WATERLOO REGION — The preferred route for Ion's second phase from Kitchener to Cambridge through a contentious Preston stretch was endorsed Tuesday by Waterloo Region council.

"Another milestone in this particular project, but there are still other milestones to reach and to get past," said Coun. Tom Galloway, chair of the planning and works committee.

"We'll be dealing with some more specifics on the actual design at a later date."

Council endorsed a route almost a year ago, with the exception of the portion between Shantz Hill Road and Eagle Street at William Street. The project team looked closer at that section and the track alignment and station location.

The new refined path for the corner through Preston set the station on a diagonal in the Queenston block at King and Eagle streets, and tracks running along Eagle.

Public consultations were held in March to get feedback on the refined section. Comments were consistent with past input, according to a report that went to council Tuesday.

"Unfortunately with major infrastructure projects there will always be some impacts," the report read. "There continues to be much positive feedback and excitement related to the project to date."

Even with route refinements, some residents expressed concerns, in particular around property impacts, traffic during and after construction, and the need for light rail in the Preston area.

Several rounds of public consultations have been held in Cambridge as Stage 2 of Ion has worked its way through the planning process, and more are to come. Thomas Schmidt, the region's commissioner of transportation and environment services, said the route looks significantly different than it did a year ago based on suggestions from the public.

"We definitely do look at the comments we get," Schmidt said.

The project team will continue to consider design refinements to lessen impacts.

Cambridge council approved the latest revised version of the light rail path into the city in late April.

Coun. Karl Kiefer said on Tuesday the Preston stretch is a "very difficult and controversial" part of the route. He said it's not the best situation, "but it's a situation that can be worked with. I'm positive of that."

He urged going ahead with the revised route because construction already wouldn't start for a decade.

"Time is of the essence," Kiefer said. "I think we need to move forward on this."

The next steps are to complete the preliminary design and identify property requirements, and host another round of public consultations around those in the fall. The goal is to submit provincial and federal funding applications in 2020, once all the legwork is done.

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