GROWTH IS COMING. INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS TO KEEP UP.

Growth is coming. The infrastructure needs to keep up.

If there is one thing that's obvious when you drive around Ward 7 and southeast Cambridge, it's that this part of our city is changing quickly.

New neighbourhoods are being built. A new joint school campus is taking shape on Wesley Boulevard. Right beside it, Cambridge is building a major new recreation complex that is expected to open in 2027.

That's exciting.

I believe Cambridge should grow, and I believe our city has enormous potential.

​But growth only works when the infrastructure keeps up.​

And that brings me to McQueen Shaver Boulevard.

A road that's about much more than a road:

The long-term plan is important.

McQueen Shaver Boulevard, together with the future East Boundary Road, would eventually create a much more effective route around the south and east sides of Cambridge, connecting toward Townline Road.

Part of that network has already been built.

The existing McQueen Shaver connection between Highway 24 and Franklin Boulevard provides an important east-west link.

The next major connection is intended to continue east from Franklin Boulevard toward Highway 8 and eventually Wesley Boulevard and East Boundary Road.

There are several reasons this matters.

• It would provide better connections for the rapidly growing southeast part of Cambridge.
• It would help serve new neighbourhoods, schools and recreation facilities.
• And importantly, it would provide through traffic, including heavy trucks, with a much more logical way to travel around Cambridge rather than through it.

But the timeline has slipped.

Portions of the project are now expected to stretch well into the next decade, while the eventual connection toward Townline Road remains even further out.

That's difficult to reconcile with what is happening around it.

We're building the community before we finish the transportation network:

The City of Cambridge is moving forward.

The new recreation complex on Wesley Boulevard is under construction. New homes are being built. The joint school campus is becoming a reality.

But much of the major road infrastructure serving this growing part of Cambridge is controlled by the Region of Waterloo.

That's one of those governmental distinctions that may make sense on an organizational chart but makes very little difference to the person who lives here.

Residents don't experience a "City road problem" or a "Regional road problem."

• They experience traffic.
• They hear trucks.
• They deal with congestion.
• They hear late-night engines.
• They wonder why governments can approve thousands of new homes and build major public facilities but can't seem to get the transportation infrastructure serving them onto the same timeline.

That is the part I believe needs to change.

Existing neighbourhoods are paying a price:

This isn't just about future development.

Residents living near Franklin Boulevard, including along streets such as Bakersfield Drive, have raised serious concerns about increased truck traffic and noise. Cambridge Today featured this issue in a recent article.

We shouldn't need to debate any specific decibel reading to acknowledge that residents deserve to have the problem properly measured and addressed.
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• How many heavy trucks are using Franklin Boulevard?
• How has that changed since McQueen Shaver opened?
• What are the actual noise levels at different times of day?
• Are trucks using the most appropriate routes?
• What practical mitigation can be implemented while the permanent transportation connection remains incomplete?

If residents are expected to live with this situation for several more years, those are reasonable questions.

McQueen Shaver is also a safety issue:

There is another part of this story that cannot be ignored.

McQueen Shaver has become a significant concern for excessive speeding, stunt driving and aggressive driving.
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Waterloo Regional Police have devoted considerable enforcement resources to the corridor and laid numerous speeding, careless-driving and stunt-driving charges.

Nearby residents have also raised concerns about late-night street racing and vehicles using the roadway at dangerously high speeds.

That tells me this is more than an inconvenience. It is a neighbourhood safety issue.

Police enforcement needs to continue, but enforcement alone cannot be the long-term answer. We should also be asking whether road design, traffic management, speed-management measures or other changes could make the corridor less attractive for dangerous driving.

Roads should move people efficiently. They should not become de facto racetracks.

This is what I mean by smart growth:

I'm pro-growth.

• Cambridge needs more homes.
• I want businesses to invest here.
• I want our city to grow confidently and become an increasingly connected, prosperous and welcoming place.

But being pro-growth doesn't mean building first and figuring out the infrastructure ten years later.

Smart growth means coordinating development with roads, schools, recreation, transit and other services.

It also means recognizing the impact growth can have on the people who already live here.

We should be able to welcome new neighbours while protecting existing neighbourhoods.

Those aren't competing goals.

There is also a government coordination problem:

McQueen Shaver and East Boundary Road are primarily Region of Waterloo projects.

That's important to acknowledge.

A Cambridge city councillor cannot simply vote at City Hall to build them.

I don't believe in promising powers that the office doesn't actually have.

But I also don't believe "that's the Region's responsibility" is an acceptable answer.

The City is approving development and building major community facilities.

The Region controls major transportation infrastructure.

Waterloo Regional Police enforce traffic laws.

Residents experience the result of all three.

That means the governments and agencies involved need to work together much more effectively.

Cambridge Council can advocate.

• It can ask hard questions.
• It can make the City's transportation priorities clear.
• It can push for City and Regional growth plans to be better coordinated.
• It can work with our representatives on Regional Council.
• And it can insist that residents receive transparent information about why projects have been delayed, what the realistic timeline is and what can be done in the meantime.

Residents should not have to understand the municipal org chart to get problems solved.

What I would push for:

If elected, I will advocate for a clear and accelerated timetable for the next phases of McQueen Shaver Boulevard and East Boundary Road.

• I want better coordination between Cambridge's growth plans and the Region's transportation capital plans.
• I want proper monitoring of truck volumes, traffic patterns and noise along Franklin Boulevard and affected neighbourhoods.
• I want continued attention to excessive speeding, stunt driving and dangerous driving along McQueen Shaver, including both enforcement and appropriate road-safety measures.
• I want practical interim mitigation for neighbourhoods that may be waiting years for the permanent transportation solution.
• And I don't want us to lose sight of the ultimate objective: completing the transportation connection through East Boundary Road toward Townline Road so Cambridge finally has a more effective route for traffic travelling around our city instead of through its heart.

Building for tomorrow while protecting neighbourhoods today:

This project has been discussed in various forms for decades.

• Meanwhile, Ward 7 is growing right now.
• The recreation complex is being built right now.
• New families are moving here right now.
• Existing residents are dealing with truck traffic, noise and dangerous driving right now.

We shouldn't have to choose between building for tomorrow and protecting neighbourhoods today.

We need to do both.

That's what smart growth should look like.