Monday 1 April 2019
Digging begins today beneath King Street to launch “TUNNELVISION,” THEMUSEUM’s grand, multi-million-dollar re-imagining of downtown Kitchener.
TUNNELVISION calls for dozens, and eventually hundreds of pedestrian tunnels beneath downtown streets. Phase 1 will connect theatres, museums, concert halls, and art galleries, with Phase 2 connecting to restaurants, hotels, and the Region of Waterloo International Airport, providing pedestrians and cyclists with fast, safe, weather-protected travel throughout the area.
In a ceremony scheduled for 4:01 this afternoon, THEMUSEUM’s CEO David Marskell will take a ceremonial pick-axe to the floor of THEMUSEUM’s Underground Studio MakerSpace, starting a tunnel expected to connect with “the Walper Hotel, or somewhere really close to it” by the May 24th holiday.
“For years everyone at THEMUSEUM dreamed of ways to connect downtown Kitchener to its arts and culture, and all the while the answer was right under our bums,” Marskell said.
Marskell says the plan was inspired by ‘Plus-15’ walkways in Calgary, weather-protected pedestrian pathways 15 feet above the street. “TUNNELVISION,” he says, will be a network of ‘Minus-15’s.”
“The beauty is that our tunnelling won’t disrupt roads or businesses in any way” he said, adding “we may ask busses and some SUV’s to avoid some of the tender spots along King Street.”
Funding will be offset by the THEMUSEUM’s sale of promotional ‘UNDER-WEAR’, t-shirts, boxers and briefs, and by auctioning remnants of any corduroy roads discovered during the dig.
“TUNNELVISION merchandise is already causing buzz” says Marskell. “Even before our launch, we got dozens of pre-orders for ‘Bite me, Moose Jaw’ hoodies.”