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GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

1200 spaces eh? How many is the new Erindale parking structure going to have?
 
Speaking of the downtown Kitchener garage, it's a blight on the landscape imo. The brick facade "fits in" with the overall downtown facade fabric, but it's dead in terms of pedestrian activity (go figure). The Oakville garage looks massive! I find it ridiculous that Metrolinx is building this monster garage instead of working more closely with Oakville Transit, the town of Oakville.. ect inorder to find ways of diversifying the mode share. Pushing for better transit service from the outlying suburbs to the station, and improving the cycling infrastructure around the station are options that should've been prioritized.

I agree that we need better cycling and transit links to all the stations, but the approvals process for building anything means that they worked closely with the Town of Oakville for many years on this project. It's easy to blame Metrolinx, but Oakville controls everything else around the station. If bus and cycling links are lacking then one needs to look towards Town Hall.
 
Burlington Bridge

Dec 08
Crews were finally working on the roof as well installing window frames on the walkway.

From the looks of it, concrete has been pour for the both stairs or the one for platform one as I did not have enough time to look as my train was pulling in.
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I agree that we need better cycling and transit links to all the stations, but the approvals process for building anything means that they worked closely with the Town of Oakville for many years on this project. It's easy to blame Metrolinx, but Oakville controls everything else around the station. If bus and cycling links are lacking then one needs to look towards Town Hall.

When I walked around the station, I noticed a lot more bike shelter than before to the point 250 bikes can be parked here now.

The new garage will have inside storage area for bikes.

Both GO and Metrolinx needs to work more closely with all transit systems to get more service to the stations than build these garages. These garages and large parking lots create gridlock within them and then do it again on the roads.

I should note that over at Bronte, they are building a new lot on the south side to hold about 1,500 cars. Another lost opportune for industrial in that area since it is industrial in the first place.

Oakville site was a good site for mix development and another short sight view by everyone with the thinking of moving the station east of the current location. Another car thinking town over transit.
 

That is a palace compared to the Burlington bunker. It even has a sculpture out front. Are those solar panels on the roof?

Also, that French translation looks really awkward. Is that really how this building is described in Canadian French?
 
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True regarding the translation. Even the English doesn't fit what most people would call it. Why isn't it the Oakville Parking Garage?

Parking Structure is perfectly acceptable to me. Parking Garage is fine too. Just don't call it a parkade or carpark, those just sound silly.
 
Took in a number of projects of GO this past weekend.

I love the noticed on Brampton station related to the sorry service is moved to the south side. Then there all Presto readers on the north platform that cannot be used now and none on the south side where the green boxes are.

I like what they have done at Mount Pleasant on the north side for both the kiss & ride and the village square with the retail. The buildings could be a story or 2 taller with a better changing face, but a lot better than what can be found under urban development.

The bridge is in for Georgetown and waiting tracks and switches. From what I could see, it looks like the south side of the existing track is ready for the new #3 track bridge to be erected.

All the platforms have been rebuilt except the south one. The north edge of that platform has been rebuilt to current standards. New shelters are to be built for this south platform and will be small if the pad I saw is for one of them.

As for Acton, nothing started other than being stake.

Guelph new platform is haft built with the section in front of the station to be done. The new track #1 bridge still has to be built. All the new bus platforms and roads are completed.

Kitchener platform is partly built and held up because of paper work. The parking lot for GO is 2 blocks west of the station and very small. No real signage with GO logo there saying this is a GO parking lot. A small shuttle buses is to run back and forth the station and the lot. There is supposed to be shuttle bus running from the downtown bus terminal to the station and most likely a GO bus. From what I saw Monday morning for the first GO train, riders were paying the VIA parking fee to park at the station. Only saw one fare machine and no Presto one considering I was hearing there was to be one for start of service as well a checker. You have to hunt for the fare machine.

The 2nd phase of 3 phases for the new south parking lot at Bronte is ready to be put into service. Construction is on going for the south platform with the building of a new ramp building and stairs to the existing platform. The existing platform will have to be taken out of service in phases in 2012 so the platform can be rebuilt for the snow melting system and overhaul.

