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ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit
(09-10-2018, 04:59 PM)Canard Wrote: Not really comical, big projects are complicated and take time.

Absolutely agree, however it does become comical once you miss the fourth promised launch date. I hope you don't miss these many deadlines at your work!

Edit: I know December 2018 was a "best case", but still.
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(08-22-2017, 04:40 PM)jeffster Wrote:
(08-22-2017, 04:10 PM)Canard Wrote: Since its public now - next train now pushed back to October.

I guess everyone is right when we're talking probably 2019 before we even start to see services...at the earliest.

Well, looks like this is correct.
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Wasn't December the revised date too? Am I remembering that wrong, I feel like the ORIGINAL date was Spring 2018. But obviously delays and what not.
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Original date was Fall 2017.

People claiming today “OHHH ITS 1.5 YEARS LATE BLARRRRG” are being sensationalist for the sake of stiring the pot.
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(09-11-2018, 03:18 PM)Canard Wrote: Original date was Fall 2017.

People claiming today “OHHH ITS 1.5 YEARS LATE BLARRRRG” are being sensationalist for the sake of stiring the pot.

Isn't it though?  Fall 2017 is 1.5 years (minimum) from Spring 2019, if it is indeed confirmed that's the new date--does anyone have an official source for this?


I had thought a 2019 launch was pretty unlikely, I'm very disappointed to be wrong. I know some were hoping for a spring launch, but many otherws were hoping to depend on this transportation system. I'm very seriously considering buying a car this winter anyway, not having LRT only makes me more likely.
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(09-11-2018, 06:29 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(09-11-2018, 03:18 PM)Canard Wrote: Original date was Fall 2017.

People claiming today “OHHH ITS 1.5 YEARS LATE BLARRRRG” are being sensationalist for the sake of stiring the pot.

Isn't it though?  Fall 2017 is 1.5 years (minimum) from Spring 2019, if it is indeed confirmed that's the new date--does anyone have an official source for this?


I had thought a 2019 launch was pretty unlikely, I'm very disappointed to be wrong. I know some were hoping for a spring launch, but many otherws were hoping to depend on this transportation system. I'm very seriously considering buying a car this winter anyway, not having LRT only makes me more likely.

No official source for it despite one user's claim. There is a decent amount of progress on the equipment both here and in Kingston that suggests otherwise. The first installs of the equipment will take the longest then after that it's like dominoes. So I absolutely expect the testing to rapidly accelerate over the next few weeks as they test the last few things before the equipment tests take over.
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(09-11-2018, 10:52 AM)Canard Wrote: There is no blank cheque. There is no cost increase because you had to wait a little longer to ride. Fixed price contract. P3. Boom. Such an impatient world we live in.

Lots of crews out on Charles; about 5 guys at Kitchener Market ripping a hole out out of the NB left turn lane, and another (bigger) crew in the Rapidway at Stirling.

I was thinking about this comment earlier today. 

Whether it's a fixed price P3 contract or not, for a project with this type of visibility, to be 1+ years behind and the amount of re-work (and frankly, waste) occurring, there are probably a lot of the general tax-paying public feeling like they were misled (on the schedule) or or not getting their money's worth (from a working LRT system).    

I want to see this thing up and running as much as anyone.  A lot of the major routes through town have been modified to the point there's no going back now, but there would surely be less critics (or less fuel for the critics) if it were closer to being on schedule than further away.
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(09-11-2018, 06:29 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(09-11-2018, 03:18 PM)Canard Wrote: Original date was Fall 2017.

People claiming today “OHHH ITS 1.5 YEARS LATE BLARRRRG” are being sensationalist for the sake of stiring the pot.

Isn't it though?  Fall 2017 is 1.5 years (minimum) from Spring 2019, if it is indeed confirmed that's the new date--does anyone have an official source for this?


I had thought a 2019 launch was pretty unlikely, I'm very disappointed to be wrong. I know some were hoping for a spring launch, but many otherws were hoping to depend on this transportation system. I'm very seriously considering buying a car this winter anyway, not having LRT only makes me more likely.
No Dan, I don't always agree with you...  but please, don't give in and get a car.  I want to live vicarious through you without a car and providing feed back about how important the lrt is !!
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Heads should roll if someone dropped the ball but you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.
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Apparently we haven't yet hit peak signage around the Ion stations:
   

There are so many signs now that I think people just tune all of them out. The ugliest one has to be that route 5 purple and gold one on the Willis Station platform.

The west side of this crossing at Caroline and FDB, which is misplaced to begin with, got a curb cut and concrete probably a month ago and is still closed:
   



I would agree with the comment about the break-down in communication being the issue, not the actual delay itself. Delays, especially in big projects, happen, especially when things like the corduroy road happen; project managers can only plan for so much of the unexpected in to a buffer, but once it is clear that there is going to be a delay then own it and move on to solving the problem. Don't hide the problem and hope that it will magically right itself.

The fact that we are on the same order of magnitude of delay as Ottawa's project despite the fact that Ottawa's was much, much, more complex is a bit demoralizing.

I've said before that I don't expect any further delays will be purposely announced until after the election, but it should be clear to anyone not wearing rose-coloured glasses that the December launch is not going to happen.

(very happy to be proven wrong though!)
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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I don't understand that sign in the first pic, above. What is the black box pushing the figure into the black rectangle? What moving parts are they warning about?
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(09-11-2018, 10:42 PM)panamaniac Wrote: I don't understand that sign in the first pic, above. What is the black box pushing the figure into the black rectangle? What moving parts are they warning about?

My guess is this is at a crossing and the black box is symbolizing a crossing arm hitting the person into the post? Or flying rectangles exist in Uptown Waterloo, always moving on a horizontal plane ready to strike the next person who gets in their way.
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Well, it would be scary to be knocked backward into a rectangular black hole, not to mention being caused serious injury or death, so I will be extra careful when I'm Uptown.
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It’s there for the counterweight for the crossing arm. Standard industry signage for machinery.
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I can't help but wonder if there is some better barrier for pedestrians than the standard crossing arm. The standard crossing arm/bells make sense for warning drivers, but don't really seem well-suited to pedestrians and cyclists.
  • the loud warning bells are tuned to warn drivers in cars and are likely louder than needed for pedestrians and cyclists. This isn't a safety issue, but it does provide a disincentive for pedestrian crossings as they are disruptive to neighbours
  • there is some possibility of injury from the barrier itself, though people would have to disregard the warning bells above. I think the risk is minimal, but I can think of several other designs that would present less of a hazard.
  • the barrier is trivial to bypass. It is a barrier designed for cars, not people. A barrier should not be trivial to get around. That said, you don't want to confine someone on the guideway, so there has to be some way for them to leave it, but once again, I can think of several options for dealing with this.
I wonder if the nature of regulations in the railroad industry might stifle safety innovations. If regulations precisely outline what a barrier must be, there is no way for a company to innovate outside that box. Do people more knowledge about railways have any examples of how safety measures have evolved and improved over the last 50 years or so?
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