ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[mpd618]

But what does this mean for the non-student residents of the area?

They're returned to the baseline subdivision kind of transit service, plus an ION stop within a bit further walking distance. Which is kind of crappy, and a reason to redesign Route 9 and add corridor service through that area. An ION stop near the current McCormick one would be a pretty natural infill.

[ookpik]

Another Outhit strike out: Your rail transit bill has now reached $473 

To date, there's no evidence that rail transit is getting people out of cars or drawing jobs to all 19 future stations. 

Well, d'oh! Is it possible that's because the LRT hasn't been built and isn't in operation?

But there are job sparks at King and Victoria streets in Kitchener. There's evidence of housing drawn to stations. 

I'm not sure why "job sparks" (whatever they're supposed to be) are restricted to one intersection. There's ample evidence of new building construction all along the LRT route.

Trains won't run until 2017, so rail transit ambitions have time to come true.

Again, how would "rail transit ambitions" "come true" before the LRT is in operation?

Then he goes on to bash GRT for providing needed services to those with mobility issues, students and others who can't afford their own cars.

Meanwhile Jeff's bosses are wringing their hands over why they have to close down newspapers, most recently The Record's sister publication in Guelph. If only they'd read one of Jeff's pieces the answer would become instantly clear.

[BuildingScout]

Another Outhit strike out: Your rail transit bill has now reached $473 

To date, there's no evidence that rail transit is getting people out of cars or drawing jobs to all 19 future stations. 

Well, d'oh! Is it possible that's because the LRT hasn't been built and isn't in operation?


Meanwhile Jeff's bosses are wringing their hands over why they have to close down newspapers, most recently The Record's sister publication in Guelph. If only they'd read one of Jeff's pieces the answer would become instantly clear.

Exactly. It's garbage like Jeff Outhit's that stop me from being a subscriber to The Record. I don't mind seeing opinions different than mine, but drivel such as blaming an unbuilt LRT for not being used is beyond the pale. I wonder how it ever got past the editor.

[Canard]

Last week, the inyard area of the OMSF was pretty empty and flat.  Today, it's jam packed with equipment and workers.

   

   

   

   

[Canard]

Laurier/Waterloo Park/Seagram (I can never remember what they finally decided for this station's name) is coming along.

   

   

   

   

   
Old and New.

[KevinL]

Laurier/Waterloo Park/Seagram (I can never remember what they finally decided for this station's name) is coming along.

Laurier - Waterloo Park. But I had to look it up. 

[YKF]

Another Outhit strike out: Your rail transit bill has now reached $473 
Well, d'oh! Is it possible that's because the LRT hasn't been built and isn't in operation?


Meanwhile Jeff's bosses are wringing their hands over why they have to close down newspapers, most recently The Record's sister publication in Guelph. If only they'd read one of Jeff's pieces the answer would become instantly clear.

Exactly. It's garbage like Jeff Outhit's that stop me from being a subscriber to The Record. I don't mind seeing opinions different than mine, but drivel such as blaming an unbuilt LRT for not being used is beyond the pale. I wonder how it ever got past the editor.

He's married to the editor, that's how...

[MidTowner]

Exactly. It's garbage like Jeff Outhit's that stop me from being a subscriber to The Record. I don't mind seeing opinions different than mine, but drivel such as blaming an unbuilt LRT for not being used is beyond the pale. I wonder how it ever got past the editor.

I used to be a Record subscriber. I have in various cities been a daily subscriber to some truly crappy newspapers (the London Free Press...) because I value newspapers and want to support their continued existence. But I cancelled my subscription to the Record because of Jeff Outhit. That's not an exaggeration: I read a particularly egregious piece of nonsense by him about five years ago (related to transit and the fact that we transit users are soaking the people that pay taxes, and forget about the fact that we're among those tax payers) and realized I didn't want to help pay his salary. I switched to the Globe.

That article is brutal. "To date, there's no evidence that rail transit is getting people out of cars or drawing jobs to all 19 future stations." No kidding? The under-construction system isn't getting people out of cars yet? Christ.

Edit: Oh, yeah, and "Grand River Transit functions more as a social service than as a transportation option, shunned by commuters, embraced by students and by others who can't afford cars." Well, Jeff, I'm a commuter who owns a car and could afford a second one, but embraces GRT. And won't be considering a Record subscription.

Okay, I'll calm down now.

[clasher]

I can't even access the record's site anymore; :amazon cloudfront has blocked access from my country". So far I'm not really missing the crap. I won't miss the record when it finally goes the way of the mercury. Jeff Outhit's work is akin to an internet troll in printed form.

[Lens]

What a pointless, terrible piece by Outhit. Instead of providing actual facts he shows his bias pretty strongly.

"To date, there's no evidence that rail transit is getting people out of cars or drawing jobs to all 19 future stations. But there are job sparks at King and Victoria streets in Kitchener."

SERIOUSLY?

Earlier in the week they also ran something along the lines of "tech boom fuels condo market explosion" which is not true and they mostly pointed to student building construction. They also did not take any places to grow planning changes into account.

Also, his wife is not longer the EIC, she retired last year.

[ijmorlan]

That article is brutal. "To date, there's no evidence that rail transit is getting people out of cars or drawing jobs to all 19 future stations." No kidding? The under-construction system isn't getting people out of cars yet? Christ.

Yes, note the careful wording: “there's no evidence that rail transit is … drawing jobs to all 19 future stations”.

That is, there is lots of evidence that some station locations are seeing development activity, just not all of the stations.

That’s almost as good as “I cannot comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist”.

[ijmorlan]

Another Outhit strike out: Your rail transit bill has now reached $473 

But there are job sparks at King and Victoria streets in Kitchener. There's evidence of housing drawn to stations. 

I'm not sure why "job sparks" (whatever they're supposed to be) are restricted to one intersection. There's ample evidence of new building construction all along the LRT route.

I can’t help but feel that my kids’ elementary school teachers would probably suggest an improvement in wording for “job sparks”.

This latest article really is scraping the bottom of the barrel. I think we can take it as evidence that there are no significant problems with our LRT project if this sort of brain-off logorrhea is all he can come up with.

[Canard]

I wouldn't worry about good ol' Jeffy. I think he's running scared since he's realizing the project is more and more likely to be a complete success, and he'll have to eat his hat. If the Record is still around in 2017.

I think once our system is open, a lot of people from all over North America are going to be using our system as an example for their own cities of how to do Light Rail right.

[MacBerry]

Another Outhit strike out: Your rail transit bill has now reached $473 
Well, d'oh! Is it possible that's because the LRT hasn't been built and isn't in operation?


Meanwhile Jeff's bosses are wringing their hands over why they have to close down newspapers, most recently The Record's sister publication in Guelph. If only they'd read one of Jeff's pieces the answer would become instantly clear.

Exactly. It's garbage like Jeff Outhit's that stop me from being a subscriber to The Record. I don't mind seeing opinions different than mine, but drivel such as blaming an unbuilt LRT for not being used is beyond the pale. I wonder how it ever got past the editor.

 The WR_Record Publisher/Editor is his wife!

[SammyOES]

That article really is a great example of why regional papers are dying.

I'm generally in the 'we can have a public transit and car friendly city with reasonable compromises by both groups of people (with many people in both groups)' so I sympathize with most arguments pro/con for things like the LRT. But he doesn't even make those arguments.

He's trying to cause division between the two groups of people but it's so badly written it doesn't even accomplish this.