Kitchener
—  City  —
City of Kitchener
Flag Logo
Motto: Ex industria prosperitas (Latin: Prosperity through industry)
Location of Kitchener in Waterloo Region
Coordinates: 43°27′N 80°29′W / 43.45°N 80.483°W / 43.45; -80.483Coordinates: 43°27′N 80°29′W / 43.45°N 80.483°W / 43.45; -80.483
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Waterloo
Founded	1833
Incorporated	1853
Incorporated	1912 (city)
Government
• Mayor	Carl Zehr
Area[1][2]
• City	136.89 km2 (52.85 sq mi)
• Land	136.89 km2 (52.85 sq mi)
• Urban	313.85 km2 (121.18 sq mi)
• Metro	827.07 km2 (319.33 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1][2]
• City	219,153 (22nd)
• Density	1,602.1/km2 (4,149/sq mi)
• Urban	441,380 (10th)
• Urban density	1,346.2/km2 (3,487/sq mi)
• Metro	477,160 (10th)
• Metro density	577/km2 (1,490/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Forward sortation area	N2A to N2R
Area code(s)	519 and 226
Website	www.kitchener.ca

The City of Kitchener ( ) is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 219,153 in the 2011 Census. The metropolitan area, which includes the neighbouring cities of Waterloo and Cambridge, has 477,160 people, making it the tenth largest Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in Canada and the fourth largest CMA in Ontario.^[3]. The city is adjacent to the smaller cities of Cambridge to the south, and Waterloo to the north. Kitchener and Waterloo are often referred to jointly as "Kitchener-Waterloo" (K-W), although they have separate municipal governments. Including Cambridge, the three cities are known as "the tri-cities".

The City of Kitchener covers an area of 136.86 square kilometres.

Geography and climate

Geography

Kitchener is located in Southwestern Ontario,in the Saint Lawrence Lowlands.^[4] This geological and climatic region has wet-climate soils and deciduous forests. Located in the Grand River Valley, the area is generally above 300m (1000') in elevation.

Kitchener is the largest city situated within the Grand River watershed, and the largest city on the Haldimand Tract. The Haldimand tract was given to the Six Nations (Haudenosaunee) of the Grand River in 1784 and comprises 6 miles on either bank, for the whole length of the Grand River. Just to the west of the city is Baden Hill, in Wilmot Township. This glacial kame remnant formation is the highest elevation for many miles around. The other dominant glacial feature is the Waterloo Moraine, which snakes its way through the region and holds a significant quantity of artesian wells, from which the city derives most of its drinking water. The settlement's first name, Sandhills, is an accurate description of the higher points of the moraine.

Climate

Kitchener has a humid continental climate of the warm summer subtype (Dfb under the Koppen climate classification); this means that there are large seasonal differences, usually very warm (and humid) summers and cold (to occasionaly very cold) winters. Winter like conditions generally last from the mid-December until mid-March, while summer temperatures generally occur between end-May to close to the end-September. March 2012 went down in the history books for Kitchener - between March 16 and March 22 temperates ranged from 21.4C to 27.0C -- 7 record highs in a row. The March 19th high of 24C is one of the highest winter time temperature ever recorded, while the March 22nd high of 27C (81F) is the highest for March in this area. Temperatures during the year can exceed 30℃ (86℉) in the summer and drop below -20℃ (-4℉) in the winter several times a year, but prolonged periods of extreme temperatures are rare. Kitchener averages about 140 frost-free days a year, a much more limited number than cities on the Great Lakes due its inland location and higher elevation. Snowfall averages 160cm per year, high but not nearly as areas more directly affected by lake effect snow.

History

Queen Street, an older section of Kitchener located downtown. St. Mary's General Hospital can be seen in the far distance.

