A new project is in the beginning stages to build a dual-purpose project in downtown Kitchener. The site at 450 and 470 King Street East is slated to be developed with both an affordable housing site and the city’s eighth fire station.
Radio Waterloo spoke with Rosa Bustamante, director of planning and housing policy with the city, and Lori Trumper executive director of Kitchener Housing Inc, which will oversee the project, about some of the details
While the project is still in it’s very early stages, Bustamante and Trumper say there will be about 150 units of mixed size and affordability. Bustamante says city staff are hopeful the project will begin construction in late 2026 or early 2027.
dan kellar Kitchener, ON – In late August the provincial government announced new rules around Consumption and Treatment Services sites which will force the closure of ten of these health service programs across the province, including the CTS in Kitchener.
Since the announcement, site advocates, service users, community members, health care workers, and politicians have organised support for the CTS. Meanwhile, the provincial government has opened-up applications for funding for Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs to replace the affected CTS sites. Harm reduction such as supervised drug consumption will not be permitted at the new hubs.
On September 10th the regional government voted overwhelmingly to request that the province reverse its decision and maintain funding for the CTS while also funding a HART hub for the region. In the meeting, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Waterloo Region’s Medical Officer of Health said that the ideal model for treatment is a HART hub that would also allow harm reduction.
In a council meeting on September 30th, city of Kitchener councillors passed a motion to request that the province continue funding and allow operation of the CTS past the March 2025 deadline.
This show features interviews with Julie Kalbfleisch from Sanguen Health Centre, operator of Kitchener’s CTS, and Dr. Geoff Bardwell, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at the UW, and member of the grassroots Waterloo Region Drug Action Team.
A slightly shorter version of this piece is available at: https://www.frequencynews.ca/news/resident-and-local-government-pushback-continues-against-cts-closure-in-kitchener/
dan kellar Kitchener – The Community Canopy tree planting program will see over 100 new trees planted in the Chandler-Mowat neighbourhood this year. Some of the trees have been planted already with more going into the ground over the fall. The initiative is a partnership between the City of Kitchener and Reep Green Solutions, and builds on efforts to have 30% of the city covered with tree canopy by 2050
This program targets “deserving neighbourhoods” based on metrics which measure socio-economic factors as well as the current tree canopy cover.
On Thursday October 10th, from 3-5pm, a community event will take place at Laurentian Park to celebrate the accomplishments of the pilot program, and to announce the transformation of the Community Canopy program into an annual initiative.
This show features interviews with Hajnal Kovacs, the forestry project manager for the city of Kitchener, and Taylor Ross the community engagement coordinator for Reep Green Solutions.
The federal government has announced over $96 million in contributions and loans aimed at affordable housing across South Central Ontario, including Waterloo Region.
Locally, the funding amounts to $25 million which will help create 336 new affordable homes and repair more than 7,300 homes in the region.
The announcement was made at an affordable housing construction site in Kitchener on Thursday. The event was attended by political representatives, including Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, Regional Coun. Colleen James, and the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development of Canada Jenna Sudds, who made the announcement on behalf of Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities.
After two recent separateincidents in which three people drowned in the Grand River locally, National Drowning Prevention Week comes at an excellent time. Running from July 21st to the 27th, the City of Kitchener‘s drowning prevention program aims to promote water safety through education and community events.
Recent statistics from the Drowning Prevention Research Centre show drowning rates in Ontario have increased since 2011, with seniors and young children being particularly at risk. According to the Life Saving Society of Canada, the great majority of people who drowned were not wearing a personal flotation device or were not wearing it properly.
Patrick King, the City of Kitchener’s aquatics manager, underscores the importance of proper life jacket use, the unique challenges of swimming in natural water bodies and the disproportionately higher incidence of drowning among Indigenous communities.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – Work on “Kitchener 2051“, the city’s next 25 year official plan has commenced, and staff have opened applications for residents who would like to work in a community working group who will provide guidance throughout the process.
