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ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Printable Version

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RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Canard - 10-10-2017

I always felt horribly uncomfortable doing it, the few times I did. It made me feel dirty. I would only ever do it if I could gauge in my rear-view mirror that the person behind me also knew it was “technically okay” and was pressuring me to go. Otherwise I’d just wait.

It would make me feel uncomfortable, because even though I knew it was allowed, I always felt like everyone else around me didn’t, and wouldn’t think I was breaking the law!

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - JoeKW - 10-10-2017

When is train #3 supposed to be shipped? Were they saying every 10 days?

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - KevinL - 10-10-2017

At one point they said three by Thanksgiving, obviously that didn't happen. Hopefully by the end of this week...?

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Pheidippides - 10-10-2017

I only ever saw the three by Thanksgiving in a CBC article. The three by the end of October was quoted in many sources. I always just assumed the CBC article was in error.

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Canard - 10-10-2017

The "3 by Thanksgiving" thing was just an extrapolation by the media.

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Pheidippides - 10-10-2017

(10-10-2017, 06:03 PM)KevinL Wrote: At one point they said three by Thanksgiving, obviously that didn't happen. Hopefully by the end of this week...?

Well they said 10 days delivery time for #2 and I think it was 9 days.

So they'd have to shop #3 and #4 pretty soon just to meet the end of the month deadline.

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - trainspotter139 - 10-10-2017

(10-10-2017, 10:17 PM)Pheidippides Wrote:
(10-10-2017, 06:03 PM)KevinL Wrote: At one point they said three by Thanksgiving, obviously that didn't happen. Hopefully by the end of this week...?

Well they said 10 days delivery time for #2 and I think it was 9 days.

So they'd have to shop #3 and #4 pretty soon just to meet the end of the month deadline.

The train was apparently loaded up Monday, picked up Wednesday and here in the region by Saturday. If we don't count the time between being loaded and when it was picked up that would be about 4 days from Kingston to Kitchener. When it gets delivered to the OMSF is also dependent on which day of the week the switcher picks up the car from BBD. For example, if it was picked up on Monday it would have been here in time for the Thursday night train to Elmira and we would have had a Friday unloading.

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Viewfromthe42 - 10-11-2017

(10-10-2017, 05:13 PM)Canard Wrote: I always felt horribly uncomfortable doing it, the few times I did. It made me feel dirty. I would only ever do it if I could gauge in my rear-view mirror that the person behind me also knew it was “technically okay” and was pressuring me to go. Otherwise I’d just wait.

It would make me feel uncomfortable, because even though I knew it was allowed, I always felt like everyone else around me didn’t, and wouldn’t think I was breaking the law!

Sometimes you should just go for it (following laws others don't understand). I would much prefer that you confidently make the legal left-on-red there and make others wonder why you did, hopefully looking up the law themselves and becoming better drivers, just as I would hope that you would confidently not illegally pass a cyclist too close in your car, because you couldn't give 1m of legally-required space, even though pressure from drivers behind you might make you feel like you should run the cyclist down or have every right to. I understand if you don't have that confidence, but the more we display tricky but good and legal driving behaviour, hopefully the more we will be able to set (and reset) good driving standards bit by bit.

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - Coke6pk - 10-11-2017

(10-11-2017, 08:46 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote:
(10-10-2017, 05:13 PM)Canard Wrote: I always felt horribly uncomfortable doing it, the few times I did. It made me feel dirty. I would only ever do it if I could gauge in my rear-view mirror that the person behind me also knew it was “technically okay” and was pressuring me to go. Otherwise I’d just wait.

It would make me feel uncomfortable, because even though I knew it was allowed, I always felt like everyone else around me didn’t, and wouldn’t think I was breaking the law!

Sometimes you should just go for it (following laws others don't understand). I would much prefer that you confidently make the legal left-on-red there and make others wonder why you did, hopefully looking up the law themselves and becoming better drivers, just as I would hope that you would confidently not illegally pass a cyclist too close in your car, because you couldn't give 1m of legally-required space, even though pressure from drivers behind you might make you feel like you should run the cyclist down or have every right to. I understand if you don't have that confidence, but the more we display tricky but good and legal driving behaviour, hopefully the more we will be able to set (and reset) good driving standards bit by bit.

