Cycling in Waterloo Region

[ijmorlan]

I know the type you're talking about, Kevin - that's a good idea!  The freight train has to stop anyway at King, so it's not like there's a huge risk of a train barreling through it.

My second instalment of Saturday Winter Bike Rides (in Waterloo Region):

The horizontal-swing gates would be no good there. The tracks are also a multi-use trail so shouldn’t be blocked off (at least east of King. I’m not entirely clear what is supposed to be happening west of King; I am sufficiently untrusting of planners at this point that I’m not confident that anybody is clear on what is supposed to be happening west of King).

What would work is retractable bollards between the rails, one on each side of the street. They could be activated the same as the usual crossing protection except in reverse — retract when the crossing protection would be activated. Put regular bollards on either side of the tracks as close as possible while still clearing the freight envelope. That should be effective.

Incidentally, does anybody know if the signals are hooked up to the train? King should get a red when the freight goes through even if there isn’t railway-style crossing protection.