In the press release, Rosa Bustamante, Kitchener’s Director of Planning and Housing Policy said “Kitchener 2051 is an opportunity to tackle these issues head-on, ask big questions, and prepare us for an uncertain future”. With work starting in the fall, the press release says the community working group will “exert real influence through their expertise and insights”.
This show features an interview with Natalie Goss, the policy and research manager for the City of Kitchener. Goss discusses the scope of “Kitchener 2051”, how the plan will be adapted as we move through dynamic social and ecological conditions, and how folks can get involved in shaping the city’s new 25 year official plan.
Kitchener, ON – The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing recently told CKMS News that their “balanced approach” to the rental market is working, as purpose built-housing rental construction has hit “record-high” numbers. However, renters in Waterloo Region are facing their own record highs. According to rentals.ca, landlords are now charging 1,935$ a month for a 1-bedroom in Kitchener, and more than 2,327$ for a 2-bedroom. Prices are higher in Waterloo.
Organizations advocating for stronger protections for renters have maintained their focus on landlords and the various levels of government. One such organization is the Social Development Council of Waterloo Region, who primarily focus on “Housing & Homelessness, Grassroots Infrastructure, and Lived Expertise.”
This show features an interview with Megan Walker, a tenant organizer in theEviction Prevention program at the Social Development Council. Walker discusses her work and responds to statements the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing made to CKMS News.
Arts institutions in Kitchener are struggling, and the city is pinning it on inequities in the Federal regional arts funding model. City Council noted that Kitchener receives five times less in arts funding than larger cities like Montreal and Winnipeg. In response, they passed a motion requesting the federal government to address these disparities.
City Councillor Dave Schnider highlighted the significant funding cuts by the federal government and how this impacts local arts organizations.
While the motion was supported unanimously by council members, Mayor Berry Vrbanovic suggested also seeking additional support from the provincial government.
Kitchener City Council is addressing the issue of excessive road signs to combat clutter and visual pollution on city roads by changing its sign bylaws.
The changes are meant to discourage the use of roadways for marketing purposes. Only special event directional signs, such as signs advertising open houses and portable signs for new home developments, are allowed on city boulevards.
Key revisions to the sign bylaw include regulations on the timing and duration of sign placements, mandatory inclusion of dates on signs, the relaxation of distance requirements from buildings for certain signs, and the removal of the City’s 30-day sign hold provision.
City of Kitchener Councillor Paul Singh and the city’s Coordinator for Planning and Zoning Services, Joanne McCallum, emphasized that in addition to cleaning up the roadsides, the new regulations will help city staff police these nuisance signs.
Pedestrians and cyclists in Kitchener are at a disproportionately high risk of serious injury or fatality due to aggressive and inattentive driving, according to the latest City of Kitchener Vision Zero Annual Update Report.
This year’s report update was presented at the City of Kitchener’s Community and Infrastructure Services Committee meeting on Monday, May 13th. Adopted in 2021, the Vision Zero strategy aims to eliminate severe injuries and fatalities on Kitchener’s roads, with the 2024 report outlining over 40 action items for street safety improvements. The report highlights the problems of aggressive driving behaviours and the inadequacy of road designs to ensure the safety of vulnerable road users.
Delegates to Council discussed lowering speed limits, increasing the number of traffic cameras, and implementing infrastructure changes as potential solutions. Other delegates detailed the successes they have found in educating young students on road safety and encouraging alternative modes of transport.
by: dan kellar
Kitchener – Kitchener’s Corporate Climate Action Plan, has been guiding the city’s to transition away from carbon intensive energy sources, with version 2.0 prominently featuring “Pivot Net Zero”. The electrification of cars, light utility vehicles, and hand tools is already well underway, and staff continue to explore new avenues of reducing carbon emissions with larger trucks and equipment.
The city has reported a “payoff” in staff experience due to electrification, citing a reduction in exposure to fumes, noise, and the weight of equipment. Economic savings have also been noticed through maintenance costs and energy efficiency.
