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ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit
Thanks for the Waterloo Park thoughts. After I made my post, I reviewed the multiple Waterloo Park map plans that I could find (though somehow I missed the one linked above). I generally concluded that my problem was that the current track configuration is anticipating a park trail layout that has yet to be built. It would have been nice to have an east-west crossing that did not require going out of the way of the path of travel simply to connect to the LRT platform. 100m can be a long way, especially when you have short legs!
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Quite the hole at Queen and Charles!
   

No sign of work on the problematic narrow corner yet.


Also, I think I saw out of the corner of my eye while I was driving through William at King, that the trees were being planted in Uptown Waterloo.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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(05-11-2017, 07:53 AM)Pheidippides Wrote: Quite the hole at Queen and Charles!

Look a little way down Charles and you can see the large pieces of underground sewerage infrastructure that will inhabit it. Not sure why those weren't put in last year.
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(05-11-2017, 07:53 AM)Pheidippides Wrote: Also, I think I saw out of the corner of my eye while I was driving through William at King, that the trees were being planted in Uptown Waterloo.

You are correct. Looks great!
I can't wait for this finished streetscape (benches, etc)... the extra wide sidewalks on both sides are a great addition to Uptown.

[Image: F55w1C8.jpg]
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Would I be just a little negative if I said I kind of wished a portion of that super-wide sidewalk could have been somehow re-aligned as an MUT or bike lanes? Like, protected ones, even?

It would have been so cool to somehow dovetail that in with the work going on just North of the tracks in upTown.

The overall effect of traffic is pretty calm through here now, anyway, so riding on the road isn't that scary, but it "would have been nice".

We do have that super nice MUT on Caroline, though!
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Given that there is a super nice MUT on a parallel street just a block away, I think it's reasonable to make King St S a pedestrian-friendly environment -- maybe even with some patios, is that too much to hope for?
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(05-11-2017, 12:11 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Given that there is a super nice MUT on a parallel street just a block away, I think it's reasonable to make King St S a pedestrian-friendly environment -- maybe even with some patios, is that too much to hope for?

Given that there are super nice car lanes on a parallel street just a block way, I think it’s reasonable to make King St S a no-cars zone.

What is with this idea that provision for bikes is only needed here and there, rather than on every street? It’s bizarre (I do agree that only some streets need infrastructure for full-speed bicycling).

Seriously, though, if it were up to me I would make King St. one car lane southbound and use the extra lane freed up by eliminating northbound traffic to create a really high-quality two-way bicycle route. Regina St. would be one car lane northbound (and presumably bidirectional bike lanes as well).
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I guess pedestrians don't matter, only bicyclists do. Sigh.
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/\ Exactly what I was thinking. Or at very least they are considered to be at the bottom of the hierarchy by many here.

I'm all for bike lanes, but why should pedestrians be considered the least important when it comes to space to travel?

I would also be in favour of making the section of King from Erb to William a car-free area. LRT, pedestrians and cyclists only.
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(05-11-2017, 11:33 AM)Canard Wrote: Would I be just a little negative if I said I kind of wished a portion of that super-wide sidewalk could have been somehow re-aligned as an MUT or bike lanes? Like, protected ones, even?

The Rapid Transit team cared essentially zero about cycling, and King Street uptown and especially midtown is the unfortunate result. Yes, they could have done much better. I hope that future transit infrastructure projects in the Region are not as siloed as that project was.
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Personally, I would not use a MUT on king street here. There is too much going on (parking, cars, train, pedestrians, other cyclists) that it seems safer to just ride on the road where you will have more space. MUTs are attractive (to me) when there are high car speeds, limited pedestrians, and limited driveways/crossings.

I think expanding the sidewalk for pedestrians was better served.
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(05-11-2017, 01:08 PM)mpd618 Wrote: The Rapid Transit team cared essentially zero about cycling, and King Street uptown and especially midtown is the unfortunate result. Yes, they could have done much better. I hope that future transit infrastructure projects in the Region are not as siloed as that project was.

Although I don't go that way often, I'm not looking forward to cycling on King Street near the hospital.
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A quick primer on the next possible LRT vehicles that may come to #Waterloo Region in Phase 2 development. #Metrolinx moves their next piece on the #LRT chessboard and says "check" #Bombardier

Coming Soon to Ottawa #LRT - Alstom's Citadis Spirit


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There was room on King for bike lane from Erb to William or further south, but there was a greater "need" for on-street parking that was lost to the LRT and streetscape work.

At the time of the LRT planning I don't think the cycle lanes from north of Erb were planned for, and definitely not planned, until the very last minute, to meet the spurline.

It actually wouldn't take that much re-work to re-purpose those on-street spaces along the east side between Willis and William. Just saw through and scoop out the the curb bump-outs and repave. :-)
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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(05-12-2017, 07:27 AM)MacBerry Wrote: A quick primer on the next possible LRT vehicles that may come to #Waterloo Region in Phase 2 development. #Metrolinx moves their next piece on the #LRT chessboard and says "check" #Bombardier

Our fleet is so small, that there's no way they'll go with another manufacturer for phase 2. Bombardier would have to literally be out of business. There are just too many efficiencies to be had with buying more Felxities. And, we need few enough vehicles, that Bombardier, even at their lethargic pace, can still make them in a reasonable time! Tongue
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