ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[NotStan]

Lower lamp is "-", or stop.  The upper lamp is "|", or proceed.



They really should have had the safety campaign mention this (and push it a little harder toward the media) before powering them up.  That being said, a big red light still means stop, and a big green one still means go!  The reason for going with a "white" "bar" is because neither of those things are colours or shapes that a driver encounters in any other condition, with the idea that a state change won't trigger a false "Go" in the mind of a motorist. Anyone who has ever sat at a stoplight and watched cars around instinctively lift their foot off the brake when an adjacent lane gets an advanced green knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Part of the confusion is that they look like regular traffic light signals at least like the walk / don't walk kind for pedestrians.  Maybe it would helpf if they were horizontal or othwerise made to look more distinct than regular signals

[trainspotter139]

Lower lamp is "-", or stop.  The upper lamp is "|", or proceed.



They really should have had the safety campaign mention this (and push it a little harder toward the media) before powering them up.  That being said, a big red light still means stop, and a big green one still means go!  The reason for going with a "white" "bar" is because neither of those things are colours or shapes that a driver encounters in any other condition, with the idea that a state change won't trigger a false "Go" in the mind of a motorist. Anyone who has ever sat at a stoplight and watched cars around instinctively lift their foot off the brake when an adjacent lane gets an advanced green knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Part of the confusion is that they look like regular traffic light signals at least like the walk / don't walk kind for pedestrians.  Maybe it would helpf if they were horizontal or othwerise made to look more distinct than regular signals

Considering most pedestrian signals in the region are countdown signals where the top one is a combined Walk / Don't Walk and the bottom a countdown timer i don't see the confusion. The pedestrian signals at these intersections are sligntly higher and are directly across from where pedestrians are crossing for a reason.

[Pheidippides]

Some Ion related items under budget, some over:
http://calendar.regionofwaterloo.ca/Coun...df#page=66

I like how the name of this project (which I am guessing is the construction dome):
05441 RR15(King)GEXR Crossing‐Subway Installation
$1,844,000 over budget
"Actual costs are under review with the contractor and will be finalized in 2017"

05041 RR15(King)Victoria St RR55
$478,000 under budget
"LRT related project, works are not yet completed. Will be completed in 2017"

06206 RR15 King Central Mkt to Union
$162,000 over budget
"This is an RT project and was not completed during 2016 ‐ Project will be carried forward into 2017"

ION project
$4,198,000 under budget
"Project spending is ongoing, overall variance is 1.5%"

[darts]

Some Ion related items under budget, some over:
http://calendar.regionofwaterloo.ca/Coun...df#page=66

I like how the name of this project (which I am guessing is the construction dome):
05441 RR15(King)GEXR Crossing‐Subway Installation
$1,844,000 over budget
"Actual costs are under review with the contractor and will be finalized in 2017"

05041 RR15(King)Victoria St RR55
$478,000 under budget
"LRT related project, works are not yet completed. Will be completed in 2017"

06206 RR15 King Central Mkt to Union
$162,000 over budget
"This is an RT project and was not completed during 2016 ‐ Project will be carried forward into 2017"

ION project
$4,198,000 under budget
"Project spending is ongoing, overall variance is 1.5%"

I'm not sure under budget is the correct term for  05041 or ION project, it is more that is the amount of money available in the project for expenses until the project is complete.

[KevinL]

I think 'subway' there is in the British sense meaning 'underpass'.

[trainspotter139]

Some Ion related items under budget, some over:
http://calendar.regionofwaterloo.ca/Coun...df#page=66

I like how the name of this project (which I am guessing is the construction dome):
05441 RR15(King)GEXR Crossing‐Subway Installation
$1,844,000 over budget
"Actual costs are under review with the contractor and will be finalized in 2017"

05041 RR15(King)Victoria St RR55
$478,000 under budget
"LRT related project, works are not yet completed. Will be completed in 2017"

06206 RR15 King Central Mkt to Union
$162,000 over budget
"This is an RT project and was not completed during 2016 ‐ Project will be carried forward into 2017"

ION project
$4,198,000 under budget
"Project spending is ongoing, overall variance is 1.5%"

I'm not sure under budget is the correct term for  05041 or ION project, it is more that is the amount of money available in the project for expenses until the project is complete.

no under budget is the correct term for the amount budgeted for the 2016 fiscal year.

