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Peterborough Arena proposal
#1
A team hire by the city of Peterborough has proposed a design for the OHL team arena complex, complete with conference centre, hotel, and condo tower, on a soon to be vacated public works lot downtown. They also want to incorporate a few adjacent properties to allow for more development, parkland, and a connection to the old railway station for proposed Toronto-Quebec City rail service via the city. Among the design features is a re-daylighting of the creek that runs through downtown; most of its path is currently is covered.

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2...ownsend-st

A couple problems emerged when I showed this to a coworker. 1) He questioned whether the development could even go ahead with the water so close; I can imagine there would be flood plain issues. 2) The rail service they hope to have bisect the property is far from guaranteed; to have Toronto-Quebec trains they would have to relay the track between Havelock and Smith's Falls; that won't be cheap.
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#2
I'm not sure I follow. When I look at the map, I see the rail line will remain where it is and the proposed building has incorporated the rail's location into it's design. I also see a hotel between the proposed location and the river. Certainly if there was a flooding issue, the hotel would be at risk of this before the arena. The site currently has businesses on it and the "creek" is covered by a public building.

Are we looking at the same location?
_____________________________________
I used to be the mayor of sim city. I know what I am talking about.
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#3
Yes, we are. Since I'm currently living in Peterborough I can also look at the site itself in person.

The rail line issue is farther down the track. It's a dead end. The proposal in the article is train service through to Quebec City; unless they want the train to run down a dirt road between Havelock and Smith's Falls, they're gonna need to put down some new tracks. Toronto-Peterborough is fine but any farther is going to require cash.

My coworker's concern is that having it newly exposed will cause problems. The creek is covered by a lot of buildings, but presumably not having a roof will make it easier for the water to overflow.
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#4
I thought that VIA was considering using that routing for it's proposed rail upgrades or something? I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but there's a lot of discussion about it on the urbantoronto site.
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#5
I'd love it if they did, and it would be the easiest Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal route to upgrade considering Peterborough only has three trains a week in each direction, but it's going to take a lot of money. I hope they can accommodate rail deliveries to Quaker.

Any thoughts on the development itself?
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#6
VIA is indeed considering reactivating (and rebuilding) the line through Peterborough:

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2...terborough

Quote:Via Rail is planning a new passenger train service between Toronto and Quebec City with a stop in Peterborough.

Via Rail CEO and president Yves Desjardins-Siciliano spoke about the idea Tuesday afternoon at a Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at The Venue on George Street.

He said the plan needs approval from the federal government, which could happen later this year. If approved soon, the train could begin running as soon as 2020.

Though, to put on a pessimistic hat, it's plausible this is a negotiation tactic with CN.
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#7
Would Belleville and Kingston lose rail service, or does this mean additional trains so both routes are covered?
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#8
(01-11-2017, 02:41 PM)KevinL Wrote: Would Belleville and Kingston lose rail service, or does this mean additional trains so both routes are covered?

Well, it's safe to say that VIA wouldn't abandon Belleville and Kingston.
But anything else is a complete guess.
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#9
(01-10-2017, 08:35 PM)DHLawrence Wrote: My coworker's concern is that having (the creek) newly exposed will cause problems. The creek is covered by a lot of buildings, but presumably not having a roof will make it easier for the water to overflow.

I have been thinking about this, and I still cannot fathom any logic by which uncovering the creek would make flooding worse.
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#10
Not only does daylighting a creek not increase flooding concerns, it's a storm water management tool- the creek is now available for managing water runoff from adjacent sites.

I don't know enough about Peterborough to say whether that proposal is too ambitious, but it looks great and it would be pretty neat if only some of it materialized.
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#11
(01-11-2017, 12:34 PM)Markster Wrote: VIA is indeed considering reactivating (and rebuilding) the line through Peterborough:

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2...terborough

Quote:Via Rail is planning a new passenger train service between Toronto and Quebec City with a stop in Peterborough.

Via Rail CEO and president Yves Desjardins-Siciliano spoke about the idea Tuesday afternoon at a Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at The Venue on George Street.

He said the plan needs approval from the federal government, which could happen later this year. If approved soon, the train could begin running as soon as 2020.

Though, to put on a pessimistic hat, it's plausible this is a negotiation tactic with CN.

Via Rail is pretty clear about wanting its own non-CN lines. On-time perf is taking a hit from increased freight traffic.
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