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PM40050478 THURSDAY AUGUST 13, 2020 Visit us online at www.waterloochronicle.ca Book your eye exam with us and receive 1 free Anti-Reflective/Scratch Resistant Coating on a new eyeglass purchase 534 Hespeler Rd. CAMBRiDGe (across from Starbucks) 519-624-9220 885 Glasgow St. KiTCHeNeR (corner of Fischer-Hallmanischer-Hallmanischer & Glasgow) 519-741-1233 • Eye Glasses • Prescription Sunglasses • Contact Lenses WE DirECt BiLL! See store for details 3 for 1 on a new eyeglass pur EYE EXAMS What's coming up your highways? This week, our journalists focus on how and why drugs and guns are moving through our communities. WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA/ HIGHWAYPIRATES When he biked to work at Manulife, Westmount resident Jeff Beamer would avoid King Street, even though it's the most direct route. "I didn't feel safe," he said. Instead, Beamer would go through Waterloo Park, utilizing other trail connections to get to his destination. But when the region recon- structed King and opened "sepa- rated" cycling lanes in uptown in 2018, his trip became much more seamless. "I used to commute up this road all the time," Beamer said while parking his bike at a rack on the side of the northbound CYCLISTS, TRAIL USERSHIP UP BY THE THOUSANDS See 'WATERLOO, page 7 MORE THAN 7.2 MILLION TRIPS SINCE 2014 ARE BEING USED TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS, CITY SAYS BILL JACKSON bjackson@torstar.cabjackson@torstar.cab Arkhip Lebedev heads northbound on King Street in uptown Waterloo, through the cycling counter at the Erb Street intersection that's seen a substantial increase in users this season. Bill Jackson/Torstar