(06-25-2017, 10:56 PM)timc Wrote:

(06-24-2017, 09:37 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: There should be a shelter specifically for smoking closer to GRH. If GRH won’t get its act together and figure out a way to make it happen

They can't. All hospital grounds in Ontario have to be completely smoke-free by January 1, 2018.

Quote:the transit authority should do it by building a bus shelter that is not particularly close to any bus stop but reasonably conveniently located for the smokers.

I don't even know if this can legally be done. I think that such a shelter would be an enclosed public place, and smoking would have to be prohibited.

If it is important to prohibit smoking in transit shelters, then the law needs to be enforced.

(06-26-2017, 08:01 AM)Canard Wrote: I don't think we should be trying to encourage smoking by accommodating it. I'm very happy at the theme parks I visit over the past 10 years or so I've seen them go from No Smoking in queues, to Designated Smoking Areas, to some parks having a total ban now.

Hopefully within a generation it will be completely gone.

(06-26-2017, 09:42 AM)SammyOES2 Wrote: I see ijmorlan's point, but I also see the point that hospitals have a duty to provide quality health care to their patients.  We don't allow sick patients to have booze on the property.  We don't allow them to do (unauthorized) drugs.  Sometimes patients aren't allowed to have coffee.  All addictions for some people, and all things that the hospital sometimes (or always) needs to restrict in order to provide quality care.  So it seems at least reasonable that we don't enable smoking on the property when people are in the care of the hospital.  Especially if the hospital can provide remedies to the patient to deal with the addiction while they are admitted.

Its honestly mind boggling to me that non-smoking isn't enforced in transit shelters. Seems like a no brainer 'money-grab' for the city.

Edit: To be clear, if I had the power to make the decision, I don't actually know what way I'd go without looking at a lot more data.  But I don't think its obvious that ijmorlan is right or wrong.

Quote:WATERLOO — A derail switch has been installed in uptown Waterloo along a stretch of the Ion line shared with freight trains to safely stop an oversized car before it reaches light rail infrastructure.

The derail switch installed by GrandLinq as part of the Ion system is part of a "multi-step" safety system to prevent a serious crash in the unlikely event a freight train that is too big gets onto the joint use section of the Spur Line through Waterloo, where there will be light rail platforms and overhead wires on poles.

[...]

Then there's a "high and wide" detector ahead of the derail switch that remotely measures a train's dimensions.

If a train is flagged as too high or wide, then a signal down the track will turn red to tell the operator to stop the train. Once stopped there, the oversized car would need to be addressed before the train could proceed.

If the operator fails to respond to the red, the derail switch is activated.

(06-26-2017, 10:01 AM)Markster Wrote: A neat article about the derail at Willow St.

Derail switches installed to protect Ion infrastructure from oversized freight trains

Quote:WATERLOO — A derail switch has been installed in uptown Waterloo along a stretch of the Ion line shared with freight trains to safely stop an oversized car before it reaches light rail infrastructure.

The derail switch installed by GrandLinq as part of the Ion system is part of a "multi-step" safety system to prevent a serious crash in the unlikely event a freight train that is too big gets onto the joint use section of the Spur Line through Waterloo, where there will be light rail platforms and overhead wires on poles.

[...]

Then there's a "high and wide" detector ahead of the derail switch that remotely measures a train's dimensions.

If a train is flagged as too high or wide, then a signal down the track will turn red to tell the operator to stop the train. Once stopped there, the oversized car would need to be addressed before the train could proceed.

If the operator fails to respond to the red, the derail switch is activated.

(06-26-2017, 10:41 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: I am under the impression this also has to do with time of day, during the LRT operating hours freight would not be allowed on the LRT tracks regardless of size.

The Record Wrote:Ion and freight trains will use the same track along that stretch, but not at the same time. Freight trains will come through at night after the Ion stops running for the day.

(06-26-2017, 10:45 AM)Markster Wrote:

(06-26-2017, 10:41 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: I am under the impression this also has to do with time of day, during the LRT operating hours freight would not be allowed on the LRT tracks regardless of size.

Yes, they mention that in the article.

...

(06-26-2017, 09:56 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: While I've never have a nicotine addiction it seems like it's not the kind of thing that you can give up easily, for the day, week, even month, you might be in the hospital---even with nicotine addiction aids.  Worse, visiting a hospital is usually a very stressful experience, something which I understand is generally a trigger for people who are addicted to smoking.

(06-26-2017, 09:56 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: There are other reasons for the prohibition against booze which don't apply to cigarettes as well.

As for patients not being allowed coffee, usually that's for a medical reason.

(06-26-2017, 09:56 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Again, please don't use the term "enable", it's an accommodation for people with an addiction, you can't just stop doing something when you're addicted, no matter how much you may want to.  The fact is some will have a physiological need to smoke (this is what a chemical addiction is) and just trying to stop them is unlikely to be successful.  Much better to accommodate them in a way which prevents harm to other people through second hand smoke.  Providing a tiny glass box outside seems to be a reasonable measure to achieve this.

(06-26-2017, 09:56 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: As for enforcement being a "money-grab"....doubtful, enforcement of this form often barely covers it's costs, and again, keep in mind who you're "grabbing" money from.

(06-26-2017, 10:45 AM)Markster Wrote: The size detector is another layer of safety that I had not heard about.  No sending double-stack container cars up, even in the dead of night!

(06-26-2017, 11:33 AM)kps Wrote: I think we should have Plate K LRVs. Show Hong Kong what's what.