ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[jamincan]

FWIW, I don't think you have a reasonable expectation of privacy when you're on the street. There were loads of people complaining when some folks at Grandlinq started saying that they weren't allowed to take pictures of the construction workers (you are allowed, fwiw). How is taking pictures of trespassers on a construction site any different than taking pictures of the workers? The only material difference to me is that the trespassers aren't supposed to be there, but I don't think that provides them with an expectation of privacy.

[ijmorlan]

I have no idea what you're talking about with the car.

All I meant was that many months ago, people were driving through "closed" signs and getting their cars hung up on drop-offs.  I was actually biking around Erb/Caroline one time last fall and watched it happen one evening!  And people were posting all kinds of photos, making fun of the "idiot drivers" whenever it was happening - maybe not so much so on here, but on the facebook group and twitter, for sure.  It just seems unfair that there's this huge double-standard thing going on.

I'm really upset about this whole thing and I'm very sorry if I've offended anyone.

Moving up a few levels away from all the details, I think what is challenging about this is that the situation is not, in fact, ethically simple.

It’s very easy to say “never go in a closed site: it’s dangerous and illegal!”. But in real life, many closed sites aren’t really closed, or don’t need to be closed, or don’t look closed. Even sites that are actually for real closed aren’t all dangerous. On top of this, avoiding some sites is easy, while doing so with others imposes a substantial detour, especially to pedestrians and to a lesser extent bicycles.

So moving back down to the details, everybody was laughing at the cars that got stuck because we had these people in nice climate-conditioned mobility enhancement devices too impatient to turn around and go back, or even check on conditions before proceeding. The pedestrians in the picture, by contrast, are apparently doing nothing dangerous, and it seems to turn out that the site isn’t even clearly signed as closed, so what is the complaint, other than just “they aren’t following the rules” disconnected from any actual or likely harm to anybody?

[SammyOES2]

Canard, you definitely didn't offend me.  I just think more people shouldn't worry about what other people are doing when it doesn't effect them.  I probably should have kept that to myself though.  So, sorry about that.

Jamincan, I agree you don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy on the street.  But just because someone can do something, doesn't mean they should.  As a general ethical rule (and not law) I think people shouldn't take/post pictures of other people without their knowledge/permission.  There are definite exceptions, and people are free to feel differently than I do on what those exceptions should be.  Edit: (Construction crews are generally an ok exception to me because they're working on a public project that people rightly very interested in.  But note, I'm personally not ok with people that post things like construction workers taking a break or having lunch.)

The car is also different because they're much more likely to cause problems in a construction site.  But I don't think its actually a double standard.  If one of those pedestrians had gotten hurt because they were trespassing on a construction site, I think a bunch of people would be laughing at them too.  Personally, I wouldn't be laughing at either.  But I'd also think both people had no one to blame but themselves.

Anecdote, we had a locally closed road around here for quite awhile and there was a period when it was open-but-not-officially-open with no construction happening.  I got a nail in my tire during this period of time and was talking to a guy at the shop who was repairing it.  He started going on a big rant about how constriction crews are lazy and never clean up nails like they're suppose to and how I should report them and yadda yadda yadda.  I had to sheepishly tell him it wasn't their fault, and it was almost certainly my fault for driving where I shouldn't...

[Coke6pk]

Wanna know where pedestrians shouldn't be during construction?

   

At the Allen Station Wall of course, now that it's got it name up!

Coke

[Hopes nobody noticed his subtle attempt to steer the conversation....]

[KevinL]

Speaking of station walls, Mill is having its installed as I type this.

[isUsername]

With the deviations from the patterns in the published documents, I'm just really hoping no kind-of-but-not-really-Swastikas accidentally get installed.

(Reference)

[jeffster]

Speaking of station walls, Mill is having its installed as I type this.

Nice....

I sorta like the designs they're using. Pretty cool for the most part. I don't like, though, the logo's in both corners. The ION logo isn't horrible, but the GRT design needs a refresh. IMHO, of course.

[tomh009]

The GRT logo is less than 20 years old. That's a pretty short lifetime for a logo.

[Pheidippides]

Waterloo Public Square station framing is up:
   

Queen station got its anchor wall (already partially covered by the hoarding). I like the orange and blue colours (sorry, no pictures was riding at the time).

[Canard]

I think you just mean the protective wooden enclosure - I believe "hoarding" is just for the warming tents for the concrete, isn't it?

Lettering is going up at Kitchener Market, too.

So, Courtland/Block Line had received a "revision"... a massive crossing arm has recently been installed, with the base sandwiched just beyond the right turn lane from Courtland to Block Line. It's... interesting.

Weather looks crap for the next couple of days so likely no photos from me.

[jamincan]

I think it can refer to any kind of temporary enclosure.

[jwilliamson]

The lettering was going up on the anchor wall at the hospital this morning.

[KevinL]

I think it can refer to any kind of temporary enclosure.

Indeed, the most common use is the scaffold-and-plywood barriers at the edge of a major construction site.

[Canard]

Thanks - had no idea! This project is the first time I've ever heard the word, aside from the TLC usage.

[trainspotter139]

BREAKING NEWS: Metrolinx shouldn't be allowed to terminate its $770 million contract with Bombardier, a judge has ruled.
In a highly anticipated decision, the court has granted Bombardier an injunction that prevents Metrolinx from terminating the $770 million deal for light rail vehicles.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/04...tract.html