Uh oh, someone put "scare quotes" around the word warning... those sarcastic sign makers... lol
I know there are signs along the Iron Horse somewhere, or maybe they are just in Vic Park but they say something along the lines that the park is closed between 11pm and 6am, as all city parks are technically closed. I guess bylaw could write you a ticket for being there but I imagine it is mostly a CYA thing in case someone trips and falls in the dark. I believe the CoK was using this as an excuse/defense when that man died after riding into the barriers that used to block the railway in Vic Park. I'm not privy to the details of that case and settlement and it's just conjecture on my part.
Is there any plan for fencing along the spur line? The
downtrail trail in Guelph runs along a similar low speed low use stretch of track and they have a fence the entire length of the trail.
That's what we're surmising; that the date on the sign sort of all adds up to them adding a fence (and likely upgrading the trackwork and crossings) along the entire line. Because, you know, it's so different there than anywhere else in the whole country.
Can you imagine a 1.5m fence running the entire length of all of Canada's railways? This is insane. Pheidippides - Do you mind if I use your photo on Twitter to inquire with @SpurLineKW?
I wonder what this means for the people who have built bridges over the ditch to gain access to the spur trail from their backyards.
The final design of the spurline trail does not call for a fence:
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/gettin...pdf#page=9
"Paving the trail with asphalt and installing a landscaped buffer between the railway
tracks to guide trail users away from the railway tracks.
This design is preferred
over a fence, because it maintains an unobstructed view of the corridor."
"
A landscaped buffer between the paved trail and the railway track is also
recommended, instead of a fence. This would direct users away from the tracks while
maintaining good visibility."
That's cute, but I wanted an unobstructed view of ion LRV's flying through Waterloo park, and look how that turned out.
What is preferred by the designer and what is required by regulation can be very different things, as we are finding out with ION.
Does anyone have a better map other than the ones here?
http://www.waterloo.ca/en/gettingactive/trails.asp
I get 404 errors to go to the "Interactive Map" and I'm afraid the rather chunky PDF at this link isn't very helpful.
Just trying to get my head around where the Laurel Trail actually goes beyond where I think it may stop now (if it does), and where the Iron Horse Trail goes to/from. It says Victoria Park to Waterloo Park, but I can't think of where I've ever seen the trails start at either of those parks.
Regarding the Iron Horse trail, it starts on Caroline between 144 and the parking lot that will be 155, and ends on Ottawa between Courtland and King.
The Laurel trail runs from the Iron Horse trailhead to the corner of Westmount and Benjamin.
The trails are marked but not labeled on Google Maps
Found it - thank you! Just rode it from end to end.
Loving this!!
(05-21-2016, 08:09 AM)jwilliamson Wrote: [ -> ]Regarding the Iron Horse trail, it starts on Caroline between 144 and the parking lot that will be 155, and ends on Ottawa between Courtland and King.
The Laurel trail runs from the Iron Horse trailhead to the corner of Westmount and Benjamin.
The trails are marked but not labeled on Google Maps
When I look at Google Maps it shows the Laurel trail extending East of King along the tracks to just East of the creek, then along the creek to Weber. Then there are some on-road bits and it eventually ends up at University and Carter.
(05-21-2016, 08:09 AM)jwilliamson Wrote: [ -> ]Regarding the Iron Horse trail, it starts on Caroline between 144 and the parking lot that will be 155, and ends on Ottawa between Courtland and King.
And across Ottawa you can continue following a bicycle route using the Nyberg countraflow bike lanes and then take Delta Street to Floral Crescent and either turn left on Rockway Drive and follow the signs to Fairview Mall or continue on Doon Road and follow the little sidewalk cut where the roads turns and cross over to Carlin Avenue and then cross the expressway on the bridge. It's a good vantage for the construction or just to enjoy watching traffic. There's a network of little trails connecting this subdivision to Wilson Park and along Dryden creek. You could even follow Wilson down until Homer Watson park and there's a nice chunk of trails there and Mill Park road will take you to Conestoga college and to the bridge that crosses the 401 and you can follow the trail until downtown Galt where you can take the trail all the way to Paris, Brantford, Hamilton or Port Dover. Kinda wild when you think about how far one can ride without having to mingle with traffic too much.
(05-21-2016, 02:30 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: [ -> ]When I look at Google Maps it shows the Laurel trail extending East of King along the tracks to just East of the creek, then along the creek to Weber. Then there are some on-road bits and it eventually ends up at University and Carter.
It continues across University, through Hillside Park, and under Columbia Street. I think it becomes the Forwell Trail after that.
(05-21-2016, 08:09 AM)jwilliamson Wrote: [ -> ]The trails are marked but not labeled on Google Maps
They're labelled if you zoom in closer. Also, if you open the menu (≡ at the left of the search box in the top left corner) and click ‘Bicycling’, multi-use trails will be highlighted.
Thanks for that. I used that on Saturday to stay on the Iron Horse Trail.
But, gah, so fragmented. As a novice cyclist this is very discouraging. Can't really go anywhere other than those couple of major trails (Spur Line, Iron Horse and Laurel) since they all are just little bits that start and stop here and there. Little steps, I suppose.
(05-24-2016, 07:22 AM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for that. I used that on Saturday to stay on the Iron Horse Trail.
But, gah, so fragmented. As a novice cyclist this is very discouraging. Can't really go anywhere other than those couple of major trails (Spur Line, Iron Horse and Laurel) since they all are just little bits that start and stop here and there. Little steps, I suppose.
Something might help is better signage on the quiet city streets that run in between these trails, Hamilton has a good network of signed on-street bike routes with bigger signs placed where cyclists can see them easily from the street. The
Hamilton signs are way better than the tiny Kitchener ones that are
way high up and smaller than most street signs. Hamilton is a bit easier to navigate since the grid is strong in the lower part of the city where I was living for a few months but I think with one region-wide consist type of signage there could be a good network of on-road cycling routes that connect to the trails.