Weber Street Explained

Weber Street
Other Name:	Waterloo Regional Road 8

Weber Street 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 eastwest street within the Kitchener street system, and a northsouth street in Waterloo, similarly to King Street. It runs parallel and to the east of King Street for much of its length.

History

The street is likely named after one of the Germans from Pennsylvania who migrated to the region ^{[1] [2]} It is the only remaining major street in Kitchener Waterloo with a Germanic name or named for German settlers in the region.^[3]

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

Geography

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

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

• 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

• List of numbered roads in Waterloo Region

References

Bibliography

• Web site: Waterloo Region Generations. WatGen.
• Book: Uttley , William Velores (Ben) . A History of Kitchener, Ontario. registration. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. October 1, 1975. reprint of the original The Chronicle Press, Waterloo, 1937. 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].
• Reminiscences of Berlin (now Kitchener) - Part I. Jacob Gaukel. Stroh. Jacob Gaukel Stroh. Eighteenth Annual Report. Waterloo Historical Society. 1930. 175–207. After the railway was built David Weber moved to Weber Street, named after him, to a location opposite the present Zion Church. .
• Reminiscences of Berlin (now Kitchener) - Part II. Jacob Gaukel. Stroh. Nineteenth Annual Report. Waterloo Historical Society. 1931. 282. Weber Street was named after David Weber, as stated..

Notes and References

1. Web site: Henry Weber . . Waterloo Region Generations .
2. Web site: David Weber . . Waterloo Region Generations .
3. Web site: Old Kitchener Street Names. Karen Ball-Pyatt.
4. News: Weber Street widening to start this month . Jeff . Outhit . June 3, 2013 . . March 13, 2021.
5. News: GO buys Kitchener track west of Georgetown . Tess . Kalinowski . September 29, 2014 . . March 13, 2021.