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Waterloo Region Transit Developments (ION LRT, new terminal, GRT buses)

BMO said:
You are absolutely correct. When I was in school at UW I would just drive to and from Toronto because, depending on the traffic, the bus could take 1.5 hrs or 3. Most of my friends and people I knew would drive or catch a ride with someone, simply because taking GO to Square 1 or Greyhound wasn't THAT much better than just driving. You'd still be stuck in the same traffic and the bus would often be at the mercy of whether there were any problems on the road or not. I'm not saying that GO train will be faster or that it won't experience delays, but I believe that the GO Train would be able to keep a higher standard for on-time performance. If there was a solid, reliable way to get to and from KW that had the same travel time regardless of hour, I think this could really take a whack of cars off the road between KW/Toronto. This, ofcourse, is just one demographic, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see a bunch more people use the service, especially if we see trains that go from Toronto to KW in the mornings and vice-versa in the afternoon. Add in the fact that it stops in Guelph and you've got another whack of people as well.
Click to expand...

I think taking GO to Square 1 is a bit better(and almost faster) than driving because of the 407 portion of the trip, which really allows the bus to make up for any lost time. Also, every GO bus that I've been on has had really great drivers who try to stay on schedule as much as possible.

This thread has really shifted off-topic.
 
Now for The Hurnontario and Hamilton Lines

11 minutes ago | Vote 0 0
[h=1]Region votes 11-4 to award LRT contract[/h]
By Paige Desmond
WATERLOO REGION — After more than three hours of delegations and discussion, Region of Waterloo councillors voted 11-4 Tuesday to award a $1.9-billion, 30-year contract to a private construction consortium for light rail transit.
GrandLinq will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the 19 kilometres of light rail track from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Park mall in Kitchener.
The region dubbed its system the Ion.
"Ion is the right move, at the right time, for the right reasons," Coun. Sean Strickland said.
The decision wasn't made without controversy.
Councillors Jean Haalboom, Claudette Millar and Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig, along with Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran, voted against the project.
Halloran said she heard overwhelmingly in the 2010 election and has heard since that many Waterloo residents don't support light rail.
"My job as an elected official is to respect the voice of the people who elected me," Halloran said.
pdesmond@therecord.com ;
Twitter: @DesmondRecord
 
drum118 said:
Now for The Hurnontario and Hamilton Lines

11 minutes ago | Vote 0 0
[h=1]Region votes 11-4 to award LRT contract[/h]
By Paige Desmond
WATERLOO REGION — After more than three hours of delegations and discussion, Region of Waterloo councillors voted 11-4 Tuesday to award a $1.9-billion, 30-year contract to a private construction consortium for light rail transit.
GrandLinq will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the 19 kilometres of light rail track from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Park mall in Kitchener.
The region dubbed its system the Ion.
"Ion is the right move, at the right time, for the right reasons," Coun. Sean Strickland said.
The decision wasn't made without controversy.
Councillors Jean Haalboom, Claudette Millar and Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig, along with Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran, voted against the project.
Halloran said she heard overwhelmingly in the 2010 election and has heard since that many Waterloo residents don't support light rail.
"My job as an elected official is to respect the voice of the people who elected me," Halloran said.
pdesmond@therecord.com ;
Twitter: @DesmondRecord
Click to expand...

make this clicky.
 
I too really hope this is the beginning of a boom, but remember, not a centimetre of real LRT is operational in Ontario. Things can and do get canceled, and I've had my heart broken going down this road before. However, I do think there is momentum behind this, and once people see it for real and realize LRT is not the car-killing ogre is has been made out to be, they will more receptive to the idea. I dare to dream of communities one day *demanding* LRT ...
 
Congratulations to Kitchener-Waterloo from me, also. A pity the Mayor of Cambridge decided to be a stick-in-the-mud, but 11-4 is a solid win.
 
edmundoconnor said:
I too really hope this is the beginning of a boom, but remember, not a centimetre of real LRT is operational in Ontario. Things can and do get canceled, and I've had my heart broken going down this road before. However, I do think there is momentum behind this, and once people see it for real and realize LRT is not the car-killing ogre is has been made out to be, they will more receptive to the idea. I dare to dream of communities one day *demanding* LRT ...
Click to expand...

