ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[danbrotherston]

My recollection of spur trail planning is different. ISTR finding out from staff that the gap between those buildings was rail only and the spur trail would never officially use it, that it would route down to Willis Way officially, but (nudge nudge wink wink) of course they couldn't stop people from filtering through the more direct way even if it's technically trespassing. I don't remember hearing anything about shifting rails and the idea surprises me, because rail cars are often quite a bit wider than the rails on which they sit, so clearance is an issue.

So, I'm not expecting much here.

Also, isn't there a footpath along the parking garage next to the button factory? Surprised that this hasn't become the official trail route, but I guess it's a challenge to cross King.

*shrugs*...I wouldn't be surprised if staff didn't all have their stories straight.

Remember also "staff" is an ambiguous term.  At the meeting, I heard this from city staff directly, not region staff.

As for space, I realize that rail cars are wider, but look at the positioning of the trail at the far end of the passage.  It is clearly closer to the north building than the south.  If you take a closer look (in person), if you give an equal buffer on the south side of the track as the north side has from the building, there is still about 2 meters of space between that and the next building.  Narrow to be sure, but something staff would probably consider feasible.  However, at the entrance, since the rail is in the middle between the two buildings, there is not sufficient space for a trail.  The adjustment staff stated specifically they wanted was for the rail to be moved closer to the north building, as it is at the other end.

There is a gap at the parking garage, but it is also quite narrow, one end is in the middle of a bus stop, the other end is in the middle of a parking lot, not exactly the best place for a bike/ped path.  Although crossing King and Regina there are no more difficult than crossing at the rail line.

Quite frankly, the Willis Way route is not a bad compromise, especially given that it has lights at King.  But it needed to be built properly.  The access at the City Hall is decent, but the crossing of Regina is wanting.  The bigger problem is, that there is a very large percentage of the population who are uncomfortable riding on a road, even a quieter one like Willis Way.  The lack of connections between our pieces of infrastructure I think is one of the biggest obstacles our bike network faces.

But I realize this is getting off topic...so just to bring it back...I hope that connections between buses and LRT work better than connections between the Spur Line and Iron Horse Trail.