Plan with us! Kitchener's Strategic Plan 2023-2026
This project is complete. Kitchener Council has approved a citizen-informed plan to guide the City’s priorities over the next four years. The 2023-2026 strategic plan was developed after extensive engagement. Thank you to everyone who took our surveys, talked to us on the street or joined our resident panel! For more information, visit kitchener.ca/OurPlan
Plan the future of Kitchener with us!
Kitchener’s strategic plan is our community’s shared vision for the future of our City. We’re working on our 2023-2026 strategic plan and want you to be part of the planning process.
What should we focus on 4 years and even 20 years from now? Have your say and share your vision with us. Your input will help us build a strategic plan that best reflects the unique needs of our community – and develop a 20-year vision for the future of our City.
The vision will guide future City priorities and decisions that will move us toward a shared long-term future. The strategic plan will identify key goals and actions the City will take over the next four years to move us closer to achieving that vision.
Engaging you in this important work ensures that we are aligning our efforts with the needs of the community. And equally important, it builds trust with residents, knowing they can count on their local government to deliver the valued programs and services that they need.
Hearing what is most important to you has never been more important than it is today. Plan with us, Kitchener needs your voice, join the conversation!
Please subscribe for email updates using the ‘Subscribe’ button.
Plan the future of Kitchener with us!
Kitchener’s strategic plan is our community’s shared vision for the future of our City. We’re working on our 2023-2026 strategic plan and want you to be part of the planning process.
What should we focus on 4 years and even 20 years from now? Have your say and share your vision with us. Your input will help us build a strategic plan that best reflects the unique needs of our community – and develop a 20-year vision for the future of our City.
The vision will guide future City priorities and decisions that will move us toward a shared long-term future. The strategic plan will identify key goals and actions the City will take over the next four years to move us closer to achieving that vision.
Engaging you in this important work ensures that we are aligning our efforts with the needs of the community. And equally important, it builds trust with residents, knowing they can count on their local government to deliver the valued programs and services that they need.
Hearing what is most important to you has never been more important than it is today. Plan with us, Kitchener needs your voice, join the conversation!
Please subscribe for email updates using the ‘Subscribe’ button.
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Sustainability
almost 2 years agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.Sustainability has to do with our ability to meet environmental, economic, and social needs now and into the future.
In the survey, we heard that residents are interested in addressing climate change and sustainability. A majority (59%) said the city should use more of its budget to address climate change.
Our Corporate Climate Action Plan is a strategy for reducing our corporate level greenhouse gas emissions while adapting to the effects of climate change on our community. Our goal was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8% by 2026. We have already achieved that goal, and are continuing to make progress on further reductions.
Help us understand what is important about this topic. Share your comments and heart the ones you like or agree with.
Here are some questions to consider:
Why does sustainability matter to you?
Why is sustainability important for our community?
If over the next 20 years we made major improvements in sustainability, how would Kitchener have adapted? What has changed for the better?
Street Team#almost 2 years agoMental health resources
Me and my family recently moved from Toronto just to get that homely experience from here. I wanted a peaceful life and Kitchener has not put me down until now. When city plans , let them plan giving more importance to mental health resources. That will help people’s output to the society. Mental health programs should be motivated in community centres, schools even at work place bring a good results.
0 comment2Cyn Galmost 2 years agoUse unused parking lots for new low income or affordable housing, instead of an existing green space.
For example, there is a new building going up on the corner of Victoria and Westmount on land that was just a paved over parking lot. It was hardly ever used. To me that makes sense. But there is a green space on the corner of Westmount and Fischer-Hallman that has a lease sign. Why can't that stay as a green space or add trees to it. I am worried that intensification and sustainability might collide and the balance will be off.
0 comment4Alice Annalmost 2 years agoStop sprawl & protect farmland & nature.Prioritize public transit.Make cycling preferred transportation mode.More tree canopy.Ban fire pits
Protect air quality and nature
0 comment2Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoCarbon Tax
The carbon tax is not quiet right. We shouldn’t have to pay on a small pension. Bigger corporations should have to pay more as they are affecting the climate more.
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoI keep improving on what is working
If we have achieved the goal of 8% already 4 years prior to the date we wanted, keep at it. Look at what is successful and improve on that.
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Public Engagement
almost 2 years agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.Resident involvement in planning for Kitchener’s future is important and is a key part of democracy.
The City of Kitchener’s community engagement policy describes our commitment to ensuring residents play a meaningful role in municipal decision-making.
In the survey, 58% said they are interested in taking part in city decision-making, but 69% said they do not believe their input makes a difference.
We’d like to understand what this means to you and why this is important. Share your comments and heart the ones you like or agree with.
Here are some questions to consider:
Why did you decide to take part in this ideas board today? What motivates you to engage with the city? What else might help you take part in decision-making?