This show features interviews with Kitchener’s director of Fleet, Matthew Lynch, and the city’s corporate sustainability officer, Anna Marie Cipriani, who speak about the city’s ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for both their fleet and buildings. Kitchener city council will vote on April 29th endorse the updated Corporate ClimateActionPlan.
Much of the six-hour Kitchener City council meeting on January 29, focused on delegates’ opposition to the City’s proposed Growing Together Plan.
One of the objectives of the plan is to increase affordable housing stock close to the ION stations and major transit areas.
Most of the delegates to Council were in various ways associated with property development and opposed the recommendations in the report.
There were others, not related in a financial capacity to issues of rezoning, who also disagreed with the recommendations.
Some of the objections raised were about the challenges of preserving the integrity of heritage neighbourhoods during a housing crisis in which the city wants intensification.
Gail Pool of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario North Waterloo Region branch was one of the people who presented opposition to the Report’s recommendations for the Victoria Park Heritage District.
Tent fires have become a common occurrence in the winter at the Victoria Street encampment in Kitchener and a local housing advocacy group is helping find solutions.
FightBack KW, thinks it might have found an answer. The organization is building temporary sandbag structures that two people can live in and up to six can congregate in.
Fire is a problem because the tents used at the encampment were not designed for winter use. In order to survive the winter outside, people must insulate or warm their tents, which carries huge risks and can be a difficult balance to achieve.
FightBack KW is looking for community partnerships with relevant businesses to fund and help build the structures. The next build day that individuals are welcome to participate in is February 3, this Saturday from 11-dark.
Wren Wombwell of FightBack KW talked to CKMS News about the situation and the sandbag structures.
Kitchener City Council voted unanimously on Monday to divert city-owned end-of-life computer equipment from the e-waste stream.
Instead, the City will donate this equipment to the Working Centre’s Computer Recycling program, which already accepts technology donations and provides low-cost computer equipment to the community.
The city examined the possibility of running this program in-house, but collaborating with the Working Centre provides benefit to the community and makes sense logistically and financially.
Of the three firework celebrations allowed in Kitchener in 2023, Diwali fireworks drew the most complaints, leaving Mayor Berry Vrbanovic to speculate if this reflects less tolerance in the community towards the Hindu festival.
Other councillors believed it was more of a lack of education by both those setting off the fireworks and those calling the bylaw office to complain. To counter this, new fireworks regulations include a comprehensive education campaign to educate residents and an increase in the number of bylaw enforcement officers on duty from two to eight for firework days.
Councillor Ayo Owodunni announced that 184 complaints were made to the bylaw office regarding fireworks in 2023, with Diwali accounting for 63 of these, Victoria Day, 54 and Canada Day, 32. Complaints are likely underreported as email/phone complaints after the fact are not included in these totals.
The motion introducing these new regulations about non-compliance with city’s fireworks regulations was carried.
Mary Neil is a singer, songwriter, community musician with a MA in Community Music, and founder of KW Junk Music
Mary makes music accessible to everyone, and encourages people to think about their sustainable practice by making instruments out of material diverted from landfills and recycling plants. Mary challenges people to wonder, “why do we have so much junk to make instruments out of?” and how we can make a difference in our lives toward a more sustainable future. As the 2019 City of Kitchener artist in residence, Mary’s residency project involves engaging with participants creating music that reflects the values and diversity of communities across the City of Kitchener. Mary is also working on an album of songs inspired by issues faced by the rapid growth in our community, communicating narratives of people with lived experience. Joining her perform live on air in studio was Jeff Cowell and Len McCarthy
Talking about his love for travelling, seeing and exploring new places is Zdravko Gunjevic, aka ‘Zee’. Zee’s love to explore new places has led him to travel across Canada, around the US, Caribbean, Europe, down to Australia and China. North, South, East and West. He likes to see it on a budget, experience cities and cultures like a local. Zee talked about how he chooses to make it all happen and the tricks and tips of travelling. He also suggested a few amazing websites that offer some great deals, listen to find out.
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