Kitchener working to buy land for crosswalk on LRT tracks near Fairview Mall

The City of Kitcheneris in the midst of negotiations to acquire the landwhere a pedestrian crossing onthe LRT tracksnear FairviewPark Mall is set tobe built.

Since city council approved buying the land in August 2018, Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo has been able to allocate funding for the crosswalk.

"We had to wait until the design was completed to find out exactly how much land was needed," Ward 3 Coun. John Gazzolatold CBCNews.

The City of Kitchenerisworking with theRegion of Waterloo to finalize the project. The regionis responsible for designing the crosswalk portion that will go on the tracks, while the city is responsible forthe walkways connecting TraynorAvenueto Fairway Road.

"We've completed some of the design already and it's still progressing," Matthew O'Neil, senior project manager for the region's rapid transit unit, told CBCNews.

Gazzolaand O'Neilwerenot able to say exactly how much funding was allocated from the city and the region for the crosswalk, butGazzola said the project couldcost as much as$1 million to build.

Residents in the Traynor/Vanier neighbourhood have voiced concern with the lack of a pedestrian crossingin the area ever sincea fence along the LRT tracks went up in 2016.

Residents said theywere cut off from quick trips to the mall and other stores along Fairway Road, adding it now takes people between 30 and 45 minutes to walk the length of the fence to get to where they need to go.

Concerns around safety have also been raised in the past, as somehave cutholes in the fence to cut across the tracks.

O'Neil said the crosswalk will not be overhead, rather it will be at ground levelsimilar to the crosswalk on Quiet Place in Waterloo, near Bearinger Road and Albert Street, but with a few more features.

"Because of the operating conditions at [the Fairview] location we will need to have gate arms, flashing lights and bells to protect the public so they know when it's safe to cross," O'Neil said.

There is still no set date for when the crosswalk at Fairview will be complete, butGazzola hopesthat it will all be completed by the fall.