The Arthur Street Improvements & Elmira Bypass Municipal Class Environmental Assessment Study is identified in the Region’s Transportation Master Plan and the Region’s ten-year Transportation Capital Program. This Study will recommend improvements to Regional Road 85 between Waterloo and Elmira as well as create a long-term plan to redirect trucks and other traffic; shifting Elmira’s Downtown Core to a more pedestrian-focused environment and other active transportation improvements. The project will be informed by and aligned to the Region’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, the targets identified in the TransformWR, and other Regional policies and plans.

The Study is organized into two parts:

• Part A: Regional Road 85 (Waterloo to Elmira)
• Part B: Potential Elmira Bypass

This section considers changes to Regional Road 85 from north of Provincial Highway 85 to the south limit of Elmira at Listowel Road. The work will consider facilities for people walking, rolling, biking and using public transit; it will also feature safety improvements and intersection improvements.

This section considers alternatives to redirect trucks and other traffic away from Elmira’s Downtown Core, supporting a desire to shift to a pedestrian-focused environment and other improvements in active transportation options. The Study area is around the Town of Elmira, bordered by Listowel Road to the south, Floradale Road to the west, Reids Woods Drive to the north, and east of Canagagigue Creek to the east.

Refer to the Project Images for a map that depicts the Study area.

The scope of work for both parts of the project are identified in the Region’s 2018 Transportation Master Plan. The Transportation Master Plan encourages the Region to “slow implementation of future road widening projects, and proactively manage transportation demand by encouraging change in travel behaviours”.

In addition, the Study aligns with the Region’s Strategic Plan 2023-2027 Growing with Care:

• Climate Aligned Growth: Using a climate adaptation lens to re-imagine infrastructure and making it easier and safer for people to use transit and active transportation.
• Equitable Services and Opportunities: Supporting equitable services such as reliable transit and safer walking, rolling and cycling options.

The Study will also align with the Region’s Official Plan 2031 and TransformWR. The Official Plan includes the objective of increasing “transportation opportunities for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users”. Regional Council plus all Area Municipal Councils have endorsed TransformWR which includes the “80by50” target, aiming for an 80% reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The plan has targets to significantly reduce the share of trips made by automobiles by 2050 by supporting walking, biking, and using public transit. 

This Study is being directed by a project team consisting of staff from the Region of Waterloo, working in close partnership with staff from the Township of Woolwich. A consulting engineering firm, Associated Engineering (Ont.) Ltd (AE), has also been retained by the Region.

This MCEA Study will follow the Municipal Engineers Association’s MCEA process for a Schedule ‘C’ undertaking (October 2000, as amended in 2023), which is an approved process under the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act. 

 The Region recognizes the importance of completing a comprehensive Study and engaging stakeholders and the public. The MCEA process includes the following phases:   

 Phase 1 – Problems and Opportunities – The existing and planned conditions of the Study area are reviewed, and a problems and opportunities statement is developed. These will be presented at the public meeting. 

Phase 2 – Develop and Evaluate Alternatives – Developing an evaluating functionally different solutions to the project that address the problems and selecting a preliminary preferred solution. We are currently at the beginning of this phase and the public is invited to provide feedback. 

Phase 3 – Confirming the Preferred Alternative – Review the stakeholder and public feedback and comments on the Study process and on the preferred options for Parts A and B and confirm the preferred design. 

Phase 4 – Prepare Environmental Study Report (ESR) – The report which documents the Study and decision-making process.  

Once the Study phases are completed, Region staff will present the results to Regional Council.  

Specific impacts and project needs will be confirmed during the Study. The MCEA is a planning and decision-making process approved under the Environmental Assessment Act that is used by municipalities to plan public infrastructure projects so that potential environmental impacts are considered before a project is approved. The planning for this project includes public and stakeholder consultation to determine the potential impacts of the options that are being considered. 

 The planning includes ensuring the appropriate public consultation is undertaken, receiving Regional Council endorsement of the preferred solution, and filing as an approved MCEA Study with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

In addition to considering the “Do Nothing” alternative, this Study is considering different alternative solutions for Part A and Part B, as follows:

Part A – Regional Road 85 Improvements: Changes to the existing road cross-section to improve the multi-modal level of service, including elements such as additional vehicle lanes, addition of multi-use pathways, and intersection improvements.

Part B – Elmira Bypass: Evaluation of alternatives that would redirect trucks and other traffic away from the Elmira Downtown Core. The alternatives include:

1. A bypass route around the west side of Elmira utilizing existing roads (Listowel Road, Floradale Road and Reid Woods Drive)
2. A bypass route around the east side of Elmira utilizing a new road alignment (to be determined).
3. A bypass route through the east side of Elmira, utilizing a hybrid of existing and new road sections by using Union Street and extending it to Church Street / Line 86 and then extending a new road alignment north of Church Street to meet Arthur Street at Kenning Place.
4. A bypass route through the east side of Elmira, utilizing a hybrid of existing and new road sections by using Union Street, then Howard Avenue, and a new road alignment east of Elmira to meet Arthur Street at Kenning Place.

Each of these four options would also include active transportation improvements and a no thru trucks designation along existing Arthur Street through the Town of Elmira.

Yes, cycling and pedestrian facilities as well as transit operations are being considered as part of this Study.

The Region’s Corridor Design Guidelines (2013) identifies Regional Road 85 as a “Community Connector” between Waterloo and Elmira (Part A) and as “Neighbourhood Connector” within the Town of Elmira (Part B). As such, the entire road corridor should accommodate active transportation and transit modes of travel. In addition, this corridor will consider improvements to horse-drawn traffic.

