ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Canard]

Next LRV is loaded and ready to go. Perks of having parents who live nearby who are also train buffs.

[bgb_ca]

Great news

[Canard]

Looks like a 2-week cadence will be achievable!

[chutten]

It’s amazing to me that even though this project has gone essentially flawlessly when compared to virtually every other rapid transit project in the world, we still find a need to place blame and point fingers.

Can we just move on and get excited that we are really, really effing close to opening?

(this is not a slam at you Chutten!  I, for one, am tired of the negativity and super excited for opening day.)

You are right. It took forethought and insight to have a plan ready so early. It took political will and public support to get it started. ION is a product of competence and passion and expertise and professionalism from all corners at all levels.

It's like anything that goes on for years. All the little mistakes and foibles and screwups and gaffes that stick in the mind pile up over time and leave you with a sour taste in your mouth. The mistakes are inherent to systems built and staffed by humans, and we should celebrate that anything good comes out of society at all given how many human beings have to get their parts right in series and parallel.

[Coke6pk]

/obscure?

That guy is definitely a buffoon, but I don’t think he’s responsible for any of the delays on the project.

I am aware, but it was the first thing that popped into my head... and made me laugh.  Had to share.

Coke

[Canard]

Here are some photos of the first TVM I've seen!  I love it!

The design language of continuing the deep blue of the GRT/ion brand with the pictograms is just flawless.  So good!!

   

   

   

   

   

[KevinL]

Takes cash and credit (and presumably debit) including by tap; can provide printed tickets, scan existing tickets, and read (and dispense?) farecards. Even has a headphone jack for the visually impaired. Looks good!

[chutten]

Odd. They're not bilingual. (Well, they have braille.)

[bgb_ca]

Track rework at King/union. Tent setup north of union on north bound track

[Canard]

Unbelievable

[Pheidippides]

It is almost as if things were pushed through or ignored just to get the substantial completion certificate.

I really hope the region does a "lessons learned" report at the end of phase one, so phase two doesn't have to suffer from the same hiccups.

[Square]

The Region road closures has the ION partial lane closures till May 30th!

[jeffster]

Odd. They're not bilingual. (Well, they have braille.)

I wonder if that has anything to do with language laws in Ontario and there isn't enough of a french population to make everything bilingual. If you drive outside Waterloo-Wellington, there are a lot of bilingual signs for the 400-series highway, but none locally.

Those bilingual signs, btw, are only done in french designated area's. And only on provincial highways. So for example, the Gardiner Highway is all english, but it's owned by the City of Toronto, whereas the QEW, is bilingual, but owned by the province.

Having said that, the screen will probably have a french option.

[Canard]

The official bilingualism regulations are a federal jurisdiction, and only apply to federal services, institutions, and employees.  Each province is free to implement their own bilingualism regulations, and to date only New Brunswick is "officially" bilingual. Ontario has regulated bilingual "regions" (like Ottawa, Sudbury, and Welland) where funding for schools, cultural programs, and the like apply, but Waterloo Region isn't one of them.  So, the Region isn't technically obligated to provide any French services or signage.

A good example: VIA is federally regulated/owned, and is bilingual; GO Transit, provincially regulated/owned, is not.

(I didn't actually know any of that - that's from my husband, a Franco-Ontarian, with some input )

(I think it would have been a nice gesture to have both, though.)

[KevinL]

I don't think it suffers from having the printed signage English-only; the 'fares' iconography above it shows its purpose, and I trust there will be a choice of languages on the interactive screen which can then guide the user in their native tongue.

I think there are likely more speakers of Asian languages in the region than those with French as a first language, for the record.