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ION Phase 2 - Cambridge's Light Rail Transit
(05-07-2017, 11:40 AM)KevinL Wrote: The one by the river is of course the trickiest and most important. I'm imagining elevated heavy rail (because there's no way to dig that close to the river) but it could go a number of ways.

Ha! Yeah, no one's digging in that area, for sure.  

My bet is on elevating the LRT immediately east of William St. LRT can handle steeper grades, which shortens the length of viaduct you build.  Eagle St also climbs a hill just to the east, so it makes for a natural elevation change for the LRT.

It almost makes one think they should just have the LRT elevated right through Preston.  It would only be an additional 800m, between the river crossing and the elevation needed to get over the rail line.  That, and an elevated station... which would be $$$$.  And somehow, I don't think this would help earn the hearts and minds of Preston residents.
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It's almost like we need a technology that can be elevated, but with a slightly lower visual obtrusion.
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(05-07-2017, 12:47 PM)Canard Wrote: It's almost like we need a technology that can be elevated, but with a slightly lower visual obtrusion.

Buses are generally above ground, so I guess you can think of that as elevated....
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Haha, touchè.
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(05-07-2017, 12:39 AM)Square Wrote: I'm with Canard on this, I would LOVE if they tried a different technology (elevated track) for Phase 2!

Elevated track is not a different technology. Monorail or rubber-tired concrete guideway or something would be a different technology. But obviously it would be madness to switch technologies from Fairview to somewhere around Preston and then switch back to LRT for the rest of the route down to Galt. The whole point of LRT is that it is the universal technology — equally comfortable in mixed traffic, dedicated lanes, private right-of-way, elevated, or in tunnel. So while I’m guessing they aren’t actually going to elevate the LRT through Preston, it could be done, and the station would not be significantly more obtrusive than an elevated station for another technology (yes, elevated sections outside of the station would be more prominent than elevated tracks for many other technologies).
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(05-07-2017, 01:13 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: The whole point of LRT is that it is the universal technology — equally comfortable in mixed traffic, dedicated lanes, private right-of-way, elevated, or in tunnel.

Quoting for emphasis!
We can elevate and tunnel LRT where we must, but then the rest can be at grade, saving a lot of money.
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(05-07-2017, 11:40 AM)KevinL Wrote: The one near Industrial will be bypassed by following it around the curve (which saves also crossing it on Hespeler Road).

The one near Concession should be a straightforward grade separation - I'm imagining a cutting for the rails, so they pass under Concession, Eagle and Witmer (or Witmer gets rerouted).

The one by the river is of course the trickiest and most important. I'm imagining elevated heavy rail (because there's no way to dig that close to the river) but it could go a number of ways.

There's an easier solution to the first two: take them out completely. There are no customers on the south side of Eagle at Concession, so nobody will be affected. I don't believe there are any customers on the spur east of Hespeler Road (correct me if I'm wrong), and Gillies Lumber will lose their rail access anyway; their northernmost building will have to be torn down to accommodate the LRT tracks - not to mention the LRT tracks will have to run south of the spur anyway to avoid light-heavy rail traffic conflicts.

One possible solution at the river is to have the LRT line cross under the CP tracks farther up the line (to avoid going through residential in Preston it will have to follow the rail alignment anyway, so have a duckunder at the top of the hill), move the CP tracks farther away from the river, and have the LRT tracks run parallel to the CP tracks but closer to the river. Would require a pedestrian bridge or level crossing over the CP tracks, but it would eliminate a conflict. And gives the added bonus of a potential station close to Toyota and the industrial park.

I do hope they follow King to Sportsworld Drive at least. They could turn up Sportsworld, have a stop near the GO/Greyhound/GRT bus platforms, and then continue under Highway 8 to the CP right of way.
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(05-03-2017, 03:21 PM)KevinL Wrote: Proposed LRT route in Cambridge a no-go for Preston residents
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-...-1.4097440

Quote:Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig, who sits on regional council, said he agrees with Preston residents, as do his fellow regional councillors Karl Kiefer and Helen Jowett.

"We will not be supporting the preferred route. There is no question about that," he said.

It's election year in '18 and this Mayor swings like the wind sock at an airport! Check next month for his new position. 

 5 years ago Mayor was ... we aren't paying taxes for any #LRT that doesn't go into Cambridge.
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http://www.therecord.com/news-story/7289...lrt-route/

My favourite irony here is that a resident doesn't want to allow a rail system to be built to serve Cambridge on its currently planned route because it would force him to dismantle and move his private basement model railway.
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That is funny!

Expropriation usually winds up being a pretty good deal for a typical homeowner. I'm not saying it's nice to be forced to move, but it's true what he says about moving costs and the like. If you have a special piano that needs movers who have to drive in from Toronto, you'll wind up getting their bill reimbursed. If a per diem for a Bombardier engineer winds up being part of the cost of disassembling his model rail set, a call to Mayor Craig would get that taken care of if anyone balks.
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Well, at least they finally found one of the few people who actually would have their whole house expropriated, and not just 100 people who think they'll have their house expropriated.
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Some model railways aren't built with the intention of being moved. The only way out the door is as landfill once the owner decides to build a new one or has already left in a box.
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(05-09-2017, 10:02 PM)DHLawrence Wrote: Some model railways aren't built with the intention of being moved. The only way out the door is as landfill once the owner decides to build a new one or has already left in a box.

Where's there's a will there is a way. It might not be easy to cut the layout apart but with some work underneath to add framing to the layout one could cut the layout surface with a sawzall. Bolt the sections back together and solder the rail joints and join the wiring back together with marrets or solder them back together. It's a lot of work to turn a permanent layout into a modular one but it's been done before.
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Anything is possible, with enough time, effort or money.

That doesn't mean it's practical!
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Given that the building will be demolished, they could just leave it in until the ground floor has been demolished and then lift it out ... Wink
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