CambridgeToday received the following letter to the editor from Jan Anthony Mendoza and Wenwan Zhao of More Transit Southern Ontario:
Southern Ontario has a problem when it comes to connecting towns and cities outside of the Greater Toronto Area. Many towns that require connections have either lost them, or never had them in the first place.
There is a distinct lack of Kitchener-Cambridge-Guelph connections despite the notable growth in the region in the past decade.
For example, there is no direct GO bus service between Cambridge and Guelph. To get from Cambridge, riders from Guelph must either ride to Kitchener or Aberfoyle and transfer on to a bus to Cambridge. This trip currently represents anywhere from 1 hour and 15 minutes to upwards of 2 hours, compared to a drive time of about 30 minutes between Cambridge and Guelph. Wellington County also has an inadequacy in bus services. Elora and Fergus have fixed bus routes to Guelph and Owen Sound, but they only run twice a day per direction. As of the time of writing, there is no way to get to places like Paris, Ontario, Port Dover, Goderich, and Kincardine without a car.
This lack of connectivity between Southern Ontario’s smaller and mid-sized communities and lack of alternatives to personal auto use is a damper on the economic development and social mobility within Southern Ontario.
If one belongs to the one-third of the entire population that is unable to drive or unable to obtain a license due to age, ability, condition, socioeconomic status, or illness, you are effectively dependent on taxis, a rideshare service, or the kindness of others to get you out of town or even within town.
Cycling may be an option for many who fall in this category for local travel, but our built environment was made dangerous by design to everything other than a personal vehicle. Due to this, cycling is often perceived as and/or is dangerous as can be seen by the record high number of cycling fatalities.
What about those applying for a job in the next town and unable to afford the significant cost associated with owning a car?
This is often a bridge too far for many who are unable to get a license or personal vehicle. Southern Ontario is an area with many places that are worth visiting, working, or living, but many are unable to reach. This is unfortunately the system in which we in Southern Ontario are trapped, due to decades of decisions, apathy, and neglect that have locked or enforced car-dependency from successive governments, town and city planners, and civil servants.
Cambridge is often considered an “odd spot” when it comes to intercity transportation. While it is currently bisected by Highway 401, getting to Downtown Toronto, Pearson Airport, or anywhere outside of the Region of Waterloo without a personal vehicle represents a trek that is not for the faint of heart as seen with the travel time between Guelph and Cambridge.
To solve the lack of connectivity for Cambridge in the short term, the following are the minimum steps that local and regional governments, as well as Metrolinx must do:
- Move forward with the bus route between Cambridge and Guelph that regional council has requested of Metrolinx.
- Have said bus link Ainslie Street Terminal in Galt and Guelph Central Station.
- Have a bus link between Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, and Aldershot GO Station in Burlington via Highway 8, in order to grant access from Cambridge to the Lakeshore West GO train line to those in the Region.
- Have a direct bus link that stops at Ainslie Street Terminal and terminate Milton GO Station and arrive at times that align with the train schedule.
- Have a bus link between Guelph and Elora and/or Fergus at the minimum.
These additional links will allow Cambridge and Guelph to have access to locations that either didn’t have a viable public transit option, or provide a link where one did not exist previously. The access will be an economic boon to Cambridge and Guelph as more people will be able to access Cambridge and Guelph, and more people will be able to access Cambridge and Guelph, leave their vehicle at home, and not add to the increasing amount of vehicular traffic into either city.
Jan Anthony Mendoza, Cambridge, Ontario
Wenwan Zhao, London, Ontario
More Transit Southern Ontario
