[PHOTO] Ten acorns from Barrel Warehouse Park, Waterloo

[URBAN NOTE] Fifteen Kitchener-Waterloo items (#waterlooregion)

• Work on the second stage of Ion expansion, south into Cambridge, will not even start until 2028, and is expected to cost at least $C 1.36 billion. Global News reports.
• This proposal for regular two-way GO Transit rail connections between Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo, frankly, is desperately needed. The Record reports.
• A cyclist faces charges for careless driving leading to a collision with a LRT in Kitchener. CBC reports.
• A GoFundMe campaign for a woman hit by a train in Kitchener has raised more than $C14 thousand. The Record reports.
• A school bus driver has been charged for stopping his vehicle dangerously close to a rail crossing in Cambridge. The Record reports.
• Waterloo Region is a successful testbed for virtual doctor visits. The Record reports.
• The Charles Street bus terminal in downtown Kitchener is not going to be redeveloped for at least a couple of years. The Record reports.
• Waterloo Region hopes to create more than 600 affordable new homes, in five developments, over the next decade. CBC reports.
• The number of single food bank users in Kitchener-Waterloo has doubled over the past five years. CBC reports.
• Waterloo is spending $C 3 million to renovate and modernize a handsome old Carnegie Library. CBC reports.
• A pop-up in Kitchener, Vivid Dreams, is charging customers up to $C 20 to use one of a dozen backgrounds for their Instagram photos. CBC reports.</li
• A Kitchener woman, Heidi Bechtold, has a thriving new dog-related business, Complete K9. The Record reports.
• The new digital lab at the Kitchener Public Library sounds great! The Record reports.
• Andrew Coppolino at CBC Kitchener-Waterloo takes a look at some of the different cuisines and restaurants in Waterloo Region featuring noodles, here.
• Andrew Coppolino at CBC Kitchener-Waterloo looks at the pastel de nata, the Portuguese egg custard, as an emerging commercial snack in Waterloo Region.

[PHOTO] Kitchener-Waterloo plans

I will be having so much fun today.

[URBAN NOTE] Nine city links

• The new LRT that will unite Brampton and Mississauga looks very cool. blogTO reports.
• The small farming town of Belfountain is apparently facing a major influx of Toronto tourists seeking fall sights. Global News reports.
• Ridership on Kitchener-Waterloo transit generally has increased sharply since the opening of the Ion LRT. CBC reports.
• London, Ontario, is trying to regenerate its downtown. Global News reports.
• CTV Ottawa reports on O-Train Fans, a new fan community devoted to exploring the Confederation Line.
• La Presse looks at how people cross the street in Montréal in a way different from people in Québec City, here.
• A high-density apartment development in Fredericton is unpopular among some neighbours. Global News reports.
• Hillsborough, New Brunswick, is trying to keep its grocery store alive. Global News reports.
• Calgary hosts a new development of compact homes for military veterans. Global News reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Kitchener-Waterloo, Bowmanville, Kingston, Laval, Québec City

• Grand River Transit, in Kitchener-Waterloo, is running a contest giving a winner a chance to ride the first Ion train. Global News reports.
• Can the eastern GTA city of Bowmanville get included in Metrolinx’s plans for GO Transit expansion? Global News reports.
• Kingston, Ontario, is preparing for a new tourist season, capitalizing on its many museums and history sites. Global News reports.
• Le Devoir reports a new REM train station in Laval might be in a flood risk area.
• This year, Québec City is trying to balance the needs of tourists and residents in Vieux-Québec. CTV News reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Seven city links: Brampton, Kitchener, Waterloo, Montréal, Sainte-Marte, Detroit …

• Sean Marshall considers how recent changes in provincial policy are affecting the Ontario city of Brampton.
• There is some interest in the city of Kitchener in deeper integration of the Kitchener-Waterloo region, though not necessarily amalgamation. Global News reports.
• The Waterloo Record notes that Waterloo city council has voted unanimously against amalgamation.
• Taylor Noakes at CBC Montreal notes that a revived Expos baseball team, whartever its other merits, would not be an economic asset for the city.
• Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, unaccountably, was built on a lakebed regardless of the flooding risks. CBC Montreal reports.
• The Detroit Free Press looks at the impressive former home of Patti Smith in suburban St. Clair Shores.
• Guardian Cities reports on the upset of residents in Newcastle at a recent claim that their city’s high street is the worst one in the United Kingdom.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Oshawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, Montréal, Accra, Beijing

• A tiny house put on the market in Oshawa got a surprising amount of buzz before its sale. Global News reports.
• The Speed River Journal’s Van Waffle shares photos for a nearby crossing for the new Kitchener-Waterloo Ion light rail project, set to open very soon.
• MTLBlog shares a map showing the distribution of some notable immigrant communities in Montréal.
• Guardian Cities reports on how authorities in Accra are trying to deal with noise pollution produced by the city’s many churches and preachers.
• Roads and Kingdoms notes how elderly singles in Beijing use Changpu River Park as a place to meet new partners.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: GTA, Montréal, Portland, Berlin, Seoul

• Sean Marshall at TVO notes the limited, if real, potential of a new ride-sharing app to bridge the transit gap between Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, and Hamilton in the west of the Golden Horseshoe.
• CBC Montreal notes delays in the renovation of the Biodôme.
• CityLab notes that in Portland, Maine, volunteering can help one get access to affordable housing, literally.
• CityLab notes how the government of Berlin is set to intervene directly in the housing market to ensure affordability.
• Guardian Cities looks at how Seoul is set to redevelop the districts once at the heart of the South Korean economic miracle.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Hamilton, Waterloo Region, Prince Edward County, Montréal, Sherbrooke

• CBC Hamilton profiles an interesting local project, recycling the reclaimed wood from a late 19th century building at 99 James Street North into guitars.
• CBC Kitchener-Waterloo notes that municipal politicians in that conurbation do not want their cities merged into a single unitary Region of Waterloo megacity.
• The popular destination of Prince Edward County, a destination for many from Toronto, is starting to face a shortage of affordable housing. Global News reports.
• CBC Montreal notes a proposal to build a baseball stadium in the underused lands of the Peel Basin. Might the Expos yet return?
• La Presse notes that the bill for Sherbrooke hosting the 2021 Jeux de la Francophonie is estimated to be $C 84 million.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, London & Windsor, Montréal, Québec City

• The economy of Hamilton, Ontario, is apparently among the strongest of any Canadian city. Global News reports.
• Transit Toronto notes that the Ion, the Kitchener-Waterloo LRT, will be doing a test run tomorrow.
• Southwestern Ontario, from London to Windsor, faces a potential cancellation of the proposed high-speed rail link connecting this region to Toronto. Global News reports.
• This pair of residential towers proposed for the Quartier des spectacles in Montréal would certainly be eye-catching, if they were ever allowed to be built. CBC reports.
• CityLab notes the controversy, and the origins, of the proposed Québec City skyscraper Le Phare, here.