General Road and Highway Discussion

[mpd618]

LRT to Guelph would be nice. Anything to Guelph would be nice, really.

Yeah, I feel like step one should be bus service. Pretty sure not nearly enough people are writing Metrolinx / GO Transit to tell them they should be running buses between Cambridge and Guelph.

[mgregorasz]

 I've crossed it on occasion at Blackbridge Road, and it seems like a ridiculously dangerous crossing to me. It's almost impossible to see that the way is clear at the crossing without actually entering the rail ROW with your vehicle.

I take it you mean here? That does look perilous.

There used to be a one lane bridge over the tracks at this spot

[KevinL]

Ah, so rather than maintain the bridge for it, they dug a cutting to make the crossing level - putting both modes in cuttings and introducing the visual problems. Makes sense, though the outcome is less than ideal.

[Markster]

Wow, if the intent is that all traffic stop before crossing, would it kill them to put a "STOP" sign on that post too?

[MacBerry]

Wow, if the intent is that all traffic stop before crossing, would it kill them to put a "STOP" sign on that post too?

To get those two stop signs installed it would require three levels of government approval not counting numerous Ministries/Departments at each level (federal/provincial/municipal) plus the Canadian Transportation Agency because railways are federally regulated and legislated.

An awful lot of meetings, meetings and $$$ for two stop signs. 

[Coke6pk]

Wow, if the intent is that all traffic stop before crossing, would it kill them to put a "STOP" sign on that post too?

To get those two stop signs installed it would require three levels of government approval not counting numerous Ministries/Departments at each level (federal/provincial/municipal) plus the Canadian Transportation Agency because railways are federally regulated and legislated.

An awful lot of meetings, meetings and $$$ for two stop signs. 

Unfortunately, this is likely very true. 

Legally speaking tho, how is a railway crossing sign w/o lights and gates and different than a stop sign.  While it may be effective on day one, eventually people would just ignore the stop sign too....

Public vehicles required to stop
174. (1) The driver of a public vehicle upon approaching on a highway a railway crossing that is not protected by gates or railway crossing signal lights, unless otherwise directed by a flagman, shall,
(a) stop the vehicle not less than 5 metres from the nearest rail of the railway;
(b) look in both directions along the railway track;
© open a door of the vehicle and listen to determine if any train is approaching;
(d) when it is safe to do so, cross the railway track in a gear that will not need to be changed while crossing the track; and
(e) not change gears while crossing the railway track.  1997, c. 12, s. 13.

I didn't even realize © was a thing!  WRPS could make a killing sitting at that crossing!  LOL

Coke

[ijmorlan]

To get those two stop signs installed it would require three levels of government approval not counting numerous Ministries/Departments at each level (federal/provincial/municipal) plus the Canadian Transportation Agency because railways are federally regulated and legislated.

An awful lot of meetings, meetings and $$$ for two stop signs. 

Unfortunately, this is likely very true. 

Legally speaking tho, how is a railway crossing sign w/o lights and gates and different than a stop sign.  While it may be effective on day one, eventually people would just ignore the stop sign too....

Public vehicles required to stop
174. (1) The driver of a public vehicle upon approaching on a highway a railway crossing that is not protected by gates or railway crossing signal lights, unless otherwise directed by a flagman, shall,
(a) stop the vehicle not less than 5 metres from the nearest rail of the railway;
(b) look in both directions along the railway track;
© open a door of the vehicle and listen to determine if any train is approaching;
(d) when it is safe to do so, cross the railway track in a gear that will not need to be changed while crossing the track; and
(e) not change gears while crossing the railway track.  1997, c. 12, s. 13.

I didn't even realize © was a thing!  WRPS could make a killing sitting at that crossing!  LOL

Coke

Only “public” vehicles. I suspect that pretty much means buses, and I think they already follow that procedure. I have to say that in the city it is an utterly useless procedure. In the country the “listen” part might conceivably help with safety but not in the city and certainly not at the Spur Line crossings to which it primarily applies in the City of Waterloo.