Settlement

In 1784, the land that Kitchener was built upon was an area given to the Six Nations by the British as a gift for their allegiance during the American Revolution; 240,000 hectares of land to be exact. From 1796 and 1798, the Six Nations sold 38,000 hectares of this land to a Loyalist by the name of Colonel Richard Beasley. The portion of land that Beasley had purchased was remote but it was of great interest to German Mennonite farming families from Pennsylvania. They wanted to live in an area that would allow them to practice their beliefs without persecution. Eventually, the Mennonites purchased all of Beasley's unsold land creating 160 farm tracts. By 1800, the first buildings were built,^[6] and over the next decade several families made the difficult trip north to what was then known as the Sand Hills. One of these Mennonite families, arriving in 1807, was the Schneiders, whose restored 1816 home (the oldest building in the city) is now a museum located in the heart of Kitchener.^[7] Other families whose names can still be found in local place names were the Bechtels, the Ebys, the Erbs, the Weavers (better known today as the Webers) the Cressmans and the Brubachers. In 1816 the Government of Upper Canada designated the settlement the Township of Waterloo.

Much of the land, made up of moraines and swampland interspersed with rivers and streams, was converted to farmland and roads. Wild pigeons, which once swarmed by the tens of thousands, were driven from the area. Apple trees were introduced to the region by John Eby in the 1830s, and several grist- and sawmills (most notably Joseph Schneider's 1816 sawmill, John and Abraham Erb's grist- and sawmills and Eby's cider mill) were erected throughout the area. Schneider built the town's first road, from his home to the corner of King Street and Queen Street (then known as Walper corner). $1000 was raised by the settlers to extend the road from Walper corner to Huether corner, where the Huether Brewery was built and the Huether Hotel now stands; a petition to the government for $100 to assist in completing the project was denied.

Immigration to the town increased considerably from 1816 until the 1870s, many of the newcomers being of German (particularly Lutheran, and Mennonite) extraction. Some were from Switzerland, like the founder of The Arthur Pequegnat Clock Company. In 1833 the town was renamed Berlin, and in 1853 Berlin became the County Seat of the newly created County of Waterloo, elevating it to the status of Village.

Post 1850

The extension of the Grand Trunk Railway from Sarnia to Toronto (and hence through Berlin) in July 1856 was a major boon to the community, helping to improve industrialization in the area. Immigrants from Germany, mostly Lutheran and Catholic, dominated the city after 1850 and developed their own newer German celebrations, and influences, such as the Turner societies, gymnastics, and band music. During the First World War Anglophone reaction against all things German led to the abandonment of this heritage. For example, churches switched to English language services. In 1916 following much debate and controversy, the name of the city was changed to Kitchener; named after the late British Field Marshal The 1st Earl Kitchener.^[8] After the war, local historians and civic groups promoted a new heritage that emphasized the county's Pennsylvania Dutch roots. Illustrated souvenir books, a popular novel, and site markers celebrated this simplified, nationalistic version of the founding.^[9]

On June 9, 1912, Berlin was officially designated a city.^[8] On September 17, 1981, the first ever "blue box" recycling program was launched in Kitchener. Today, more than 90% of Ontario households have access to recycling programs and annually they divert more than 650,000 tonnes of secondary resource materials. The blue box program has expanded in various forms throughout Canada and to countries around the world such as the United States, United Kingdom, France and Australia, serving more than 40 million households around the world.

Economy

Benton and Frederick Streets (the name changes at the intersection with King Street in the foreground) form one of the most important corridors for traffic and public transit routes entering Downtown Kitchener

While Waterloo has benefited from the presence of two universities and a number of high tech companies, Kitchener has been a more blue-collar town. The city is home to four municipal business parks: the Bridgeport Business Park, Grand River West Business Park, Huron Business Park and Lancaster Corporate Centre. The largest, the Huron Business Park, is home to a number of industries, from seat manufacturers to furniture components. A number of the old industrial companies of Kitchener have fallen on harder times: the Kaufman shoe manufacturer closed its factory and companies like Electrohome have ceased local production in favour of licensing or supply agreements with overseas makers, however many other manufacturers like Kuntz Electroplating are still successfully operating within the city. Schneider's Foods (a meat producer) has been bought out by Maple Leaf Consumer Foods, but continues operations in Kitchener. The auto-parts manufacturer Budd Canada, now known as Kitchener Frame, continued to employ over 1500 workers until its close in December 2008, due to the ongoing economic crisis. According to the 2006 Census, 24.2% of the labour force is employed in the manufacturing sector.