Ottawa LRT is way past the point of no return. Its not going to get canceled.
 
Big congrats to KW on this. This LRT will be an amazing boon to this rapidly expanding region and I hope will help focus the growth they're experiencing into the right kind - dense, central, and without demanding cars.
 
1overcosc said:
Ottawa LRT is way past the point of no return. Its not going to get canceled.
Click to expand...

Yup, tunnelling is over 10% completed. Eglinton is quickly approaching that point as well.

The fate of many of the at-grade LRT lines is still to be decided though. 2 in Toronto, 1 in Peel, and 1 in Hamilton are still very much up in the air. Glad to see at least one got nailed down.

Has the consortium predicted a construction start date yet?

EDIT: Nevermind, found it buried in one of the articles linked above: "Utility work and other projects may begin by September, Schmidt says, with actual construction commencing in 2015."
 
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MrsNesbitt said:
Big congrats to KW on this. This LRT will be an amazing boon to this rapidly expanding region and I hope will help focus the growth they're experiencing into the right kind - dense, central, and without demanding cars.
Click to expand...

This is already happening. Here's a couple of good examples in Kitchener near King/Victoria: One Victoria, 607 King St W, Google at the Breithaupt Block. In Waterloo, there is a massive development near the city centre - BarrelYards and some others in uptown, like 14 Princess St W. There are a number of good projects coming after earlier bad ones (5-bedroom unit student towers) in the university district: k2 Condos, Sage VI. There's plenty of others, and lots more in the pipeline.

The Region of Waterloo has been adamant on its urban growth boundaries for its three cities. The City of Waterloo is very close to out of land within that, so they are primarily intensifying. Kitchener has some suburban space it's still developing at Places to Grow densities, but focusing heavily on its "innovation district" at King/Victoria, urban low-car intensification at LRT stations, and form-based-zoned mixed-use corridors outside the downtown.
 
gweed123 said:
EDIT: Nevermind, found it buried in one of the articles linked above: "Utility work and other projects may begin by September, Schmidt says, with actual construction commencing in 2015."
Click to expand...

I'm going to assume that's something lost in translation by CTV, as I am pretty sure construction will be starting this summer based on Regional communications. They've only got three years to get this thing built and operational, so they better get started soon. At any rate, all the on-the-ground work is "actual construction".
 
mpd618 said:
This is already happening. Here's a couple of good examples in Kitchener near King/Victoria: One Victoria, 607 King St W, Google at the Breithaupt Block. In Waterloo, there is a massive development near the city centre - BarrelYards and some others in uptown, like 14 Princess St W. There are a number of good projects coming after earlier bad ones (5-bedroom unit student towers) in the university district: k2 Condos, Sage VI. There's plenty of others, and lots more in the pipeline.

The Region of Waterloo has been adamant on its urban growth boundaries for its three cities. The City of Waterloo is very close to out of land within that, so they are primarily intensifying. Kitchener has some suburban space it's still developing at Places to Grow densities, but focusing heavily on its "innovation district" at King/Victoria, urban low-car intensification at LRT stations, and form-based-zoned mixed-use corridors outside the downtown.
Click to expand...

Perhaps I came off wrong in my post - I am aware of and quite well approve of the course of action that the Region of Waterloo is taking with regards to their expansion and development already, though I wasn't aware of all of those projects yet. The more you know! My congratulations come from a sense of pleasure at this decision, which will only keep KW further on the right track (no pun intended) of urban development.
 
MrsNesbitt said:
Perhaps I came off wrong in my post - I am aware of and quite well approve of the course of action that the Region of Waterloo is taking with regards to their expansion and development already, though I wasn't aware of all of those projects yet. The more you know! My congratulations come from a sense of pleasure at this decision, which will only keep KW further on the right track (no pun intended) of urban development.
Click to expand...

Oh, it's fantastic that we're finally moving from talk to action on the plan! I was just pointing out that transit-oriented development has already started in KW in anticipation of the LRT (and not only), and so we can expect that will accelerate as the project becomes a reality.

From an article on one of the latest developments to be announced:

"Typically our site selection process starts with proximity to employment, amenity and public transit," Prudham said. "So one of the first questions we ask is: 'How close is the nearest LRT platform?' "
Click to expand...
 
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