Key Decisions of Kitchener Council: May 5, 2025

Key decisions of Council is a summary of major discussion items presented at Kitchener City Council meetings. It is circulated immediately following each meeting. Please refer to the minutes for an official record of the meeting. 

Dark Eyed Junco named Kitchener’s official bird

After being certified as Bird Friendly by Nature Canada, the Bird Friendly City Kitchener committee conducted a poll to name Kitchener’s official bird. At council last night, representatives of Bird Friendly City Kitchener reported the results of their poll, with the Dark Eyed Junco emerging as the winner as Kitchener’s new official bird.

This May, local artist and bird enthusiast Meredith Blunt, along with Bird Friendly City Kitchener, invite you to visit Sq. Peg to enjoy, learn and support the wonderful world of our local feathery friends. BFC will be sponsoring birding walks, conservation presentations, bird-themed gifts, and artist talks all of May in DTK!

Kitchener receives Smart 20 Cities Award

The City of Kitchener’s Sustainable Urban Forest Program has been recognized as a Smart 20 Cities Awards recipient; a program that annually recognizes global smart cities projects, honoring the most innovative and influential work. This recognition highlights the cutting-edge technology and data-driven tools Kitchener is leveraging to make informed, sustainable urban planning decisions.

Kitchener received the Smart 20 award for Cooling Our City – An Equitable Guide to Tree Planting, which is an innovative tool developed to help prioritize tree planting in underserved areas that need trees the most. This tool is used as part of the City’s broader Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy, which focuses on sustainable urban forest management along with growth of our tree canopy coverage to 30% in each ward by 2050 and 33% city-wide by 2070.

For more information and to view the 2025 list of winning projects, visit Smart 20 Awards.

City enables 35,000 new homes with Growing Together East policy

The City of Kitchener has enabled more than 35,000 new homes through its new Growing Together East policy. The new policy framework will enable Kitchener to grow through mixed-use projects that emphasize transit, moving the city towards its housing goals through this award-winning project that is one of the most ambitious in Canada.

Growing Together East covers the Block Line, Fairway and Sportsworld neighbourhoods, joining the other seven major transit neighbourhoods that were already covered by Growing Together West. Growing Together is a key component of the City of Kitchener’s commitment under the Housing Accelerator Fund, and a major step forward in ensuring that everyone in Kitchener has a place to call home.

Kitchener expands Vision Zero safety measure for 2025

The City of Kitchener’s ongoing work to achieve Vision Zero has resulted in a 15 per cent reduction in speeds on residential roads, among other safety improvements, as work continues in implementing its five-year strategy. In a report to committee on Monday, staff outlined the work that has been completed, the work underway and the work yet to come as the City of Kitchener continues its efforts to eliminate serious injuries and deaths due to traffic collisions.

In the report to the Community and Infrastructure Services Committee, traffic data showed a reduction in average speeds of 8.2 km/h or 15 per cent. This data was collected before and after the implementation of “hot spot” improvements in 2023, alongside a reduction in speed limits to 40 km/h.

Highlights of the report include the specific measures put in place to calm the 18 identified hot spots, six of which are within school zones. They include 30 raised measures such as speed humps and speed cushions, a pedestrian crossover, an all-way stop, a pedestrian refuge island, intersection pavement markings and approximately 500 metres of additional sidewalks or multi-use trails.

More information about the strategy, full staff reports and a Vision Zero dashboard can be found on the City of Kitchener’s Vision Zero page.

City Council approves ban on sale of fireworks

Following a comprehensive review of the Fireworks and Firecracker By-law, Kitchener City Council approved the staff-recommended option to amend the bylaw to set time limits under which fireworks can be set off on specified dates and ban the sale of fireworks within the City.

To enable local vendors to reduce their existing inventory and plan for the elimination of sales within the City of Kitchener, the ban of sales will not come into effect until 2026. Other restrictions will take effect immediately. There is no change to the designated days on which consumer fireworks can be used; specifically, Victoria Day, Canada Day, and Diwali.

The review, which included input from 18 municipalities and a public survey with 1,900 responses, revealed strong community support for stricter regulations. Concerns over safety, misuse, noise, environmental impacts, and enforcement challenges drove discussions among regional municipalities.

Kitchener endorses Waterloo Region Economic Development Strategy

The City of Kitchener has endorsed the 2025 Waterloo Region Economic Development Strategy (WREDS), reinforcing collaboration among municipal economic development partners. As a community-driven initiative, WREDS defines collective priorities to support a thriving regional economy.

Developed by an Area Municipal Working Group with leadership from municipal CAOs, the strategy focuses on five strategic pillars to drive efficiency and innovation. More than 1,800 individuals contributed via workshops, surveys, and interviews, ensuring diverse perspectives informed the process.

Each municipality remains responsible for its own priorities, with semi-annual meetings fostering shared progress and identifying opportunities for collaboration. Financially, any future initiatives under WREDS will be subject to Council approval.

By guiding long-term economic development efforts, WREDS supports the goal of creating an economically thriving city together.