The city's current city hall opened in September 1993.^[10] Your Kitchener Market, the modern incarnation of its historic farmers market, opened in 2004.^[11] Other projects include an assortment of lofts, utilizing old factories and other buildings. Various plans for 20 floor condo units have been put in place. By 2009, More than 91% of all downtown office space was fully occupied.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the University of Waterloo school of pharmacy and downtown health sciences campus was officially held on March 15, 2006, and the facility opened in spring 2009. The building is located on King Street near Victoria Street, on the site of the old Epton plant, across the street from the former Kaufman shoe factory (now converted to lofts).

Economic and social impacts from the new health sciences campus have already created positive impacts with significant economic benefits associated with related business activities, and spin off business and industry that will diversify the economy and bring additional jobs to the area.

The redevelopment of the 'Centre Block' in downtown Kitchener has its vision set and is planned to start. It will include a 12 story and an 18 story condominium, more retail spaces, the redevelopment of the Mayfair Hotel and a central courtyard.

In spring 2009, work began on a major redevelopment of King Street, which focuses on making the street more pedestrian-friendly with the addition of wide sidewalks and more aesthetically pleasing features such as new planters. Parking on King Street will also be redesigned. The project will extend from Frederick/Benton Streets to Francis Street. Coinciding with the renovation of King Street is the complete overhauling of Speaker's Corner at the corner of King and Benton Streets, and the transformation of a parking lot at the corner of Charles and Benton Streets into a bright, modern, multi-story parking facility to accommodate the influx of vehicles when new businesses open and other parking lots are redeveloped.

The Province of Ontario has committed to building a new provincial courthouse in downtown Kitchener, on the block bordered by Frederick, Duke, Scott and Weber streets. The new courthouse is expected to create new jobs, mainly for the courthouse itself, but also for other businesses, especially law offices. The new courthouse construction began in 2010.

Demographics

At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, the population of Kitchener was 204,668.^[1] As of 2011, the population of Kitchener is estimated to be about 230,000.

By gender, 49.2% of the population was male and 50.8% was female. Children under five accounted for approximately 6.0% of the resident population of Kitchener, compared to 5.5% in Ontario, and 5.3% for Canada overall. Some 11.7% of the resident population in Kitchener was of retirement age, a smaller proportion of the population compared to 13.6% in Ontario, and 13.7% in Canada. The median age was 37 years, younger than the 39 years for Ontario, and 40 years for Canada. In the five years between 2001 and 2006, the population of Kitchener grew by 7.5%, higher than the growth rates for both Ontario (6.6%) and Canada(5.4%). Population density of Kitchener was 1,495 people per square kilometre.

According to the 2006 Census, 15.4 percent of the population claimed to be members of a visible minority. The largest visible minority groups are: Black: 3.2%, South Asian: 3.1%, Latin American: 2.2%, Southeast Asian: 2.0%, Chinese: 1.4%, and Others.^[1]

From the 2001 census, 78.85% of the population adhered to various Christian denominations. Due to the higher concentrations of German Canadians, Protestantism has a greater percentage (41.32%), followed by Roman Catholic (32.44%), while the remaining 5.07% follow other Christian groups such as Eastern Orthodox, LDS, Jehovah's Witness.etc.^[19] Other religions include Islam: 2.24%, Hindu: 1.00%, plus others including Judaism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, while 15.6% claim no religious affiliation at all.

Government

Kitchener City Hall

Kitchener is governed by a council of six councillors, representing wards (or districts), and a mayor. As of the 2010 Municipal Election, Kitchener Council will be composed of one Mayor and 10 Ward Councillors.^[20] Council is responsible for policy and decision making, monitoring the operation and performance of the city, analyzing and approving budgets and determining spending priorities. The residents of each ward vote for one person to be their city councillor; their voice and representative on city council. Kitchener residents also elect four councillors at large to sit with the mayor on the council of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Municipal elections are held every four years in late October.

The current mayor of Kitchener is Carl Zehr, who was re-elected to his fifth term in October 2010, after first being elected in 1997 and then re-elected in 2000, 2003 and 2006. Before that, he sat as a municipal councillor from 1985-1994. See Kitchener City Council for a complete list of councillors.

