Friday 12 July 2013

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).

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