ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Printable Version +- Waterloo Region Connected (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com) +-- Forum: Waterloo Region Works (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=14) +--- Forum: Transportation and Infrastructure (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=25) +--- Thread: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit (/showthread.php?tid=14) Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
|
RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - danbrotherston - 06-05-2018 Having a privilege is not evil nor elitist. Owning a car is a privilege, but it doesn't make you bad or good, it's what you choose to do with that privilege that matters. If you refuse to acknowledge it as an advantage, and act as though others who don't have that advantage don't exist, or are bad because of their actions that result from not having a car, that's not a good thing. If you recognize that you have a privilege and seek to enable those who don't to enjoy some of the same benefits you enjoy because of your privilege, well that is a good thing. And there are vast swaths of middle ground where we're all just people who live our lives and are neither good nor bad. ijmorlan's example may have seemed slanted, but only because it challenges the idea that we should blame people who are taking a shortcut, when we enjoy the privilege of a transportation system that largely (and I say this as a pedestrian and cyclist, who is privileged to live downtown) works for us. Other's may not have that advantage and may find it harder to get where they need to go. I certainly feel this any time I leave the relatively pedestrian and transit friendly downtown cores. When people get all defensive about their privileges being pointed out, it's an indicator that they feel guilty about them, which just isn't right...I feel no guilt about the many privileges I enjoy being a straight white male in North America, but it does open my eyes to the fact that other's don't have those advantages, and that I should seek to enable others who lack them to succeed as I am able to, partly through my own abilities, but also through the advantages I was born with. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - ijmorlan - 06-05-2018 (06-05-2018, 11:09 AM)creative Wrote: So all people that own cars are "privileged people" and some how look down on people who do not and are therefore branded elitists! Please make an effort to understand what the other person is saying. No one could reasonably in good faith read what I wrote and conclude that I thought all cars owners looked down on others. But as to the specific issue, yes, car ownership marks one as a relatively privileged person compared to the majority who do not have a car (probably not a majority in this country, but world wide certainly, and even here a larger fraction than is commonly and implicitly assumed). Not the same kind of privilege as possessed by royalty or multi-billionaires, obviously, but being able to make an appointment across town on a moment’s notice by just popping in the car and driving over there does in fact make one privileged. Even “just” needing to go to a medical appointment across town can be a significant hardship for somebody with extremely limited resources. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - ijmorlan - 06-05-2018 (06-05-2018, 11:35 AM)Canard Wrote: Yeah, it’s a very tiresome thing to keep hearing about how evil I am just because I like to leave the city and explore the rest of the continent. Please make an effort to understand what the other person is saying. No one could reasonably in good faith read what I wrote and conclude that I thought you were evil because you like travelling. A made-up exaggeration at that level deserves an apology. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Rainrider22 - 06-05-2018 (06-05-2018, 11:55 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Having a privilege is not evil nor elitist. Just to be clear, I have worked my ass off my whole life to attain what some people label privilege. I own a car, a truck, two motorcycles, as modes of transportation. I have never felt guilty about my achievements nor will I ever as I don't subscribe to much of the rhetoric about privilege. I do however volunteer a lot of hours back to my community, I have raised thousands of dollars towards various charities as an example of how people give back in different ways. Now on the part of public transportation, I have endorsed and advocated LRT right from the start including going to the first original workshops. I do it because I recognize it is for the good of our community at large and for the future of my children. I think everyone needs to get off their high horses and stop judging people period. Actions speak louder than words. I think ijmorlan's did a great job describing the realities of how people view public transportation, and I did not take exception to his choice of words because I looked at the bigger message he was trying to convey.. Anyways, just my thoughts on the matter... Good discussion guys... RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - ijmorlan - 06-05-2018 (06-05-2018, 11:55 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Having a privilege is not evil nor elitist. Thanks, that was a great expansion/explanation of what I was trying to say. There is actually an interesting discussion to be had — my words are not inerrant, and don’t say even a small fraction of what could be said — but it can’t be had if people jump on a participant for pointing out the fact that car ownership is an element of privilege. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - tomh009 - 06-05-2018 (06-05-2018, 11:55 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Having a privilege is not evil nor elitist. I'm somewhat uncomfortable about all the "privilege" discussion recently. Apparently I have the privilege of being a male (although not everyone would view that as a privilege). I have the privilege of owning a car, although I don't use it often. I have the privilege of a home. I have the privilege of undivorced parents I have the privilege of a bicycle. I have the privilege of a paid non-minimum wage job. I have the privilege of eyeglasses. I have the privilege of government-paid health care (although my taxes certainly do contribute to that). I have the privilege of speaking fluent English (though not the privilege of speaking it as a first language). I have the privilege of literacy. I have the privilege of having been born in a first-world country. I have the privilege of living near an LRT stop. I have the privilege of a mobile phone. I have the privilege of being able to vote at free elections. And so on ... What's my point with this list? Basically anything good that someone else does not have can be a "privilege". But that word has a an overloaded meaning, and often people imply that you should be sorry for your privilege and/or compensate in some way for having it. Of course this is now way off topic for the LRT thread, and I regret having taken away everyone's privilege of focusing on LRT discussions in this thread. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Canard - 06-05-2018 Any testing today? RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - timio - 06-05-2018 I was hoping for testing today as I was working in a good vantage point along Charles, but alas, I was left disappointed. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - trainspotter139 - 06-05-2018 (06-05-2018, 07:41 PM)timio Wrote: I was hoping for testing today as I was working in a good vantage point along Charles, but alas, I was left disappointed. They've been testing on the spur lately RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - KevinL - 06-05-2018 Charles was busy today with other maintenance - lots of work vehicles in the ROW. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - trainspotter139 - 06-05-2018 They're busy commissioning the track lubricators I think. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - KevinT - 06-05-2018 504 was out this morning, I had to wait for the gates at Northfield as it headed across the overpass and turned onto the spur. Chatter around 9:30 am was that it had just completed a dynamic brake test, but then I had to dial into a work meeting and didn't get a chance to listen for the rest of the day. It looked like they were doing lubricator work at the Conestoga S curve this morning too. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Canard - 06-06-2018 A behind-the-scenes look at "Spinal Column", to be installed near the Grand River Hospital station. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Rainrider22 - 06-06-2018 (06-06-2018, 10:26 AM)Canard Wrote: A behind-the-scenes look at "Spinal Column", to be installed near the Grand River Hospital station. That is a very col video, thank you for sharing. RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - panamaniac - 06-06-2018 Very cool. I think Two Smiths are also responsible for the Don Quijote statues in the garden at Hacienda Sarria - it's worth a visit if you've not seen them. Ottawa installed one of the artworks for it's new LRT this past week (a stainless steel representation of an eel at Pimisi station - they are spending something like $7.3million for 13 works of art, compared to the $835G that the Region is spending on the 7 Ion works. |