By Warren McNeil

As some or most people are aware, there is an upcoming plan to integrate a rapid transit system to link Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge together. Looks like the plan is being fastracked and could be approved as soon as next summer (2009). Based on previous votes, the favourite mode of transportation will be electric trains LRT (light rapid transit) instead of BRT (bus rapid transit). As far as the approval is concerned, apparently the province will not accept objections of impact on property values or business disruptions. Those types of concerns will be left up to regional council. The province will be concerned about impact on waterways, groundwater, rare and endangered species, aboriginal treaty rights, nursing homes, group homes and hospitals, designated historical buildings, and park and trail systems. I expect there will be some opposition from people. There always is.

I understand from reading on the http://transitea.region.waterloo.on.ca/ website that they expect our population to grow from 500,000 – 729,000 in the next 25 years. As a realtor, this means continued new construction and a very active real estate market. I think that if you are an investor, this should be an indication that the future of our area looks really promising. Anytime large developments occur in an area, property values will be affected positively or negatively. Investing in the right area will depend on careful due dilligence. I think it will be interesting to see what the next 10-15 years looks like. I expect that in 10 or 15 years, I will look back on this time and say, “I remember when the only modes of tranportation were, Grand River Transit, taxi and automobile.” or “When I went to school, I wore paperbags for shoes”. Ok maybe that last part is a little bit far fetched. My dad use to tell me that all of the time.

But seriously…

Our community is really starting to show major promise. Take for instance, the Breslau airport. We just flew out of the Breslau airport two weeks ago. What a rush! We didn’t have to drive down to Toronto, we were five minutes from our office. It was great! Just another example of one convenient resource we have access to.

I noticed we are even getting a Popeyes chicken over on Ottawa now. I can here the angels playing their harps. . Too bad the Krispie Kreme didn’t make it! Oh well… The restaurant that took it place serves terrific food.

Another thing! We must be the Tim Hortons capital of the world because we sure do have a lot of them. I find that really convenient because if I miss one, I just have to go down the street for five minutes and catch the next one. Heck there is even a Timmy’s at the hospital. We definitely can’t live without our Timmy’s.

Ok I am just rambling on now. For more information about the Waterloo Region Rapid Transit initiative, see the following links:

http://news.therecord.com/article/355321

http://transitea.region.waterloo.on.ca/

Check out these videos:

http://transitea.region.waterloo.on.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=1000002

Thanks for reading!