ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[DHLawrence]

Cambridge LRT a long way off

Coun. Karl Kiefer says the sooner he has answers for Cambridge residents on extending light rail to the city, the better — but regional staff say it will be more than a year before they can offer hard information on the project.

"The folks are hurting in Cambridge because of this whole thing, they're not happy, and I think if there's some headway made that would be great because I'm hearing on the street that people are saying it'll never happen, we'll never get it," said Kiefer, who represents Cambridge on regional council.

Thomas Schmidt, commissioner of transportation and environmental services at the Region of Waterloo, said an environmental assessment for the project will start in mid-2015.

It would take at least 18 months to then complete the study.

And even that isn't a guarantee.

"I wouldn't take it as a hard and fast number," Schmidt said.

So they'll study the matter, and if all goes well they'll build light rail to Cambridge whenever they feel like it. Nothing new here.

[BuildingScout]

Well Doug Craig was against it, so I guess it not being built works out for them.

[mpd618]

So they'll study the matter, and if all goes well they'll build light rail to Cambridge whenever they feel like it. Nothing new here.

I don't think that's quite fair. Once the EA is done, the Region will be asking the upper levels for funding. If they are looking for projects to fund, it could happen not that long after Phase 1. It will certainly help if Karl Kiefer and other Cambridge politicians help make the case (to the upper levels of government) for doing Phase 2 sooner rather than later.

[plam]

So they'll study the matter, and if all goes well they'll build light rail to Cambridge whenever they feel like it. Nothing new here.

I don't think that's quite fair. Once the EA is done, the Region will be asking the upper levels for funding. If they are looking for projects to fund, it could happen not that long after Phase 1. It will certainly help if Karl Kiefer and other Cambridge politicians help make the case (to the upper levels of government) for doing Phase 2 sooner rather than later.

I'd be more willing to hold my breath for Cambridge LRT than HSR, especially in the aftermath of a successful Phase 1 launch. It's still off in the future at this point, but like for HSR, the EA has got to happen first.

I also cannot possibly imagine how in any world we could have gotten the full Waterloo to Cambridge LRT in one phase. So holding out for that would just mean that no one would have LRT ever. That doesn't seem like a win to me. 

OK, so if you accept that you have to split it into phases, someone's got to get Phase 1 and someone's got to get Phase 2. Who should be first?

[timio]

If you can't have it now and whatever does happen doesn't benefit you directly, it's not worth doing, right? Now lower taxes, increase services, and listen to me because I know better than all the experts that have researched and studied all their lives to know about these subjects.

...

Such an individualistic, impatient society we live in. Sigh.

[Chris]

I hope the Bombardier delay in delivering the new streetcars to TTC doesn't also delay the Ion.


http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transpor...tcars.html

And for those that don't have any free articles left here is the gist of it.

TTC CEO Andy Byford is talking tough with Bombardier, which should have delivered 43 by now, not just three. The company will pay penalties if it can’t meet a 2019 delivery deadline.

[ookpik]

And for those that don't have any free articles left

There's no need to be inconvenienced by the Star's paywall. There are several easy ways to scale it, e.g. using a different browser, using Incognito mode, clearing or blocking cookies.

[Markster]

Speculation on Urban Toronto has been that the strike caused larger supply-chain issues.

Bombardier seemingly had been getting into a groove with producing the streetcars before the strike hit. There were regular reports from forumers "in the know" about the current state of the vehicles on the production line. Since the strike however, there's been almost no movement. Bombardier has shipped a single vehicle that was substantially complete before the strike (#4004), and little word on the next one (#4005). Car #4006 will be a milestone, because that will be the first car that will have been substantially made after the strike.

[Canard]

Not to sound selfish, but I hope priority is being put on our (ION's) vehicles, over the TTC order (both for FLEXITY Outlook and the Eglinton Crosstown), once the time comes.  The TTC can continue operating with their existing fleet of CLRV and ALRV's just fine - but we have no fleet to fall back on!  We absolutely need our trains on time.

Here are some photos of the Can-Amera aBRT stop as of Friday, December 19.  It hasn't got the big white tent over it like the Pinebush stop has.  That makes me think that the Can-Amera stop is the one with the foundation problem that the newspapers reported; the ground has been filled up with temporary soil and re-opened to pedestrians.

           

[HAL8950]

Sat Dec 20, 2014 - Caroline is about to be opened to two way traffic at the back of Waterloo Square.

[TMKM94]

A taxi driver I had the other day told me his friend is one of the construction people working on Caroline, he told me they will be digging up Caroline again in Mid January.

[TMKM94]

A taxi driver I had the other day said his friend is one of the construction people working on Caroline, he told me they will be digging up Caroline again in Mid January.

[HAL8950]

Sat Dec 20, 2014 - Looking north from Seagram Drive Waterloo


LRT Maintenance Building Site Waterloo

[Canard]

[Canard]

The big white temporary tenting that was erected over the Pinebush aBRT stops has all been removed.