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

[mpd618]

Why not have a single-track DMU service from Northfield LRT to Elmira? As a replacement for the current bus service year-round. There are a lot of commuters to Kitchener from Elmira & areas north of the city. The bus/Ion combination will not be a viable alternative to driving as Hwy 85 will be faster (f.k.a. Hwy 86). The DMU service may be faster (and would allow for tourists to have access to the farmers market with the same service)

Tourists aside, I can't really see how a DMU would be that much of an improvement over the Route 21 bus service from Conestoga Mall to Elmira (that takes 25 minutes). Certainly not enough to be worth the extra costs and hassle of a completely different operation from everything else GRT has.

 

[Duck]

Operations Storage and Maintenance Facility construction, Feb. 27, 2015:

The white tower structure is elevator tower for the offices:

 

[Duck]

The first batch of rails have just arrived.

 

[44 North]

Those rails look molten hot. It's hard to get properly orientated in KW...where is that photo roughly taken?

 

[Markster]

The rails seem to have a red sealant sprayed on the ends.

That would be roughly here. (A bit to the right, actually, but the street view there doesn't show the towers that have been built in the past 3 years.)

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Is that to prevent rusting?

 

[44 North]

That would be roughly here. (A bit to the right, actually, but the street view there doesn't show the towers that have been built in the past 3 years.)

Ah, that seems exactly right. I was somehow thinking the photo was looking north from Kitchener.

Oh man, it’s so cool that KW is doing this. There’s really nowhere else in Canada of a similar size that’s building actual attractive railed transit. Ottawa is much larger and IMO should’ve had a federally-funded LRT system thirty years ago, Peel and York are huge and should at least have something better than buses. But here we have a tiny (relative to the GTA) population of +300,000 building a real deal transit system. And intensifying a walkable, pedestrian-friendly, proper inner city that places like Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, and ‘Sauga couldn’t achieve even if they tried.

 

[smallspy]

Is that to prevent rusting?

No, it's because the rails and particularly the rail ends, are a tripping hazard.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[aquateam]

Ah, that seems exactly right. I was somehow thinking the photo was looking north from Kitchener.

Oh man, it’s so cool that KW is doing this. There’s really nowhere else in Canada of a similar size that’s building actual attractive railed transit. Ottawa is much larger and IMO should’ve had a federally-funded LRT system thirty years ago, Peel and York are huge and should at least have something better than buses. But here we have a tiny (relative to the GTA) population of +300,000 building a real deal transit system. And intensifying a walkable, pedestrian-friendly, proper inner city that places like Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, and ‘Sauga couldn’t achieve even if they tried.

Waterloo is doing a lot of things right. It's interesting to see the contrast between them and Hamilton.

 

[muller877]

Ah, that seems exactly right. I was somehow thinking the photo was looking north from Kitchener.

Oh man, it’s so cool that KW is doing this. There’s really nowhere else in Canada of a similar size that’s building actual attractive railed transit. Ottawa is much larger and IMO should’ve had a federally-funded LRT system thirty years ago, Peel and York are huge and should at least have something better than buses. But here we have a tiny (relative to the GTA) population of +300,000 building a real deal transit system. And intensifying a walkable, pedestrian-friendly, proper inner city that places like Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, and ‘Sauga couldn’t achieve even if they tried.

It's all about how the community developed and the employment nodes. To build an effective LRT that is not only busy during rush hour a city needs to have linear employment, destination and to a lesser degree residential nodes. KW fits this perfectly with everything build along King St and hopefully after the LRT is built will become more and more dense.

Ottawa has a similar linear build along the river (for the west end of the LRT).

Which other cities in Canada are built in this linear fashion that do not already have high order transit?

KW also did not go for the most expensive option but a practical solution which can be built in a short time frame. By using old rail beds and compromising on how to get through downtown and uptown they did not have to spend additional money burying the line. I think other municipalities (including Toronto) could learn from them how to implement a solution quickly and economically.

 

[Markster]

It's interesting to note, that the places where KW is using "old rail beds" are in fact still active railways. They haven't needed to do anything as contentious as reclaiming a ROW that had been fully converted to a recreational trail. Using the Iron Horse Trail was considered for alignment, but it was not close enough to any destinations to be useful.

As for cities built in a linear fashion...
I'd be tempted to say Hamilton! They should really build an LRT there.


