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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, A pr il 25 ,2 01 9 | 18 Background The Region of Waterloo is undertaking a Schedule 'C' Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) for improvements to the Fischer-Hallman Road / Bearinger Road (Regional Road 58) corridor from Columbia Street West to Westmount Road North in the City of Waterloo. Improvements on Fischer-Hallman Road / Bearinger Road (Regional Road 58) are being considered to provide road improvements for traffic growth and active transportation improvements for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit along the corridor. The 2018 Regional Transportation Master Plan Update has identified the need to widen Fischer-Hallman / Bearinger Road to 4-lanes and add active transportation improvements for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit between Columbia Street West and Westmount Road North. The Process The study is being conducted in accordance with the requirements of a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, which is an approved process under the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act (Last Amended 2010). This is the First Public Consultation Centre and the Project Team will be presenting the needs and opportunities for improvements on Fischer-Hallman Road / Bearinger Road, as well as alternative solutions, to the public and will be seeking input. This Public Consultation Centre is designed to provide interested members of the public, local businesses, community, and agencies the opportunity to meet the Project Team, get an update on the project work completed to date, and discuss project issues. Community Involvement The Region of Waterloo encourages members of the public, stakeholder groups, and agencies to actively participate in this study by attending public consultation opportunities or contacting staff directly with comments or questions. If you wish to be added to the project mailing list, or would like further information on the project and any future public meetings, please visit our website at www.regionofwaterloo.ca or contact: Accessibility: This event is accessible for people with disabilities. Accessible parking is available. If you require assistance to attend or participate in this meeting, or to access information in alternate formats, please contact Justin Armstrong at least five (5) days prior to the meeting. All comments and information received from individuals, stakeholder groups, and agencies regarding this project are being collected to assist the Region of Waterloo in making a decision. Under the "Municipal Act", personal information such as name, address, telephone number, and property information that may be included in a submission becomes part of the public record. Questions regarding the collection of this information should be referred to Justin Armstrong. Justin Armstrong, P. Eng. Senior Project Manager Region of Waterloo 150 Frederick Street Kitchener, ON N2G 4J3 Phone: 519-575-4757 Ext. 3164 Email: juarmstrong@regionofwaterloo.ca Dave Weiler, P. Eng. Senior Project Manager - Municipal WalterFedy 675 Queen Street South, Suite 111, Kitchener, ON N2M 1A1 Phone: 519-576-2150 Ext. 242 Email: dweiler@walterfedy.com Public Consultation Centre #1 Schedule 'C' Class Environmental Assessment for Fischer-Hallman Road / Bearinger Road Improvements from Columbia Street West to Westmount Road North City of Waterloo You are invited to our First Public Consultation Centre to provide your input into the planning of the Fischer-Hallman Road / Bearinger Road (Regional Road 58) Improvements. Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2019 Time: 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM Location: Waterloo Public Library, Community Room 500 Fischer-Hallman Road, Waterloo, Ontario chargers in its Uptown lot last summer, and has had a dual charger in the lot be- hind Waterloo city hall for a couple of years. But by May, three more dual char- gers, each able to handle two vehicles, will be up and running in curbside parking spots on William Street near city hall, and in two locations on Father David Bauer Drive, near Waterloo Park and beside the Balsillie school. Kitchener decided not to go ahead with the curbside chargers because it would be too expensive to install the chargers in the areas it had hoped. Instead, it put a dual charger in its Duke and Ontario garage, and two single ones in the city hall garage, to supplement the dual charger at its Charles and Benton garage. Use of the chargers still isn't high, al- though the chargers at Charles and Benton were getting so popular that drivers were sometimes having trouble accessing them, said Paul McCormick, Kitchener's manager of parking. Use is expected to increase as more driv- ers choose electric cars, said Brad Witzel at the City of Waterloo. The cities are interested in providing more publicly accessible charging stations, both as a way to reduce the greenhouse gas- es emitted locally, and to encourage the use of electric vehicles, he said. "Having this in- frastructure in place helps to support mo- torists in making the choice to switch to an EV, since they know the infrastructure ex- ists to power their vehicle and still allow them to conduct business in Uptown Water- loo." The chargers at the Uptown lot alone have avoided the generation of 2,500 kilo- grams of greenhouse gas emissions, Witzel said, "which is like planting 64 trees and let- ting them grow for 10 years." The stations charge between $1 and $3 an hour, a fee that covers costs without gener- ating profits for the municipality. The number of electric vehicles on the road in Canada is still small, but growing rapidly: 7,706 electric vehicles were sold in Ontario in 2017, but in the first nine months of 2018 sales doubled to 15,307. LOCAL Continued from page 10 STATIONS AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE: CITY SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA