Waterloo Region Transit Developments (ION LRT, new terminal, GRT buses)

[robmausser]

Were these rail lines unused previously?

They were and still are spur lines for freight.

They are used very sparingly.

The same goes for the line in Ottawa and San Diego

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_rapid_transit

-"It then follows the Region-owned rail spur line (also know as the Waterloo Spur) from Northfield Drive, passing the R&T Park, University of Waterloo and Seagram stops to Uptown Waterloo, replacing the existing tracks. This line is used by the Waterloo Central Railway and Goderich-Exeter Railway and will remain open to freight traffic outside of transit service hours."

-Off-road It then travels two-way along the CN rail right-of-way (alongside existing tracks to allow full freight access), under the Conestoga Parkway in a dedicated tunnel, beside Hayward Avenue, beside Courtland Avenue (past Block Line stop) and through the hydro corridor adjacent to Fairway Road, to Fairview Park Mall stop.

 

[mpd618]

I do believe the Waterloo spur was purchased by the Region of Waterloo a number of years back with an eye to its potential use for rapid transit. It's making good use of that investment: in addition to the LRT west of King Street, the portion of the corridor east of King Street is currently under construction to add a multi-use pathway alongside the freight track.

 

[Markster]

https://twitter.com/Markster3000/status/602641616222998528

It's happening!!!!

 

[P0per]

Nice Catch!

 

[Markster]

Official stop names have been announced.
...
No "Northfield Metropolitan Centre Station" or "Joseph Schneider Haus Historic Site Station" to be found!

Laurier-Waterloo Park is a bit much. And not particularly descriptive either, not being at WLU. Seagrams would have worked better.

It's rather like the unnecessary hyphenation that's been added recently in Montreal ... where simple station names had nearby Universities hyphenated unnecessarily into the names.

Oops, spoke too soon.

King-Central has been changed to Central Station - Innovation District.

http://www.therecord.com/news-story...top-names-get-ok-with-one-tweak-in-kitchener/

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic appealed to councillors to change the name of the stop at the future transit hub at King Street and Victoria Street to Central Station-Innovation District.
...
Coun. Sean Strickland, a member of the regional committee of staff and politicians who recommended the names, supported the move. Politicians approved the change.

I'll go off and cry in the corner now.

 

[Duck]

I'll take the unpopular view here, I actually am thrilled with the new name. I never liked incorporating King into the name, because he train travels along King, so it's non-descriptive.

 

[jamincan]

GO and VIA stop at King Street though and run parallel to Victoria. My preference is Waterloo Central Station (followed closely by Kitchener Central). It's somewhat central to the combined cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, but uses the regional name as an identifier to better distinguish it on GO or VIA maps.

 

[nfitz]

GO and VIA stop at King Street though and run parallel to Victoria. My preference is Waterloo Central Station (followed closely by Kitchener Central). It's somewhat central to the combined cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, but uses the regional name as an identifier to better distinguish it on GO or VIA maps.

It's well into Kitchener, on the edge of downtown Kitchener. Shouldn't have Waterloo in the name - that would be confusing.

 

[EnviroTO]

Oh no, the thought process of naming stations has spread from from Vaughan council (Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station) to Toronto council (Pioneer Village Station) to KW (Central Station - Innovation District). Station names are slowly not about helping people find their way but marketing. It could have been Vaughan Centre Station, Steeles West Station (or Pioneer Station for keeping it short), and KW Central Station. Now councils have pretty much ensured that people will not always refer to the same place in the same way. Some will say KW Central (because in the context of a VIA line or GO line just saying Central doesn't help), maybe Innovation Station (because Innovation District Station is a mouthful), maybe Central Station for locals, etc. It guarantees that it will not be as easy for visitors to understand. I almost wish Toronto council would rename Union Station to Toronto Metropolitan Centre - Corporate Headquarter District Station to bring things to a head and stop the nonsense.

 

[nfitz]

Central station. What a dull name. Don't people have any originality for mainline train stations in this country? Mackenzie-King station? Berlin station? Victoria station?

Could be worse. When Ottawa named their new train station, they called it Train Station. (in another show of lack of creativity, they renamed the old station "Government Conference Centre".

 

[44 North]

Oh no, the thought process of naming stations has spread from from Vaughan council (Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station) to Toronto council (Pioneer Village Station) to KW (Central Station - Innovation District). Station names are slowly not about helping people find their way but marketing. It could have been Vaughan Centre Station, Steeles West Station (or Pioneer Station for keeping it short), and KW Central Station. Now councils have pretty much ensured that people will not always refer to the same place in the same way. Some will say KW Central (because in the context of a VIA line or GO line just saying Central doesn't help), maybe Innovation Station (because Innovation District Station is a mouthful), maybe Central Station for locals, etc. It guarantees that it will not be as easy for visitors to understand. I almost wish Toronto council would rename Union Station to Toronto Metropolitan Centre - Corporate Headquarter District Station to bring things to a head and stop the nonsense.

Although it's not a subway station, I don't think anything will ever beat "SmartCentres Terminal - Vaughan Metroplitan Centre". Which I believe will be located on SmartCentres Ave...not all that far from UFO Movie Theatre Drive.

Having said that, it would've been cool for KW to consider its German heritage in naming their Central Station. E.g - Kitchener Hbf (hauptbahnhof). It's descriptive of where the station is located, and the portmanteau combination allows for brevity.

 

[rdaner]

Kitchenerhaufbahnhoff lol!

 

[timio]

While there is a distinct German heritage to the area, I'm not sure many of the residents of the area would understand any reference to HBF unless they've travelled through German speaking parts of Europe by train.

Education campaigns would likely fall on [intentionally] deaf ears like the roundabout and green bin campaigns. Haters gonna hate, it seems.

 

[jamincan]

I kind of like the Hauftbahnhof idea. It wouldn't be the first use of german in local naming, as we do have Hessen Strasse to the northwest of Waterloo.

As to it's centrality, if you look at the combined Kitchener and Waterloo urban boundaries, this is about as central to both as you can get. Yes, it's in Kitchener, but it's not central to Kitchener, it's central to Kitchener and Waterloo. When speaking of the two as a pair, it's almost universally as a hyphenated Kitchener-Waterloo. Avoiding a hyphenated name, though, Waterloo would typically take precedence as it is the name of the Region and historically the county. Hence my (slight) preference for Waterloo Central Station over Kitchener Central Station.

 

[Duck]

Some paving work going on at the Bearanger St. intersection tonight: