Weber Street
| Waterloo Regional Road 8 | |
| Former name(s) |
|
|---|---|
Weber Street (/ˈwiːbər/, WEE-bər) is a major roadway connecting the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It forms a component of Waterloo Regional Road 8, whose route designation continues along several other roads in south Kitchener and Cambridge.
Weber Street is considered an east–west street within the Kitchener street system, and a north–south street in Waterloo, similarly to King Street. It runs parallel and to the east of King Street for much of its length.
History
[edit]The street is likely named after one of the Germans from Pennsylvania who migrated to the region [1][2][3][4][5] It is the only remaining major street in Kitchener Waterloo with a Germanic name or named for German settlers in the region.[6]
In 2013–14, the Region of Waterloo widened the last remaining two-lane stretch of roadway between College Street in Kitchener and Union Street in Waterloo, a project which resulted in the demolition of dozens of homes and other buildings along the street.[7] The same project also resulted in the creation of the Weber Street Railway Underpass, grade separating the roadway and sidewalks from the Guelph Subdivision railway line, the latter of which runs overhead. The Guelph Subdivision forms a component of the Canadian National Railway mainline west of Toronto. The segment of the Guelph Subdivision which crosses Weber Street has been owned by Metrolinx since 2014.[8]
Geography
[edit]Weber Street's southern terminus is at the southern stub of King Street in Kitchener, and its northern terminus is at its intersection with King Street at the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market south of St. Jacobs. In addition to its two endpoints, Weber Street also crosses King Street in Waterloo, being generally northeast of King Street in Kitchener and southern Waterloo, and southwest of King Street in northern Waterloo.
Weber weaves through residential and commercial areas of Waterloo and Kitchener and is agricultural at the northern terminus.
The road is broken up into four parts due to the geographical direction of the road:
Kitchener
- Weber Street East - Florence Avenue to Queen Street North
- Weber Street West - Queen Street North to the Kitchener-Waterloo Boundary near Raitar Avenue
Waterloo
- Weber Street South - Kitchener-Waterloo Boundary near Raitar Avenue to Erb Street East
- Weber Street North - Erb Street East to King Street North south of St. Jacobs, Ontario
Crossings and intersections
[edit]Weber Street intersects with a number of east–west thoroughfares:
- Conestoga Parkway
- Ottawa Street
- Frederick Street
- Victoria Street
- Erb Street
- Bridgeport Road
- University Avenue
- Columbia Street
- King Street (in three different places)
- Northfield Drive
Places of interest
[edit]- St. Jacobs Farmers' Market
- Bridgeport Plaza
- Kitchener station
- Downtown Community Centre (Kitchener)
- Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex (on nearby East Avenue)
- St. Peter's Lutheran Cemetery
- Eastwood Collegiate Institute
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ "Henry Weber". Waterloo Region Generations.
- ^ "David Weber". Waterloo Region Generations.
- ^ Stroh 1930.
- ^ Stroh 1931.
- ^ Uttley 1975, p. 10.
- ^ Karen Ball-Pyatt. "Old Kitchener Street Names".
- ^ Outhit, Jeff (June 3, 2013). "Weber Street widening to start this month". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ Kalinowski, Tess (September 29, 2014). "GO buys Kitchener track west of Georgetown". The Toronto Star. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
Bibliography
[edit]- "Waterloo Region Generations".
- Uttley, William Velores (Ben) (October 1, 1975). A History of Kitchener, Ontario (reprint of the original The Chronicle Press, Waterloo, 1937 ed.). Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. ISBN 9780889200241.
In the fall of 1805, the owners of the 448-acre lots on which the city stands were: [..] Henry Weaver, Lot 16 [..] From their ancient home, probably in 1806, his young son Abraham set forth on horseback for Upper Canada to select a farmsite from his father's purchases [p.10] Benjamin Eby was of the leader type. [..] He sold his son-in-law, David Weber, 219 acres at the upper part of his big lot. [pp. 21-22] A site on the southwest corner of Weber and Young Streets was purchased in 1854, from David Weber for $200. [p.108]
- Stroh, Jacob Gaukel (1930). "Reminiscences of Berlin (now Kitchener) - Part I" (PDF). Waterloo Historical Society. Eighteenth Annual Report: 175–207.
After the railway was built David Weber moved to Weber Street, named after him, to a location opposite the present Zion Church.
- Stroh, Jacob Gaukel (1931). "Reminiscences of Berlin (now Kitchener) - Part II" (PDF). Waterloo Historical Society. Nineteenth Annual Report: 282.
Weber Street was named after David Weber, as stated.
External links
[edit]Media related to Weber Street, Kitchener at Wikimedia Commons
