Plan envisions more homes and fewer big box stores and drive-thrus along Hespeler Road in Cambridge

The City of Cambridge is considering a very different future for Hespeler Road. CTV’s Karis Mapp investigates the idea.

Hespeler Road in Cambridge could look very different in the coming years.

The city is collecting feedback on a draft of the Hespeler Road Corridor Secondary Plan. The document outlines what the area could look like over the next 25 years.

“I think we can all agree that Hespeler Road, in its current state, is not terribly attractive and that we can have something that is so much more attractive and likely serves the members of our community better,” Corey Kimpson, Cambridge city councillor, said.

The specific area in question stretches from the Pinebush Road area to Can-Amera.

The plan calls for more housing to be built alongside a focus on active transportation options and beautification efforts.

Housing could include more affordable units, community housing, supportive housing and other types of non-market options.

Some residential and mixed-use buildings would be allowed to stretch up to 25-storeys to make that goal achievable.

Meanwhile, the plan also calls for cycling and sidewalk improvements, more trees and plants and the development of parks and greenspaces.

The development of the Hespeler Road Corridor Secondary Plan comes as the city is preparing to welcome the light-rail transit ION. ION routes are expected to reach from Fairway Station in Kitchener all the way to the Ainslie Street Terminal in Cambridge. A timeline for that extension has not yet been released, but Region of Waterloo council approved the extension in November.

“It’s not to say that we’re going to start knocking out lanes on Hespeler Road,” Brynn Nheiley, Cambridge’s director of planning, said. “We definitely recognize that it’s a really critical circulation artery in the city. We will be looking towards adding those other modes of transportation so that people have choice.”

Fewer drive-thrus, big box stores, and vehicle focused businesses

If the plan moves forward, some common businesses might be harder to find along Hespeler Road.

The plan calls for the redevelopment of existing drive-thru locations and says new drive-thrus should not be built in the area.

It also says new large commercial buildings would not be welcome as the city pivots to focusing on intensification and active transportation.

“…existing large-format commercial uses should be redeveloped into compact mid-rise to high-rise mixed-use developments that integrate commercial with residential and other uses. Surface parking should be significantly reduced,” the plan states.

Hespeler Road is currently home to many vehicle-focused businesses, such as gas stations, dealerships and repair shops. The secondary plan says, in time, “existing auto-related uses will be redeveloped and replaced with transit supportive development.”

No new developments focused on vehicles, such as gas stations, would be allowed, except for within the business corridor near Eagle Street.

Feedback wanted

Nothing is set in stone yet, and the city is collecting feedback on the plan.

An open house was help on Monday, and a virtual open house is scheduled for April 23.

Feedback can also be submitted through the project’s Engage WR page.

City council is scheduled to discuss the plan further on May 12.