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(12-01-2019, 05:21 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: (12-01-2019, 01:19 PM)panamaniac Wrote: How is that even possible?
Easy — a bit further back along where they came from, the track is only separated from the road by a roll curb. I’ll even go so far as to say that it’s quite natural to turn right from Erb onto the track when the ground is covered in snow. That is, however, no excuse because there are signs clearly marking the lane as reserved for transit.
So it’s not possible for a responsible driver, but there are lots of irresponsible ones for whom it would be very easy indeed.
I would say it's quite unnatural to turn down the transit lane, given that the transit lane was full of snow, entirely uncleared, while the road was far clearer.
This wouldn't always be the case, but nobody should be confused about it today.
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It's disheartening how many people think this incident is the ultimate vindication of the whole "wHaT WiLL tHEy dO iN ThE WinTEr" meme going around since the project was approved. Because again apparently Waterloo is uniquely unsuitable for an LRT among every cold weather location in the entire world 
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To give that driver the benefit of the doubt, if they were new to the area, couldn't see the yellow line on Caroline due to ice buildup, and were reading the flow of the road from its built environment rather than the signs (which they shouldn't, but for some that's a greater cue), they might think of the station platform as being in a median, which they would be expected to drive to the right of. Still not legal, but somewhat understandable.
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(12-01-2019, 06:27 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: (12-01-2019, 05:21 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: Easy — a bit further back along where they came from, the track is only separated from the road by a roll curb. I’ll even go so far as to say that it’s quite natural to turn right from Erb onto the track when the ground is covered in snow. That is, however, no excuse because there are signs clearly marking the lane as reserved for transit.
So it’s not possible for a responsible driver, but there are lots of irresponsible ones for whom it would be very easy indeed.
I would say it's quite unnatural to turn down the transit lane, given that the transit lane was full of snow, entirely uncleared, while the road was far clearer.
This wouldn't always be the case, but nobody should be confused about it today.
Good point. I was actually thinking of everything as being covered in snow, including the lines that usually show the way. But if the road was clear then what I said doesn’t apply.
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(12-01-2019, 07:10 PM)Bob_McBob Wrote: It's disheartening how many people think this incident is the ultimate vindication of the whole "wHaT WiLL tHEy dO iN ThE WinTEr" meme going around since the project was approved. Because again apparently Waterloo is uniquely unsuitable for an LRT among every cold weather location in the entire world
I was disappointed in the CTV news article. It happily quoted frustrated commuters referencing a billion dollars and commenting that "this is Canada" without giving any information whatsoever about the weather, or how other methods of transportation were faring yesterday.
Reading the article, it is entirely possible to conclude that a negligible amount of freezing rain affected the Ion, but roads were cleared to bare conditions and all other transportation was moving normally. In reality, roads were at times icy yesterday, and motor traffic much lessened- many church services were cancelled (this doesn't tend to happen more than once a winter), and people were staying off the roads earlier in the day. Hopefully Keolis addresses whatever the issue was for future events, but perfection is unreasonable to expect. "We're in Canada": sometimes there is disruptive weather.
Anyway, I await their news article this morning about public sidewalks being difficult to navigate, and seeking someone to blame for their incompetence for that.
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I think we can all agree that this is growing pains while the learn. In a few years from now I am sure the kinks will be worked out. People's expectations are not in alignment with reality anymore...
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So how long was the system down? Any indication of why that part of the line went down and not the rest?
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12-02-2019, 11:32 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-02-2019, 11:32 AM by Bob_McBob.)
According to Canard's Twitter feed, the shuttles were in place by around 8:30am, service was restored as far as Northfield by 12:45pm, and full service was restored by 2:15pm. There was also a brief period around 10:30am where all northbound traffic on the entire line was suspended because of a stuck switch.
On an interesting note, apparently the train was packed to the gills at closing time at Conestoga Mall on Friday night. "Haven't seen this many people since the LRT Launch."
https://twitter.com/SW_ON_TRAFFIC/status...9929326592
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Looks like this Danish company has the solution. Wire de-icing system. So why did they not consider this when building the system. Due to climate change we are going to have an increased frequency of ice events.
https://www.san-as.com/products/railway-...icing.html
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I wonder how much extra the induction powered system would have cost.
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Still waiting for the next cartoon from the Woolwich Observer with more negativity towards the Ion, cuz, you know, them taxpayers helped pay for something they didn't get.
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12-04-2019, 05:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-04-2019, 05:40 PM by KevinT.)
(12-02-2019, 01:17 PM)rickhd Wrote: Looks like this Danish company has the solution. Wire de-icing system. So why did they not consider this when building the system.
We have no idea what they did or didn't consider. It's entirely possible that it was investigated and found to be more costly than just running trains overnight to prevent buildup and fitting 'ice-cutter' pantos to some of the fleet when necessary. It's entirely possible that it was never even mentioned. We just don't know.
Also, it's easy to put a price tag on materials and talk yourself out of buying them in order to ensure your proposal will pass a vote. It's far harder to put a price tag on future service interruptions and then successfully argue to voters that it's cheaper in the long run to spend the money on materials up front. That almost never works, and as a result we rarely even try anymore.
...K
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(12-04-2019, 05:02 PM)jeffster Wrote: Still waiting for the next cartoon from the Woolwich Observer with more negativity towards the Ion, cuz, you know, them taxpayers helped pay for something they didn't get.
Don't worry, he decided to do a "neither side cares about the public good" comic about the OSSTF collective bargaining process instead.
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(11-26-2019, 08:06 AM)kitborn Wrote: Re: Fare Inspectors
Fare inspectors don't need to be uniformed. They are there to insure that a fare is paid.
In Hungary, they use plain clothes inspectors that board the train or bus and then put on an arm band indicating they are there to check fares. They have the power to issue tickets.
Police don't need to be uniformed either. There is no law saying their vehicles need to be identifiable.
But, the uniforms presence has the effect of deterring crime, as do frequent passes of a marked vehicle... something we would lose if they were al undercover. There is a time and place for plain clothed officers, but the majority need to be identifiable. They also serve as a beacon for assistance to tourists, lost children, etc.
Fare Inspectors are similar. The majority of their job is likely assisting with issues other than fares, and are goodwill ambassadors as well. The only difference is, as licenced security guards in the province of Ontario, they are mandated by law to wear a uniform.
Coke
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