastructure projects. This project is being planned as a Schedule C Class EA project.
BACKGROUND
The Fountain Street – King Street corridor functions as a significant link between two heavily used arterial roads crossing Highway 401, Fountain Street North and Shantz Hill Road. Shantz Hill Road is a major access point for Cambridge area traffic to both Highway 401 and Highway 8. Fountain Street North is also a significant access route for Cambridge area traffic to the industrial areas north of Highway 401, in particular the Cambridge Business Park and the Region of Waterloo International Airport.
There are three signalized intersections within the study area:
- Shantz Hill Road at Fountain Street
- Fountain Street at King Street
- King Street at Eagle Street
All three intersections are experiencing traffic congestion and delays, and this congestion is projected to increase in the future as planned developments for north and west Cambridge are completed.
These three locations have also been identified as having higher than expected numbers of vehicular collisions, with the intersection of Fountain Street and King Street in particular identified as the #12 ranked intersection in 2007 for higher than expected collisions.
Fountain Street, King Street and Eagle Street have been identified in the Regional Cycling Master Plan as core on-road cycling routes, and as such there is a need to address and improve cycling facilities through the corridor.
Finally, the corridor also has discontinuous stretches of sidewalk along Fountain Street and King Street, and improvements are required to facilitate pedestrian movement through the area.
The need for traffic capacity improvements through the corridor has previously been identified in a number of Cambridge area traffic and transportation studies, including:
- Regional Transportation Master Plan (1999)
- Cambridge Area Routes Selection Study (2000)
- Detailed Transportation Network Review (2004)
- Regional Transportation Master Plan update (2010 ongoing)
Additionally, all three transportation network scenario alternatives shown at Public Consultation Centre #3 (June 2009) from the current Regional Transportation Master Plan update process identified the need for "Enhanced Transit" through the King Street – Fountain Street – Shantz Hill Road corridor, so there will clearly be a need to improve public transit operations.
Consequently, this study is being undertaken to address the deficiencies outlined above, and to recommend a solution to improve transportation through the corridor to a horizon year of 2023.
The Project Team has developed the following problem statement for the project identifying the traffic and transportation needs to be addressed and improvements under consideration as part of this study:
WHAT WORK HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE?
The project is in its early stages, and a significant amount of work and public input is still required for successful completion of this project. To date, the Project Team has completed or initiated the following works:
- A complete review and analysis of available traffic information, including traffic counts at intersections and select mid-block locations, as well as a generation of traffic forecasts based on planned developments in the area and an assessment of traffic capacity for the existing and future conditions. A traffic capacity analysis for AM and PM peak periods for forecast year 2023 within the study area has been completed.
- A review and analysis of collision history through the Study Area 2003 to 2008.
- A review of forecast transit needs for the study area
- An inventory and assessment of the natural environment (trees, watercourses, drainage crossings, aquatic and terrestrial habitat) within the corridor.
- An inventory and assessment of the social environment including land use and property limits within the corridor.
- A Built Heritage Impact Assessment Report for the study corridor.
- Topographical survey of the Study Area.
- Development of alternative solutions and design concepts to address the Problem Statement.
- A Stage 1 archaeological impact assessment
- Stage 1 environmental site assessments
- Identify and present to the Public the Project Team’s preliminary Preferred Design Concept
SCHEDULE
The estimated Project schedule is as follows:
- Class EA & Preliminary Design Winter 2009 – Autumn 2010
- Final Design, property aquisition and utility relocations Autumn 2010 – 2013
- Construction starting 2014
STUDY DOCUMENTS AND NOTICES
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS IN THE PROJECT?
Region Planning and Works Committee will hold a formal Public Input Meeting, JUne 8, 2010 to obtain comments on the Recommended Design Concept in April or May 2010. Following the Public Input Meeting, the Project Team will consider comments obtained from the Public Input Meeting and confirm the Recommended Design Concept. Council will consider final approval of the Recommended Design Concept for this project later in 2010.
CONTACT
Mr. Wayne Cheater, P.Eng.
Senior Project Manager
Region of Waterloo
150 Frederick Street, 6th Floor
Kitchener ON N2G 4J3
Phone: 519-575-4757 Ext. 3183
Fax: 519-575-4430
EMail: WCheater@regionofwaterloo.ca
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