ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Acitta]

A few months ago, I was riding the #7 bus and saw an ION train leaving Central Station. As the bus arrived at Waterloo Public Square, the same train was just leaving that station. Since the train makes fewer stops than the bus, I would expect it to be faster.

[danbrotherston]

A few months ago, I was riding the #7 bus and saw an ION train leaving Central Station. As the bus arrived at Waterloo Public Square, the same train was just leaving that station. Since the train makes fewer stops than the bus, I would expect it to be faster.

That segment has so many traffic signals, they probably act to syncronize the vehicles. But I'm sure if the 7 was making every stop and dwelling a long time, it would probably fall behind, but that's hopefully not typical.

[ac3r]

A YouTuber called PinkyThumb did a 30 minute video on the LRT from the perspective of someone who doesn't live here. It's always interesting to hear the opinion of the LRT from people who aren't residents or who haven't used it much. Especially because at the local level, most people think it could definitely have been built better and run faster, whereas outsiders are consistently impressed by how decent it works and how cheap it was to build.

[KevinL]

He compares it very favourably to the new LRT lines in Toronto, which speaks as much to their failings as our success.

[danbrotherston]

He compares it very favourably to the new LRT lines in Toronto, which speaks as much to their failings as our success.

I mean, low bar, but nice to clear it.

I think the Waterloo ION is a pretty good project, there's some room for improvement. Some of those spaces for improvement are annoying obvious...but it's not the white elephant that a lot of people seem to want to believe, nor is it the white elephant that some other projects actually are.

But I think the same is true of the new LRT lines in Toronto....although their failings (which again, are easily corrected) are more dire...the idea that they wouldn't be corrected...well it's something that's hard to believe, and yet it's equally hard to believe they were ever built that way in the first place.

[Rainrider22]

A YouTuber called PinkyThumb did a 30 minute video on the LRT from the perspective of someone who doesn't live here. It's always interesting to hear the opinion of the LRT from people who aren't residents or who haven't used it much. Especially because at the local level, most people think it could definitely have been built better and run faster, whereas outsiders are consistently impressed by how decent it works and how cheap it was to build.

I actually just watched this this afternoon with my wife. We both commented on all the positive comments he made and we both thought that it had more.value as an outsider.  We are definitely to self critical of ourselves.  Different lense, different view. I thought it was interesting he said Metorlinks could learn something from us.

[ac3r]

Another retard crashed into the LRT today. It derailed it, caused two other vehicles to get hit and caused damage to the vehicle. It's exactly where the LRT regularly gets hit at King and Agnes. While I think they should have tunneled it from downtown to uptown, LRVs grow on trees so it's fine.

[neonjoe]

As we know from Queens Quay tunnels won't stop stupidity ...

[danbrotherston]

Leaving that aside, what they really should have done is closed the intersections to cars.

If there is actually a real silver bullet that the Dutch use to make their roads better, it's that they're willing to close intersections. Yeah, you have to drive a little farther (which makes walking and biking more attractive) but since the road grid is less complicated there's less infrastructure, fewer intersections, and safer roads as a result.

[bravado]

What if we just made a shitload of at-grade crossings to “keep traffic moving” and then blamed individuals for the obvious outcome of endless predictable crashes? It’s so much easier from an engineering + leadership point of view!

[Acitta]

Crash video on Reddit.

[panamaniac]

Crash video on Reddit.

These drivers who pass a moving train and then turn in front of it.  I don't understand it.

[ijmorlan]

That location could be significantly improved by making the curb that separates the northbound motor vehicle lane from the LRT lanes higher and extend right up to the pedestrian crossing. It currently ends about 5.5m before the pedestrian crossing, pretty much as it would if left turns were to be permitted. Then additionally put in a bollard or even a short (4m) section of additional curb in line with the curb on the other side of the pedestrian crossing. None of this would conflict with vehicles turning left from Agnes onto King but it would make it significantly harder to violate the left turn prohibition.

One could even consider forbidding all left turns at the intersection, in which case the curbs on both sides of the LRT tracks could continue through the intersection, being interrupted only for the pedestrian crossings. Looking at the road network in the area, it is obvious that this would not be a significant imposition on car traffic, which could make the turns at Wellington.

Given the number of crashes at this specific intersection, the above options absolutely should be studied and an appropriately designed variation of them implemented. Messing around with minor tweaks to the signage or some such would be a dereliction of duty.

The suggestion to bury the LRT is just a complicated way of saying it shouldn’t have been built at all, given the available resources, although if the idea is just that it should rise up from passing under the railway line a little further north (maybe between Andrew and Central Fresh) then that is nowhere near as silly as the suggestion that the whole thing should have been a subway.

[KingandWeber]

Crash video on Reddit.

These drivers who pass a moving train and then turn in front of it.  I don't understand it.

Wow that video is egregious. That driver's license should honestly be suspended forever.

[neonjoe]

Leaving that aside, what they really should have done is closed the intersections to cars.

If there is actually a real silver bullet that the Dutch use to make their roads better, it's that they're willing to close intersections. Yeah, you have to drive a little farther (which makes walking and biking more attractive) but since the road grid is less complicated there's less infrastructure, fewer intersections, and safer roads as a result.

The only allowed left turn movement there is from Agnes to King. Realistically this movement can be moved to Wellington.

If emergency vehicles still need access they can add flex bollards.