Waterloo, Ontario

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Waterloo —  City  — Uptown Waterloo, looking south down King Street. Logo Nickname(s): The Tri-City, The 'Loo Motto: Stability Coordinates: 43°28′N 80°31′W / 43.467°N 80.517°W / 43.467; -80.517Coordinates: 43°28′N 80°31′W / 43.467°N 80.517°W / 43.467; -80.517 Country  Canada Province  Ontario Region Waterloo Incorporated May 27, 1857 Government  • Mayor Brenda Halloran  • Governing Body Waterloo City Council  • City CAO Tim Anderson  • MP Peter Braid (Conservative)  • MPP Catherine Fife (NDP) Area  • Land 64.10 km2 (24.75 sq mi) Elevation 329 m (1,079 ft) Population (2011)  • City 98,780 (52nd)  • Density 1,520.7/km2 (3,939/sq mi)  • Metro 477,160 (10th) Demonym Waterlooian, Waterluvian Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC−5)  • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4) Postal codes N2J, N2K, N2L, N2T, N2V Area code(s) 519 and 226

Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener.

Kitchener and Waterloo are often jointly referred to as "Kitchener-Waterloo" (K-W), or "the Twin Cities", although they have separate city governments. There have been several attempts to amalgamate the two cities (sometimes with the city of Cambridge as well), but none have been successful. At the time of the 2011 census, Waterloo had a population of 98,780.

History

Waterloo was built on land that was part of a parcel of 675,000 acres (2,730 km2) assigned in 1784 to the Iroquois alliance that made up the League of Six Nations. Almost immediately—and with much controversy—the native groups began to sell some of the land. Between 1796 and 1798, 93,000 acres (380 km2) were sold through a Crown Grant to Richard Beasley, with the Six Nations Indians continuing to hold the mortgage on the lands.

The first wave of immigrants to the area was Mennonites from Pennsylvania. They bought deeds to land parcels from Beasley and began moving into the area in 1804. The following year, a group of 26 Mennonites pooled resources to purchase all of the unsold land from Beasley and discharge the mortgage held by the Six Nations Indians.

The Mennonites divided the land into smaller lots; two lots initially owned by Abraham Erb became the central core of Waterloo. Erb is often called the founder of Waterloo, as it was his sawmill (1808) and grist mill (1816) that became the focal point of the area.

In 1816, the new township was named after Waterloo, Belgium, the site of the Battle of Waterloo, which had ended the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. After that war, the area became a popular destination for German immigrants. By the 1840s, German settlers had overtaken the Mennonites as the dominant segment of the population. Many Germans settled in the small hamlet to the southeast of Waterloo. In their honour, the village was named Berlin in 1833 (renamed to Kitchener in 1916). Berlin was chosen as the site of the seat for the County of Waterloo in 1853.

Waterloo was incorporated as a village in 1857 and became the Town of Waterloo in 1876 and the City of Waterloo in 1948.

Government

Waterloo City Hall

Waterloo City Council consists of seven councillors, each representing a ward, and a mayor. The number of wards expanded from five to seven in the November 2006 elections. The current mayor of Waterloo is Brenda Halloran, who was elected in November 2006 and re-elected in 2010. The current Waterloo City Council is constituted as follows:

Ward 1 (Southwest): Scott Witmer Ward 2 (Northwest): Karen Scian Ward 3 (Lakeshore): Angela Vieth Ward 4 (Northeast): Diane Freeman Ward 5 (Southeast): Mark Whaley Ward 6 (Central-Columbia): Jeff Henry Ward 7 (Uptown): Melissa Durrell

The City is responsible for fire protection, libraries, parks and recreation, and secondary streets. Many municipal services are provided through the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (often referred to as Waterloo Region or the Region of Waterloo), which consists of the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge, and the townships of Woolwich, Wilmot, Wellesley, and North Dumfries. Regional responsibilities include social welfare, community health, and policing through the Waterloo Regional Police Service.

Past and present city councils have been committed to providing for the explosive population growth that is coming with the local economic boom. Rapidly developing subdivisions are often described by their critics as urban sprawl that threatens environmentally sensitive areas and valuable agricultural land.

Federally and provincially, the entire city of Waterloo is contained within the Kitchener—Waterloo electoral district.

Geography

King Street South in the heart of Uptown Waterloo.

Waterloo's city centre is located near the intersection of King and Erb streets. Since 1961, the centrepiece has been the Waterloo Town Square shopping centre, which underwent a thorough renovation in 2006. Much of the mall was torn down and has been replaced by buildings that emphasize street-facing storefronts.

