Cycling in Waterloo Region

[ijmorlan]

Forgot to add one point -- by having the LRT on one side only, you'd only need one set of doors, on one side only. This means you have a lot more seating. The LRT that I have been on in Toronto only opens on one side (passenger side). As far as I know, they don't have the same issues that the ION has regarding cyclists.

This is easier said than done. Just deciding on centre or side running on the road segments is nowhere near enough. You would need loops at the end stations, and the choice of side for the platforms would then be forced for every single stop in the system, no matter where it is and no matter what the local context is. Additionally the reverse running on the Waterloo Spur would at best be made much more complicated.

There is a reason why LRT and subways almost always have doors on both sides.

The Toronto system that has doors only on one side is the streetcar system, which is not normally referred to as an LRT (although there is no bright line between them, so I can’t say you’re outright wrong to use that term).

All that being said, I haven’t a clue why single track = side running in our road-running sections. The only exceptions to this rule are two blocks on Benton/Frederick, where the single track is in the centre, and at Central Station where the double track spreads to the curbs.