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The
Electronic Informer
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February 2005
Informer
By Rick Lonergan Rick Lonergan
By Klaus Biemann IN SOLIDARITY,
By
Phil Whitehead
The congestion came into existence because commercial and residential developments in and around Fairway Rd. were not always preceded by the installation of infrastructure capable of accommodating the resulting traffic. And the future appears to be no better: Fairway Rd. faces worsening capacity shortfalls due to an increasing population and to proposed commercial developments. The South Kitchener Transportation Corridor Study is a project of the Region that is intended to seek public input and explore solutions regarding Fairway Rd., plus the adjoining roads, such as Manitou Dr. and King St. E. Public Consultation Meeting The second in a series of public consultations was held Jan.19, at the Knights of Columbus hall on Manitou Dr., for the purpose of discussing a multitude of "transportation challenges and solutions". However, the focal point of the thoughts of almost everyone in attendance was a proposal known as the River Rd. extension, which would extend River Rd. across Hwy. 8 to connect with the intersection of Wabanaki Dr. and Goodrich Dr. This road would cut through Hidden Valley, one of the last natural areas in the city, and a beautiful one at that. The majority of the approximately fifty people in attendance were opposed to additional roads in the area, while others were in favour of additional construction. This extension is part of an overall project to build a continuous road between Manitou Dr. and King St. E., that would include an extension of Bleams Rd. from Manitou Dr. to Goodrich Dr. The entire project would create a bypass around Fairway Rd. and would attract a high volume of traffic. It is tentatively budgeted for 2007 and 2008, with its $12 million cost being financed by development charges, not taxes. Another proposal calls for Fairway Rd., between King St. E. and Wilson Ave. to be widened to six lanes from the current four. One citizen commented that the River Rd. extension would add additional traffic to King St. E. in the Freeport area. If that proved to be accurate, routes 27 and 52 would encounter an additional traffic delay. Support for Transit The scope of the Fairway bypass proposal might imply that the Region is catering to the preferences of motorists. However, numerous statements at the meeting by consultants and regional officials left no doubt that the Region considers expanded transit services to be a key method of reducing the traffic congestion. One consultant said, "Transit is at the forefront of transportation planning" because, by 2011, "we won't be able to build our way out of this congestion." Enhanced and attractive GRT services figured prominently in plans to reduce the number of single occupant vehicles which contribute immensely to the congestion. A consultant said that GRT needs to be able to "compete head-on" against the car and that GRT currently faces difficulties with schedule adherence and customer satisfaction due to traffic conditions. Environmental Concerns Environmental concerns about the project extend beyond the interests of those who could be described as "tree huggers" who ought to "get a real job." This area is significant to everyone because it is a groundwater recharge zone containing three regional wells. Also, speakers noted that the economic value of a wilderness area is found in preserving it for future residents to enjoy. Comments While many citizens cling to the belief that traffic congestation can be alleviated simply by building more roads and by expanding existing roads, Regional staff appear to agree that this assumption has been debunked. Where transportation officials might once have automatically recommended the construction of additional roads, they now attempt to increase the "'people-carrying' capacity" of the existing roads. Transit is an important part of that objective. A survey of driver habits found that numerous drivers currently avoid south Kitchener because of the known traffic slowdowns. This finding prompts a question about the merit of building a bypass to reduce the congestion: Would those drivers, who currently avoid south Kitchener, start using Fairway Rd. after the congestion was reduced, thereby returning Fairway Rd. to gridlock within a short period of time? Conclusion Whenever Fairway Rd. turns into a parking lot, customers throughout the GRT service area can be inconvenienced. Any solution -- other than a sudden shift in public preference toward the bus and away from the car -- will not be implemented for several years. Even then, the River Rd. extension, the solution suggested to create the greatest relief from the pressure, might not provide relief for long. Everyone's continued patience will be necessary. Phil Whitehead
A bit of History
The awesome part of these gatherings is that the retirees get to bring
their wife or friend to a gathering in November for an early Christmas
get together. This is well attended by approximately 50 persons or so. In conclusion I feel it is safe to say that if this idea had not been brought to life and continued the majority of the persons that attend these gatherings would not get out and meet their past coworkers. It is all well and good to say that yes I worked with him/ her for 30 years and do not want to see them anymore. The down side of that is it is a huge world out there and it can become rather complicated as you get older. The younger members need to bear this in mind and attend these gatherings so that there is a continuance of information for everyone. The writer of this article has attended these gatherings or meetings
and was very impressed to meet with coworkers out of their past environment,
people change their attitudes and are much easier to chat with. So much for my rambling . The pictures that are attached are taken in
2004 as a 10 year Christmas Celebration of the Retirees of Kitchener
Transit and Grand River Transit. Please feel free to attend any of these
on the FOURTH Monday of the month remember Fourth as some months have
five. For more information call Paul Schmidt at 896-0145 or just show
up at 8.15/8.30 am. See you there.