Residents refer to the Waterloo city centre as "uptown" (often capitalized), while "downtown" is reserved for the Kitchener city centre.

The city centre was once along Albert Street, near the Marsland Centre and the Waterloo Public Library. The town hall, fire hall, and farmers' market were located there. Amidst some controversy, all were demolished between 1965 and 1969.

Parks

There are five main parks in the city. RIM Park occupies 2 square kilometres (500 acres) and is home to a variety of indoor and outdoor sporting facilities, including an eighteen-hole golf course, and the heritage Martin Farm House.

Waterloo Park is in Uptown Waterloo, and contains historical buildings, a bandshell, animal displays, and the Lions' Lagoon water park in its 45 hectares (110 acres). A grandstand was built in 1895 to house spectators for sporting events at the park's former oval track, but it was torn down in 1953. A Park Inn refreshment booth opened in June 1956, designed by a former Alderman, Charlie Voelker. It operates from May until September. The park is also known for its light displays during the Christmas holiday season, known as "Wonders of Winter".

Bechtel Park occupies 44 hectares (110 acres) and has many outdoor sporting facilities along with wetlands, meadows and hardwood forest. The park also includes an off-leash dog park, and adjacent city-operated cemetery. Hillside Park covers 25 hectares (62 acres) and includes two lighted ball diamonds.

Lexington Park includes a ball diamond and a soccer pitch on the former site of the K-W Municipal Airport. The 3 square kilometre (725 acre) Laurel Creek Conservation Area lies in the northwest of the city.

Waterways

The Grand River flows southward along the east side of the city. Its most significant tributary within the city is Laurel Creek, whose source lies just to the west of the city limits and its mouth just to the east, and crosses much of the city's central areas including the University of Waterloo lands and Waterloo Park; it flows under the uptown area in a culvert. In the west end of the city, the Waterloo Moraine provides over 300,000 people in the region with drinking water. Much of the gently hilly Waterloo Moraine underlies existing developed areas. Ongoing urban growth, mostly in the form of low-density residential suburbs (in accordance with requests by land developers), will cover increasing amounts of the remaining undeveloped portions of the Waterloo Moraine.

Uptown looking Northwest from the Uptown Parkade. Landmarks visible include the Marsland Centre on the extreme left and Waterloo City Hall on the extreme right. Climate Climate data for Waterloo Regional Airport Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 14.2 (57.6) 13.7 (56.7) 24.4 (75.9) 29.2 (84.6) 32.0 (89.6) 36.1 (97) 36.0 (96.8) 36.5 (97.7) 33.3 (91.9) 29.4 (84.9) 21.1 (70) 18.7 (65.7) 36.5 (97.7) Average high °C (°F) −3.1 (26.4) −2 (28) 3.3 (37.9) 11.1 (52) 18.6 (65.5) 23.4 (74.1) 25.9 (78.6) 24.7 (76.5) 20.2 (68.4) 13.4 (56.1) 6.1 (43) −0.2 (31.6) 11.8 (53.2) Daily mean °C (°F) −7.1 (19.2) −6.4 (20.5) −1.2 (29.8) 5.8 (42.4) 12.5 (54.5) 17.3 (63.1) 19.8 (67.6) 18.7 (65.7) 14.3 (57.7) 8.2 (46.8) 2.3 (36.1) −3.8 (25.2) 6.7 (44.1) Average low °C (°F) −11 (12) −10.7 (12.7) −5.8 (21.6) 0.4 (32.7) 6.3 (43.3) 11.2 (52.2) 13.7 (56.7) 12.7 (54.9) 8.4 (47.1) 2.9 (37.2) −1.5 (29.3) −7.3 (18.9) 1.6 (34.9) Record low °C (°F) −31.9 (−25.4) −29.2 (−20.6) −25.4 (−13.7) −16.1 (3) −3.9 (25) −0.6 (30.9) 5.0 (41) 1.1 (34) −3.7 (25.3) −8.3 (17.1) −15.4 (4.3) −27.2 (−17) −31.9 (−25.4) Precipitation mm (inches) 64.4 (2.535) 51.5 (2.028) 69.9 (2.752) 76.9 (3.028) 78.3 (3.083) 81.3 (3.201) 91.8 (3.614) 86.3 (3.398) 85.8 (3.378) 65.6 (2.583) 82.7 (3.256) 73.6 (2.898) 907.9 (35.744) Rainfall mm (inches) 27.9 (1.098) 25.6 (1.008) 45.1 (1.776) 69.1 (2.72) 77.9 (3.067) 81.3 (3.201) 91.8 (3.614) 86.3 (3.398) 85.8 (3.378) 64.5 (2.539) 70.4 (2.772) 39.5 (1.555) 765 (30.12) Snowfall cm (inches) 43.5 (17.13) 30.6 (12.05) 24.1 (9.49) 7.8 (3.07) 0.3 (0.12) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 1.2 (0.47) 13.7 (5.39) 38.5 (15.16) 159.5 (62.8) Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 18.3 14.3 14.2 13.4 12.0 11.7 10.4 11.0 11.5 13.3 16.1 18.1 164.4 Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 5.1 4.3 7.5 11.3 12.0 11.7 10.4 11.0 11.5 13.1 11.0 6.7 115.6 Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 16.7 12.6 8.9 3.3 0.1 0 0 0 0 0.83 7.1 14.6 64.1  % humidity 86.4 83.6 85.1 84.2 84.9 87.3 90.5 94.0 93.9 90.9 87.5 87.0 87.9 Source: Environment Canada