I'm going to go WAAAAAY off topic here, and agree with Viewfromthe42.  If I saw a Quebec plate behind me, it wouldn't influence my decision to turn right on a red "just in case he was from Montreal".  If its legal (and safe), then do so.

Now the off-topic: This is the reason why I use that right lane that merges, and use the zipper merge the roads were designed for.  My hope is the 100's of cars lined up in the left lane will learn about proper merging and one day we will use our roads efficiently!  [The city spent a lot of money to pave that lane up to and including the merge spot... we should be using it!]

Back on topic: I wish Felix had a blue mouth! Wink

Coke

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - ijmorlan - 10-11-2017

(10-11-2017, 10:35 AM)Coke6pk Wrote: Now the off-topic: This is the reason why I use that right lane that merges, and use the zipper merge the roads were designed for.  My hope is the 100's of cars lined up in the left lane will learn about proper merging and one day we will use our roads efficiently!  [The city spent a lot of money to pave that lane up to and including the merge spot... we should be using it!]

Back on topic: I wish Felix had a blue mouth! Wink

Coke

Minor nit: our roads are not signed for zipper merging. Actually I’m not sure what the design intent of the typical merge setup is.

What I do know is that the only way to resolve the “zipper” debate is to change the signage to be symmetrical: essentially, both lanes should be signed as merging into the other, but with a slightly different new design of sign that makes it clear that it is a zipper merge and where to merge. If lines are painted (permanent or organized construction situation), what should happen is that the dividing line between the lanes should split and diverge to the outside, so that cars in both lanes have to cross a dashed line in order to enter the single merged lane.

With the current situation, both “sides” are wrong: on the one hand, people who just casually drive past a whole line of people who are patiently waiting their turn are in fact jumping a queue; but on the other hand the decision by the people in the line to put the merge point way back is an incorrect one.

As an interim measure, one can take the less busy lane and at a judicious distance from the point where the lanes actually merge match speeds with the more busy lane. Then just maintain that position until the merge, at which point the person beside you in the busy lane will probably let you in, appreciative that you have done your bit to reduce traffic chaos. This is what needs to happen for a successful zipper anyway: at some point, the two lanes should match speeds and the cars should take up positions adjacent to gaps in the other lane, then the two lanes can just squeeze down to a single lane without any trouble.

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - KevinT - 10-11-2017

(10-11-2017, 02:38 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: Minor nit: our roads are not signed for zipper merging. Actually I’m not sure what the design intent of the typical merge setup is.

What I do know is that the only way to resolve the “zipper” debate is to change the signage to be symmetrical: essentially, both lanes should be signed as merging into the other, but with a slightly different new design of sign that makes it clear that it is a zipper merge and where to merge.

A year or two ago there was a proper zipper merge for construction on the 403 Eastbound near the bridge over the Grand River.  The signage showed two lanes becoming one with neither ending, and traffic cones directed people to meet in the middle before they zigged that one lane over to the left.  Normally I'd expect to see that set up as 'right lane ends', but for whatever reason it wasn't and it worked brilliantly.  Oh how I wish they did that everywhere!

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - darts - 10-11-2017

Near Detroit they had two lanes turn left onto the highway ramp and the ramp was a real zipper merge, where both sides actually merged.

I don't know why people try to call the lanes we have here zipper merges, the right lane ends

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - rangersfan - 10-11-2017

Article from the Kitchener Post on updates from the PARTS plan for the Midtown station area.

https://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news-story/7597833-midtown-s-missing-middle-/

It's an interesting article but it seems like some local politicians either don't understand the core objective for the Ion project (intensification in core areas) or don't understand how basics economics work. If I am a developer with a parcel of land in Midtown with the appropriate zoning, given the opportunity to build a town house or a high-rise, I am building the high rise every-time. Unless there are incentives to build a town home or lower density project.

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - rangersfan - 10-11-2017

Also the article mentions a future redevelopment of the Sun life parking lot at King and Union St. Is this referring to the future development at King and John St?

RE: ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit - jamincan - 10-11-2017

A zipper merge is not something that only happens where indicated. It is how all merges should work. People do it all the time with highway on-ramps with no issues. For some reason though, when a normal lane ends, people get into a queue mentality. I have found that zipper merges do seem to be used effectively on the Hwy 8-401 bridge.