04-22-2018, 08:53 PM
(04-22-2018, 07:57 PM)welltoldtales Wrote:(04-21-2018, 11:09 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: Disconnect? What do you mean? Of the nearby crossings that existed before the last several years, we have:
King - now a grade separation;
Waterloo - currently closed, will be a pedestrian link although if they foolishly go with the bridge rather than the tunnel it will be somewhat roundabout and quite inconvenient for those needing elevators;
Duke - currently level crossing; given proximity to station could be kept even with HSR, although crossing would activate more often
Weber - now a grade separation;
Ahrens - currently closed, but could be re-opened once train station moves;
Margaret - has been a grade separation for decades;
Everything else you say makes sense, but I just don’t see how anybody could think the tracks will form a significant barrier, especially for nonmotorized traffic.
High Speed rail requires grade separation, that includes Duke. Ahrens will not re-open as far as I know. Weber and King are grade separated but neither are particularly pleasant. Removing Duke, St. Leger and than grade separating Lancaster all will make it harder to get across the tracks. Not that I am complaining... it's just a reality to me.
Rail traffic in that area will never be “HS”, no matter what sort of rail service is provided, because of the distance from the station. So it should be possible to keep the remaining level crossings. I agree that Ahrens St. will probably not re-open, but it should once the trains don’t stop there any more. So I don’t know why you think the remaining level crossings would have to close.
(Actually, for myself I would go so far as to say that closing Ahrens in the first place was unnecessary: 4 trains a day in the early morning and 4 in the later afternoon and evening is not a good enough reason to close it completely. So the train fouls the crossing for 15 minutes each time. So what? It’s a minor street being blocked mostly at off-hours. But whatever.)