Waterloo Region Connected

(08-23-2016, 09:52 AM)Markster Wrote: [ -> ]According to The Record, a few of the projects in the bucket looking for funding are "a north transit hub" which I presume means the Northfield bus garage, and "part of an environmental study for [LRT] Phase 2"

What projects actually get the funding is still to be announced.

http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2016/08/23/cana...re-funding


Fairview Mall Transit Terminal      $2,000,000 August 2, 2016
University of Waterloo Transit Plaza     $2,531,000 August 2, 2016
Northfield Drive Transit Facility      $775,000   January 1, 2017
iXpress Station Development      $3,535,000    August 2, 2016
Blockline Station Development    $2,000,000    August 2, 2016
Vehicle Replacements     $12,000,000  August 2, 2016
 

What do they mean by 'station development'? To make the area around those stations more amenable for private development, or...?

And what _is_ an "iXpress Station"?

Maybe they mean s/Station/Bus Shelter/ ?

I think they mean literally building ("developing") bus stations/platforms.

The list basically reads as "GRT's Capital Plan for 2016/2017"
Which would mean that "iXpress Station Development" is probably referring to the Ottawa iXpress platforms/shelters.  
The "Block Line Station Development" would be the bus loop and station at the ION station there, which I guess was not part of the ION project agreement.

These kinds of funding announcements are where it pays off for a city to have a large stack of planned-but-unfunded capital projects.  You can see that Toronto and Ottawa have a huge number of projects getting funding.  We have... exactly what was planned for the next year anyway.  There are no "nice to have" items, or ones that are expected in the next 5 years, only things we were going to build next year regardless.  It would behoove GRT to make sure to have a small stack of "future projects" to pull from when funding opportunities like this come around.  One I'd like to see is a more concerted effort to install bus shelters across the system.

That's a great idea, Mark - isn't that how the Spurline Trail got funded and built so quickly by Metrolinx?

It is exactly but it is a shame the spur line trail was a "nice to have".

Platform extension at Charles Terminal for the GO buses is mostly complete.

(08-23-2016, 11:17 AM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]That's a great idea, Mark - isn't that how the Spurline Trail got funded and built so quickly by Metrolinx?

From what I heard that is how the M3 building got built. Someone asked, on a lark, for blueprints at a time where there was zero chance it would get built. The blueprints sat in a drawer for a couple of years until the recession hit and the government asked for shovel-ready projects. The M3 blueprints were the only ones lying around in the entire university, as such the project didn't even have to compete with others within the university to be placed forward.

Per capita we did ok with funding:
[attachment=2044]

(08-24-2016, 12:01 AM)BuildingScout Wrote: [ -> ]

(08-23-2016, 11:17 AM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]That's a great idea, Mark - isn't that how the Spurline Trail got funded and built so quickly by Metrolinx?

From what I heard that is how the M3 building got built. Someone asked, on a lark, for blueprints at a time where there was zero chance it would get built. The blueprints sat in a drawer for a couple of years until the recession hit and the government asked for shovel-ready projects. The M3 blueprints were the only ones lying around in the entire university, as such the project didn't even have to compete with others within the university to be placed forward.

I’m not unusually well informed about M3, but if they had blueprints drawn up I doubt that it was on a lark. A Dean of Mathematics (I don’t know when this was so I don’t know who it would have been) or somebody high up in the Dean’s office would most likely have commissioned the blueprints, and the value of their action was proven when the funding came along.

This is why nobody can tell whether executives are doing their job properly. In this case, their money is well-earned, and if most of their decisions were at this level of skill, they were underpaid.

(08-24-2016, 06:28 AM)Pheidippides Wrote: [ -> ]Per capita we did ok with funding:

Apparently, it also is calculated and doled out by ridership.

The GTHA municipalities will be getting funding soon.

As we're starting to resemble GTA more than Sudbury in terms of transit employed (bus, express bus, LRT, GO), the funding per capita should start to go up.

(08-24-2016, 06:30 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: [ -> ]

(08-24-2016, 12:01 AM)BuildingScout Wrote: [ -> ]From what I heard that is how the M3 building got built. Someone asked, on a lark, for blueprints at a time where there was zero chance it would get built. The blueprints sat in a drawer for a couple of years until the recession hit and the government asked for shovel-ready projects. The M3 blueprints were the only ones lying around in the entire university, as such the project didn't even have to compete with others within the university to be placed forward.

I’m not unusually well informed about M3, but if they had blueprints drawn up I doubt that it was on a lark. A Dean of Mathematics (I don’t know when this was so I don’t know who it would have been) or somebody high up in the Dean’s office would most likely have commissioned the blueprints, and the value of their action was proven when the funding came along.

This is why nobody can tell whether executives are doing their job properly. In this case, their money is well-earned, and if most of their decisions were at this level of skill, they were underpaid.

Hmm, as best as I understand "on a lark" means just for fun, with no real purpose, which is how it was done.

I do think this person acted correctly, and showed the value of dreaming beyond what is currently achievable. Because of this he was prepared when the conditions suddenly changed in his favour.

Looking at the GTFS for Fall Schedule, looks like there will be standardization of destination sign formatting.

All linear routes (except 7, 8, 10) will follow the [# ROUTE to Destination] format. Examples:

2 FOREST HEIGHTS to Westheights
4 GLASGOW to The Boardwalk
11 COUNTRY HILLS to Forest Glen
12 WESTMOUNT to Fairview Park
13 LAURELWOOD to SJAM
21 ELMIRA to Arthur/Church
33 HURON to Huron Village via Trillium
34 BINGEMANS to Shirley/Victoria
52 CORONATION to Ainslie via Preston Pkwy

"...to Downtown" will change to "...to Charles Terminal".

http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/opendatad...T_GTFS.zip

...M3?