In 1976, residents of Kitchener voted almost 2:1 in favour of a ward system. The first municipal election held under the ward system occurred in 1978. In 2010, the city underwent a ward boundary review. A consultant proposed boundaries for a 10 ward system for the 2010 municipal election which means that there will be 4 additional councillors/wards.^[21]

The current Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Kitchener Centre is John Milloy. Other MPPs include Michael Harris (Kitchener-Conestoga) and formerly Elizabeth Witmer, (Kitchener-Waterloo (now vacant) who both represent small portions of the city in addition to adjacent areas. The federal and provincial electoral boundaries are now aligned and the federal Members of Parliament (MPs) as follows: Stephen Woodworth (Kitchener Centre), Harold Albrecht (Kitchener-Conestoga) and Peter Braid (Kitchener-Waterloo).

Education

Kitchener has several public high schools, with Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School, founded in 1855, being the oldest. It is located in the northern area of the City not far from the boundary of Waterloo. In the 1950s and 1960s several new schools were constructed, including Eastwood Collegiate Institute in what was then the southeastern part of the city in 1956, Forest Heights Collegiate Institute in the western Forest Heights part of the city in 1964, Grand River Collegiate Institute in the northeastern Heritage Park/Grand River Village area in 1966, and Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute in the southern area of the Downtown core in 1967. In 2006, Huron Heights Secondary School opened in southwest Kitchener. It opened with a limited enrollment of only 9th and 10th grade students, and has since expanded to full capacity in the 2008-2009 school year.

The oldest Catholic high school in the city is St. Mary's High School, which opened in 1907. Originally a girls-only Catholic school, it was transformed into a co-ed institution in 1990 after the closure of the neighbouring St. Jerome's High School, which had been a boys-only Catholic school. The same year, a second Catholic high school, Resurrection Catholic Secondary School, opened in the west of the city. In 2002, St. Mary's abandoned its downtown location in favour of a new one in the city's southwest. The former St. Jerome's High School currently houses the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University. It opened at this location in 2006, bringing 300 faculty, staff and students to downtown Kitchener.^[22] The former St. Mary's High School building, meanwhile, has been transformed into both the head office of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board and the Kitchener Downtown Community Centre.

Conestoga College

The Doon neighbourhood, formerly a separate village but now part of Kitchener, is home to the primary campus of Conestoga College, one of the foremost non-university educational institutions in the province. For nine consecutive years, Conestoga has earned top overall ranking among Ontario colleges on the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) surveys, which measures graduate employment rates and satisfaction levels, and employer and student satisfaction. It is one of only seven polytechnical institutes in Canada.^[23]

The University of Waterloo is proceeding with opening a School of Pharmacy in the downtown area. The City of Kitchener has contributed $30 million from its $110 million Economic Development Investment Fund, established in 2004, to the establishment of the UW Downtown Kitchener School of Pharmacy. Construction began in 2006, and the pharmacy program was launched in January 2008 with 92 students. It is operating out of a temporary location pending the completion of construction on the downtown campus.^[24]

The school is expected to graduate about 120 pharmacists annually and will become the home of the Centre for Family Medicine, where new family physicians will be trained, as well as an optometry clinic and the International Pharmacy Graduate Program. Construction on the $147 million facility was largely finished in spring 2009.

The provincial government has also announced that the University of Waterloo's (UW) Downtown Kitchener Health Sciences Campus will be the site of a new satellite campus of McMaster University's School of Medicine. The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine is expected to train 15 doctors a year, primarily through distance learning^[25]

The training of medical professionals in downtown Kitchener include developments such as:

• In 2008, the UW School of Pharmacy began admitting 120 students each year.
• Eventually, the UW School of Pharmacy campus will evolve to become the UW Downtown Kitchener Health Sciences Campus, offering more programs and bringing hundreds of faculty, staff and students to the downtown core
• There are plans for an Integrated Primary Health Care Centre on the UW site that will provide as many as 12 more family physicians locally, as well as training for many more medical doctors.
• The Centre for Family Medicine, which is already up and running in the former Victoria School Centre in downtown Kitchener, is slated to move to the UW campus sometime after it opens. Currently, there are six practicing family physicians in the Centre and plans are to boost that number to as many as 14 family physicians.
• New physicians trained either at the new Integrated Primary Health Care Centre or the Centre for Family Medicine will learn in and create holistic health care models of the future.
• In September 2006, the Wilfrid Laurier Faculty of Social Work opened in the former St. Jerome's High School building on Duke Street adding yet another dimension to the "health care" theme in downtown Kitchener.