Waterloo has a humid continental climate of the warm summer subtype (Dfb under the Köppen climate classification); this means that there are large seasonal differences, usually very warm to hot (and humid) summers and cold (to very cold) winters. Compared to the rest of Canada, it has moderate weather. Winter temperatures generally last from the middle of December until the middle of March, while summer temperatures generally occur between the middle of May to close to the end of September. Temperatures can exceed 30℃ (86℉) several times a year. Waterloo has approximately 140 frost-free days per year.

Economy

The Sun Life Financial building is currently the tallest building in Waterloo. The Marsland Centre in Uptown Waterloo View from the parkade in Uptown Waterloo

Waterloo has a strong knowledge- and service-based economy with significant insurance and high-tech sectors as well as two universities. The city's largest employers are Sun Life Financial, the University of Waterloo, Manulife Financial, BlackBerry, Sandvine and Wilfrid Laurier University.

The city is also home to three well known think tanks – the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, an advanced centre for the study of foundational, theoretical physics and award-winning educational outreach in science; the Institute for Quantum Computing, based at the University of Waterloo, which carries out innovative research in computer, engineering, mathematical and physical sciences; and the Centre for International Governance Innovation, an independent, nonpartisan think tank that addresses international governance challenges.

The city is part of Canada's Technology Triangle (CTT), a joint economic development initiative of Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge and the Region of Waterloo that markets the region internationally. Despite its name, CTT does not focus exclusively on promoting technology industries, but on all aspects of economic development.

Waterloo has a strong technology sector with hundreds of high-tech firms. The dominant technology company in the city is BlackBerry, makers of the BlackBerry, which has its headquarters in the city and owns several office buildings near the University of Waterloo's main campus.

Notable Waterloo-based high-tech companies include:

Dalsa Descartes Systems Group Maplesoft MKS Inc. Open Text Corporation BlackBerry Sandvine

Many other high-tech companies, with headquarters elsewhere, take advantage of the concentration of high-tech employees in the Waterloo area, and have research and development centres there. Sybase, Google, Oracle, Intel, McAfee, NCR Corporation, Electronic Arts and Agfa are among the large, international technology companies with development offices in Waterloo.

Before it became known for technology, Waterloo was sometimes referred to as "the Hartford of Canada" because of the many insurance companies based in the area. Manulife, Sun Life Financial, Equitable Life of Canada and Economical Insurance have a significant presence in the city.

Breweries and distilleries had been a significant industry in the Waterloo area until 1993 when a Labatt-owned brewery was shut down. Now the only major brewery is the Brick Brewing Company. Waterloo was the original home of distiller Seagram (also home town of many descendants of J.P. Seagram), which closed its Waterloo plant in 1992. Of the remaining Seagram buildings, one became home of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), while others were converted into condominiums.

Largest employers in the city of Waterloo BlackBerry (9,500 employees) Manulife Financial (3,800 employees) University of Waterloo (3,500 employees) Sun Life Financial (3,300 employees) Open Text (1,500 employees)) Wilfrid Laurier University (1,047 employees))

Transport

Waterloo as seen from Kitchener Roads

The Conestoga Parkway and Highway 8 connect Waterloo with Kitchener, Cambridge, Highway 7/8, and Highway 401.

Waterloo shares several of its north-south arterial roads with neighbouring Kitchener. They include (from east to west) Bridge Street, Weber Street, King Street, Westmount Road, Fischer-Hallman Road, and Ira Needles Boulevard. Regina Street (located between Weber and King Streets) and Albert Street (located between King Street and Westmount Road) are north-south roads located entirely within Waterloo.

