Time For Transit Service To Breslau?

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The good folks at TriTAG bring to my attention this letter to the Waterloo Region Record where reader Cheri-ann Chowan expresses frustration at the lack of adequate transit service to Breslau, not to mention the lack of sidewalks along Victoria that could get a resident of Breslau to transit:

I am not the only parent in this predicament in Breslau. I know of one family that bought a house in Breslau and less than a year later sold their house because of the lack of transit for their teens. What happens to families in Breslau that cannot afford a vehicle? How would they potentially get to a job, doctors, and other very vital everyday life events?

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When public transit was moved from the local level to the regional council back in 2000 and Grand River Transit was created, one of the benefits cited was the possibility that the satellite towns and villages might finally get a public transit connection with the main cities. Since then, the GRT has established a successful route to St. Jacobs and Elmira, and is considering services to Baden, New Hamburg and Ayr. It seems strange to me that Breslau, which is just across the Grand River from Kitchener, along one of the busier corridors leading out of the city, should not receive attention. The Route 15 comes so close, with morning rush and late evening service extended out to Centennial Road, right on the banks of the Grand.

Also, looking at the map, a service proposal presents itself that not only gives Breslau residents access to the downtown, but serves other areas in eastern Kitchener that are currently some distance from transit service. If Grand River Transit were to set up a route operating from the Downtown Terminal to King and Victoria and from there to Breslau via Victoria, Lancaster, Wellington, Shirley, Bingeman’s Centre Drive and Victoria again, the new industries setting up shop on Shirley and Bingeman Centre would finally see transit service. And that’s just filling in the gaps. Grand River Transit could conceivably simplify the layout of current services by running a bus along Victoria from King to Breslau, running a bus along Wellington and Bingemans Centre to loop in the Victoria/Lackner area, and a bus up Queen North and Lancaster to loop in Bridgeport, potentially giving passengers at the far end of routes 6 and 15 a faster ride to Kitchener’s downtown.

It may be that Grand River Transit hasn’t implemented the service because nobody has suggested it. Well, consider the suggestion made. The success of the Elmira route shows that demand exists outside of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge for transit service, and the GRT need only continue the bus down Woolwich and Fountain Streets to give the residents of the Region of Waterloo public transit access to the regional airport.