ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[GtwoK]

Can anyone else just imagine this as being our own little Eaton's Centre? They really should tear that parking garage down, build a tower there, and rework the exterior of the building to be more accessible from all around.

This is a bit of an odd thing to point out, but... considering either side of Charles between Water / Francis has a parking lot on either side, is there a reason they didn't just terraform this block to be completely flat? They had to dig it all up anyway... why not just replace it with flat land rather than a bump? I realize that the heights are exaggerated in the photo, but still.

[isUsername]

I'm not entirely convinced those speed signs are installed backwards.

They go (arrow indicates facing direction) <-25, 25->, <-10. Why would they have two 25 signs only two/three poles apart, a 25 and 10 sign on adjacent poles, and a 10 sign immediately after a turn followed shortly by a 25 sign?

We haven't had any other indication of there being an intention to allow it, but perhaps they do want to allow for bidirectional movement, at least on an exceptional basis, and the signs are required to do so.

[danbrotherston]

I'm not so sure it's the SAME holes, as such. Good prctice on this project seems to be to avoid shifting of infrastructure and erosion of ballast by following this method; it make sure all the new pipes, conduits, supports, etc that they install don't budge.

Well, I won't pretend to be an expert on this.  There are perhaps good reasons for doing it this way.  But I can tell you that sometimes at least, it is the same hole.

[KevinL]

I was down along Fairview earlier this evening, and have some photos and observations.

At Wilson:

Not certain quite what they are working on, but the asphalt has been stripped back from the embedded track and the road is closed.



The site of the future TPSS, behind the Shoppers.




Context of the broader area.


This bit of equipment was left out, I was surprised at how odd it looked unattended.

[KevinL]

I made my way further along the corridor and got a sense of the local feel of things. It is interesting to see now; the residential side is almost perfectly shut out by the new fence, yet no new barriers are up on the Fairway side. There are some existing fences, like behind the Michaels plaza, but the gap there remains open.



Next door, behind Swiss Chalet/Harvey's, it's even more permeable - though there is a thick run of close-planted evergreens, there are several gaps.

But the topper comes behind Royal Bank and PartSource - where virtually no barriers exist at all! 



You can really see how local residents would have become accustomed to entering the commercial strip at one of many convenient points. Obviously this is a major change for them, and even a single crossing would be truly a boon to their accessibility.

[tomh009]

Looking down Charles.  If only we'd opted for PRIMOVE...  (And buried utilities)

But mostly buried utilities though, I would think — if you imagine using the catenary poles to support the streetlights, and bury the power cables, then the only visible difference between PRIMOVE and catenary is the actual catenary wires and the arms supporting them from the poles that would need to be there anyway, so the actual impact of the catenary wires would be pretty small.

Are the lights going to be mounted on the cat poles on Charles (from Benton to Ottawa)?  I recall the light posts on the boulevards/sidewalks looked permanent, but of course I may be mistaken.

[jamincan]

I drove both ways on Northfield today, but after dark unfortunately. Traffic is no longer directed to just one side (nor is it on King, for that matter), so I'm not really sure why the interchange isn't open yet. Perhaps they are waiting for the lanes to be painted?

[Canard]

That's probably it. When I drove through on Friday and Saturday afternoons it was a bit of a free-for-all.

[The85]

I drove both ways on Northfield today, but after dark unfortunately. Traffic is no longer directed to just one side (nor is it on King, for that matter), so I'm not really sure why the interchange isn't open yet. Perhaps they are waiting for the lanes to be painted?

They're definitely working on reopening the interchange. I drove 85 south mid last week at night from King Street (Regional Road 15 - Farmer's Market), and there were lane reductions both directions on 85 while the temporary jersey barriers at Northfield blocking the exit ramps were removed with a crane.

[danbrotherston]

I also went past Northfield, there are bike lane signs up, but none painted. Definitely waiting on some paint.

@KevinL No hard barriers, sure, but those accesses are plenty hard to access, with ditches, dirt, grades, and curbs. This just shows that lack of pedestrian access was a "designed in" problem from the get-go in this neighbourhood, as it is in pretty much every other neighbourhood in the city built after the automobile.

[timc]

Can anyone else just imagine this as being our own little Eaton's Centre? They really should tear that parking garage down, build a tower there, and rework the exterior of the building to be more accessible from all around.

A little bit like this? :-)

[GtwoK]

Update from the Ion site: Northfield ramp opening pushed to the 7th (this Friday).

Can anyone else just imagine this as being our own little Eaton's Centre? They really should tear that parking garage down, build a tower there, and rework the exterior of the building to be more accessible from all around.

A little bit like this? :-)

Damnit! I meant more so the purpose of the building rather than the owner, but I'm sure you knew that

[Section ThirtyOne]

Not sure if this has been reported yet, but last night I was able to go straight through from Bridgeport/Caroline to Caroline Street southbound. That alone is going to save some major delays in the area.

Although I will say, the new lane alignment coming down the hill on Bridgeport/Caroline just doesn't feel right for some reason.

[timio]

They will also need to repaint the existing road on Victoria westbound at King. The right lane currently quickly turns into a right turn lane with no notice.

[Pheidippides]

What exactly do the "resume safe speed" signs mean? They would seem to imply that the vehicle was previously traveling at an unsafe speed.

Cat pole arms and brackets going up along King, John to Green today.