Melissa Bowman

There were some great delegations that were very convincing. I suspect Council may adjust those proposed cuts largely based on some of the important information shared at the meeting.

a man applauds with the words way to go super proud of you behind him ALT: a man applauds with the words way to go super proud of you behind him

And that's all of the delegates. Thanks to everyone who spoke (or wrote) to council about these important issues. You're awesome!

The last delegate is from the Conestoga College Student Association and she expresses concerns about cutting route 110 which goes to the college.

Craig also says that prevention needs to be the priority, but when responding to calls, we need to triage situations better and only call on police when/if there is a need for police intervention, rather than them being first on scene for everything.

In response to a question from Mayor McCabe about whether Craig presented to the PSB, Craig says no, because this is specifically about non-police budget items and that there are no democratically-elected Waterloo reps on the board, and so he would rather speak to his elected reps at council.

Craig Sloss speaks to the police budget and says "hiring more officers is only one way to address a workload crunch. It can also be addressed by reducing the demands on the WRPS."

Robert has many suggestions: more and improved Mobilty Plus buses, repair damaged sidewalks, provide more curb cuts, improve snow-clearing, and provide additional locations where people can purchase affordable transit passes.

Robert Melanson says he's speaking as a disabled resident, saying, "MobilityPlus is falling behind meeting the needs of people it exists to support...When people can't access these services, they are not just inconvenienced, they are excluded."

Edward Faruzal, with KW Accessibility, says "transportation is the lifeblood of healthy living. Edward has similar concerns as the previous delegate: increase taxi coupon costs and stopping the mailing out of those coupons.

Chris concludes, "Ultimately, I hope we can find a solution that allows disabled people to participate in their community and to live their lives with dignity. That is what good, specialized transit makes possible and that's something we should work hard to preserve."

Chris is concerned that the region will no longer mail out the taxi coupons, meaning residents have to travel to purchase them from a limited number of locations. He also says the proposed cost increase is significant and many customers have limited or low incomes.

Chris Riccomini speaks next about concerns with proposed changes to the taxi coupon program. Chris, who is blind, says that taxis "fill an important accessibility gap that Mobility Plus is unable to cover."

David Alton is concerned about affordable housing projects being delayed. "Is a police communications centre as needed as 400+ units of housing?" David says, "It feels like council is stuck in a cycle of managing decline rather than championing a vision for our future."

Bruno Alegria is also here to speak against you guessed it, transit cuts! My thoughts: I can't help but think that so many people are willing to speak against the proposed cuts to transit service because the region has continued to build up it's transit service. We love it and don't want to lose it!

Jonathan Lin also opposes transit cuts, noting that many of the proposed cuts will most impact students, who often may not have any alternative options for getting around. He says transit is also important for affordability and sustainability.

Matt shares several examples of what happens when transit is unreliable, leading to packed buses if the previous bus never shows, and leaving people stranded because the bus becomes too full. "A 17% reduction in ridership does not justify a 50% cut to service."

Back to our delegations. Next is Matt West who says that reliable and frequent transit service is essential for residents. He is legally blind and his spouse doesn't drive - public transit allows them to get around the region. Cutting the service may mean his spouse will need to cut her work hours.

Text: “Listening to local business owners at the meeting, they are concerned about losing parking,” Burgess said. “This is what brings them business and also where their delivery trucks are able to stop and unload without blocking traffic. I personally cannot imagine removing parking and narrowing the road even further with the current state of traffic.”

Local councillor complains about the "current state of traffic" will putting forth a motion that opposes the creation of safe non-vehicle options on Arthur St. 🧐 www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...

Big closed tent on King St the length of a city block, with Music Haus entertainment schedule on a post in foreground

Wait you can just set up a whole huge hall in the middle of the street? Hell yeah

Paved and cleared multi use path through snow covered area with creek culvert and back of strip mall on the right, and some tall downtown Kitchener buildings visible in background

The one weird trick to being able to bike in the winter is the city maintaining safe bike infrastructure year round as the transportation corridors they are

Text: Multiple criminological and social studies have analyzed the “risk-fear paradox,” where people’s fears of crime remain high or increase despite falling crime rates. Typically, researchers have pointed to a couple of factors that cause this disconnect: media giving prominent coverage to the most sensational stories and rare tragedies, and when elected officials use the fear of crime as a political tool or talking point.

“Feelings toward crime are not dependent on statistics a lot of the time,” Valentin said. buff.ly/IYmrIaM

a group of men are dancing in front of a building with the words break time written above them . ALT: a group of men are dancing in front of a building with the words break time written above them .

Taking a break for now but tune in tomorrow to see more from the many delegates still to come!

Delegate Farshid Sadatsharifi speaks to proposed changes to the Taxi Script/Coupons service. The costs are set to increase and people with disabilities are already facing several barriers to fully and easily moving through the region - this adds one more.

James Hulme shares his experiences with the bus routes which are facing cuts. He wants continued investment into our transit system.

Caleb Jukes shares concerns about proposed changes to downtown waste collection. He's with the New Hamburg Board of Trade.

a man from schitts creek is making a funny face and the word yup is above him ALT: a man from schitts creek is making a funny face and the word yup is above him

Rodney speaks to transit ad wraps and how they "signal where our priorities are. Having these massive wraps on transit means we care more about people outside the bus looking at the ads than about the people actually riding inside the bus."

Next is Rodney Chan has concerns about some of the proposed cuts to GRT service. Rodney says that we need to focus more on reliability for existing service and shares some pictures of very full buses on the routes which are facing cuts.

Damian Mikhail is the next delegate with the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association. He says that "what we have in front of us is a transit budget that is contrary to our own city's goals." Cuts are on routes that students have said they rely on.

Kae Elgie speaks in support for free transit options for seniors. "It allows us to budget for sustainability." She also wants a bus stop close to the Waterloo Rec Complex - the current one is 400m away.

Delegate Brian Paul is the executive director for Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW). Paul is asking for a one-year pilot program that would offer free transit for seniors one day a week. He points to other local municipalities who do this and have seen improved ridership.