WATERLOO REGION — A proposed route for the second stage of the Ion connecting Kitchener to Cambridge curves around the bottom of Shantz Hill into Preston and avoids most of Eagle Street.

"This is certainly going a long way to allay a lot of the concerns in the Preston area," said Regional Coun. Tom Galloway.

Changes in the route released by the Region of Waterloo on Friday reduce the impact on property and traffic in both Cambridge and Kitchener, while also making the travel time three minutes faster, the region says.

"We listened to the public," said Thomas Schmidt, the region's commissioner of transportation and environmental services. "There are significant changes that have been made to the route."

The route as proposed is estimated to cost about $1.36 billion, according to a report that will go to council committee on Tuesday.

The second stage will connect with the first — now expected to start service in December — leaving Fairview Park mall and heading into downtown Galt. It has unique challenges, such as crossing Highway 401, and there are affected properties.

There has been a lot of public outcry related to certain sections of the route, especially as it wends its way through Preston. The proposed stop at King and Eagle streets, in particular, is a sticking point.

The new route still travels through that busy intersection, after making a sweeping curve across the Speed River from Shantz Hill Road, rather than making a hard turn directly onto Eagle. The station is now slated to be situated in the adjacent block, creating more room for the stop rather than directly on Eagle.

Schmidt said the impact on the intersection will be relatively small. Light rail trains are not like emergency vehicles, which automatically trigger a traffic light change to proceed through an intersection.

Trains may modify a light if running a bit behind schedule, either extending a green light or shortening a red light.

"It's more of a slight modification rather than a hard stop each time the train comes," Schmidt said. "It's designed to work with the network."

From there, the proposed route swings away from Eagle onto an abandoned railway line until it reaches Hespeler Road. In downtown Galt, it moves slightly to better connect with development planned in that area.

Galloway said the proposed route reduces the number of property impacts by a "very large extent," but he still has some concerns about the path through south Kitchener.

He wonders about the development opportunities on that section of King Street.

"The No.1 objective of Ion is the development side and we know in Phase 1 we're doing very well in that regard," Galloway said.

The proposed route avoids the previous one that detours along old King Street in front of Freeport hospital and instead travels alongside Highway 8.

"It makes the route more direct," Schmidt said, adding that it also avoids building an extra bridge and some of the property impacts along that stretch.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

A preliminary route was first unveiled in February 2017, drawn up based on public input. Several rounds of public consultations have been held since then to further refine the route and explore alternatives, and the region got lots of feedback including alternative route ideas that were evaluated.

The goal is for staff to bring a recommendation to council committee for consideration on June 19, after reviewing feedback from the next round of public consultation centres being held next month.

"Then council makes the final decision on whatever route," Schmidt said.

Galloway said there may be another round of public consultations if warranted.

"This is the next step in the process and we'll see what the public reaction is," he said. "We want to get as many people on board as possible."

The proposed route, along with an evaluation of alternatives, will be presented to the public at these three open houses:

•Tues., May 8 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 30 Fairway Rd. S., Kitchener

•Wed., May 9 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Preston Memorial Auditorium, 1458 Hamilton St., Cambridge

•Thurs., May 10 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Hamilton Family Theatre, 46 Grand Ave. S., Cambridge.

Find out more at stage2ion.ca.