ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Canard]

There is a huge ditch between the tracks and the path. Surely this is sufficient? I like the garden/shrub idea.

The point is - this obviously can't just be left up to GrandLinq's discression - they'll just pick whatever's cheapest (ie, chain link fence) and leave it at that. Jane's response on Twitter has me awfully worried that this has completely flown under the radar of council, too.

[darts]

We don't need a big massive prison fence.

Technically a prison fence is much taller.

Some of those smaller fences are attractive and wiill keep the smallest small people on the correct side of the fence I don't think t will keep 10 year olds in the park.

It likely all comes down to a liability issue, I can see drunken students sitting on that lower fence and leaning back at the wrong time, or hopping up on the fence to try and take a selfie with the train. Or just drunk students being drunk and stupid.
If something were to occur one of the first questions would be why was the fence so easy to bypass, were larger fences not considered and it would go from there sadly.

[Canard]

But you're setting a dangerous precedent. Why is it ok for me to walk down the sidewalk along Victoria, with a Bus blasting past me 0.5 m away at 60+ km/h?

(I'm not trying to be argumentative, just trying to make my point, which I think is getting lost.)

[ijmorlan]

There is a huge ditch between the tracks and the path. Surely this is sufficient? I like the garden/shrub idea.

The point is - this obviously can't just be left up to GrandLinq's discression - they'll just pick whatever's cheapest (ie, chain link fence) and leave it at that. Jane's response on Twitter has me awfully worried that this has completely flown under the radar of council, too.

No fence at all is cheaper. And we have sufficient examples from other jurisdictions that I feel comfortable asserting provisionally that if somebody believes a fence is needed, they haven’t investigated properly. It’s too easy to take the first answer from somebody and elevate it to the status of a rule that must be followed absolutely without investigating what the real rules are and what possibilities might exist for obtaining an exception or using a creative interpretation.

At work I once asked about the possibility of locking a corridor. The answer I got (from somebody who is not themselves any sort of expert on fire code rules) implied that they had asked Plant Ops, got a “no”, and assumed it was for fire code reasons. The point isn’t whether locking it really was impossible because of the fire code (although I don’t believe that). The point is that the person I spoke to assumed that Plant Ops’ initial response was based on a valid interpretation of the fire code and wasn’t alterable.

Similarly here, it is possible that asking the question one way leads to the answer that the corridor needs to be fenced, but it’s absolutely clear this is not needed for safety, only for rule-following, so it seems likely that asking the question a different way could lead to a different result.

I think I’m preaching to the choir again. Thanks for raising this issue — let’s hope for a good outcome.

[ijmorlan]

But you're setting a dangerous precedent. Why is it ok for me to walk down the sidewalk along Victoria, with a Bus blasting past me 0.5 m away at 60+ km/h?

(I'm not trying to be argumentative, just trying to make my point, which I think is getting lost.)

Exactly my point. Although I would use as my example some vehicle being driven incompetently by somebody who probably shouldn’t have a drivers’ license and who can’t even be counted on to stay in their lane, rather than a probably-competent bus driver. By contrast, the LRVs will never deviate whatsoever from their course, so staying away from the tracks (not even very far) will guarantee no danger, something that is not true of a road.

[darts]

No fence at all is cheaper. And we have sufficient examples from other jurisdictions 

If something were to happen, what other jurisdictions do or don't do I don't think would get factored in, it would just be did the region do enough to keep people away from the tracks.

But you're setting a dangerous precedent. Why is it ok for me to walk down the sidewalk along Victoria, with a Bus blasting past me 0.5 m away at 60+ km/h?

(I'm not trying to be argumentative, just trying to make my point, which I think is getting lost.)

I don't know if the region/cities have ever been sued for providing a road.

[KevinL]

So I had some time along Courtland today to check out things at the south end of the line.

Here's the Hydro corridor towards Fairview - quite a grade difference here. 



The other direction from the same spot. 



From Courtland itself.


Looking down Courtland. The warm weather has dried things up, meaning lots of dust in the air.

[KevinL]

The Dryden Greenway bridge.

The south side is essentially untouched. They've just dug down in order to lay track.


The north side is where the heavy work has been done. The intent appears to be to put the roadway right up to the parapet, forsaking the old sidewalk, and moving pedestrians to the new span.


And here is that new span, still needing graded approaches.

[KevinL]

Up toward Block Line, the hillside still needs to be widened with retaining walls. Those are well under way but there's clearly more work to come.



The additional area in the foreground is for the eventual traction substation.

On the north side of Block Line, where the station will go, retaining walls are not being used - just a very large amount of fill. This is also still under way.



Courtland goes back to two-way traffic north of Block Line. 

[Canard]

I'm just wondering, where does the name "Dryden Greenway Bridge" come from, and where did you find out that that is what it's called?

Sometimes I see people call things names that I've just never heard before, or seen on any map or sign, so I'm just curious. Once again, thanks for the photo update.

Edit - Never mind! I just looked on google maps, and saw the term "Dryden Greenway" there. I've never noticed that before.

We were out and about and decided to get our groceries today from Central Fresh. They have started laying embedded track just south of that school that got a new front staircase.

[GtwoK]

I may be wrong, but I think I may have seen foundations for the catenary poles in the Uptown parking lot? Can anyone confirm?

[panamaniac]

I'm just wondering, where does the name "Dryden Greenway Bridge" come from, and where did you find out that that is what it's called?

Sometimes I see people call things names that I've just never heard before, or seen on any map or sign, so I'm just curious. Once again, thanks for the photo update.

Edit - Never mind! I just looked on google maps, and saw the term "Dryden Greenway" there. I've never noticed that before.

We were out and about and decided to get our groceries today from Central Fresh. They have started laying embedded track just south of that school that got a new front staircase.

Not a K-W native, I take it! 

[timio]

I may be wrong, but I think I may have seen foundations for the catenary poles in the Uptown parking lot? Can anyone confirm?

Wouldn't be surprised. In my quick drivebys the past few days, it looks like they're starting to prep on both sides of Erb/Caroline now. It'll be a big job when it comes to laying track through the area.

[Canard]

Re: KW native - nope! Grew up in a small village in Oxford County. Always wanted to live in a "big city" so when I moved out in my late teens, KW was my first choice and have been here since. Still get lost all the time and can't figure out how to get anywhere!

[clasher]

Did they just cheap out on painting the dryden greenway bridge or is it that rust-proofing like they've used on the Weber street rail bridge? Usually those pre-fab bridges come painted.