ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[bgb_ca]

In other news. It is now the 1 year anniversary of the delivery of 501.

[Spokes]

In other news. It is now the 1 year anniversary of the delivery of 501.

Wow.  Feels like just yesterday.

[Square]

I wonder what is going on with 502? Poor lonely 502 hasn't been heard for so long, lol

[Canard]

[jamincan]

What happened with the UPS truck blocking the tracks? And it was interesting to see the SUV that was stuck in front of the crossing gates at Erb & Caroline - I wonder if there wouldn't be a better way of painting the intersection to encourage people to respect the stop lines there.

[Canard]

Well, it was parked across the tracks (and the sidewalk). To be honest, I don’t remember what happened after that. I actually didn’t notice that’s why they stopped the LRV there until I edited the video together.

[tomh009]

I am actually happy about this -- they did such a terrible sloppy job of painting those lines that it was actually embarrassing. Hopefully they can improve the quality of the painting when they redo these.

[Canard]

Lots of heavy trackwork on Courtland, right by the GM dealership. About 10 guys and 3-4 rail vehicles. They were doing what looked to me like “manual tamping” with what looked like jackhammers. Was driving so no pics.

[danbrotherston]

What happened with the UPS truck blocking the tracks? And it was interesting to see the SUV that was stuck in front of the crossing gates at Erb & Caroline - I wonder if there wouldn't be a better way of painting the intersection to encourage people to respect the stop lines there.

People respecting stop lines?!  Ha!  That's hilarious.  A no right on red would probably help, but given how long the bells rang before the gate came down, that driver made the decision to put himself there, it was no accident--as pretty much all stop line violations are.

As for the UPS truck?  Where was it?  Can we fine them the amount of time they delayed the train, time the what, 30, 40 engineers time, plus launching delay costs?  Should be a couple hundred thousand dollars.  I think they'd get the message.  Personally as a taxpayer, I am pissed that I will be subsidizing those costs.

[jamincan]

What *would* do it is towing the vehicle. For courier companies, I think that would be about the only thing that would make them fall in line.

[KevinL]

What *would* do it is towing the vehicle. For courier companies, I think that would be about the only thing that would make them fall in line.

Right under the 'no stopping' signs, add "Violators will be towed". Works for me...

[Canard]

Unfortunately, a courier spends less time inside of a building than the time it takes for a tow truck to show up.

I think someone else already suggested it, but even for optics, GrandLinq should have a tow truck in their little parade there behind the LRV along with WRPS...

[KevinL]

Maybe keep a tow truck on call in the downtown area during the initial testing/launch? Shouldn't take long for the more frequent offenders to get the hint.

[ijmorlan]

What happened with the UPS truck blocking the tracks? And it was interesting to see the SUV that was stuck in front of the crossing gates at Erb & Caroline - I wonder if there wouldn't be a better way of painting the intersection to encourage people to respect the stop lines there.

People respecting stop lines?!  Ha!  That's hilarious.  A no right on red would probably help, but given how long the bells rang before the gate came down, that driver made the decision to put himself there, it was no accident--as pretty much all stop line violations are.

As for the UPS truck?  Where was it?  Can we fine them the amount of time they delayed the train, time the what, 30, 40 engineers time, plus launching delay costs?  Should be a couple hundred thousand dollars.  I think they'd get the message.  Personally as a taxpayer, I am pissed that I will be subsidizing those costs.

There is already a no right on red for Caroline northbound at Erb. Of course as previously mentioned the signals make no sense there in the first place. Since straight through is completely forbidden (one-way southbound on Caroline) and left turns are supposed to be buses only, there should not be a regular green signal. Instead, there should be a green right arrow and a transit left that is activated only by buses (not by just any hunk of metal parking itself in the buses-only left turn lane). Although to be fair none of that would help with people understanding they aren’t supposed to turn right on red. Maybe the red could be a right arrow. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen that.

As to the UPS truck, totally agreed. A tow truck as the lead vehicle (somebody else suggested trailing, but I think lead is where it’s needed) in the LRT parade would be a good idea, and it wouldn’t just be for show — if they see a vehicle blocking the tracks, they hook up, without any discussion or delay. No take-backs either for people running out of the building — if the tow truck has started, the vehicle is gone. Police are already on hand at the back of the procession so they can handle any breaches of the peace: the tow truck driver wouldn’t be responsible for dealing with angry people.

[timc]

There is already a no right on red for Caroline northbound at Erb. Of course as previously mentioned the signals make no sense there in the first place. Since straight through is completely forbidden (one-way southbound on Caroline) and left turns are supposed to be buses only, there should not be a regular green signal. Instead, there should be a green right arrow and a transit left that is activated only by buses (not by just any hunk of metal parking itself in the buses-only left turn lane).

I've thought about this, and I may be wrong, but in the Region you will only find a green right turn arrow when traffic may proceed without stopping, usually when there is a left turn arrow on the crossing street. I've tried to search for rules about right turn arrows, but results are elusive. It seems to me that it would be dangerous at Erb and Caroline because you would have drivers turning right into pedestrians.