On June 17, 2026, the Region of Waterloo council passed a motion to implement a year-long pilot project to test right-turn-on-red (RTOR) prohibitions at 12 intersections across the region. During the pilot project, transportation staff will monitor the intersections and report to council on the impact of the RTOR prohibitions.
The intersections were selected by regional transportation staff based on their collision history, pedestrian volumes and right-turning traffic volumes. According to a report prepared by regional staff, half of the intersections are notable for having the highest number of pedestrian collisions with right turning motorists between 2021 and 2024.
There are 12 intersection included in the project. In Cambridge, these are:
Franklin Blvd. and Glamis Rd./Robson Ave., Water St. at Park Hill Rd., Ainslie St. at Main St. and Hespeler Rd. at Eagle St./Pinebush Rd.
In Kitchener, the intersections are: Fairway Rd. at Wilson Ave., Fairway Rd. at Lackner Blvd./Fairway Cres., Benton St./ Frederick St. at King St. and Victoria St. at Lawrence Ave.
In Waterloo, the intersections are: Northfield Dr. at Davenport Rd., Weber St. at University Ave., University Ave. at Albert St. and University Ave. at Phillip St./Commercial Access.
The motion was first presented to council in August 2025 and was passed by the Region’s Sustainability, Infrastructure, and Development Committee on June 2, 2026. Colleen James, the committee’s chairperson and Region of Waterloo councillor for the City of Kitchener, submitted the motion and said it was based on conversations about traffic calming throughout the community.
“The idea came from looking at what other municipalities have done regarding right-turn-on-red restrictions on regional roads. Every municipality has this, and we’re looking to include more because we’re going to have more high-density areas,” James said.
The City of Toronto has RTOR prohibitions at over 165 intersections, while Montréal has a complete ban on RTORs at every intersection. There are 19 permanent no-RTOR intersections in Waterloo Region today, primarily along the ION light rail transit line, by segregated cycling infrastructure and in uptown Waterloo near the university district.
“Our population is growing, and people are traveling in various ways. How do we think in the future and be preventative to avoid collisions or incidents?” James said.
Reaction to the pilot project on social media has been mixed. Detractors say it will increase commute times without providing any improvement to safety. Proponents say it is a needed change to slow traffic and protect pedestrians. During the motion’s path through committee review and public consultation, James said she received overwhelming positive feedback from residents.
“I’ve heard that this is a way to ensure a greater, safer city. The other piece is just building respect for the road from both a pedestrian and a driver perspective, knowing that people are traveling by different means more so than before,” James said.
She added the main negative feedback the motion received was people assuming it was a complete RTOR prohibition across the region.
“The intent was really to look at some of those major intersections and see if there is anything we can do there. Some people think this will just back up traffic and create more congestion, but this pilot is designed so that if we notice that there are significant delays, we can remove the restriction. We’re looking at the data,” she said.
The Region is working with local tech company Miovision to monitor the intersections during the pilot to make adjustments as needed. At the end of the pilot project, regional transportation staff will report their findings and present them to council.
“Maybe it becomes permanent, or maybe the data shows we don’t need it there right now and we don’t implement it. The reality is: there are going to be more people traveling in various ways, and I think projects like this are something every municipality should be exploring,” James said.
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