[darts]

I'm not sure under budget is the correct term for  05041 or ION project, it is more that is the amount of money available in the project for expenses until the project is complete.

no under budget is the correct term for the amount budgeted for the 2016 fiscal year.

But is the amount in the 2016 column the amount they expected to spend in 2016 for the work completed or the amount budgeted for the project in total?

I would think it is the latter, it would be difficult to estimate how much budget is needed for each year plus some of the comments seem to refer to the remaining money was going to be used in 2017.

[KevinL]

Part of the confusion is that they look like regular traffic light signals at least like the walk / don't walk kind for pedestrians.  Maybe it would helpf if they were horizontal or othwerise made to look more distinct than regular signals

Spotted a great test case just now - here's Charles and Queen. Two signals right next to each other - about the same height and location across the street. If you're unfamiliar with the corner and have poor eyesight, which is the one you obey? the red or the white?



Here's one with them both white:

[Canard]

The camera is misleading, because it makes the bar blown out here when in reality the eye can discern it's a line much more easily. Your exposure time is long because you took a photo at night, and the definition of the edges of the symbols in the two lamps is lost.

I suppose a solution might have been to ditch the far side aspect signal, leaving only the near one and ask that the LRV stop a few metres further back? But I think that's a solution to a problem that may not really exist.

[kitborn]

The safety concern is valid. Those lights are very much at pedestrian height and location. In Downtown on Charles, I've had to do double-takes now because of the colour and location. Some people might look quickly and see white light and think they can cross, when in fact it is just the LRT signal and not the walk signal that is providing the white light. For people with less-than-perfect vision, this can become even more of a concern.

Another side note: holy moly are those signals bright. If you're within their primary light angle, they are painful to look at. If you're a pedestrian, the white light from these will definitely be more powerful and noticeable than white light from the pedestrian walk signal.

Car drivers have figured out the white diagonal bar at Highland Hills mall for exiting buses only, very quickly.

[Canard]

1/1 - Friday, March 3, 2017

   
New "wrong way" speed limit signage on Borden. The 25 km/h limit sign faces the Northbound track into Curve C24, and the 35 km/h is posted for trains traveling backward on the Southbound track.

Interestingly, this curve has a design limit of 26 km/h in both directions, here - so I'm not sure why one is posted as 35, unless it's a mistake (or the design changed).

   
Contact wire was strung on Thursday morning from Charles/Borden, heading Southbound, for the next run.

   
Activated Aspect Signal at Caroline/Allen.

   
The wraps are off at Waterloo Town Square.

   
Still another pour or two to go on the actual platform itself, but the forms are in.

[ijmorlan]

The camera is misleading, because it makes the bar blown out here when in reality the eye can discern it's a line much more easily. Your exposure time is long because you took a photo at night, and the definition of the edges of the symbols in the two lamps is lost.

On the other hand, some people probably have vision that makes them see essentially what the photo shows.

On the other other hand, if there is both stop and go, people must interpret it as stop until they have it figured out. So overall I think the new signals are no worse than any other new traffic feature in town. Also I think all the new signals have the accessibility sounds so people with reduced vision have a backup indication.

[SammyOES2]

This feels like one of those issues that are really hard to deduce the impact. Is there any actual data?

[jamincan]

1/1 - Friday, March 3, 2017


New "wrong way" speed limit signage on Borden. The 25 km/h limit sign faces the Northbound track into Curve C24, and the 35 km/h is posted for trains traveling backward on the Southbound track.

Interestingly, this curve has a design limit of 26 km/h in both directions, here - so I'm not sure why one is posted as 35, unless it's a mistake (or the design changed).

Just looking at the image, though, and the curve radius is obviously significantly larger on the southbound track, which suggests that the design speeds should also be different. Do we know if the speed limit sign shows 35 in the southbound direction?

[Smore]

Is it just me or are they not quite level to horizontal? I saw the northbound signal at King/Vic today and thought that...and looking back at the photos on the prev page, it sort of looks similar...