All the stairwell at Oakville are completed and the last of the scaffolding being dismantle. They were close to topping off the elevators shafts and could be done by Friday or the first week in January. The ramp section is being built.

Not much has taken place at Erindale Station, other than the the north side of Burnhamthorpe is open and the bridge is still open. Don't see the bridge closing now. Some form work is taking place at the south end to start forming the first level of parking slab.

Still working on the Dec 18 & 19 photos.
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I just got off the phone with a friend who is on his way right now to go to Guelph to see his family for the holidays. When he got to the GO station at Union, as usual, to get his ticket to Guelph the ticket agent asked him if he wanted to take the train or the bus???!!!

We knew that the expansion was happening, but, neither of us knew it was up and running yet! He gratefully got the train ticket ($14 one-way) and told me that they have 4 trains going to Kitchener and Guelph now (two in morning and two in afternoon). Taking the train is quite a bit quicker for him now as well- it is going to shave almost an hour and a half off his commute. He used to have to transfer GO buses at Square One to get the bus that would take him to Guelph.

GO is pretty low-key about all the expansion and project they are investing here- very grateful for this new service though- they should promote themselves a bit more because GO is getting better and better since I have moved here to Ontario almost ten years now!
 
I just got off the phone with a friend who is on his way right now to go to Guelph to see his family for the holidays. When he got to the GO station at Union, as usual, to get his ticket to Guelph the ticket agent asked him if he wanted to take the train or the bus???!!!

We knew that the expansion was happening, but, neither of us knew it was up and running yet! He gratefully got the train ticket ($14 one-way) and told me that they have 4 trains going to Kitchener and Guelph now (two in morning and two in afternoon). Taking the train is quite a bit quicker for him now as well- it is going to shave almost an hour and a half off his commute. He used to have to transfer GO buses at Square One to get the bus that would take him to Guelph.

GO is pretty low-key about all the expansion and project they are investing here- very grateful for this new service though- they should promote themselves a bit more because GO is getting better and better since I have moved here to Ontario almost ten years now!

Just so you don't get false expectations.....there are not 4 trains going to KW/Guelph...there are 2 trains from there in the morning and two to there in the afternoon. As for low key? They do issue press releases and announce it via things like their web pages and stuff.

Maybe they just don't see a two train extension to an under served line as that big of a deal. Maybe they are waiting for the time when they can really have complete service before patting themselves on the back? After all , the theory seems to be that it was not GO that wanted to launch this service right now but some politician(s) blurted out that there would be trains by the end of 2011......and there are!
 
Maybe it's just me but it seems like it's taken awhile for them to install the second track on the bridge over the Credit River now that it's finished. This will certainly relieve a bottleneck on the system. Did they build the bridge to accommodate three tracks or just two?
 
Maybe it's just me but it seems like it's taken awhile for them to install the second track on the bridge over the Credit River now that it's finished. This will certainly relieve a bottleneck on the system. Did they build the bridge to accommodate three tracks or just two?

You don't build bridges in a valley overnight when there is no pier support for them in the first place. The embankment has to be rebuilt and anchor before the support can be built. Then the other support piers.

Most of all, you are building over a river that comes with strong MOE standards these days. Moreso, there is no road to the site and that had to be built first.

Those bridge girders weight some where in the neighborhood of 100+ tons each and take time to place them, especially over the river. Then you got to add the bracing and the steel deck to support the ballasts, since the MOE requires that, as they don't want things falling into the river anymore. They also require bridges not to be painted anymore.

From what I could see, the existing piers and abutments have been rebuilt to support 3 tracks.

You will have your new #1 track in service by spring. Have no idea if they will be adding the new #3 track bridge in 2012. If so, that work will be faster, since the major work is done now to support it.

Even with the bridges are in places, GO has to get from the north side to south side between Georgetown and Mount Pleasant and it will only take one freight train to cause problems for GO.
 

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