Why is public engagement important to our community?
Why do you think people don’t find their input makes a difference? How might we earn your trust?
If over the next 20 years we improved our public engagement practices, how would our community change for the better?
Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoWe need to know if the council is getting this information
I am on social media and specifically twitter and I know that most of the councillors are also on twitter. I see some of them tweeting about city events but not all. So a way I think the residents of the city can feel comfortable knowing that their inputs are being heard by council is by having the councillors tweet about action. For example, I did it know about this Street Team Interview that I participated in today but if the councillors and city of Kitchener tweeted about these interviews being around city then the residents would feel more inclined to participate and trust their voice is heard. That first interaction from the councillor shoes that the they are aware that the residents are putting in input that that want to be heard.
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoMore engagement with the heads of the city (such as The Mayor)
I would like to be able to talk with the higher officials of the city directly more often. If we talk directly with these individuals the residents will feel their message is getting through more and the officials will get that very important person to person engagement with the residents they are representing.
0 comment0Matt Balmost 2 years agoQuarterly Survey
Kitcheners Citizens Mandate Survey
1 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoPublic Engagement Importance
Public engagement is important to me because I have lived here my entire life. I feel like that if we get more and more of the public to engage with the cities decisions more will be done about the pressing matters. I am motivated to engage with the city as I see this place as home and I would love to see our city as an example city for others around the province. I feel others think their input is not heard by the city because they don’t see enough of the other inputs around the city. For example, they might see a topic a certain way then others. And with this project of asking the residents through the street team I feel like those that don’t see their input make a difference will now as they are able to see all the other responses from other residents. The knowledge of others having the same idea as another is huge to getting input through as everyone sees a topic differently and when put together it can create a huge topic that catches the eyes of the city.
0 comment2Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoStreet Team Interviews ensure voices get through to where they need to go
This street team interview is a great way to get the public engaged. I was informed by the street interviewer that the city conducted phone interviews earlier to narrow down the public interest into a few topics. Now if I was phoned about this interview I would have denied to participate as I feel it isn’t as big of an impact as this person to person street interview is. It was clear that my thoughts and points were getting heard by the street interview and being written down and made sure to get to where it is intended to go. I feel more comfortable doing person to person interviews as I feel my thoughts actual get through.
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Recreation and Leisure Programs and Services
almost 2 years agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.In the survey, residents told us that it is most important for us to offer recreation and leisure programs that support mental health and wellbeing (63%) and services for vulnerable populations (59%). Addressing homelessness and poverty was also the third most important issue facing our community today.
Also, 53% said city services and programs should be paid for by everyone through tax revenues, while 37% said those who use City programs and services should pay for them through user fees.
We’d like to understand what this means to you and why this is important. Share your comments and heart the ones you like or agree with.
Here are some questions to consider:
Why is it important to you that the city provide programs that support mental health and wellbeing? Why is it important to you that the city provide programs that support vulnerable populations? Why does this issue matter for our community?
The pandemic revealed many inequities in our community. Some Kitchener residents can’t get the support they need. We cannot afford to offer all services for free, but we also want everyone to be able to access the services they need. How might we strike a balance between the City’s financial limitations and providing services to those who are more vulnerable?
If over the next 20 years we made major improvements in the programs and services we provide, how would our community change for the better?
Street Team#almost 2 years agoEligibility for leisure access
I am an immigrant with work visa here . I wish my kids take program here but leisure access is only available for per me and resident or for citizen. What are my other options to participate in programs with less cost.?
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoProgram Availability
I have a 3 year old daughter and I was trying to sign her up for soccer and swimming but it was a huge challenge as you had to be on the website right when registration opened to get a spot. I talked with other Moms about this topic and they felt the same way. Also on this topic I found that the only availability for the programs were on week nights and not weekends as those filled up the fastest. I didn’t want to sign up my daughter for week nights as I work out of town and am very tired when these times came around during the day.
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoMore a youth Programs
The city needs more youth programs throughout the year. Right now in the summer I know of the Youth Drop-In program and that is all I know off. I understand at this program they do a variety of activities but I would like to see more specific based programs. Stuff tailored towards the youths interest. Programs such as; computer programs, cooking programs, sports programs (sports that aren’t like the big soccer and basketball ones, ones like pickle ball and tennis), etc. Over the next 20 years to achieve these additional programs it would be helpful to get surveys out to the community centres and current city run programs to see what the public is interested in. Then when the data is collected work it out in the budget that depending on the number of residents in each age group (kids, youth, adults, and Seniors) the money is distributed evenly on the number of residents.
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoIncrease funding towards Parks and Playgrounds
We need to focus more on growing the parks and playgrounds around the city before growing the city. We are growing to fast and need to focus more on the residents we have now and not looking for new ones. The residents would feel more understood if the funding was focused more on those who live here now.
