ION Phase 2 - Cambridge's Light Rail Transit

[rangersfan]

That is a negativity festival on that page.

[JoeKW]

Not that different than phase 1

[Canard]

One of my coworkers from Preston had a conversation with me today where he went on a huge rip about how 100 people are loosing their entire homes. I tried to convince him otherwise, that they were mainly going to be things like losing a couple of metres off their frontage, but he was adamant - 100 homes will be destroyed. 100 HOMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "MY FRIEND IS LOSING HIS HOUSE SO ITS 100 HOMES"

There is so much room for some clarity through information here, methinks.

[DHLawrence]

A lot of the homes along Eagle might very well come down - after ridership grows and developers start buying them up. They have big front lawns, so I can't see too many being pulled down. Might take a while even after unless they put in a station at Concession/Speedsville.

[rangersfan]

A bit of hyperbole, but yeah the anti transit improvement fanatics are loud in their displeasure and in some cases are completely unwilling to listen to counter arguments.

Could you imagine the expense of buying 100 hundred homes for the sake of tearing them all down?

[DHLawrence]

Depends on the project. I think they did about that in Windsor to put in the highway that will (one day) connect to the new bridge.

[Canard]

I think they did that here for the Conestoga Parkway.

I can think of a way to provide fixed-guideway transit without removing a single home, but nobody wants to hear it...

[kps]

I think they did that here for the Conestoga Parkway.

Surprisingly few… except for a section near Frederick St, the route was mostly not yet developed.

I can think of a way to provide fixed-guideway transit without removing a single home, but nobody wants to hear it...

It's more of a Shelbyville idea.

[MidTowner]

We're twice as smart as the people in Shelbyville! Tell us the idea, and we'll vote for it.

[Square]

I'm with Canard on this, I would LOVE if they tried a different technology (elevated track) for Phase 2!

[DHLawrence]

If it's too invasive and expensive in Kitchener, it's too expensive and invasive in Cambridge.

[mpd618]

If you think the current objections to transit infrastructure in Preston would be reduced by switching technology, you're misunderstanding the concern. It's not about light rail in particular, it's about fear of neighbourhood change, property impacts, and visual impacts.

[Smore]

If it's too invasive and expensive in Kitchener, it's too expensive and invasive in Cambridge.

There are many reasons Phase 1 stopped at Fairway, but one of them is that south of that, construction would require elevated track due to water bodies, rail crossings and topography and thus would be more expensive and invasive...

[kps]

There are many reasons Phase 1 stopped at Fairway, but one of them is that south of that, construction would require elevated track due to water bodies, rail crossings and topography and thus would be more expensive and invasive...

And so back to Eagle St, what's the plan for the three rail crossings there (other than awarding one irony point for the tightest one having originally been built as a streetcar line)?

[KevinL]

There are many reasons Phase 1 stopped at Fairway, but one of them is that south of that, construction would require elevated track due to water bodies, rail crossings and topography and thus would be more expensive and invasive...

And so back to Eagle St, what's the plan for the three rail crossings there (other than awarding one irony point for the tightest one having originally been built as a streetcar line)?

The one near Industrial will be bypassed by following it around the curve (which saves also crossing it on Hespeler Road).

The one near Concession should be a straightforward grade separation - I'm imagining a cutting for the rails, so they pass under Concession, Eagle and Witmer (or Witmer gets rerouted).

The one by the river is of course the trickiest and most important. I'm imagining elevated heavy rail (because there's no way to dig that close to the river) but it could go a number of ways.