ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[ookpik]

Since Victoria is a major street, it should either be called Victoria or Victoria Central. King Central doesn't let anyone know where they are. Presumably, they already know that they are on King. If they want to keep 'King' in the name, they could call it King-Hauptbahnhof, reflecting our German heritage and the fact that it is a transit hub.

While Hauptbanhof does reflect Kitchener's German heritage it's too long and too hard to spell. Even in Germany they always abbreviate to X HB, and X is usually the city, not a street in the city.

The term would be lost on the vast majority of people, apart from some EU tourists who would then be appalled by what Canadians consider a major train station, a transit hub and a public transport system.

The abbreviation HB has a different meaning in most parts of germanic Europe. You might miss your train if you followed HB signs to get to the Munich train station







AFAIK HB is used primarily in Switzerland, e.g. 



Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) literally means Main Train Station. The name is commonly used in larger cities to distinguish it between lesser train stations which are usually named according to their geographic orientation to the main/central station, e.g. Munich Ostbahnhof, Wien [Vienna] Westbahnhof, Paris Gare du Nord, etc. Maybe some day we'll need to make that sort of distinction, e.g. when Cambridge gets GO Train service, but I'm not holding my breath.

[greybird]

Research and Technology is a mouthful. So is Laurier - Waterloo Park. Maybe they'll get shortened organically over time.

It's weird that Conestoga keeps its mall-centric name and Fairway doesn't.

I like King Central. It sounds weird today, but maybe only because it's new. That area's going to need a name when the transit hub opens, and that's a good one.

[Markster]

Well... Conestoga is at Conestogo Rd... that's close enough?

[mpd618]

A visitor would ask is King Central in Kitchener or Waterloo? How do I get to the bus VIA/GO station on Victoria Street? Does this line go to Victoria Street? If they called it King-Victoria, that would stop some of the confusion.

I think in all of these cases a visitor is looking at a map, which should help with much of the needed context. E.g. any reasonable map makes it blindingly obvious that this station is a connection to intercity train service.

[Drake]

I keep wondering when to bring it up, but two things weigh heavily on my mind, too:

• What will our door chime be?
  
• What voice will our automated station stop announcements be?
  

Where exactly will the platform for Willis Way be? Is that Willis Way at Caroline? For some reason I thought the LRT stop was going to be fairly close to where the mock historic stop on the St Jacobs/Waterloo railway is now.. there is lots of space for it and it would allow for both directions.

Anyhoo, the reason I segue into that thought, is in response to Canards comment about automated station stops.. that stop could be named Perimeter and Dr. Stephen Hawking could voice the announcement. Seriously, how cool would that be?

[Canard]

Not much going on at Bearanger today. No crews at all - I thought this weekend was the big 88-hour push! Tracks are terminated and it's just a big dirt flat pit right now. I'll upload my photos later this afternoon. Can't access from Parkside - have to go at it from Phillip or zoom in from Quiet Place (which, as the name suggests, is really quiet!).

[Pheidippides]

I'm sure the removal of "mall" from Conestoga and Fairview was quite deliberate to help end the references to a "mall-to-mall streetcar line" (that and businesses do come and go).

The only stop name that initially confused me was Victoria Park. Despite living in the area and travelling through that area daily it took me a minute to recognize that one opening to Victoria Park (the park) is only 100m away from Victoria Park (the station). I suspect visitors or others not familiar with the city would find it confusing to get off at that stop and not actually be in a park setting.

[plam]

Research and Technology is a mouthful. So is Laurier - Waterloo Park. Maybe they'll get shortened organically over time.

It's weird that Conestoga keeps its mall-centric name and Fairway doesn't.

I like King Central. It sounds weird today, but maybe only because it's new. That area's going to need a name when the transit hub opens, and that's a good one.

It's funny, but Montreal metro names have gotten longer over time with the addition of university and college names, with one exception. "Guy" -> "Guy-Concordia", "Square Victoria" -> "Square Victoria-OACI", "Longueuil" -> "Longueuil-Université de Sherbrooke", "Berri de Montigny" -> "Berri-UQAM". They also simplified "L'Assomption" to "Assomption".

Fairway and Fairview are pretty close, but yes, the difference is strange. Conestogo might have made more sense. But that's also a place name that's not there.

[ookpik]

Anyhoo, the reason I segue into that thought, is in response to Canards comment about automated station stops.. that stop could be named Perimeter and Dr. Stephen Hawking could voice the announcement. Seriously, how cool would that be?

Almost as cool as meeting Dr Hawking on the LRT next time he's in town. (A brief history of Stephen Hawking's time in Waterloo)

In any case what are the plans for the space around that station? That space along with the parking lot at Erb and FDB would make a good venue for a fifth architecture award winning building.

[jamincan]

I like King Central. I think it's important to consider that the train station, bus station and LRT station will likely all share a name. This means that the LRT station name is not only important from the perspective of local travellers, but also regionally. Something like King-Victoria just comes across as another peripheral point on the map of the GO Network. King Central seems to carry more significance to it and feels more like an western anchor to the line instead of a remote suburban station.

[MacBerry]

A visitor would ask is King Central in Kitchener or Waterloo? How do I get to the bus VIA/GO station on Victoria Street? Does this line go to Victoria Street? If they called it King-Victoria, that would stop some of the confusion.

I think in all of these cases a visitor is looking at a map, which should help with much of the needed context. E.g. any reasonable map makes it blindingly obvious that this station is a connection to intercity train service.

Surely there will be many wonderful APPs for our "smartphones" to eliminate all the confusion anticipated by all as shown here ... while the city size is different here are examples:

Here Are The Best New NYC Transit Apps

Wait while I get my asbestos flaming suit out ... OK go!

 

[Canard]

Photos today from the OMSF and construction at Bearanger.

   

   

   

   

[mpd618]

Council will probably just rubber stamp the list of names. They are not putting out a list of alternatives for the public to comment on.

Which is far and away the best thing about the names - they were chosen to satisfy a list of pretty reasonable criteria. Naming contests of any kind, as had been referenced at some previous point, would have been absurd.

[Canard]

Crew in full swing this morning at Bearanger:

   

[Drake]

I like King Central. I think it's important to consider that the train station, bus station and LRT station will likely all share a name. This means that the LRT station name is not only important from the perspective of local travellers, but also regionally. Something like King-Victoria just comes across as another peripheral point on the map of the GO Network. King Central seems to carry more significance to it and feels more like an western anchor to the line instead of a remote suburban station.

You make a good point that all the locations will share the same name. Will King Central make sense for someone at Union Station? I would be concerned that I was going to King City. Not sure the last time you were at Union Station but Labyrinth would be a better name for it.

Why not just Kitchener Central seeing as it is a gateway location?