ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[panamaniac]

I was told yesterday that ION will require Benton to be widened by a full car lane between King and Charles, meaning a significant bite will be taken out of Speakers Corner. The sculpture in the plaza will need to be moved. I had been hoping that this would be limited to the chunk that has already been taken in front of the Downtown Crepe Café, but apparently not.

ION made me sad all day!

[BuildingScout]

meaning a significant bite will be taken out of Speakers Corner.

Speakers corner's and the cenotaph are wasted public spaces. Too small to hold any honest to good public event. I'm not sad to see them go.

[panamaniac]

meaning a significant bite will be taken out of Speakers Corner.

Speakers corner's and the cenotaph are wasted public spaces. Too small to hold any honest to good public event. I'm not sad to see them go.

I agree wrt the corner that they parked the Cenotaph in, but not Speakers Corner - it doesn't get as much use as it should, but it's hardly dead space.   Re the Cenotaph, I think it's unfortunate that some way couldn't have been found to get it back to its original site in Frederick St at King.

[jamincan]

Does anyone know how the concrete panels in the crossing at Columbia became uneven? Looking at Canard's photos on facebook, it appears they just sit on the ties, so I don't see how they could become askew like they did.

[Canard]

I wasn't aware that they were uneven or askew; I can't figure out what picture you're looking at that shows this.  I was just there this morning and I didn't notice  Sometimes I feel like I pay attention to the most innate details of things, but miss the most obvious ones!

[Canard]

I dusted off my husband's bike today and decided to give going for a ride a try... I was having so much fun, I actually ended up biking all the way from central Kitchener to the R&T Park platform and back home! Probably not a big feat for anyone else who rides on a regular basis, but for me, I was pretty proud of myself. The newly opened Spur Line trail from Aherns, and Laurel trails are just fantastic.

   
The track switch that the guys were working on yesterday is now installed and complete!

   
This particular pair of switches will only be used by freight trains, so they can pass between the Southbound ion track which heads up to Elmira, and the Northbound track, which will connect to the line out of town to the East.

   
Here, the ballast trucks are getting loaded up with ballast...

   
...then heading up to University Ave.

   
University Ave crossing.  My guess is that they wanted to tamp the Northbound track (only the Southbound one had been), so to do that, they had to pull up the road plates, then tamp the track, then reinstall the plates.  That's what they were doing this morning.

[Canard]

   
Moving the road plates into place.

   

   
Looking South from University, down the line.

   
Looking North, with the tracks passing under the pedestrian walkway for the Engineering building at University of Waterloo.

[Canard]

   
Looking North from the University of Waterloo; that's Columbia in the background.

   
Fence posts have been installed now along the spur line here.  I'm OK with these, because the berm is still so high that the fence won't really get in the way of the view of the trains flying through this corridor!

   
At the Research & Technology stop, a bunch of work has happened off to the left there for ducts (communications/signaling?).

   
The gauntlet track switch gear has been installed here, too.  That's a hydraulic pump on the right, and two hydraulic lines connect to a cylinder that drives the points between the rails.  These will be a very low duty cycle, operating only twice per day - once in the morning, and once at night, once service has finished for the day.

   
Switch gear nameplate shot.

For more information on the switch machines for the gauntlet tracks: https://www.voestalpine.com/signaling/st..._hr_en.pdf

[KevinL]

Does anyone know how the concrete panels in the crossing at Columbia became uneven? Looking at Canard's photos on facebook, it appears they just sit on the ties, so I don't see how they could become askew like they did.

The panels were askew at the University crossing when I went by on Tuesday, but I did not get a shot of them.

I presume with the work that Canard just documented, they will be fixed.

[timc]

The panels were askew at the University crossing when I went by on Tuesday, but I did not get a shot of them.

I presume with the work that Canard just documented, they will be fixed.

The ones at Columbia are as well, and have been for quite a while. But I assume they will fix those when Columbia is closed next weekend.

[MacBerry]

Not sure if this is the correct thread, but the remnants from the corduroy road were made available to the public this morning beginning at 7AM. Each person was allowed one 2 foot segment. My wife and FIL were there at 5:45AM ahead of the 7AM open (god bless them), but were still 20th in line! 200 pieces in total were available.

Now to figure out how to preserve the wood and what to do with it...

One could always sous vide your two foot corduroy log fillet it and then place it in your freezer... or eat it with hot sauce  

[jamincan]

I didn't really see them askew in your photo, Canard; it was just that it showed me how they seem to be seating them at the University crossing and I just don't understand how they could have become askew in the first place.

[Section ThirtyOne]

Not sure if this is the correct thread, but the remnants from the corduroy road were made available to the public this morning beginning at 7AM. Each person was allowed one 2 foot segment. My wife and FIL were there at 5:45AM ahead of the 7AM open (god bless them), but were still 20th in line! 200 pieces in total were available.

Now to figure out how to preserve the wood and what to do with it...

One could always sous vide your two foot corduroy log fillet it and then place it in your freezer... or eat it with hot sauce  

Interestingly enough, CBC KW had a piece this morning on how to properly preserve a segment:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-...-1.3573370

I figured you would want to seal it, but it seems that cleaning the piece and then simply keeping it in a climate controlled environment should be enough to keep it from deteriorating further.

[Pheidippides]

I was told yesterday that ION will require Benton to be widened by a full car lane between King and Charles, meaning a significant bite will be taken out of Speakers Corner.  The sculpture in the plaza will need to be moved.  I had been hoping that this would be limited to the chunk that has already been taken in front of the Downtown Crepe Café, but apparently not.  

ION made me sad all day!

Looks more like a shaving of a few curbs and sidewalks to me, but I guess it depends what we define as a "significant bite":
http://www.rapidtransit.regionofwaterloo...df#page=12

http://www.rapidtransit.regionofwaterloo...df#page=13

[rangersfan]

Grandlinq has been given a working hours extension in Waterloo.

http://m.therecord.com/news-story/654630...g-lrt-line-