0 comment0mom-of-3almost 2 years agomore activities with less strict age restrictions
Our community centre has many activities for adults and children. I would love to see the age restrictions eased so that siblings and non-same-aged friends can be in classes together. I'm not sure that there is a good reason why a 5 year old can join a beginner ballet class but a 4 and a half year old can't...parents should be able to chose the activities that they think are best for their child.
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Urban Growth
almost 2 years agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.Urban growth, where it happens and how, is a key concern for Kitchener residents. In the survey, residents said this was the second most important local issue facing our community today.
By urban growth, we mean making improvements to existing neighbourhoods, as well as building new ones. It is estimated that by 2051 there will be about 140,000 more people living in Kitchener. Our city needs to grow to accommodate new neighbours. That will mean more homes, neighbourhoods, parks, community centres, sewers, and other infrastructure.
Help us understand what is important about this topic. Share your comments and heart the ones you like or agree with.
Here are some questions to consider:
- When it comes to urban growth, what is the most important for us to focus on and why?
- Space for new homes (examples: how tall the buildings are, where they are located throughout the City))
- Transportation (examples: traffic, bike lanes, sidewalks)
- Public services (examples: parks, community centres, water/sewer, stormwater management )
- Maintenance of roads (examples: potholes, snow removal)
- Other
- Why does urban growth matter to you? Why is this issue important for our community?
- If over the next 20 years we made major improvements to how the city grows, what would change for the better in our community?
Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoPublic Transportation in particular Busses
The public transportation in the city is below average. I find it hard to get to my destinations in a reasonable amount of time. For example, I have to plan an extra hour out of my day when taking the bus to campus and I would like to use that time to work on school projects or use it as my own free time. It feels like work that I am not getting paid for. As an individual doing schooling in the city a suggestion would be to have certain bus route catered towards those that use the campus. This is because I find the busses I take to be full of students going to campus only. This suggestion would include a lower bus fee for these routes only to help save money for schooling and more busses per hour. In the future I would like to see public transportation to be better formulated around the publics daily patterns such as campus routes, business hotspots, and public services.
1 comment2Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoHuron Community Centre
My family is really excited about the completion of the Huron Community Centre. With this community centre we hope they can provide something different for the community. Huron and very cultural based in my area and something based on culture at the community centre would be great.
0 comment0Street Team#almost 2 years agoRoad construction taking so long
I find it’s difficult to commute in some parts of the city like Fisherhallman/ Bleams to Fisherhallman/Zebra. Also I at Huron causing inconvenience as it’s the busiest area in Kitchener
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoCreative real-estate
There is a great potential for creative real-estate within the city for the upcoming years. The idea of putting the 4 churches downtown into 1 place for services to all be in that building was great and building apartments above the existing build was also very creative. I am looking for the city to build off of this idea and create more creative real-estate ideas. I would like creative real-estate over the current real-estate where it is more about the money then the people. Greed is driving the real-estate here and it would be nice for a change. This would also help the housing affordability issue we are facing.
0 comment0mom-of-3almost 2 years agoEnsure that each community has equal access to amentities. Families shouldn't have to drive across town to use a swimming pool/tennis court.
0 comment3 - When it comes to urban growth, what is the most important for us to focus on and why?
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Delivering City Services
almost 2 years agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.In the survey, 78% of residents said they are very or somewhat satisfied with the municipal government of the City of Kitchener.
Kitchener is part of the Region of Waterloo, which means some services are the responsibility of the City of Kitchener and others are the responsibility of the Region.
We are interested in your feedback on key areas of responsibility for the City of Kitchener. Share your comments and heart the ones you like or agree with.
Below are key services the City of Kitchener provides to residents:
- Bylaw enforcement for parking, property standards, noise
- Fire department
- Business licensing
- Economic development and business support
- Road maintenance, winter control, leaf collection
- Planning, development and building services
- Water distribution, sanitary water connection, sewage collection
- Parks and trails
- Arenas, pools, community centres and their programs
- Arts, culture and special events
Here are some questions to consider:
How might service in one or more of these areas be improved?
When you imagine Kitchener 20 years from now, how are services being delivered differently?
Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoMore Health
The city needs more health care for its residents. I had an emergency the other day and had to wait for almost 4 hours with my young child. We almost had to wait throughout the entire night but that was not happening with my young child.
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoWater Fountains KEY, shade also important
We really need water fountains in the public parks. With this wether in the summer it can be dangerous to not have and access to water in this high heat. Shade is also very important in these parks. Southwest Optimist has a lot of little trees but not a lot of shade because of it at the moment.