It is expected that some trees and other landscaping could be impacted by the alternatives being considered. The evaluation of the alternatives will include consideration of impacts to existing trees, as well as other features of the natural environment. Mitigation measures will also be identified where impacts are expected.

For Part A, the project team is aware of the local initiative to plant new trees along the Regional Road 85 corridor. Region staff will continue to coordinate with the group responsible for the tree planting program to mitigate adverse impacts and/or adjusting the timing of future plantings.

As in any Regional Road project, whenever an existing road is considered for widening or a new road corridor is proposed, there typically is a requirement for some property acquisitions. The amount of property required depends on the nature of the design.

For this project, the various alternatives each require varying amounts of property acquisition and the evaluation criteria specifically considered the amount of property required and the severity of the property impacts on existing landowners.

Under Part A, Alternatives A1 and A2 have significant property impacts due to their wider right-of-way widths. Alternative A3 uses the existing right-of-way width and has very minimal property impacts.

Under Part B, the Alternatives have varying property impacts.

• Alternative B1 requires road widening along 55 existing property frontages (a total of 12.8 ha). This includes minor property impacts to 29 farm/rural residential properties and 8 commercial properties.
• Alternative B2 has requires land acquisitions from 24 properties for the new road right-of-way (a total of 17.1 ha). This includes significant impacts to 2 farmsteads, bisection of 11 farm properties, and the complete acquisition and demolition of 1 residence.
• Alternative B3 requires land acquisitions from 66 properties for the new road right-of-way (a total of 7.5 ha). This includes frontage impacts to 31 commercial properties, bisection of 4 farm properties and significant impacts to 16 residential properties with the complete acquisition and demolition of 8 residences required.
• Alternative B4 requires land acquisitions from 43 properties for new road right-of-way (a total of 9.9 ha). This includes minor frontage impacts to 26 commercial properties, bisection of 1 farm property (along an existing laneway). No acquisition or demolition of residences required.

The project team’s recommendation for the preferred solution aimed to minimize the extent of property acquisitions. Please review the Detailed Displays for each alternative for specific details under Project Documents. During the future detailed design stage(s) of the project, opportunities to further minimize property acquisition requirements can be pursued where appropriate.

Similar to property acquisition requirements, impacts to both the natural environment and/or cultural heritage resources were considered in the evaluation of the alternatives.

In Part A, Alternatives A1 and A2 have significant impacts to the Conestogo River related to the required widening of the Bridge. For all three alternatives, there will be minor impacts to the creek tributary just south of Elmira related to the required culvert replacement / extension.

In Part B, Alternatives B1, B2 and B4 will have impacts to Canagagigue Creek related to the required bridge crossings.

In Part B, all of the Alternatives have potential impacts to properties that have cultural heritage value or interest, with B4 being the having the least overall impact. Similarly, alternatives B2, B3 and B4 have potential impacts to four known, registered archaeological sites, while no known archaeological sites are impacted by Alternative B1.

The project team’s recommendation for the preferred solution aimed to minimize the extent of such impacts while still addressing the stated goals of the project. Where impacts are unavoidable, measures will be identified to mitigate them as much as possible. Please review the Detailed Displays for each alternative for specific details under Project Documents. During the future detailed design stage(s) of the project, opportunities to further minimize impacts can be pursued where appropriate.

This project includes an estimate of the costs for each alternative during the evaluation process.

The cost of the preferred alternative for Part A is estimated to be $27,000,000

The cost of the preferred alternative for Part B is estimated to be $64,000,000

These estimates include several assumptions, and they are based on functional designs and as such they will be updated as more planning and design work is done.

The project schedule is maintained up to date on the project website at https://www.engagewr.ca/arthur-street-and-bypass-ea

The project team will use the public and stakeholder feedback, along with other technical data, to refine the evaluation and confirm the preferred solution for Part A and B.

Once the Study is complete, a report regarding the proposed changes will be presented to Regional Council for approval. If Regional Council approves the preferred alternative and recommendations of the Study, the project will proceed to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for approval.

Public consultation is required under the MCEA process. Its purpose is to provide an opportunity to share project information with the public and receive public input to inform how the project is delivered.

The purpose of the first public consultation centre (PCC) was to share an overview of the problems and opportunities, the results of the transportation analysis, and the options being considered. Additionally, it was intended to gather feedback and comments from the public on the options being considered and to suggest key issues to incorporate in the evaluation criteria.

The purpose of the second PCC is to share the preferred alternatives for Part A and Part B and obtain feedback regarding the functional designs.

All comments and feedback received will be considered along with other technical information and Study findings to assist the project team in completing this project.

Members of the public, business owners and other stakeholders are invited to review a pre-recorded presentation that will be available on the EngageWR page on October 20, 2025. Comments and feedback can be provided by completing the survey on the EngageWR page, attending the in-person public consultation centre, or contacting the project manager listed in “Who’s Listening” on the EngageWR page.

The in-person public consultation centre will be held on October 29, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at the Elmira Lions Hall (40 South Street W, Elmira, ON N3B 1K8). The online survey will be open for the duration of the public engagement period from October 20, 2025, to November 26, 2025.

All public consultation centre display materials, other relevant project information, notifications of upcoming meetings, and contact information are available for viewing on project website at: www.engagewr.ca/arthur-street-and-bypass-ea