Fairway station
Fairway is a stop on the Region of Waterloo's Ion rapid transit system.[1] It is located just off Wilson Avenue between Fairway Road and Kingsway Drive, adjacent to Fairview Park Mall. Fairway is the Ion line's southern terminus, with adapted bus rapid transit continuing on toward Cambridge. It opened on June 21, 2019. At the same time as the light rail launch, the existing bus terminal was moved from its current location adjacent to the Hudson's Bay store, to a new park and ride lot at the corner of Fairway and Wilson, off of the mall property.
Fairway | |||||||||||
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 Station structurally complete, December 2017. The park-and-ride and the new bus terminal are located at the space to the right | |||||||||||
| Location | Kitchener, Ontario Canada | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43.42236°N 80.44194°W | ||||||||||
| Platforms | Side platforms | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Connections |  | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Disabled access | Yes | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | June 21, 2019 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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The two LRT platforms are also paired with a bus platform, on the far side of the north platform; this is for Ion-branded buses to Cambridge to interchange swiftly with LRT. These platforms have access from the west, toward the new bus terminal; and from the east, toward the mall.
History
Fairway station's direct predecessor was the Fairview Park Mall Bus Terminal, which was located to the southeast of the mall's Hudson's Bay location. In 2016, Cadillac Fairview, the owner of Fairview Park Mall, refused the Region of Waterloo's offer to replace the existing bus terminal on their property, which forced the Region to seek a new location. Two restaurant locations near the future light rail station, a Crabby Joe's and Burger King, were expropriated and demolished for the new bus station, park and ride, and driver facilities.[2] The original bus terminal became defunct on 24 June 2019 when GRT shifted bus operations to the new bus station, which along with the light rail station became collectively referred to as Fairway station.[3]
After the light rail launch and full service changeover, Fairway station's design was criticized by accessibility advocates, who noted the poor pedestrian access to the mall, as well as the weak pedestrian connections between the light rail and bus stations, which are separated by an active roadway.[4] In September 2019, the Region of Waterloo announced that the station would be modified to improve passenger accessibility and pedestrian traffic flow by removing a panel on the southbound light rail platform's feature wall and creating a second crosswalk to better connect the light rail and bus platforms of the station. The station modifications were completed in October 2019.[5]
Artwork
The station features the artwork Shaping Residency by Stephen Cruise with large sculptures of two finches, reminiscent of 19th century Fraktur folk art. The Fairway Transit Driver's Facility features the artwork Arras by Lauren Judge and Elana Chand representing the interweaving of ethnicities, genders, generations and commerce.[6]
The station's feature wall consists of glass tiles in a pattern of white, black, blue, and gray.
Bus service
Bus connections are at two different parts of the station.[7]
North side (opposite Ion platforms):
- 302 Ion Bus
- Route 110 College Express
- Route 10 Pioneer
- Route 7 King
- Route 23 Idlewood
- Route 27 Chicopee
South side (beside Park & Ride):
- Route 12 Westmount
- Route 6 Bridge-Courtland
- Route 28 Franklin North
- iXpress 206 Coronation
- Route 8 Weber
- Route 1 Queen-River
References
- "Fairway". About ION. GrandLinq Contractors. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
- Desmond, Paige (18 March 2016). "Region to expropriate Fairway Road restaurants for bus terminal". Kitchener Post. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- Sharkey, Jackie (12 June 2019). "Charles Street Terminal closing, 800 bus stops to change June 24". CBC.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- Weidner, Johanna (17 July 2019). "Fairway station 'an absolute disaster' for disabled". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- Weidner, Johanna (30 September 2019). "Accessibility improvements begin at Fairway station in Kitchener". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- Beattie, Samantha (February 16, 2017). "Ion public art costs more than anticipated but will make region "friendlier"". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved January 3, 2018.