0 comment1Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoLeaf Collection
In the future it would be nice to see leaf dump site around the city. I finding bad on the city when residents are allowed to dump their leaves on the road and have them wait to be collected. This is because these leaves blow around and end up all down the street and on others lawns. My suggestion to a better leaf collection system if residents are allowed to dump on the street is to make it connected to the yard waist days. This meaning that when it is yard waist day we have crews going around and cleaning the leaves that aren’t bagged up on the roads that block the drains.
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoBylaw enforcement
We need more bylaw enforcement in apartment buildings/complexs. I live in a smoke free complex but there are always people smoking within. It affects my health and I don’t want my kids around the chemicals they produce. There needs to be harsh fines as we are trapped inside well they can easily just go outside and smoke. They also need to be more away from buildings and a designated smoking area. Bylaw needs to survey more regularly.
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoAnother Hospital
I think I heard the city was planing for another hospital in the coming years so that is good. But with the city growing fast we need to plan for new hospitals earlier. They should be built when we need them and not starting to build them when the others are full.
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Housing Affordability
almost 2 years agoCLOSED: This ideas has concluded.Housing affordability is a very important concern for Kitchener residents. In the survey, 33% of Kitchener residents said housing affordability is the single most important local issue facing our community today.
In 2020, the City launched Housing for All, a comprehensive strategy to realize the right to housing and help make housing affordable using the tools and resources available to a local municipality.
We’d like to understand what “housing affordability” means to you and why you feel this issue is important. Share your comments and heart the ones you like or agree with.
Here are some questions to consider:
When you hear “housing affordability” what comes to mind? How would you define housing affordability?
How does the issue of housing affordability affect you? Why is this issue important to you? Why does this issue matter for our community?
If we made major improvements in housing affordability over the next 20 years, what would change for our community?
Street Team#almost 2 years agoHurdles to get an apartments for rent !!
When we want to move to a new apartment there are no.of things they ask for like credit score, reference status in Canada. How can a new International student meet these things. All the three things are a barrier to us. Things and rules should be convenience for everyone. Someone should talk for us.
0 comment0Calico Jackalmost 2 years agoBuild more housing
The best (and probably only) way to deal with rampant housing unaffordability is to increase the supply of housing. It's very frustrating to see the city council pretend to care about housing affordability and then buckle to the unreasonable demands of NIMBYs and suburban homeowners, who fight tooth and nail against dense housing on property that they don't even own. If you really care about making housing affordable, you wouldn't reject development projects for nonsense reasons like "neighbourhood character", "too little car parking", and "shadows".
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoProperty tax
The property tax is going up with the prices of homes and making housing even more less affordable. It isn’t reflecting the market price like it should be.
0 comment0Street Team Interviewalmost 2 years agoPrices are WAY to high
Prices over the years since we ought our house have gone up 4.5 times. We have a 35 year old son who has a good income job but struggles to afford a house. People need a house but they are not even close to being affordable to have a low stress living.
0 comment1Anthonyalmost 2 years agoMore public music and family events
I'd love to see more casual public music, art, and local market events, downtown, similar to the events held regularly in the uptown square. I hardly see any families walking around and the streets are empty in the afternoon and evenings. It would be great if the downtown was more of a destination for people to take their kids to enjoy. I think it would bring a lot more positive life to the area.
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Lifecycle
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Open for contributions
Plan with us! Kitchener's Strategic Plan 2023-2026 has finished this stageWhat’s most important to our community right now? And what should we work to achieve over the next 20 years? Share your ideas and vision for Kitchener’s future.
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Under review
Plan with us! Kitchener's Strategic Plan 2023-2026 has finished this stageContributions to this project are now closed for review. We will report back on key outcomes.
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Resident panel
Plan with us! Kitchener's Strategic Plan 2023-2026 has finished this stageThe panel is underway. Panel members are collaborating to learn about issues, review your feedback, and recommend goals and actions for the strategic plan.
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Under review
Plan with us! Kitchener's Strategic Plan 2023-2026 has finished this stageThe resident panel has closed and we are reviewing their contributions. We will report back on the result and share the draft strategic plan and 20-year vision.
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Open for Feedback
Plan with us! Kitchener's Strategic Plan 2023-2026 has finished this stageShare your feedback on the draft strategic plan and 20-year vision.
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Under review
Plan with us! Kitchener's Strategic Plan 2023-2026 has finished this stageWe are creating the final version of the strategic plan to recommend to City council.
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Report to Council
Plan with us! Kitchener's Strategic Plan 2023-2026 has finished this stageWe are bringing our final report to Council for approval.
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Vision and strategic plan approved
Plan with us! Kitchener's Strategic Plan 2023-2026 is currently at this stageCity Council has approved the strategic plan and 20-year vision. The final outcomes of our engagement are documented here.
Who's Listening
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Phone 519-741-2200 x 7059 Email Angie.Fritz-Walters@kitchener.ca