Man, that would be so cool. However, in order to make it work, I think you have to consider the historical context of Hespeler Road and how it evolved.

The main factors that led to the development of the strip were:

1) Growth in the suburban population, between the three original downtowns, which were at the time, vibrant retail centres that served each part of Cambridge.

2) Car-oriented development of housing and industry led to the car-oriented development of Hespeler Road. The pedestrian and transit were an afterthought.

3) Now that Hespeler Road has become the geographic centre of Cambridge and contains the lion's share of the city's non-neighborhood level retail, the downtown cores have become obsolete. Yes, there's been some recovery in downtown retail, but much of it is either specialty retailing (independent cafes and restaurants) or neighborhood serving retail (barber shops, convenience stores) within walking distance. Without gentrification and housing growth, things would have deteriorated further. Hespeler Road is Cambridge's "suburban downtown", so to speak. Not only that, but it's a regional retail centre for the whole Golden Triangle area.

4) A convenient stopover for people travelling along the Windsor-Quebec City corridor. Rather than going to the next service centre, people can take the Hespeler Road exit, grab a bite to eat (there's a ton of options), and put themselves up in a hotel for the night. It makes for lots of tax revenue coming into the city. Far more than any of the downtowns bring in.

Understanding this, we have to work within these limitations. Hespeler Road is a major throughfare the city, which means it still needs to be kept fairly wide. We can't limit parking entirely. One idea I have is a transit terminal at the Power Centre. Out-of-town shoppers have the option of parking there and taking BRT between the 401 and downtown Galt. On each side of Hespeler Road, we could have a BRT lane, 2 lanes of regular traffic, and a grand median in between them. Since neighboring areas to the strip are industrial, NIMBYism is not a concern. I say we really go highrise on this one.

Another thing to take into consideration though (mostly in the mall and power centre), is that some of the larger stores (the Bay, Zellers, Wal Mart, Future Shop, etc) work on a volume basis and simply will not work without massive parking lots. Also consider the expropriation process...the only part that might actually spark a lot of temper with business owners.

All of this said, I still think the LRT should be going down King Street, not Hespeler Road.