The mayor of Kitchener’s annual State of the City address highlighted three pillars of how city hall and council are working to make life better for all residents.
Berry Vrbanovic said in Tuesday afternoon’s speech, “Cities don’t stand still. They are shaped every day by the decisions we make together.”
The title of the address was “Made in Kitchener,” as Vrbanovic said, “the challenges we face today will not be solved somewhere else and delivered here fully formed. They are being worked on right here. They are being shaped right here. And they will be addressed, step by step, by the people of this city working together right here.”
The three pillars he focused on were housing and future-focused planning; a thriving local economy; and community infrastructure, health, and belonging.
The mayor about how Kitchener has seen more than 17,000 homes approved since 2023.
He spoke about investments in what he called Kitchener’s “Innovation Arena” and the broader downtown, and how the economic development strategy, called Make It Kitchener 2.1, will support businesses, attract investment, and expand emerging sectors including artificial intelligence.
Neighbourhood programs, recreation, and cultural initiatives from the Cowan Recreation Centre at RBJ Schlegel Park, to the Love My Hood program, were also mentioned.
Vrbanvoic said he is immensely proud of the work council has done in the past year.
The grand finale of the address was an announcement for a new program to provide free-to-use basketballs, soccer balls, and other sports equipment, at dozens of park locations around Kitchener using special lockers controlled through an app.
Vrbanovic noted there will be 30 lockers in 27 locations.
Anyone who can’t afford their own sports equipment can sign up on a special app that unlocks the individual lockers so people can borrow and play with a ball for an hour at a time, and then return it to the same locker.
The lockers are set to be in operation this summer.
Vrbanovic also said the program comes at no extra cost to the taxpayers, with Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart program funding the system.