[tomh009]

... and five metres away, you can't see a thing at that crossing!

[Coke6pk]

Only “public” vehicles. I suspect that pretty much means buses, and I think they already follow that procedure. I have to say that in the city it is an utterly useless procedure. In the country the “listen” part might conceivably help with safety but not in the city and certainly not at the Spur Line crossings to which it primarily applies in the City of Waterloo.

Ah, the importance of reading everything.... missed the "public" part.... you are right.

Coke

[mgregorasz]

Ah, so rather than maintain the bridge for it, they dug a cutting to make the crossing level - putting both modes in cuttings and introducing the visual problems. Makes sense, though the outcome is less than ideal.

The condition of the bridge deteriorated to the point where it became a safety hazard. It was not a good design for a bridge anyway, but I guess it is what worked for that location. The bridge required traffic signals to control movements across it. The approach on the east side of the bridge was steep enough that you could not see traffic on the other side.

[timio]

Saw signs up yesterday for the 2nd public consultation for Highland Road reconstruction from Fischer Hallman to Ira Needles.

Wednesday March 8th 4:30-8pm at Westheights Community Church.

http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/region...17-013.pdf

[Pheidippides]

Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line Road Roundabout Operational Review
http://calendar.regionofwaterloo.ca/Coun...f#page=121

"The Homer Watson Boulevard Block Line Roundabout continues to experience a higher number of fail-to-yield collisions than other similar roundabouts in the Region. Since opening in 2011, this roundabout has experienced few serious injuries and zero fatalities.

...

The public has expressed to Regional staff and Council that fatalities on Regional roads are unacceptable and that roundabouts are key to preventing fatal incidents even if roundabouts are predicted to result in more non-fatal collisions. The Homer Watson Boulevard roundabout continues to be a highly effective solution to help prevent a future fatal collision. To date, the Region has implemented countermeasures similar to those installed by other municipalities. There are no new or different countermeasures that Regional staff would recommend implementing at this time. Regional staff do recommend ongoing continuing education as the majority of accidents seem to be related to driver error.

...

The Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line Road Roundabout continues to experience a higher-than-expected number of fail-to-yield collisions. The high frequency of this type of collision is considered unusual when compared to the collision frequencies occurring at the other Region roundabouts.

...

It appears that overall collisions have stabilized in 2015 and that total collisions may be on the decline as there were 86 collisions reported in 2016."

[danbrotherston]

Regarding Block Line and Homer Watson, I fear the headline will be 3x collisions vs. next worst intersection (Ottawa and Homer Watson) when the headline really should be, 3x collisions and only 20% more social cost.

While this roundabout appears to have issues, it's still functioning exceptionally well, in the goal of reducing the severity of collisions.

[Coke6pk]

Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line Road Roundabout Operational Review
http://calendar.regionofwaterloo.ca/Coun...f#page=121

"The Homer Watson Boulevard Block Line Roundabout continues to experience a higher number of fail-to-yield collisions than other similar roundabouts in the Region. Since opening in 2011, this roundabout has experienced few serious injuries and zero fatalities.

THIS.

All the complainers of roundabouts (and the media) should have this fact front and centre.  You can get to your meeting 5 min later... You can put a Band-Aid on a boo-boo, but you can't bring back a loved one.  Roundabouts are far superior to intersections in this all too important category.

Coke

[danbrotherston]

THIS.

All the complainers of roundabouts (and the media) should have this fact front and centre.  You can get to your meeting 5 min later... You can put a Band-Aid on a boo-boo, but you can't bring back a loved one.  Roundabouts are far superior to intersections in this all too important category.

Coke

Nit: You can leave for your meeting 5 minutes earlier and/or you can choose to live 5 minutes closer to your meeting and/or you can choose a meeting location (workplace) 5 minutes closer to your home.