WATERLOO REGION — A bicycle-riding cat and animals masquerading as a passenger waiting to board the train are among seven works of art picked for Ion stops and three extra to decorate the light rail corridor.

"They all stand alone and are strong on their own," said Kate Hagerman, cultural heritage specialist with the Region of Waterloo.

The public pieces of art were picked by a jury after a year-long process including input from the community on the seven stops: Conestoga, Research and Technology, Grand River Hospital, Kitchener Market, Mill, Block Line and Fairway.

These locations were picked based on the opportunity for the artwork to be community building, the lack of existing art and available space at the stop.

During the final round of public consultation on the shortlisted artworks, the region received more than 2,070 comments online and during the three-week display at regional headquarters.

The seven Ion stop works of art will be installed in time for the light rail system's launch, planned for early 2018.

Three additional pieces of artwork will also be installed along the light rail corridor, as part of related regional projects including the Research and Technology Ion stop improvements, the Fairway transit driver's facility, and for a barrier enhancement in a pedestrian area or LRT stop.

"The jury has evaluated three additional artworks to be exceptional," Hagerman told the community services committee on Tuesday.

The project will cost nearly double the original plan, even before the additional three works of art.

Regional council approved spending up to $385,000 on the seven installations in early 2016 from the public art reserve fund. That figure was based on $55,000 per artwork, which is on the lower end for regional public art projects. Previous spending ranged from that figure up to $125,000 based on the size, complexity and location.

Even during the initial discussion on the staff proposed budget, councillors questioned if that budget was shortchanging the project.

At the time, Regional Chair Ken Seiling suggested the advisory committee could come back to council if that amount was found to be too low, as it got further in the planning process.

"They understood it might need a higher budget," Hagerman said in an interview.

The region received 66 artwork proposals with an average budget of $81,000, and the 15 shortlisted pieces averaged $92,000, prompting the jury's recommendation the project budget be increased.

The total cost for all 10 works of art is $875,000, including administrative costs such as community consultation, signage and maintenance. The seven projects for Ion stops is pegged at $698,000.

Funding of $560,000 is coming from contributions to the public art reserve fund by the capital budget of the Ion rapid transit project, and $30,000 each from of the capital budgets for the Research and Technology Ion stop improvements and the Fairway transit driver's facility.

The remaining $255,000 would come from the public art reserve fund, including the initially approved amount of $175,000 plus $80,000 in additional contributions in 2017 and 2018.

"Combining all of those sources, we've got the money," Hagerman said.

The plan was endorsed by the regional committee, and will go to council for final approval.

Some of the art work