The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 31 ,2 01 9 | 14 Please don't park on the street during a snowstorm It is impossible to properly plow streets when they are blocked by cars. When a snow event is declared, vehicles parked on city streets can be towed and fined up to $80. We also disable our overnight parking service to prevent registrations. Residents are encouraged to subscribe to the city's service alert news feed or follow the city on Twitter or Facebook to determine if a parking ban has been declared. Weather dependent, the City of Waterloo grants up to 15 overnight parking exemptions per year. You must register prior to 1:30 am by calling 519-747-8559 or registering atwaterloo.ca/parking For more information visit waterloo.ca/snow WATERLOO - Residents like the design behind the $27-million plan to expand the Memorial Recreation Complex and consolidate seniors' activities in a new building there. But some who attended an open house Thursday are clamouring for a bus stop on Father David Bauer Drive, in front of the down- town complex. "They designed a great facility," said Peter Black, 80, who can walk to the com- plex. "The major problem is transportation." "We think that it's going to be great," said Maurice Moreau, 84. He will walk to the complex but wonders how other seniors will get to it. "We realize that there isn't a good bus connection yet," he said. "So they have to do something about it." "What I'm hearing from people is they really like the design. They're concerned about transit access," said Coun. Tenille Bonoguore. Some residents ques- tioned Bonoguore about the impact of losing 93 parking spaces to the expansion. But "it's overwhelmingly people asking how can you get here on transit," she said. Grand River Transit has no plan to route a bus past the complex's front door, or past the Luther Village re- tirement residence next door. This is partly because seniors rarely ride transit. "We think it's too ambi- tious to think that there's enough demand to warrant a regular bus route," said John Cicuttin, manager of transit development for the Region of Waterloo. "We know that seniors don't go out every day. It's just a re- ality." Bus riders to the recre- ation complex will use the nearest bus stops on Erb Street West. At 350 to 400 metres away, the stops are within transit's 450-metre walking distance. Side- walks have been improved between the stops and the complex. A government study in 2016 found that Waterloo se- niors leave their home less often than younger resi- dents, and when they do they are three times less likely than younger resi- dents to ride transit. Seniors choose to ride transit once for every 43 daily trips they take some- where, the Transportation Tomorrow Survey found. By comparison, residents under 65 choose transit once for every 15 trips, peak- ing at once for every six trips between the ages of 15 and 29. Lois and Leigh Steckley like the look of the expan- ded recreation complex. Leigh wants to know how the city will pay for it, and if lost parking will be a chal- lenge. Council has yet to see a final funding strategy. The Steckleys are se- niors who live in Luther Vil- lage next door. Lois expects seniors will drive, or find someone else to drive them, before they ride a bus to the centre. "That would be my per- ception," she said, citing se- niors she knows who prefer taxis over transit. "It is a mobility challenge ... to stand in the cold or the rain, waiting for a bus." Musician Jessica Larmer is concerned about transit access for players in the Wa- terloo Concert Band. Some players ride the bus to King Street rehearsals, which will relocate to the new commu- nity pavilion at the complex. "We're really excited to be playing in a new space," said Larmer, the band's president. Trombone player Melis- sa Moogk-Soulis quizzed planners on the storage space and wide doors need- ed to store and move musi- cal equipment. Pending council approv- al by this spring, the expan- ded recreation complex could open in stages by 2021. Highlights include: • Adding a gymnasium to the front of the complex, to include lobby space, change rooms, lockers and office space. • Renovating the Hauser Haus inside the complex to hold more fitness classes in two exercise studios. This would include an indoor walking concourse. • Adding a two-storey building beside the com- plex to use for adult recre- ation and as a community pavilion. It would connect by an enclosed bridge to the second floor of the complex. With the opening of the expanded complex, two se- niors' centres will close - the Adult Recreation Centre on King Street South, a proper- ty already sold by council, and the Wing 404 Rotary Adult Centre on Dutton Drive. Both are aging facilities with outdated decor and amenities. They will stay open until the new seniors' centre opens This image shows the proposed exterior of the community pavilion -- the new older adult recreation centre -- and the bridge that will join it to the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. Metroland file photo SENIORS CONCERNED ABOUT TRANSIT LINK TO EXPANDED WATERLOO REC COMPLEX LOCAL JEFF OUTHIT jouthit@therecord.com