ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[GtwoK]

But what about the curb height? The flat part of the curbs should be flush with the asphalt. Would those have to be redone then, too?

[Canard]

Kevin's photos make the curb look like it blends in perfectly.

[tomh009]

Yes, I think the curbs are OK. The asphalt is not.

[KevinL]

My second photo illustrates it well, I think - the asphalt slopes down toward the intersection but then levels off. It seems they set the wrong point for the leveling-off so that it's a bit too high. If they cut the asphalt back to that point and let it slope a bit longer, all should be well.

[Canard]

The TPSS at Columbia has been tagged.

[Canard]

1/2 Photos from Friday, June 30 and Saturday, July 1

   
Progress along Charles, from Benton to Queen.

   
Progress along Charles, from Benton to Queen. The wooden horizontal boards in the foreground are for suspending the boxes in which the track lubricators will be mounted.

   
Progress along Charles, from Benton to Queen.

   
The track lubricator box still hasn't been corrected at Charles/Ontario.

   
This view hasn't changed too much over the last month or two. I echo other's sentiment here - why isn't this open to traffic?

[Canard]

2/2 Photos from Friday, June 30 and Saturday, July 1

   
I like the little S-curve here on Francis, between King and Duke, right by the Kaufman Lofts.

   
It seems as though it's all underground utility work now, between Victoria and the tracks, on King.

   
Curbs in place now on King, between Victoria and Francis. Getting to Ziggy's is pretty tough, now!

   
At the OMSF, the black cosmetic fence between Northfield Crossing and the tracks is complete.

   
One final shot of the platform track here at Northfield getting ready to be aligned. You can see here that the rails will be embedded at the platform, then switch to ballasted track before heading south. I had assumed here the transition to ballasted track would have occurred right after the curve off Northfield. This probably makes more sense to do it this way.

[Pheidippides]

How many stations are left to pour across the system?

[Canard]

The following platforms have no concrete yet: Conestoga (forms in place, pour soon), Waterloo Public Square, Central Station/Innovation District, Kitchener City Hall, Frederick, Queen, Mill, Blockline, Fairway.

[GtwoK]

Was Allen finally poured?

[danbrotherston]

   

The multi-use trail along Caroline has been started, this is looking south from William.  Unfortunately they are finishing it in concrete instead of asphalt, which makes it look like a big sidewalk.  I hope some signage will be provided to make clear it is actually a MUT.

[tvot]

The multi-use trail along Caroline has been started, this is looking south from William.  Unfortunately they are finishing it in concrete instead of asphalt, which makes it look like a big sidewalk.  I hope some signage will be provided to make clear it is actually a MUT.

I was wondering why that sidewalk was so wide! 

[timc]

The multi-use trail along Caroline has been started, this is looking south from William.  Unfortunately they are finishing it in concrete instead of asphalt, which makes it look like a big sidewalk.  I hope some signage will be provided to make clear it is actually a MUT.

Is it really a MUT? And if so, what is it that makes a multi-use trail a multi-use trail?

Edit: I just haven't seen any MUT's around that weren't asphalt. I think concrete is a nicer material. Although I don't like the joints, I think it weathers nicer than asphalt. But if a wide sidewalk of any material can be considered a multi-use trail, and many people ride their bicycles on the sidewalk, the definition of what is a MUT becomes a philosophical question.

[Markster]

It's not the first concrete MUT in the region...

Technically, the west sidewalk on Weber from Louisa to Water is a MUT. It connects the Spur Line trail to the bike route on Water St. But of course, it's not signed at all.

[danbrotherston]

The multi-use trail along Caroline has been started, this is looking south from William.  Unfortunately they are finishing it in concrete instead of asphalt, which makes it look like a big sidewalk.  I hope some signage will be provided to make clear it is actually a MUT.

Is it really a MUT? And if so, what is it that makes a multi-use trail a multi-use trail?

Edit: I just haven't seen any MUT's around that weren't asphalt. I think concrete is a nicer material. Although I don't like the joints, I think it weathers nicer than asphalt. But if a wide sidewalk of any material can be considered a multi-use trail, and many people ride their bicycles on the sidewalk, the definition of what is a MUT becomes a philosophical question.

It is a MUT in that the region requested that a MUT be built, as MJB pointed out, the one on Weber is also a "MUT" by the same definition.  Of course, the lack of any signage whatsoever, and the entirely sidewalk oriented design makes it even worse than the average MUT in the region.  I've gotten dirty looks from pedestrians I pass and I see far more cyclists on the road than on the trail.  I'd argue its a complete failure in terms of cycling infrastructure at this point.

I doubt this will suffer from the same problem, given that its more well known that this is a trail (mainly because it was before).  But the region needs to do a far far better job designing MUTs.

Of course, there are also some examples of the reverse, sidewalks paved entirely in asphalt which imply that they might be MUTs, but I'm really not sure.  It's almost as if simply using a different paving material isn't a good way to mark infrastructure.