Health care in Kitchener

Kitchener-Waterloo is served by three hospitals, Grand River Hospital (which is a system of two hospitals), St. Mary's General Hospital, and Cambridge Memorial. Grand River treats patients with a wide range of problems and houses the psychiatric unit, trauma centre, women's and children's services, and the Regional Cancer Care Centre. St Mary's houses the Regional Cardiac Care Centre, serving a population of nearly one million from Waterloo Region, east to Guelph, north to Owen Sound/Tobermory, south to Lake Erie, and west to Ingersoll. It also houses a respiratory centre. Both hospitals have emergency departments and intensive care units. Cambridge Memorial is a general hospital, treating primarily patients from Cambridge and south Kitchener.

Long term rehabilitation and physiotherapy is addressed at the Freeport Health Centre, at the south of the city. Built originally as a tuberculosis sanatorium and home for the terminally ill,^[26] its last link with that past is the palliative care unit. It nestles along the banks of the Grand River, and is part of Grand River Hospital.

Family doctors are in short supply in K-W, and a source of great concern among residents. The Chamber of Commerce runs a waiting list for people looking for a doctor, but as of 2006 the wait is over two years. Two urgent care centres cater for much of the routine services for thousands of people without a family doctor, from routine immunisations and health screening, to repeat prescriptions and referral on to specialist services. A third urgent care centre is being added to a renovated supermarket development in the desirable Forest Heights area of the city.

Announced January 2006 was the inauguration of a new School of Medicine, the Waterloo Regional Campus of McMaster University. The campus currently trains 28 students per year. From 2007, 15 new family doctors will be trained each year in new premises being constructed in the downtown core on rehabilitated industrial lands along the railway.

In 2009, the mental health unit is slated for relocation from the downtown core to an unused floor at the Freeport site. By this, patients needing mental health care shall gain options for local long term care and monitoring. The current site for the unit is in the basement of the downtown hospital in an area in dire need of renovations and the absence of options for local long-term mental care forces the transfer of such patients to neighbouring London, Ontario.

After renovations, the Child and Adolescent Inpatient Program will be moved from a small 9-bed wing to the downstairs in place of the current adult mental health unit. Once moved in 2009, upwards of 26 beds shall be available to this program.

Culture

Kitchener is home to one of the largest Oktoberfest celebrations outside of Germany.

Kitchener's cultural highlights include CAFKA, The Open Ears Festival, IMPACT theatre festival, the Multicultural Festival, the Kitchener Blues Festival and KidsPark, many of which are free to the public. Kitchener is also home to venues such as Homer Watson House & Gallery, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, THEMUSEUM, JM Drama Alumni and Centre In The Square. Live music by popular artists can be heard at venues such as Centre In The Square and The Aud. The Kitchener Public Library is another community stalwart. Kitchener is also home to independent music label, Busted Flat Records which features the music of many Kitchener-Waterloo based musicians.

Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest

Kitchener-Waterloo's Oktoberfest celebration is an annual nine-day event. Based on the original German Oktoberfest, it is billed as Canada's Greatest Bavarian Festival. It is held every October, starting on the Friday before Canadian Thanksgiving and running until the Saturday after. It is the largest Bavarian festival in the world outside of Germany.

While its best-known draws are the beer-based celebrations, other family and cultural events also fill the week. The best-known is the Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day Parade held on Thanksgiving Day; as it is the only major parade on Canadian Thanksgiving, it is televised nationally. Another icon of the festival is Miss Oktoberfest. This position was formerly selected in a televised beauty pageant, with the applicants coming from across North America. The position is now selected by a closed committee of judges from a panel of local applicants; community involvement and personal character form the main criteria under the new system. A ribald spin-off of the Miss Oktoberfest pageant is celebrated in some local high schools, in which all participants are male, but dressed as women. Also the Cities recently had two local and regional museums built in the region, one being the Waterloo Region Children Museum and the Doon Heritage Museum.

