Wonderful Waterloo Archive

This site is maintained by Sam Nabi as a record of the vibrant Wonderful Waterloo community, which was taken offline in 2014. This site is a partial archive, containing some posts from 2009-2013. To read more about the recovery effort and access the data in a machine-readable format, check out the GitHub page.

Proposed King & Victoria Intermodal Station

Post #10516
07-15-2010 08:41 PM
Spokes

King & Victoria Intermodal Station
King St West and Victoria St North, Kitchener

RSA Multi-Modal Study

Regional Purchases: CR-RS-10-049/E-10-098 (November 24, 2010)
Post #10518
07-15-2010 09:11 PM
DHLawrence

Town Member
Joined Mar 2010
466 posts
Quote Originally Posted by Spokes View Post
Oh man, I didn't even think of that issue haha.
Quote Originally Posted by Spokes View Post
Do you think the terminal won't happen until BOTH GO and LRT have funding? Or if one gets it, then they'll go ahead?
Don't worry about it--it's been done before in Chicago, I think. Somewhere in the midwest at least.

It's hard to say which will spur it on. A King and Victoria station is a great opportunity to reduce transfers if light rail takes place, but GO has already stated that the Weber and Victoria station won't be sufficient for the number of customers they're expecting and that a new station will be necessary downtown. Hopefully VIA will be smart enough to move its digs as well. Much as I hate to see a heritage railway station lose its passenger trains, it won't be large enough to serve the twenty trains a day predicted for us by the 2020s (eight VIA, 12 GO).
Post #10520
07-15-2010 09:37 PM
smably

Town Member
Joined Feb 2010
237 posts
Quote Originally Posted by DHLawrence View Post
Much as I hate to see a heritage railway station lose its passenger trains, it won't be large enough to serve the twenty trains a day predicted for us by the 2020s (eight VIA, 12 GO).
I agree. Hopefully the station will see some kind of adaptive reuse, though, like the old Waterloo train station.
Post #10523
07-15-2010 10:22 PM
KevinL

City Member
West-South-West Kitchener
Joined May 2010
565 posts
Quote Originally Posted by Spokes View Post
Do you think the terminal won't happen until BOTH GO and LRT have funding? Or if one gets it, then they'll go ahead?
Well, GO can run out of the Weber/Victoria VIA station for some time; the plan there is to close Ahrens St at the level crossing so there's a platform long enough, and that'll serve them quite well for now.

They do want to move adjacent to King before increasing frequency to the point where they need two platforms. Hopefully by then LRT is either running or under construction, and the terminal can be built for both.
Post #10536
07-15-2010 11:57 PM
mpd618

City Member
Waterloo, ON
Joined Jan 2010
998 posts
Quote Originally Posted by Spokes View Post
Do you think the terminal won't happen until BOTH GO and LRT have funding? Or if one gets it, then they'll go ahead?
Probably if LRT goes ahead, the multimodal terminal will happen one way or another. But I don't really envision a scenario in which the GO extension gets mothballed or we don't get any more VIA service.
Post #10543
07-16-2010 08:18 AM
Spokes

Metropolis Member
Kitchener
Joined Dec 2009
4996 posts
Quote Originally Posted by DHLawrence View Post
Don't worry about it--it's been done before in Chicago, I think. Somewhere in the midwest at least.

It's hard to say which will spur it on. A King and Victoria station is a great opportunity to reduce transfers if light rail takes place, but GO has already stated that the Weber and Victoria station won't be sufficient for the number of customers they're expecting and that a new station will be necessary downtown. Hopefully VIA will be smart enough to move its digs as well. Much as I hate to see a heritage railway station lose its passenger trains, it won't be large enough to serve the twenty trains a day predicted for us by the 2020s (eight VIA, 12 GO).
Which is good because it will force the Region's hand a bit. The existing station could suffice while construction is underway, but not long term. I can't see why VIA wouldn't move. Do they have reason not to?
Post #10544
07-16-2010 08:20 AM
Spokes

Metropolis Member
Kitchener
Joined Dec 2009
4996 posts
Quote Originally Posted by smably View Post
I agree. Hopefully the station will see some kind of adaptive reuse, though, like the old Waterloo train station.
I hope so too, but not in this location. I dont know if it can be moved, but I think that whole lot including the station and surrounding car lot should be redeveloped as one single project, and most likely will be with the new mixed use zoning. Unless the city creates an exception for the station.
Post #10545
07-16-2010 08:21 AM
Spokes

Metropolis Member
Kitchener
Joined Dec 2009
4996 posts
Quote Originally Posted by mpd618 View Post
Probably if LRT goes ahead, the multimodal terminal will happen one way or another. But I don't really envision a scenario in which the GO extension gets mothballed or we don't get any more VIA service.
Thats what I figured. I was just thinking, if LRT gets canned, could the station still happen?
Post #10551
07-16-2010 08:51 AM
dunkalunk

Town Member
Joined Jan 2010
118 posts
Quote Originally Posted by Spokes View Post
Thats what I figured. I was just thinking, if LRT gets canned, could the station still happen?
I'm sure that potential development value of the existing Charles Street site (this is huge) in addition to complaints expressed by bus drivers and better travel times for GO/Greyhound could be enough to convince the powers that be to build a new terminal. Also, regardless of whether or not LRT gets built, the RTMP calls for the decentralization of bus routes, negating the need to have a central downtown terminal. The amount of congestion to get downtown could be enough to move crosstown routes away from Charles terminal.

