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GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

I have heard nothing about the new Gromley station for some time. Was it not supposed to open in 4-6 months? Is it on track or turning into another Burlington GO?
 
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Does GO ever actually ticket people for being on the platform without paying? I never liked that rule, it should really only be on the train that you can get ticketed for.
I walk through there with dog and bike many times, have yet to see a sign barring it, and I've been looking. What there is are decals on some of the doors on the west side and the Bloor St entrance showing that dogs are barred, but that is nonsense, since you can (and I have many times) taken the dog I walk on UPX, with a bike, to Weston. I then run him down the Humber Valley Trail to the waterfront. He loves it. Asking the ticket agents about the signs, they just dismiss them. The reason I cut across the station to Dundas is that the dog loves the walk north on the West Rail Trail , and refuses to walk along Bloor, as he thinks I'm taking him to my place, which means no adventure, so by taking him through the station, it spells adventure for him, even if I do take him home for lunch in a round-about way. Never been challenged, I think the only time CN Police would bother anyone is if they are loitering or otherwise acting suspiciously. It may in fact be quietly appreciated that able-bodied and approachable persons do transit through there to offer help if needed.
 
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Some shots of the work going on in Bayview Junction in Hamilton. Taken yesterday evening from a Hamilton-bound GO train:
Excellent shots!
That's why the trail was closed last year through there! Now I get it, albeit I was a bit ticked at the trail being closed, forcing me to cycle along York and then Plains to get to Aldershot station. There's some gorgeous trails through there, but damn, I'll have to be really desperate to do Plains Rd ever again because access is blocked. In retrospect, I should just have taken the GO bus from Hamilton that shuttles to Aldershot station. I often cycle down from Guelph and loop through Hamilton to see friends before continuing on to Toronto, but when the good trails run out, it's time to get on GO. Plains Rd is, along with Hwy 124 through Cambridge, one of the most nasty and dangerous stretches to get caught on cycling.
 
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I suspect ShonTron or TOAreafan would know more about the specifics, but the John/James Street realignment including the CN rail tracks in downtown Brampton is supposed to start construction in September 2016, and end in July 2017. Page 333.

May or may not affect GO service?
Unless I read this completely wrong, here's what I see:
Current Situation:
A new agreement between the City of Brampton and CN Rail to construct a new road and railway crossing is required to implement the project.
To put in a 3rd track at John/James will require the closing of this road which an EA is not require for. Trying to a grade separation for this crossing, an EA is needed, but how to do it will be a bitch.
The Missing Link looms large...
 
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Excellent shots!
That's why the trail was closed last year through there! Now I get it, albeit I was a bit ticked at the trail being closed, forcing me to cycle along York and then Plains to get to Aldershot station. There's some gorgeous trails through there, but damn, I'll have to be really desperate to do Plains Rd ever again because access is blocked. In retrospect, I should just have taken the GO bus from Hamilton that shuttles to Aldershot station. I often cycle down from Guelph and loop through Hamilton to see friends before continuing on to Toronto, but when the good trails run out, it's time to get on GO. Plains Rd is, along with Hwy 124 through Cambridge, one of the most nasty and dangerous stretches to get caught on cycling.

Plains/York wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be when I encountered that detour, but that was on a Saturday afternoon in April. Plains Road in Burlington does have quasi-bike lanes, and York Boulevard in Hamilton is narrowed and features bike lanes - the only scary part is near the 403 ramps. There, signs tell cyclists to dismount and cross on foot and drivers have the right-of-way, while I understand the requirement to stop, dismounting to cross a busy ramp doesn't make sense. It's no safer, and I'd rather clear it as soon as possible, which means riding across it.

The bright side? You stay at the high level when taking Plains/York, though the trail is lovely.
 
To put in a 3rd track at John/James will require the closing of this road which an EA is not require for.

There's no regulatory requirement to close the road just to put a third track in. I agree that it will be very hard to make a business case to grade separate it though.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
Plains Road in Burlington does have quasi-bike lanes, and York Boulevard in Hamilton is narrowed and features bike lanes - the only scary part is near the 403 ramps.
I have ridden these lanes, and they really need knockdown poles to make it feel a little safer with the cars speeding past at 80kph. Also, some sections north of the Desjardin Canal, have a nice wide grassy side of road with a trail on it. I would rather see that trail be converted to a multiuse trail so I can comfortably and beautifully bike all the way to the Desjardins Canal without going on York for that section.

