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

P0per said:
Just realized something.
The Northbound LRT segment in Kitchener on runs on the South side 0f Francis between Duke and King. None of the other one-way sections have the LRT vehicles travelling the opposite direction to traffic in adjacent lanes. Seems like a bit of a risk to me - if I were driving at night East on Francis and I see an LRT vehicle coming at me on the right-hand side, I might not react well. I guess the curve from Francis to Northbound on King would have been too tight?
Click to expand...

There's another case of it on Allen St in Waterloo, I believe.

It's going to be unusual at first, that's for sure. Thankfully, both of these sections are relatively low traffic streets. They don't really connect anyone to anywhere, and so are mostly just used for local access.
 
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Komiksulo said:
I notice that there are concrete ties under the switches. However, on the GO tracks between Pickering and Oshawa, the areas around the switches have wooden ties even though the rest of the track has concrete ties. Is there some reason that switches on concrete ties are more difficult/expensive/something than those on wooden ties?
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Wooden ties are generally preferred for turnouts because they are lighter and much easier to work with. Need a switch replaced, or a new one cut in where it didn't exist before? Fabricate it off-side and install the whole thing in one fell swoop. Faulty tie? it can be replaced in a matter of hours.

Concrete is better for longevity (provided you don't have any derailments - which are more likely to happen at turnouts) as they are generally rated for 100 year lifespans versus 15-to-20 for wood. But if you have to replace it or any components on it, you're going to be doing it piece-by-piece.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
Found a nice little update from Rogers TV posted on July 25th, only 51 views so far so it seems it was quite under-the-radar:


Nice feature on emergency service access included.
 
drum118 said:
The hydro ROW is seeing the southbound track being lay RR style like I expected. Your Home Depot fencing system post are installed all along the north side and there is no provision for any crossing for the residents in the area to get to their shopping or eating area without getting into a car to do so now. I was expecting this and it shows how one area is better off having the crossing while others done. The University has 2 flashing crossing for students who may stay the 4 years there, yet the local who live there longer get the finger. Talking to a few locols, they are piss off with the plan to closs the the are to them to get to the south.

Since there are a number of business backing onto the LRT line that don't have fences, are they now force to install one or is the Region going to do it?? I expect with in hours or a day once the chain link fence goes up, holes will be cut in it to allow people to cross the tracks. There are a number of existing walkways that could have the flashing light or this a NIMBY by a few local/business stopping it??
Click to expand...
Markster said:
Yeah, it's pretty terrible. It's a huge distance to have to detour around.

I expect that, like along the rest of the rail-right-of-way section, GrankLink will be installing a fence on both sides of the tracks. I don't see why the property owners would need to install one of their own.

And yeah, holes are going to go in these fences real fast. There were about 3 evenly spaced crossings through the hydro corridor before.

I suspect the reason they didn't install any crossings is because none "existed" before. There were no official crossings. Only informal ones that emerged into the back of the properties on Fairway. Installing an official crossing means getting a property owner on-side, and that is more work than they were clearly willing to do.
Click to expand...

Several weeks later...

So! There's been a lot of action on this!

Last month, I tweeted about it, and that started to catalyze some of the neighbourhood groups and myself into action.
They started a petition to get some wider support and awareness.
I wrote an article about the issue, diving into the specifics of what the impact is.
We got some assurances that the issues is now on the radar, and that the City of Kitchener will start work to see what can be done.
And to top it all off, today I went on the radio (skip to 22:48) and talked my head off for half an hour about the issue.

Thanks for posting the photos, drum!
 
Sept 18 - Looks like a big push is on to wrap up a lot of work as the summer ends.

Tie-in from King St to Conestoga Mall station almost complete.
IMG_1653 by ION Construction, on Flickr

Rails laid on Highway 85 overpass.
IMG_1666 by ION Construction, on Flickr

Zone speeds posted on Waterloo Spur section. These are MPH, right? I hope...
IMG_1687 by ION Construction, on Flickr


Underpinnings for railbed (?) in Uptown Waterloo
IMG_1703 by ION Construction, on Flickr


Excavation on north side of Guelph Subdivision underpass is underway....
IMG_1718 by ION Construction, on Flickr

Now that Guelph sub has been shifted to run over the overpass now!
IMG_1720 by ION Construction, on Flickr

Utility work complete on Ottawa street, repaved and ready for rails to be laid.
IMG_1735 by ION Construction, on Flickr

Huron Park Spur shift complete, LRT running onto right of way from Borden.
IMG_1737 by ION Construction, on Flickr

Courtland finally coming together.
IMG_1751 by ION Construction, on Flickr


Rest of album on Flickr
 
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