There seems to be a lot of discussion concerning an intermodal terminal at King and Victoria, perhaps its time we start a new thread on it?
Post #10552
07-16-2010 08:54 AM
Spokes

Metropolis Member
Kitchener
Joined Dec 2009
4996 posts
Quote Originally Posted by dunkalunk View Post
I'm sure that potential development value of the existing Charles Street site (this is huge) in addition to complaints expressed by bus drivers and better travel times for GO/Greyhound could be enough to convince the powers that be to build a new terminal. Also, regardless of whether or not LRT gets built, the RTMP calls for the decentralization of bus routes, negating the need to have a central downtown terminal. The amount of congestion to get downtown could be enough to move crosstown routes away from Charles terminal.

There seems to be a lot of discussion concerning an intermodal terminal at King and Victoria, perhaps its time we start a new thread on it?
I was just thinking new thread too!

Im glad they're decentralizing the routes. Its nice to bring people downtown and all, but they're nto staying downtown, and its causing routes to be longer than needed. That being said, I think a King/Victoria station is still needed 1) for the other services, 2) because it will still probably be an intersection that will be crossed by a number of routes
Post #10556
07-16-2010 10:05 AM
mpd618

City Member
Waterloo, ON
Joined Jan 2010
998 posts
Quote Originally Posted by Spokes View Post
Thats what I figured. I was just thinking, if LRT gets canned, could the station still happen?
It should! LRT or no, the core transit route of the Region (frequent, express) will be going right by on King. It should connect with the mainline.
Post #10569
07-16-2010 02:53 PM
DHLawrence

Town Member
Joined Mar 2010
466 posts
Quote Originally Posted by Spokes View Post
Which is good because it will force the Region's hand a bit. The existing station could suffice while construction is underway, but not long term. I can't see why VIA wouldn't move. Do they have reason not to?
They tend to like their independence. When an extra track was installed in Oakville and the demolition of the existing VIA station was necessary, they built a VIA-only station rather than combine the separate VIA and GO stations into one building.
Post #10721
07-16-2010 05:56 PM
Spokes

Metropolis Member
Kitchener
Joined Dec 2009
4996 posts
Quote Originally Posted by mpd618 View Post
It should! LRT or no, the core transit route of the Region (frequent, express) will be going right by on King. It should connect with the mainline.
The mainline and hopefully an express (ish) route running down victoria
Post #10722
07-16-2010 05:57 PM
Spokes

Metropolis Member
Kitchener
Joined Dec 2009
4996 posts
Quote Originally Posted by DHLawrence View Post
They tend to like their independence. When an extra track was installed in Oakville and the demolition of the existing VIA station was necessary, they built a VIA-only station rather than combine the separate VIA and GO stations into one building.
Oh, I thought a number of GO stations also had VIA as well. The one I know best near Waterdown does at least.
Post #10732
07-16-2010 06:35 PM
DHLawrence

Town Member
Joined Mar 2010
466 posts
Same with Guildwood, Brampton, and Georgetown--and TO of course. Oakville is an anomaly among cities served by VIA and GO. The stations share the same parking lot and platforms, but not the same building for some reason.
Post #10739
07-16-2010 09:13 PM
plam

Town Member
Joined Dec 2009
196 posts
Quote Originally Posted by DHLawrence View Post
Same with Guildwood, Brampton, and Georgetown--and TO of course. Oakville is an anomaly among cities served by VIA and GO. The stations share the same parking lot and platforms, but not the same building for some reason.
Oshawa shares VIA and GO as well. It gets a lot of VIA traffic.

(On a side note, I tried to take Greyhound to the VIA train today. It turns out that 1 hour of buffer time isn't enough to ensure that you make your VIA connection. I hate Greyhound!)
Post #11418
07-23-2010 11:46 AM
Spokes

Metropolis Member
Kitchener
Joined Dec 2009
4996 posts
I believe, and someone correct me if Im wrong, the only active tenants left on this site, are the Beer Store and the Ambulance station (which is Regional property anyways)
Post #11441
07-23-2010 06:25 PM
DHLawrence

Town Member
Joined Mar 2010
466 posts
Is the Asian market still open? I think End of the Roll is gone.

I wonder if they're waiting until the Weber bottleneck is cleared up before starting construction down this end--and on light rail for that matter. People will still have to drive through the area, and if they can't go one way they'll need to go another.
Post #11449
07-23-2010 07:51 PM
Spokes

Metropolis Member
Kitchener
Joined Dec 2009
4996 posts
Quote Originally Posted by DHLawrence View Post
Is the Asian market still open? I think End of the Roll is gone.

I wonder if they're waiting until the Weber bottleneck is cleared up before starting construction down this end--and on light rail for that matter. People will still have to drive through the area, and if they can't go one way they'll need to go another.
The asian market is closed I believe. End of the Roll and Noble trade are gone. The tire place just moved to cambridge or is in the process of moving.

Are you talking about the construction they plan to do on Weber to widen it? I didn't think that was happening till 2015 ish
Post #19829
07-15-2010 08:41 PM
Spokes

Metropolis Member
Kitchener
Joined Dec 2009
4996 posts
dunkalunk's Concept
Red: Station Footprint | Pink: Redevelopment Opportunities