ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[KevinL]

Lots of work in the Charles/Benton area today. Benton has been closed down to King for utility work, signs say for 10 days. On Charles itself, pours have begun on the northbound embedded track.

[panamaniac]

Benton and Queen with closures at the same time? That's going to make for a messy afternoon for traffic.

[plam]

Depends on your expectations for art. A lot of projects in the US used to follow a "one percent for art" policy. That would be a lot more than $350k for ION.

[panamaniac]

Depends on your expectations for art. A lot of projects in the US used to follow a "one percent for art" policy. That would be a lot more than $350k for ION.

I wondered about that  - doesn't the Region have a policy of this sort?  I note that the money approved for the seven stations is not the entire public art budget for the project.

[Canard]

The Charles/Benton piece I think is fantastic - that's a good example, thanks for that.

I'm really glad that they're considering artwork at some stations, but I too worry that the current budget may not be enough. But who knows - best to pitch it to the artists and see what they can come up with. Art is one of those very subjective things, and I hope whatever they decide on is something that can be respected and enjoyed by all.

[insider]

Nobody has mentioned the two negative articles on the record today... and their comment sections.

[SammyOES]

Having a rule to spend 1% of the total ION budget on art seems crazy to me. But then I hate blanket rules like this.

I wouldn't even necessarily have a problem with 1% of the budget going to art. If there are enough good places to put it - by all means spend the money. But 50k/station seems really reasonable to me and I'd hate to spend more just because we have to get to some number.

[MidTowner]

Why does the Record article refer to Ion as a “$1.9-billion project”?

[panamaniac]

Why does the Record article refer to Ion as a “$1.9-billion project”?

That's to build it and run it for 30 years, is it not?

[MidTowner]

Oh, right. Sorry, I ought to have known that. I find that disingenuous. The full phrase was “the $1.9-billion project to put electric trains on streets next year.” It should have read, then, “the $1.9-billion project to put electric trains on streets next year, and operate them for the following 30 years.”

[Markster]

Yeah, you know, how just like when you buy a house, you always include 30 years of operations expenses in the purchase price when you talk to others about how much your house cost?


Oh wait no, no one does that at all.

[Canard]

LOL at the delay article - Paige totally misunderstood the delay and actually made it sound like it's less than it actually is.

I was at the grocery store today and a The Record had a stand there desperate for people to sign up for subscriptions. If they're still there next time I go back, I'll give them a piece of my mind why I'd never subscribe to their sensationalist drivel.

[Markster]

If they're still there next time I go back, I'll give them a piece of my mind why I'd never subscribe to their sensationalist drivel.

Please don't harass the underpaid employee.
That person has zero power to affect change. All you will accomplish is making that person's life a little shittier.

[Canard]

Sorry, I was just venting. I wouldn't actually do that.

[Markster]

whew!