The Operations Centre facility on Maple Grove Road is just one of six fitness Centres that the Region already provides for its employees at a nominal cost. Besides being a 24 hour facility, the Ops Centre boosts an impressive array of fitness equipment. Most of the equipment is made by Atlantis and is brand new, state of the art. For an online photo tour, go to http://johna.ca/caw/ops. A NEW CENTRE IS COMING TO GRT The Employee Centres Program is pleased to announce that a new Employee Centre will be opening at GRT Strasburg Rd. this spring – the anticipated date is April 2005. Surveys have been distributed to GRT employees, seeking input regarding the equipment and programming they’d like to see offered. David Sutherland has been appointed to the Employee Centres Steering Committee and a GRT Site Committee is forming. Watch for further information …
The Employee Centres offer convenient and affordable access to fitness facilities, providing employees with opportunities to attain/maintain a healthy lifestyle through physical activity. High quality equipment and a variety of exercise classes (led by certified instructors) meet the needs of all members. And, whether you’re new to regular exercise or just new to our facilities, each Centre offers one-on-one consultation with an Employee Centre Consultant who is fully qualified to assess your needs and provide you with a personalized program. To join one or two of the Employees Centres, please fill in the application form available at www.caw4304.ca/forms or from the Consultant in your facility. Then return them via interoffice mail to the same person. Tired of the Winter Blahs? Do something about it and get active by joining one of the Employees Centres. For questions or assistance, contact
The following tribute was made by Michael Smith at Audrey’s funeral in December of 2004. Mike was one of Audrey’s Supervisors. On behalf of Grand River Transit I would like to extend our sympathy and condolences to Audrey’s family and friends and let you know that we share in your loss. This past Saturday I received a phone message at home from one of our Operators Carl VanDincten stating that the family had asked Carl if he would stand before you and say a few words about Audrey, Carl’s message to me said Mikie I’m no good at that sort of thing and I told them to contact you. Well Carl, I’m not very good at that sort of thing either but
I know if you could have. So I took a little time to look back on the last four years. Yes four years because it was about this time four years ago that I received a radio call from Audrey stating that she had been involved in an accident an on Hamilton St in Preston. When I arrived on scene Audrey was very shaken and I could see she had been crying I reassured her that by no means was the accident our fault and that the car had drove through the stop sign and hit her. I had asked if she was okay and she said she was just a little shook up. But after a few weeks she started complaining about being stiff and sore and started to see a chiropractor. However the pain didn’t get better but in fact got worse and Audrey was to find out that she had been diagnosed with Cancer. Wow! The worse news anyone can receive! She went on to show all of us What Audrey O’Reily was made of,
this lady not only battled it she won! I remember one day driving past the Cambridge Memorial Hospital and seeing her standing at the bus shelter, I pulled up beside her with the van and she beamed from ear to ear with a smile I told her she didn’t have to wait for a bus and that she had Friends in low places and to jump in I would give her a ride home. She gladly accepted a ride to the Terminal only. Because she liked riding on the bus so she could chat with the Operators. During all the pain and suffering she endured she always had a smile on her face, a smile that we all remember very well. Because when Audrey smiled her eyes smiled too. On the first Sunday of December some of the Cambridge staff gathered at a night club for a Christmas dinner and I was truly surprised when Tony wheeled Audrey through the door, she said she just had to show up even though she was told that it probably wasn’t a good idea. Audrey wasn’t feeling well! Oh she would never have told you that, but she didn’t have too. I could see it in her eyes, she was tired and I knew exactly why she had to show up, she wanted to say good-bye. They didn’t stay very long but she had a chance to visit with everyone there, which meant a lot to her and to us. The next Wednesday I was working at the my computer and I looked up and seen Tony standing in the hall I smiled and stood to greet him and as I did I saw the look in his eye’s and he told me Audrey had just passed away. On behalf of Audrey’s transit family! And in closing for those of us that are lucky enough to someday make
it through the pearly gates. Mike Smith
