You may have noticed heavy construction going on in and around the university, and elsewhere in Waterloo. All this construction may also have been interfering with your daily lives, in your commutes to and from school and other locations. You may also have been wondering about the reason for all of this construction. Well, the answer to that question is that Waterloo is working on ION, the transit system that will connect the city centres of Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge.
The ION project is currently in its first stage, which will consist of a light rail from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Mall in Kitchener, and then bus transit from Fairview Mall to Ainslie Street Terminal in Cambridge. As a result, there has been heavy construction around the proposed railway, which will pass through the university campus.
This construction has caused a number of disruptions throughout Kitchener-Waterloo. Of particular note is that many of the bus routes have been rerouted to avoid going through areas with construction. There is extensive construction along King Street from Victoria Street to William Street, so all of the stops there are closed. The affected routes are Route 6, Routes 7CDE, and Route 200. Additionally, construction has also forced detours from Victoria Street to Charles Street, affecting routes 1, 3, 4, 6, 7ABF, 8, 11,22, 34, 200 and 204. A number of stops have been moved or completely closed, so double check your usual bus route carefully and see if you’re affected by the detours. Waterloo Park has also come under heavy construction, so if your usual path to campus involves walking through the park, be prepared for delays due to construction.
It is not currently known when the construction will be finished, but it has been ongoing for the past 5 months, since March. The expected date that the ION project will be finished is late 2017, so those of us in third and fourth year will likely not be able to experience the benefits that the ION project is expected to bring. However, for the rest of you, hopefully ION will make your time here at Waterloo more convenient and accessible… when it finally finishes.
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