(03-10-2016, 10:56 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: My question would be why they removed the crossing protection from Waterloo St. Before all this happened there was nothing wrong with that crossing. Indeed, if this is for several months, why not re-install the protection? The detour currently required is quite significant for a pedestrian.
As I said before, it's very likely that the control system for the Waterloo crossing was interrelated to the King street crossing, so when King was disabled, so too was Waterloo.
Your assumption earlier in your post about frequency and speed is correct; while on the spur, that one freight train up to Elmira is limited to something like 20 km/h, and even have a flagman at the crossings (I've never actually been able to catch one in motion on the spur). Again, this is because the crossings are not (yet) active (bells/lamps), and the train isn't allowed to blow its horn with the standard call ( _ _ . _). On the mainline, there are closer to 10-20 train movements per day, and the speeds are much higher on many of those, mostly passenger.
I am sort of in disbelief that some are trying to justify breaking a safety rule at the sake of convenience. I'm guessing those same people have never set foot in a factory floor, either, and would balk at wearing safety shoes or hearing protection.
What if the region subsidized a shuttle service using GRT? Or just made travel between iXpress stops on either side of the tracks fareless for that one stop?