A tree lawn, also called a sidewalk buffer, parkway, verge, boulevard, nature strip, tree belt, utility strip, planting strip, hell strip, inferno strip, devil’s strip, city grass, and berm, is the strip of grass between your sidewalk and the street. The city owns it but you have to cut the grass on it.

I was wondering what to call it because I was thinking of winter and all the snow that gets piled up on it.

It’s like summer again today, and all this week in Waterloo Region. After correctly predicting a hot dry summer and an apparent early Indian summer, the accuweather long range forecast seems to be, well ah, accurate.

Looking ahead then, fall will be warmer, longer and wetter than normal, and although winter will start later, it will go on longer (into April) and be colder than normal. The big storms will be in March. The snow will be high on the tree lawn then.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo by Keith Marshall
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Looks like the sign is crying

As a realtor, I spend a lot of time in my car, traveling between houses and offices in Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo and I think that’s part of the reason I take such an interest in the traffic issues of Waterloo Region. I’m lucky that I don’t have a regular rush hour commute. However for commuters, I think, at least they know where the construction is and can leave early or take an alternate route to avoid it. Me, I always happen upon major road construction by chance and then it’s too late.

I’m then late too.

The highway 8 construction slowed me down to a near crawl one morning recently. The traffic was completely backed up in both directions and for no apparent reason. It was at just after 8am.

I found it ironic when I read a line about our local bridge constructor, John Stephenson, responsible for Waterloo Region’s two biggest road projects: a $41-million Fairway Road bridge over the Grand River and a $20-million Hespeler Road bridge over Canadian Pacific Railway tracks at Cambridge’s Delta intersection. He lives in Cambridge and goes the back way (through Blair) to his Kitchener office. I can learn from this guy, we all can. The quickest route between two points often involves avoiding major roads, highways, intersections and bridges.

I keep blogging that it will all be better after the Highway 8 access to the 401 from KW is widened and when the new Fariway Road Bridge over the Grand River is completed, both in 2012, but I have this sinking feeling that it’s not enough. We all know the back roads around Waterloo Region. We all have our secret shortcuts. Why are we avoiding the main arteries? Because they’re clogged?

It’s not that we don’t have enough roads, bridges and intersections, it’s that we have too many cars. We need to get cars off the road. To do this, we need fast and efficient train service to Toronto (gotrain) and light rail through Kitchener Waterloo and someday Cambridge too. My opinion.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, editorial, general news by Keith Marshall
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The annual Home Listing Report (HLR) is out. It’s a benchmark snapshot of four bedrooms, two bathrooms homes listed for sale across the country.

Vancouver is the most expensive place to buy a home in Canada, at $1,324,000. The cheapest place to buy a home is Windsor – $158,242. You could buy eight homes in Windsor for one in Vancouver!

Back out west, on the left coast, Burnaby $705,746 and Kelowna $916,697 are extortionately high and boomtown Fort McMurray costs $593,390. That’s more than Calgary $551,920 and Edmonton $452,628.

Here in Ontario, our city’s home prices more reasonable. Kitchener Waterloo ranks 11th most expensive city (out of 17) to buy a four bedroom, two bathroom home. (The definition of home for this report includes condos.)

In an unrelated study about the affordability of Canadian Homes, Kitchener Waterloo ranked 20th most affordable city in Canada.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, Buying Real Estate, general news, Industry, real estate, real estate trends, Selling Real Estate by Keith Marshall
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Last week on 365 things to do and Kitchener Waterloo we visited Briethaupt Centre for the young, well seasoned and everyone in between. We stretched our way to fitness at Stretchfit. We ate club sandwiches (with chips and a wedge of dill pickle) at Ethel’s Lounge on King Street and then we went across the street and browsed the stacks at Old Goat Books. Doors Open Waterloo Region took us to historical places around Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge. We went to the medieval faire in Waterloo Park and also the KOI Musicfest in downtown Kitchener where 140 bands performed all kinds of music in all kinds of venues. We took our pooches to the pool for Surfdogs and the chilled out with the KW Symphony Brass Ensemble playing loud and brassy in Waterloo Public Square. Our friends at the Chambers of Commerce got together and got us together at the annual Regional Trade Show and finally we sat down at Kitchener City Hall Rotunda with Terry Fallis, the author of The Best Laid Plans, this year’s One Book One Community selection.

Busy eh?

The list is growing everyday at 365 things to do in Kitchener Waterloo. There’s never nothing to do dad, always something new. There are 261 participants now and we’re just getting started. Tell your friends and go ahead, be bold, make a suggestion. You must have a favorite you can share. We will all be richer for the experience.

Speaking of which, we had some great suggestions from our participants like Rose Cora Perry who performed live at Kitchener Civic Square. She is a Canadian national touring artist and former front woman of the award-winning rock band Anti-Hero. Howard Flair suggested we celebrate peace day at Yuk Yuks and Lesley J Vander Welle gave us the heads up for an upcoming storytelling at THEMUSEUM.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Filed under: 365 things to do in Kitchener Waterloo by Keith Marshall
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I love old houses.

I’m currently helping Rick and Pam sell their old stone farmhouse, one of the original houses in west Galt. It was built in 1862.

It’s a great old house with all the major stuff (roof, windows, furnace) recently updated. It’s got big rooms and lots of character.

I made a video.

Filed under: for sale, real estate by Keith Marshall
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