Trails

[Acitta]

It didn't take long for the nice new benches on the Iron Horse Trail to be vandalized by graffiti. The city cleaned off the graffiti, taking off the finish along with it. Now the vandals are back. We can't have nice things.    

[clasher]

Let's just crowdfund a bunch of steel bollards... they are pretty easy to install. A cordless hammer drill and a cordless impact wrench are all we'd need. A few safety vests and no one would even bat an eye.

[MidTowner]

I walked over last night to look at it, and jeez, it really does defy understanding how professionals could choose to do this to improve safety. You really might as well be standing in the middle of the road.

Are there no guidelines for this stuff? What could possibly be the reason to make it like this?

[robdrimmie]

I wonder if there's something about how close it is to the railway tracks and that in one fairly rare and specific emergency situation a vehicle would need as many escape routes as possible, so they couldn't put full curbs in?

[ijmorlan]

I wonder if there's something about how close it is to the railway tracks and that in one fairly rare and specific emergency situation a vehicle would need as many escape routes as possible, so they couldn't put full curbs in?

I doubt it. And even if so, I believe a legitimate safety evaluation would conclude that on balance it’s better for pedestrians to be safer all the time than for an emergency vehicle to have a tiny bit of extra space once in a decade.

[robdrimmie]

I wonder if there's something about how close it is to the railway tracks and that in one fairly rare and specific emergency situation a vehicle would need as many escape routes as possible, so they couldn't put full curbs in?

I doubt it. And even if so, I believe a legitimate safety evaluation would conclude that on balance it’s better for pedestrians to be safer all the time than for an emergency vehicle to have a tiny bit of extra space once in a decade.

I completely agree with you here. Mostly my speculation (which was a reach) is based on the assumption that if there is something legislated somewhere that forces the issue, "legitimate safety evaluation" doesn't necessarily matter. The rules change very slowly. I know very little about railway legislation, but reading this forum has taught me that a lot of compromises have to be made in favour of of it. Mostly for good reason, too.

[danbrotherston]

I doubt it. And even if so, I believe a legitimate safety evaluation would conclude that on balance it’s better for pedestrians to be safer all the time than for an emergency vehicle to have a tiny bit of extra space once in a decade.

I completely agree with you here. Mostly my speculation (which was a reach) is based on the assumption that if there is something legislated somewhere that forces the issue, "legitimate safety evaluation" doesn't necessarily matter. The rules change very slowly. I know very little about railway legislation, but reading this forum has taught me that a lot of compromises have to be made in favour of of it. Mostly for good reason, too.

Legislation is rarely something so definitive.  It's usually up to interpretation.  Certainly legislation is problematic sometimes, but the most acute and painfully obvious problems are simply the interpretation of legislation to a ridiculusly anti-pedestrian level.

[megabytephreak]

Does anyone else get really annoyed by cars parking with their back end hanging halfway across the trail where laurel trail gets squeezed between the creek and the parking lot for the "spurline crossing" plaza?: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/43%C2%B...80.5189672

It feels like at least once a week I see vehicle (usually a pickup truck it feels like) backed in and hanging well out into the trail, dropping it to one lane. Today I had a new once, it was a jeep, and the vehicle itself wasn't hanging over too much, but it had a hitch mounted bike rack with nothing on it protruding right at head height for a cyclist. It was hard to see given the lighting too, so I almost ran into it.

I think there should be bollards mounted in the curb there to prevent this. Where would I report this kind of issue? Laurel trail belongs to the City of Waterloo correct?

[ijmorlan]

Does anyone else get really annoyed by cars parking with their back end hanging halfway across the trail where laurel trail gets squeezed between the creek and the parking lot for the "spurline crossing" plaza?: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/43%C2%B...80.5189672

It feels like at least once a week I see vehicle (usually a pickup truck it feels like) backed in and hanging well out into the trail, dropping it to one lane. Today I had a new once, it was a jeep, and the vehicle itself wasn't hanging over too much, but it had a hitch mounted bike rack with nothing on it protruding right at head height for a cyclist. It was hard to see given the lighting too, so I almost ran into it.

I think there should be bollards mounted in the curb there to prevent this. Where would I report this kind of issue? Laurel trail belongs to the City of Waterloo correct?

I don’t go up that part of the trail very often, but I’ll have to look for that problem when I’m there. On a related note, there is no curb cut to give convenient direct access from the trail into the parking lot. Also, there is a big empty square of concrete at the corner of the building, but no bicycle rack. Weird to brand themselves “Spurline” and then do nothing at all to make it convenient for people riding in from the trail.

[danbrotherston]

Does anyone else get really annoyed by cars parking with their back end hanging halfway across the trail where laurel trail gets squeezed between the creek and the parking lot for the "spurline crossing" plaza?: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/43%C2%B...80.5189672

It feels like at least once a week I see vehicle (usually a pickup truck it feels like) backed in and hanging well out into the trail, dropping it to one lane. Today I had a new once, it was a jeep, and the vehicle itself wasn't hanging over too much, but it had a hitch mounted bike rack with nothing on it protruding right at head height for a cyclist. It was hard to see given the lighting too, so I almost ran into it.

I think there should be bollards mounted in the curb there to prevent this. Where would I report this kind of issue? Laurel trail belongs to the City of Waterloo correct?

I don’t go up that part of the trail very often, but I’ll have to look for that problem when I’m there. On a related note, there is no curb cut to give convenient direct access from the trail into the parking lot. Also, there is a big empty square of concrete at the corner of the building, but no bicycle rack. Weird to brand themselves “Spurline” and then do nothing at all to make it convenient for people riding in from the trail.

Yeah, this used to be part of my commute, this was a common obstruction. Where I live now there is also the ability for cars to block the sidewalk.

Basically if there isn't a curb, there will be cars.

[megabytephreak]

I don’t go up that part of the trail very often, but I’ll have to look for that problem when I’m there. On a related note, there is no curb cut to give convenient direct access from the trail into the parking lot. Also, there is a big empty square of concrete at the corner of the building, but no bicycle rack. Weird to brand themselves “Spurline” and then do nothing at all to make it convenient for people riding in from the trail.

Yeah, this used to be part of my commute, this was a common obstruction. Where I live now there is also the ability for cars to block the sidewalk.

Basically if there isn't a curb, there will be cars.

It seems like even a full curb isn't enough to stop trucks. They just hang right out over it across the trail.

[KevinL]

A large metal/concrete bollard, matching the midpoint of each parking space, would do the trick.

[bpoland]

The Iron Horse Trail will be closed from John to Victoria Park for about 2 months. I know the portion north of Glasgow is for the water main replacement, but I wonder why they are closing the Glasgow - Vic Park section too -- that has all been recently repaved and widened. Maybe they are going to install a refuge island at Victoria St and thought they should just close the whole section?

[danbrotherston]

The Iron Horse Trail will be closed from John to Victoria Park for about 2 months.  I know the portion north of Glasgow is for the water main replacement, but I wonder why they are closing the Glasgow - Vic Park section too -- that has all been recently repaved and widened.  Maybe they are going to install a refuge island at Victoria St and thought they should just close the whole section?

They are replacing the trestle bridge in the park, as well as installing lighting north of Victoria, and as you mentioned the Victoria refuge island.

[tomh009]

Is the bridge being replaced due to deterioration, or is it being widened?