Opinion | A potential alternative for ION light rail in Cambridge

I read that Cambridge will probably not be getting the ION LRT because of escalating costs.

Who says that K-W and Cambridge must be linked by rail, isn’t there another way? Maybe Cambridge could have their own ION loop connecting Preston, Hespeler and Galt with having the cost shared by Waterloo Region just like the Cambridge residents through local taxation paid for K-W’s ION.

It seems fair to me that the cost be shared and the connection to K-W can still be done by bus to keep costs down and keep an existing form of transportation that works in place.

The hub could be at the mall on Hespeler Road with links by rail to each community and we, as in Cambridge residents, can choose the routes with the least expropriation of property and damage to the city.

If the city of Cambridge is truly on par with K-W then Cambridge should have this modern, efficient form of transportation or are the people of Cambridge just the poor brother in this family that continues to empty their pockets that pays for finer thing in life for a region that appears to be already wealthy and wants more, more, more.

For clarity, I have an SUV and I never take city transit but I see substantial growth in the city of Cambridge, be it from immigration, new homes and in some cases industrial infrastructure. So I feel this city needs to catch up because if folks truly are concerned about the number of vehicles on the road, and it’s going to get worse, maybe it makes sense to have a local solution to a regional problem, and WHY NOT!

Joseph Gillies

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