ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Markster]

Charles/Ontario is being paved today.

[chutten]

And they all look revolting. Has whoever made those ever heard of negative space, or contrast?

I had the opposite reaction - I thought they look great.  De gustibus non est discutandum, I guess.

Gah, need pics for context.

[LesPio]

Article in the Toronto Star

While GTA crawls ahead, Waterloo Region leads way on light rail

Kitchener-Waterloo's ION LRT line, set to open in 2017, is the culmination of four decades of regional planning.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transpor...-rail.html

[notmyfriends]

Article in the Toronto Star

While GTA crawls ahead, Waterloo Region leads way on light rail

Kitchener-Waterloo's ION LRT line, set to open in 2017, is the culmination of four decades of regional planning.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transpor...-rail.html

Two in one day?

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transpor...oject.html

[GtwoK]

Curbs are Charles reach all the way from Benton to Madison now! The portion from Madison - Cedar is VERY narrow. Was quite surprised seeing that. No doubt it's because of the station (which appeared to be tarp-free today!). Sidewalks are also going in along Charles, near Benton and near Stirling.

Eby was closed today to through traffic because ducting for the catpoles was being installed across the intersection. This would explain why it hasn't been paved yet, despite otherwise being finished! Paving should come within a few days now.

King St W saw catpoles being installed today. As such, traffic is slowly starting to follow the REAL Eastbound lanes, now.

The stairs at KCI are going in faster now. Turns out they ARE using the semicircle design after all — they're just building the entire thing from scratch, rather than using the top portion of the original stairs.

Charles from Madison - Stirling is almost completely ready for curbs. I think I may have been dead on when guessing that 90% of Charles would be open by Christmas.

All 3 curbs are in along the length of Borden now. Should be paved tomorrow.

[tomh009]

Charles from Madison - Stirling is almost completely ready for curbs. I think I may have been dead on when guessing that 90% of Charles would be open by Christmas.

What's the construction on Charles between Borden and Ottawa?  That shouldn't be LRT, right?

[Markster]

What's the construction on Charles between Borden and Ottawa?  That shouldn't be LRT, right?

That's LRT too. The northbound LRT track runs between Ottawa and Borden, where it meets the southbound track at Borden station.

[Pheidippides]

The co-owner of Grand River Rocks has changed his opinion on LRT since recording this interview.

[tomh009]

What's the construction on Charles between Borden and Ottawa?  That shouldn't be LRT, right?

That's LRT too. The northbound LRT track runs between Ottawa and Borden, where it meets the southbound track at Borden station.

Thanks!  That stretch looks like it has a lot more work remaining as compared to the parts north (west?) of Borden.

[MidTowner]

The co-owner of Grand River Rocks has changed his opinion on LRT since recording this interview.

I listened to the interview on The Morning Edition this morning, and I don't think it's accurate to say that his opinion on the LRT has changed. I don't personally think that his type of criticism of the construction is helpful, but probably some of his points of contention were accurate and valid, and anyway he did keep his criticism focused on the construction process, and not LRT.

[schooner77]

I would say his criticism is very helpful, because it points to the actual construction process and how it's being run. Diverting traffic through parking lots is dangerous and that was not the only place it happened. I remember the exact same problem on King and Caroline at the Brick brewery parking lot. Damage to his property is also a concern. I'm a big supporter of the LRT and still am, but the coordination and management of the construction sites has been inconsistent.

[Pheidippides]

The co-owner of Grand River Rocks has changed his opinion on LRT since recording this interview.

I listened to the interview on The Morning Edition this morning, and I don't think it's accurate to say that his opinion on the LRT has changed. I don't personally think that his type of criticism of the construction is helpful, but probably some of his points of contention were accurate and valid, and anyway he did keep his criticism focused on the construction process, and not LRT.

A valid point separating the end result (LRT) and the process (construction). Thanks for pointing that out.

[kitborn]

Charles from Madison - Stirling is almost completely ready for curbs. I think I may have been dead on when guessing that 90% of Charles would be open by Christmas.

What's the construction on Charles between Borden and Ottawa?  That shouldn't be LRT, right?

Yes, the inbound rail from Fairview Mall.

[KevinL]

Lane markings have been painted on Charles from Water to Ontario. The road is still not fully open, however, with cones and equipment keeping access down to one lane.

[plam]

The co-owner of Grand River Rocks has changed his opinion on LRT since recording this interview.

I listened to the interview on The Morning Edition this morning, and I don't think it's accurate to say that his opinion on the LRT has changed. I don't personally think that his type of criticism of the construction is helpful, but probably some of his points of contention were accurate and valid, and anyway he did keep his criticism focused on the construction process, and not LRT.

Yeah, I also thought the summary didn't have anything negative about the concept of LRT.

Last I checked GRR was still filling up pretty much every weeknight. (And they also had problems with sprinkler systems, which is certainly not LRT's fault). They will also be better off when LRT is running.

But it has been a hassle for them to deal with LRT construction, which has been just outside their door for an exceptionally long time.