Fun fact time! Largest municipalities in Canada without a rail transit system: (or one under construction)
1) Mississauga
2) Winnipeg
3) Brampton
4) Hamilton
5) Quebec City
6) Halifax
7) London
8) Markham
9) Gatineau
10) Saskatoon

Of course, two of those, Mississauga and Markham, are currently building out BRT. Those two and Brampton would also greatly benefit from GO RER with full fare integration, to make GO a feasible intra-city transit system.

 

[gweed123]

Fun fact time! Largest municipalities in Canada without a rail transit system: (or one under construction)
1) Mississauga
2) Winnipeg
3) Brampton
4) Hamilton
5) Quebec City
6) Halifax
7) London
8) Markham
9) Gatineau
10) Saskatoon

Of course, two of those, Mississauga and Markham, are currently building out BRT. Those two and Brampton would also greatly benefit from GO RER with full fare integration, to make GO a feasible intra-city transit system.

Interesting list! Not to nitpick, but Gatineau opened their Rapibus service last year. Very similar in design and function to Ottawa's Transitway: http://www.rapibus.sto.ca/index.php?id=6

 

[Markster]

Ah, yeah, I knew that, but forgot to include them when I mention BRT. Whoops.

Also, Longueuil and Vaughan arguably could have been on the list, as they don't(/won't) have intra-city rail transit, just the end-of-the-line. I don't expect many commutes in Vaughan to start at VMC and end at Hwy 407.

 

[gweed123]

Ah, yeah, I knew that, but forgot to include them when I mention BRT. Whoops.

Also, Longueuil and Vaughan arguably could have been on the list, as they don't(/won't) have intra-city rail transit, just the end-of-the-line. I don't expect many commutes in Vaughan to start at VMC and end at Hwy 407.

Yeah, I don't count small stubs that barely extend across the border as rapid transit for that city. That would be like if the Bloor-Danforth line was extended to Dixie or something. You could make a case that the Yonge extension to Richmond Hill would count though, because it would actually serve trip patterns inside of York Region.

One thing that is promising though is how many of those cities are due to be dropped off that list within a decade or so.

 

[44 North]

It's all about how the community developed and the employment nodes. To build an effective LRT that is not only busy during rush hour a city needs to have linear employment, destination and to a lesser degree residential nodes. KW fits this perfectly with everything build along King St and hopefully after the LRT is built will become more and more dense.

Ottawa has a similar linear build along the river (for the west end of the LRT).

Which other cities in Canada are built in this linear fashion that do not already have high order transit?

KW also did not go for the most expensive option but a practical solution which can be built in a short time frame. By using old rail beds and compromising on how to get through downtown and uptown they did not have to spend additional money burying the line. I think other municipalities (including Toronto) could learn from them how to implement a solution quickly and economically.

The term “cities†is somewhat subjective. There are CMA’s, municipalities, regions, regional municipalities, centres, areas, etc. But if we’re looking at just cities, only in Ontario, the largest are:

Toronto – 2.5M – has railed transit
Ottawa – 900,000 – has railed transit
‘Sauga – 715,000 – no railed transit
Brampton – 525,000 – no railed transit
Hamilton – 520,000 – no railed transit
London – 366,000 – no railed transit
Markham – 300,000 – no railed transit
Vaughan – 290,000 – other than a short stub for Concord, no railed transit
Kitchener – 220,000 – building railed transit

*"railed transit" meaning local, and not commuter service
**didn’t include BRT (I don’t care for buses)

Arguably each one of these cities has some degree of ‘linear employment, destinations, and residential nodes’ like KW. Just like how in KW not everything is planned around King St - there are ample subdivisions, and suburban office/industrial parks in areas well distanced from King.

I think KW is a good example of how LRT can be effective by not following a road and its linear development. And if the LRT were to stay on King, then it would miss major hubs like UW entirely. There’s a recurring view amongst planners (like Keesmat for one) that a transit route can only be successful if it follows a road (either in the middle of it, or under it). And if a route doesn’t follow a road, then we’re seeing some form of cheapening and decrease in quality of service. Obviously that’s true sometimes, but it’s not always the case.

By using affordable/practical solutions like following an old rail bed, using green spaces, or traveling alongside a highway - service speed and reliability is greatly increased over a system that has to follow a road’s speed limit and wait several mins for each traffic signal to cycle through. Or deal with fender benders and blocked intersections. As well, the line is given the opportunity to travel more directly to important centres than if it were to do so by disjointedly following the road system.