To The Editor,
After eight years of persistent advocacy for the widening of Arthur Street South and the Elmira Bypass, I’m compelled to confront a sobering truth: we are scarcely further ahead than when we began. At this pace, I doubt I’ll see this project completed in my lifetime.
Let’s not forget—the Region’s own 2018 Transportation Master Plan ranked the widening of Arthur St. S., beginning south of the roundabout, as the top priority for the 2018–2031 planning window. Yet seven years later, we are still staring at conceptual renderings pinned to bulletin boards and embedded in PowerPoint slides.
The Region’s presentation made on October 29th was disheartening. The same options were presented this time last year—however, now with cost estimates, a matrix weighing the alternatives and a set of recommendations that fall short of meeting our needs.
The original goal last November was to present this in Spring–Summer 2025. Then at the end of May the targeted delivery date moved to Q3/25 (i.e. July – September) and then to October. In other words, this deliverable alone slipped 6 months within 6 months.
In my 40 years leading large-scale high-tech initiatives, such delays would have been fatal—missing the market window, burning through budget, and ultimately killing the project.
If Waterloo Region could plan and build the entire Conestoga Parkway, that is roughly 20kms long, and it required railway lines to be reestablished, city streets redesigned, no less than 14 bridges and ramps built and the acquisition of dozens of properties, all within 10 years, surely we can build a 6.5km 4 lane road across mostly open space within 5 years and the Bypass within 10 years, given we have already spend 8 years planning for it.
I fear the Region has lost its “can-do” spirit. We once prided ourselves on being a “Community of Barn Builders”—rolling up our sleeves and getting things done.
Today, we’ve become a “Community of Committees”. We model, we meet, we assess, we reassess, and then we meet again. Meanwhile, the road remains unchanged, the risks grow, and after a year of analysis and costing, the Region’s recommendation for Arthur Street South is to merely accommodate “Active Transportation” (i.e. cycling and walking) without addressing the core issue of congestion and accidents; and a Hybrid Bypass, not a true Bypass, that will still bring truck traffic into Elmira, but down Union St. then right onto a new extension to Howard Ave that links up to Kenning Place then onto Arthur Street North.
This isn’t just about traffic flow—it’s about safety, emergency response, economic vitality, and keeping pace with growth. Every month of delay increases risk, impedes mobility, and erodes public confidence.
It’s time to move from paper and process to pavement and progress. Enough delay. Put a shovel in the ground.
To my fellow residents: if you share this frustration, now is the time to speak up. Write to your Township and Regional councillors. Attend public meetings. Demand accountability and urgency. Our safety, mobility, and future growth depend on it. Let’s remind our leaders that this community still knows how to build—and how to lead.
Bill Scott
Elmira
