Allandale25
Superstar
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Waterloo Region Transit Developments (ION LRT, new terminal, GRT buses)
Allandale25
Superstar
Allandale25
Superstar
Anyone know what's happening here? Not sure if it is LRT related?
OntarioOnTheMove
New Member
New rails with trails connecting Northfield ION station with the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market.
New trail connecting Waterloo to St. Jacobs Farmers' Market in the works
Steps are being taken to make one of Waterloo Region's biggest attractions accessible via trail.
Towered
Superstar
New rails with trails connecting Northfield ION station with the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market.
New trail connecting Waterloo to St. Jacobs Farmers' Market in the works
Steps are being taken to make one of Waterloo Region's biggest attractions accessible via trail.t.co
For a second I thought the LRT was being extended...
Northern Light
Superstar
That announcement might be coming.....
(though the extension would be the other direction!)
I should add, any announcement wouldn't actually be for imminent construction.
Just the whole RFQ etc process at best.
My understanding is that construction of ION south is penciled in for a 2028 start; but could be bumped a bit.
Towered
Superstar
That's the Cambridge extension, right?
I wonder if one up to St. Jacob's would be justified....
Northern Light
Superstar
The way the tracks are oriented at Northfield Stn would require a change; but otherwise, it looks (just from eyeballing it) as though there is sufficient room in the ROW or immediately adjacent for what would be a 1.5km extension with only 1 stop.
On the one hand, it would probably be low-cost; and there is some retail up there beyond the market (Walmart, Dollarama, Marks would all be pretty much adjacent to the station); on the other hand, there are still farms/rural close-at-hand, and very little residential density.
I think it might make sense to make sure any space needed to do that in the future is secured, I'm not as convinced there's a compelling case right now, but I could be wrong.
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DKsan
Active Member
I do wonder about maybe subsidizing the Waterloo Central Railway (the tourist train), which has been suspended due to the COVID, to run more often, as opposed to LRT-ifying the route.
Streety McCarface
Senior Member
They just got RDCs. Make it like WES commuter rail for the heck of it.
crs1026
Superstar
^There’s a multi use trail under construction alongside the rail line as far as St Jacobs. Not sure how that impacts the potential for twinning the rail line for LRT.
- Paul
- Paul
jamincan
Active Member
I really don't think it's on the radar for anyone.
DirectionNorth
Senior Member
For better or for worse, the LRT runs to Conestoga. I've never lived in K-W, but I bet somebody did the math at the county and found that building to the mall generates more ridership than to the market. And there's no potential ridership past St. Jacobs, either. I'm not too concerned.
nfitz
Superstar
More - but the market isn't just a market. There's a lot of big box stores and a Walmart these days.
Bureaucromancer
Active Member
The market was included in the original studies for the LRT. End of the day I agree, if we ever have a serious desire to do something more going north the best options really are ones that leverage Waterloo Central.
In the short term this can be as minimal as, yes, running an RDC and building a new platform at Northfield to make the connection on the same side of the street.
Even to the point of this being something like a full-time service I'd suggest less LRTifying Waterloo Central than installing a new chord at King/.Allen and turning diesel/hydrogen/whatever self propelled trains in Waterloo. Even if you really want to make the GO connection, the original DCTA A-Train plans for through running would make a lot of sense... Don't so much improve Waterloo Central as run one or two dual mode TPH down to Kitchener.