30 years of neglecting the road system - benign?

""The need for a new Highway 8 route was confirmed as a result of the first stage of this study. Without it, transportation needs by 1991 would clearly require widening of the present route through the city to four and six lanes. Failure to meet these needs would lead to severe congestions, the use of residential streets and intolerable levels of community disruption." (p. 2, Highway 8 Review: Cambridge to Kitchener, August 1974)

The above quotation is taken from a major 1974 traffic study and clearly identified the issue for King Street in Cambridge. The following maps provide graphic illustrations of the current situation.

And remember that in 1974 the entire northern industrial park was still farmland. Students from Preston Public School were taken to Heipel's farm to view the animals.

So what transportation projects have been completed by the City of Cambridge to provide the road links to support movement to and from the 7000+ jobs created in the industrial park that replaced the cows and hay fields?

NOTHING! NOTHING! NOTHING! Well, sorry, Cambridge Council has once again started to blame the Region of Waterloo for the traffic situation. "The road problem is a regional problem. I think that's were the focus should be." (The Record, June 15, 2006)

The map is of poor quality, but it does outline one major cause of traffic flow problems in Cambridge.

More than 7000 jobs have been created in the industrial park north of highway 401. But what has been done to the road network over the last 30 years to move autos in and out of this area that was once farmland?

Cambridge Council provided their "Cambridge Business Park" with all of the necessary infrastructure facilities except one: linking roads. Drive south along Speedsville Rd. toward Eagle St. any weekday around 5 pm. Traffic backed up all the way over the 401 bridge. What will traffic flow be when Eagle St. is widened to Speedsville Rd. in 2011?

And Cambridge is still selling more land in the area.
More factories = more autos with the same roads
 

        What is your favourite Cambridge traffic congestion location?  Fountain St, Shantz Hill, Franklin, King St., Cedar St., Franklin etc.
 

This map's prediction of traffic congestion location in 2016 shows a red zone in my neighbourhood.
Surprise, surprise, but the red zone already existed in 2006!
In fact, "minor" road widening projects have started with the purpose of increasing the traffic flow in the area.
OOPS, but the flaw with this strategy is that there is no place for the already congested lanes of traffic to flow.
WAIT, why not construct two apartment buildings and a high density brownfield project near the congested area! Perhaps, then Council will also approval for a 'drive thru' java lane at the intersection to further congest traffic. Can you say grid lock?