Glide on trails thru snow-laden trees, In stunning scenery and glistening snow; In crisp mountain air…c’mon let’s go! Get out’a the house and head for the hills! LIVE the adventure and SKI for the thrills!! Paul Eckmier
Thank You from
our former Part Time Supervisors If you are not already aware, GRT has hired another full time Supervisor from outside our group of employees. As this comes as no surprise to some of us, they proved us right for resigning from the Acting Assistant Supervisor pool. We would like to thank all of you for your support. Your support was much greater than any of us had anticipated and it showed us that a group of unified individuals do exist in the South. We heard support from other groups of people, some to our surprise. Without your support this action would have meant nothing, because for us it was fruitless. It was to show the Region that their hiring procedure is unfair and unjust, and that people should not be misled, as it remains today. We sincerely hope that a certain group of individuals would have realized what our cause was, and how detrimental their actions were for themselves. We didn’t do this for ourselves, for our only gain is Self Respect and that means the most to us. Hopefully we carry this solidarity for the support of our Union and all the causes we strive to conquer. In Solidarity,
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Still Ongoing:
2400 Update: Ø A/C-looking into driver control pad. Ø Remote Mirror Driver’s Side-On order. Left side higher/right side lower. Ø Timing of doors : North doors seem faster than ours. Whatsup!!! Ø Interior Lights-blue tubes to be added. New Items:
Our next Meeting is tentatively scheduled for Your Voice, Zeke Working Hard To Be Heard. Email: southops@caw4304.ca If an item you have submitted is not on this report
that means it has either been rectified or exhausted. See me and I will tell you the verdict. If I don’t know the answer right away I have
the paper trail that will give us the answer.
January 2005 We have received the first 6 buses of the 2nd batch of 16 new NovaBus LFS model. They are a continuance of the 2400 series, with 2418, 2419,2420, 2421, 2423 and 2424 on the north property. I am pleased to advise that some minor modifications have taken place. Although the buses are mostly identical to their earlier counterparts, the improvements are as follows: proper brake pedal assembly, driver’s side mirror is remote powered and has been moved 4 inches further forward for improved visibility, and both front and side sunshades are now solid black, instead of the useless clear and mesh ones. The small window to the left of the driver also has blue tint at the top to prevent getting blinded by the afternoon sun. The remaining 10 buses will arrive as soon as the expansion of the north annex is completed, sometime in February. We will then bid farewell to the 8500 series buses in the North, and 517 & 519 in the South. There are still numerous outstanding warranty issues with the 2300 Orion VII series of buses that will be tended to “as time permits” which appears to be never. At least most of the seem to have the right side armrest installed on the driver’s seat now. The active 2400 units are also having adjustments made, unfortunately also a rather slow process. These modifications include: mirror adjustments, window tinting, dark blue lamp covers etc. A few of the 9200 series NewFlyer buses have had the curbside mirror raised, the rest will be completed. It has been requested that the driver’s area setup of 2206 and 2207 be modified to match the north’s 2200 series setup, since we received them “southernized”. A request has been made to exchange the USSC driver’s seat in bus 9012 with a proper Recaro unit from one of the 85’s being retired. The doorlock for the driver’s facility at Highland Hills Mall will be changed to an Ainslie St. style, keycode entry unit. Details will be provided as this happens. Bike Racks are out of commission until further notice because the permit has expired. THEY ARE NOT TO BE USED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE! A left turn advance green has been activated on route 19/20 to turn from Westmount onto Chopin. The same request for Weber to left on Union (route 8) has been denied, however, signal timing improvements have been made so that the bus should approach Union St as it turns green. A request to have a longer advanced green at Queens Blvd & F-H has been approved and completed. The STOP sign at Stanley Park Mall should be moved as it interferes with route 1 & 17 buses entering the mall to turn right at the Zellers store. SPM has never been very cooperative with our requests so we will wait until it is either changed, or one of our drivers removes it with their bus. New pre-trip/CVOR forms have been placed into the buses, pretty much the same as before, but bigger and with a carbon copy of defect slip. The bus stop coming out of the roundabout on Route 5 will be visited and relocated once a decision is agreed upon as to where it will go. Regards,
