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ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit
Yes! They used the B-MAXI L (“LRV Robot”) to do that, to switch it to the right track to go to the OMSF. I was thinking about running up to take a photo, but wasn’t sure how long it would sit there, and I would have had to run all the way around World Gym. Smile At any rate, I’m glad they snapped a photo, because it looks awesome!
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That's pretty cool. The gap looks pretty wide though or maybe it's just a perspective thing.
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Note the black filler blocks down below the doors.

Nominal gap is 75mm.
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Let's get that picture in this thread big time!

   
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(10-04-2017, 12:24 PM)timc Wrote:
(10-03-2017, 09:04 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: Unfortunately, that handbook page you linked indicates the rules are different for school buses — they have to stop at all crossings. I think this is ridiculous but that seems to be the current rule. We should at least be able to say that LRT track locations, especially the “in-street” ones, are not “railway” crossings, but I’m not a transportation lawyer so who knows.

The in-street tracks are not "railway" crossings, and school buses shouldn't have to stop for them. The other usual rules about railway crossings also don't apply. As far as I know, if there isn't a crossbuck, it isn't a railway crossing.

That makes sense, both in terms of the nature of the situation, and also because it wouldn’t make sense for the rules to require drivers to be able to perceive tracks in the street — whereas a crossbuck is just a sign, which they definitely should be able to see just like any other sign. So has somebody in bus management just not got the memo, or did they not pass it along to their drivers? I hope they get this figured out before a school bus gets rear-ended by someone.
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My guess is this is very much a miscommunication/misunderstanding by the various team leaders and personnel within GRT. It’s the only explanation, if the stopping/not stopping is inconsistent. It should really be brought forward!
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Some great role modelling by the City of Waterloo, especially with the rarely used Kuntz lane immediately available on two of the sides of the green space they were weeding/maintaining:
   
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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Tim Lai is live tweeting from a tour of the LRT line, for the Hurontario LRT people.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Touring <a href="https://twitter.com/rideIONrt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rideIONrt</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/citymississauga?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@citymississauga</a> Transportation &amp; Works team to learn lessons for <a href="https://twitter.com/HurontarioLRT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HurontarioLRT</a>. This is the Fairway terminus. <a href="https://t.co/b1kh7537lL">pic.twitter.com/b1kh7537lL</a></p>&mdash; Tim Lai (@timlclai) <a href="https://twitter.com/timlclai/status/915954234574680064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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I appreciate that this video has been made, and the spirit of it; but they seem to be saying too much that 'oh, construction is still on' and not enough that 'HEY, TRAINS WILL NEED THESE TRACKS VERY SOON NOW'. I dunno.

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I wish they would just start towing cars, regardless of the torrent of whining that would ensue on Facebook. There has been fair warning and we're letting drivers develop terribly unsafe habits.
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(10-05-2017, 03:15 PM)KevinL Wrote: I appreciate that this video has been made, and the spirit of it; but they seem to be saying too much that 'oh, construction is still on' and not enough that 'HEY, TRAINS WILL NEED THESE TRACKS VERY SOON NOW'. I dunno.

It looks like it's mostly a rehash of the previous video.
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(10-05-2017, 03:15 PM)KevinL Wrote: I appreciate that this video has been made, and the spirit of it; but they seem to be saying too much that 'oh, construction is still on' and not enough that 'HEY, TRAINS WILL NEED THESE TRACKS VERY SOON NOW'. I dunno.



You can always make this suggestion to the team, they could take your idea and turn it into a video?
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(10-05-2017, 03:23 PM)Bob_McBob Wrote: I wish they would just start towing cars, regardless of the torrent of whining that would ensue on Facebook. There has been fair warning and we're letting drivers develop terribly unsafe habits.

Does anybody know if they’re even ticketing? Not that I’m opposed to towing, especially now that we apparently (almost) have a vehicle ready to drive, but it seems like a ticketing blitz would be a good way to start. Just assign a bylaw officer to drive up and down the line ticketing every vehicle on the tracks. Pretty quickly people would understand that they really mustn’t park on the tracks.

It occurs to me that the LRVs should have cameras on them as well for the purpose of ticketing. If a vehicle is parked or even stopped where it impedes the LRV, it should be subject to a fine of something like $1/s for as long as the LRV is unable to proceed (fines for stopping in the LRV lane when there is no LRV should be more normal levels of fine of course).
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(10-05-2017, 05:41 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:
(10-05-2017, 03:23 PM)Bob_McBob Wrote: I wish they would just start towing cars, regardless of the torrent of whining that would ensue on Facebook. There has been fair warning and we're letting drivers develop terribly unsafe habits.

Does anybody know if they’re even ticketing? Not that I’m opposed to towing, especially now that we apparently (almost) have a vehicle ready to drive, but it seems like a ticketing blitz would be a good way to start. Just assign a bylaw officer to drive up and down the line ticketing every vehicle on the tracks. Pretty quickly people would understand that they really mustn’t park on the tracks.

It occurs to me that the LRVs should have cameras on them as well for the purpose of ticketing. If a vehicle is parked or even stopped where it impedes the LRV, it should be subject to a fine of something like $1/s for as long as the LRV is unable to proceed (fines for stopping in the LRV lane when there is no LRV should be more normal levels of fine of course).

I wonder what the actual real dollar cost of the delay is, $1/s is probably in the ballpark, but publishing that number might help drum up sympathy from taxpayer rabblers.
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(10-05-2017, 06:07 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(10-05-2017, 05:41 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: Does anybody know if they’re even ticketing? Not that I’m opposed to towing, especially now that we apparently (almost) have a vehicle ready to drive, but it seems like a ticketing blitz would be a good way to start. Just assign a bylaw officer to drive up and down the line ticketing every vehicle on the tracks. Pretty quickly people would understand that they really mustn’t park on the tracks.

It occurs to me that the LRVs should have cameras on them as well for the purpose of ticketing. If a vehicle is parked or even stopped where it impedes the LRV, it should be subject to a fine of something like $1/s for as long as the LRV is unable to proceed (fines for stopping in the LRV lane when there is no LRV should be more normal levels of fine of course).

I wonder what the actual real dollar cost of the delay is, $1/s is probably in the ballpark, but publishing that number might help drum up sympathy from taxpayer rabblers.

This kind of thing is hard to estimate and the degree to which the numbers actually mean much is subject to debate, but if we suppose the LRV is fairly full with 200 passengers and they all earn the soon-to-be minimum wage of $15/hour, that is $3000/hour or somewhat less than the number I suggested which is $3600/hour. So while there still could be legitimate argument over many many details, my suggestion is in no way out of line with the level of inconvenience to others that someone stopped in the LRV lane might be causing others.

This sort of observation also explains why full signal priority for the LRT is the correct policy.
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