Cyclists do it anyway, preferring that roadside trail (where it exists) over the bike lanes for the southern part of the journey. The on-road lanes are necessary at and beyond the canal bridge (art deco bridge -- Thomas B. McQueston High Level Bridge) but many opportunities for improvements to York cycle routes 2.0 to attract more cyclists, in the next York refurbishment cycle (it's getting beat up, so an opportunity of tweaks).

(Not talking about the wonderful Waterfront and Desjardins multi-use trails below the road).
 
...but that was on a Saturday afternoon in April.
Yeah, my timings have been around rush hour, and I normally would avoid any major street that I can at any time, but cycling in and out of Hamilton is usually an absolute treat, there's so many excellent trails, but when I realized that my way was blocked to get to the RBG, my heart sank. Plains Rd is very dangerous in many ways, marked bike lanes in spots or not. At best, it's hyper-anxious, albeit it's tamer in some spots. I've yet to find a green way through to any of the GO stations along that stretch, save for, ironically, Hamilton itself (taking the back roads from the trails up the mountain or Dundas Valley.). Btw: Coming into Hamilton by Snake Rd where it *used to go* through the RBG (over the bridge past the cemetery, posted "dead end") is an incredible way into Hamilton from the north. Some GO stations drop you off in very optimal places to escape/enter, most don't. There's real irony in Rouge Hill presenting an excellent route in/out via White's Road attained by trail from the station. Been doing that one for years. All the stations to the east of there are problematic, the opposite of what you'd think.
I have ridden these lanes, and they really need knockdown poles to make it feel a little safer with the cars speeding past at 80kph.
Yeah, at best, it's a way to get from A to B. With a gun at the back of your head. There's absolutely no joy in it. That being said, I can't emphasize enough as to how many excellent trails Hamilton has, and many of them, once outside city limits, are almost deserted. The one up from Caledonia I did last year, passed maybe two people before hitting the city outskirts.
 
Perhaps more appropriate in an RER thread, but some more info on the Barrie RER corridor here:
https://www.vaughan.ca/council/minutes_agendas/AgendaItems/CW0621_16_28.pdf

including:
- Parking garages in Maple and Rutherford GO stations are still on the radar, no timelines yet
- Rutherford grade separation: at the stage of cost sharing agreement between various parties. I get the feeling this will get going in the next 1-2 years.
- Rutherford and Maple pedestrian tunnels under the tracks: construction will start in July, and will go on until December.
 
A different kind of Barrie RER info - a Vaughan double tracking construction update, June 10th 2016. Starting near Snider and heading north to Rutherford.

A construction access from a neighbourhood just south of Hwy 7 - The sound barrier looks new, but I've never been here before so it could be pre-existing.
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Looking north toward Hwy 7:
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Looking straight east (new signal?):
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Looking south toward Snider Diamond:
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Now at North Rivermede, looking south.
27763406045_fe4f29ccc2_b.jpg

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Looking north, the view is the same as when I visited in December.
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The new bridge over the Don River just south of Langstaff Road has one span operational, as this squeaky-clean GO train is demonstrating (while also showing off the old GO livery).
Embankment grading is complete and work is underway to restore a sustainable surface covering.
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Looking closer, you can see that the current span is the easternmost of three future spans.
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From the underside, the supports are now complete for all three spans. When I last visited in April, only the supports for the current span had been poured.
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Now looking at the bridge from the opposite (northeast) side:
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A new fence has been installed south of Langstaff...
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...but the Don Valley Trail is on the other side of it!
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Now at Rutherford Station looking south, there is no sign of the second track. I assumed the new track would come right up to the platform, but I guess not. Regardless, we know the segment north of Langstaff is complete because trains were using it in an earlier phase of construction.
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And finally, here's a gratuitous glamour shot of a new cab car pulling into Rutherford station.
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They seem to be finally standardizing on concrete ties for new track construction.
They ought to have done it for the GTS Project earlier.
 

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