SOUTH SCHEDULING
COMMITTEE Present: Zeke Baker, Warren Barlow, Jean Bourdon, Bill Miller, David
Sutherland. Minutes
1. GCI AM Special 2. GCI PM Special 3. Rt. 52 – 3:15pm departure from AST 4. Rt. 52 – Preston Parkway Update + Zeke Baker’s comments 5. Rt. 52 – 8:15am departure from AST 6. Connections at Lowther & King between Route 52 and Route 61. 7. Rt. 54 – 2:45 departure from AST (GPSS) 8. Rt. 57 – Routing extension Westcliff Way status 9. Connections between Routes 61/68/71
11. School Tripper Routing 12. 3 min hold update/51 holding 13. Running time issues 14. Low floor routes and interlining of Routes 51,53,65 & 66. 15. Offsetting of Routes Network Plan 16. New Business Warren Barlow
It’s Not Too Late to Ski-a-thon First, one of our co-workers, Marlene MCCracken, has made available to us a school bus, courtesy of Stock Transportation. Marlene has offered to be our driver as well. So, for just $11 per person, you can leave your car at home and let Marlene get you there and back. Second, there has been a change in location for our after-skiing dinner and door prizes. Unfortunately the lodge at the Nordic Centre will be unable to accommodate us this year. However, that could change next year as they are hoping to be able to provide their own hot meals to groups. Our new location for this year will be at the Pizza Hut in Collingwood. Once everyone is
seated you may order individually from the menu. It is entirely up to
each participant as to how much you wish to order (depending
on your
pocketbook, plan for $12 to $15. You will be billed separately). Pizza Hut has generously offered to donate 10% of the group’s total dinner bill back to our charity, The Children’s Wish Foundation. So let’s all get together and leave our daily routines at home and head for the hills. There’s plenty of powder this year. Once there, take a deep breath of mountain air, put the wind to your back, and enjoy the rest of the day at Blue Mountain. Klaus Biemann – “Director of Nordic Adventures” Paul Eckmier – “Director of Alpine Adventures”
Please pay your pledge or give your donation
to any of Klaus Biemann, Paul Burgoon, Scott Drinkwalter,
Comments can be made to: Wayne Bell (Webmaster) or John A. McDonald (Assistant Webmaster) |
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To
make matters worse, events such as snowfall, stalled vehicles or collisions
can degrade traffic movements to levels where GRT operators might as well
put their operator itineraries and the published route schedules through
a paper shredder.
Congratulations
on 10 years of having successful breakfast meetings once a month. The
retirees of Kitchener Transit / Grand River Transit meet on the fourth
Monday of every month except, December and ,for a breakfast get together.
This was started by Paul Schmidt and assisted by Len Weber. These gentlemen
were bus operators ( for those of you who were not here then). There are
an average of 15 to 20 and sometimes more employees of the former Kitchener
Transit/Grand river Transit that attend these breakfast gatherings.
The
gatherings is a better term rather than meetings. These were held at the
Great Escape Eatery on King St. North and Northfield Drive in Waterloo.
The gatherings were just that , friends and past employees or potential
retirees sitting around enjoying conversation over a cup of coffee and
what ever they wanted to eat for breakfast. When the Great Escape changed
hands the gatherings were held at Angie’s Kitchen in Waterloo. All
of a sudden they could not all fit there as the number of person attending
had grown too much. The gatherings were then moved to the Country Boy
restaurant on Manitou Dr and Fairway Road. 
For
one extra dollar per week, you can upgrade your fitness package with the
Region to include two of the Employee Centres. For example, those employees
that already have a membership at 150 Main St., which is only open to
6 pm, can add the Maple Grove Ops Centre Gym to their package and access
their 24 hour facility. You weekly cost would only increase from $4 to
$5 per week. To upgrade to accessing two facilities, contact the Consultant
of your existing facility from the list below.
Consider
these Regional fitness facilities an added benefit that is provided by
your employer. The $4 of $5 / week fee is nothing when you consider it
costs $3.50 to go swimming in a city pool. The reason it is so cheap is
that the building and washrooms already exist. It is only the equipment
you are paying for.
To
all our Brothers and Sisters:
Our
annual ski-a-thon on Feb. 8 is almost upon us. Remember,
it’s never too late to procure some sponsors, raise your minimum
of $50 in donations, and come along with us for a day of fun at Blue Mountain
for downhill skiing or the Scenic Caves Nordic Centre for cross-country
skiing. There have been a few important developments over the past few
weeks that all ski-a-thon participants, and those of you that may still
be considering joining us, be made aware of.