The city's east-west thoroughfares are almost entirely located within city limits, with the exception of Union Street, which has a small section in Kitchener, and Bridgeport Road which has its eastern end in the Bridgeport area of Kitchener. Waterloo's major east-west arterial roads are (from south to north) Union Street, Erb Street, Bridgeport Road, University Avenue, Columbia Street, and Northfield Drive.

There are numerous bicycle pathways. The Iron Horse Trail, which originates in Kitchener, enters Uptown Waterloo and links with the Laurel Trail that extends into the northern part of the city.

Public transport See also: Rapid transit in Waterloo Region

Public transport throughout Waterloo Region is provided by Grand River Transit, created by a merger of Kitchener Transit (which served Waterloo) and Cambridge Transit in January 2000. GRT operates a number of bus routes in Waterloo, with many running into Kitchener. In September 2005 an express bus route called iXpress was added that runs from downtown Cambridge through Kitchener to Conestoga Mall in North Waterloo. Regional council has supported the construction of a light rail system to connect Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge. In June 2011, regional council approved the plan for a light rail line from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener, with rapid buses through Cambridge.

Railways

Waterloo is not served by any regularly scheduled passenger rail service. Via Rail trains between Sarnia and Toronto stop at the nearby Kitchener railway station southeast of uptown Waterloo at the corner of Victoria Street and Weber Street. The station is accessible by local buses via Kitchener's downtown Charles Street transit terminal.

The nearest GO Transit railway station is Kitchener GO Station, as the Kitchener Line (formerly the Georgetown Line) has extended to Kitchener on December 19, 2011. In addition, Waterloo is served by GO buses which stop at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, with destinations of Square One City Centre Terminal and Milton GO Station.

In May 2007, city council gave approval for a non-profit tourist train to run between Waterloo station and St. Jacobs, reviving the route of the Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway from the late 1990s. The Waterloo Central Railway are run on trains at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm from April to November.

Air

The closest airport to Waterloo is the Region of Waterloo International Airport in nearby Breslau, but while it is a thriving general-aviation field, it is not heavily served by scheduled airlines. Most air travellers use Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport or John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. WestJet has scheduled daily non-stop service to Calgary from Waterloo International Airport using Boeing 737-700 aircraft. They started service out of Region of Waterloo International Airport on May 14, 2007, for the summer season and then decided to fly year-round due to strong passenger demand. As of June 27, 2010, Westjet also flies non-stop daily from Waterloo International Airport to Vancouver for the summer season. Bearskin Airlines started offering service in the fall of 2007 with three flights daily between Kitchener and Ottawa using a Fairchild Turboprop aircraft. Strong demand has resulted in Bearskin Airlines adding a fourth flight on Fridays. During the winter months Sunwing Airlines offers service to Dominican Republic. As of June 14, 2012 American Airlines operates twice daily service to Chicago O'Hare International Airport. The service is operated by American Eagle using the Embraer 145 jet. Recent upgrades to the runways, approach lighting and terminal building have permitted larger aircraft to use this airport. Past airlines that no longer service the airport include Trillium (to Ottawa), Mesaba (Northwest Airlines feeder to Detroit) and Sky Service (to sun destinations).

Demographics

Census Population 1841 200 1871 1,594 1881 2,066 1891 2,941 1901 3,537 1911 4,359 1921 5,883 1931 8,095 1941 8,968 1951 11,991 1961 21,366 1971 36,677 1981 49,428 1991 71,181 2001 86,543 2006 97,475 2011 98,780

Many locals are of ethnic German descent. There is also a strong Mennonite presence. The universities and colleges along with its thriving technology and electronics presence attract a large number of individuals from elsewhere in Canada and the world.

Ethnic groups

From the 2006 census data, excluding post-secondary students temporarily residing in Waterloo:

White: 79,620 or 82.3% Chinese: 5,170 or 5.3% South Asian: 4,495 or 4.6% Black: 1,145 or 1.2% Southeast Asian: 975 or 1.0% Hispanics: 860 or 0.9% Other: 3,415 or 3.5% Religion

From the 2001 census data, excluding post-secondary students temporarily residing in Waterloo:

Protestant: 37,090 or 43.1% Catholic: 23,975 or 27.8% No Affiliation: 15,100 or 17.5% Other Christian: 3,875 or 4.5% Muslim: 2,425 or 2.8% Hindu: 1,385 or 1.6% Sikh: 785 or 0.9% Buddhist: 595 or 0.7% Jewish: 410 or 0.5% Bahai: 625 or 0.73% Other: 435 or 0.5%