Kitchener-Waterloo in film and music

Various locations in both Kitchener and Waterloo were used to portray the fictional Ontario town of Wessex in the filming of Canadian television sitcom, Dan for Mayor,^[27] starring Corner Gas star Fred Ewanuick.

A local folk group, Destroy All Robots, wrote a tongue-in-cheek song jibing the town of Kitchener in the song "Battle Hymn of the City of Kitchener, Ontario".^[28]

Kitchener Blues Festival

A 4 day festival in downtown Kitchener dedicated to blues music. The festival has expanded to 5 stages throughout the downtown area, with over 60 performances. The festival has grown from a 1 day event with an attendance of 3,000 to a 4 day event with over 65,000 attending. In 2010 the Kitchener Blues Festival celebrated its 10th year.^[29]

Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Festival

This is a 2-day event in Victoria Park commencing usually on the first weekend of the summer. The festival features foods, dance and music from around the world. The festival also showcases several vendors that sell artifacts and crafts from around the world. This festival has been ongoing for well over 40 years. Well over 50,000 attend every year.^[30]

Recreation

Kitchener's oldest and most important outdoor park is Victoria Park, in the heart of downtown Kitchener. Numerous events and festivities are held in this park.

A cast-bronze statue of Queen Victoria is located in Victoria Park, along with a cannon. The statue was unveiled in May 1911, on Victoria Day (the Queen's birthday) in the tenth year after her death. The Princess of Wales Chapter of the IODE raised the $6,000 needed for the monument.^[31]

Victoria Park

Another significant beauty spot in the city is Rockway Gardens. Adjacent to the Rockway golf course, the gardens occupy a long narrow strip of land alongside King Street as it rushes down to meet the Conestoga Parkway and become Highway 8. Here there are many fountains, ponds, waterfalls and rock grottoes. It is a popular site for wedding photos in the summer months.

Kitchener has an extensive and safe community trail system. The trails, which are controlled and run by the city, are hundreds of kilometres in length. Due to Kitchener's close proximity to the Grand River, several community trails and paths border the river's shores. This convenient access to the Grand River has drawn nature-seeking tourists to the city. However, Kitchener's trails and especially natural areas remain underfunded by city council and as a result, many are not adequately maintained.^[32]

A newly constructed bike park located at McLennan park^[33] in the city's south end has already been hailed as one of the best city run bike parks in Southern Ontario^[34] by BMX and mountain biking enthusiasts. The bike park offers a four-cross (4X) section, a pump track section, a jump park, and a free-ride couse.^[35]

Chicopee Ski Club is also located inside city limit.

Transport

Highways and expressways

Highway 401 in Kitchener looking east towards the Grand River.

Highway 8 as seen from Franklin Street bridge.

Kitchener was very proactive and visionary about its transportation network in the 1960s, with the province undertaking at that time construction of the Conestoga Parkway from the western boundary (just past Homer Watson Boulevard) across the south side of the city and looping north along the Grand River to Northfield Drive in Waterloo. Subsequent upgrades took the Conestoga west beyond Trussler Road and north towards St Jacobs, with eight lanes through its middle stretch.

The Conestoga Parkway bears the provincial highway designations of Highways 7 and 8. King Street becomes Hwy 8 where it meets the Conestoga in the south and leads down to the 401, but Old King Street survives as the street-route through Freeport to the Preston area of Cambridge. Up until construction of the Conestoga, Highland Road through Baden had been the primary highway to Stratford. Victoria Street was then and remains the primary highway to Guelph but this is slated to be bypassed with an entirely new highway beginning at the Wellington Street exit and running roughly north of and parallel to the old route.

There are two interchanges with Highway 401 on Kitchener's southern border. In addition to the primary link where Hwy 8 merges into the Hwy 401, there is another interchange on the west side with Homer Watson Boulevard.

In order to reduce the congestion on Highway 8, a new interchange has been proposed on Highway 401 at Trussler Road, which would serve the rapidly growing west side of Kitchener. Although this proposal is supported by the Region of Waterloo, the MTO has no plans to date to proceed with an interchange at Trussler Road.