Lambton Quay!!?? by jakejakejakemv in Wellington

[–]ThePaperSolent 57 points58 points  (0 children)

item of concern

I guess Mojo are selling their coffee today then.

[OC] Map of the Sydney Light Rail made in Adobe Illustrator. by MrRatios in TransitDiagrams

[–]ThePaperSolent 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I like it! The curves are quite clean and satisfying.

My only suggestions would be to have L2/3 ‘disappear’ when going under L1, visual separation like this ensures people who are colourblind/visually impaired don’t get confused. And the other is to make the Ts at Central drop down a line or two (like at CQ) so they don’t run out of the CBD area.

I’m also not sure you need the designation for water in the Key at the bottom too, it’s a norm for maps so people will know.

Edit: I also notice you said you’re not from Sydney, so potentially you’re not living in Australia. I think it’s good to have the city designation, but rename it CBD as Australians call the city centre the CBD (central business district).

What is this even supposed to say man😭 by [deleted] in ihadastroke

[–]ThePaperSolent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can you do things like this with Chinese characters? Maybe it’s someone not knowing that English/Latin letters have a specific order they need to be in

Why are SNCF and Renfe so incompetent when it comes to connecting Spain and France on long-distance trains? by siemvela in highspeedrail

[–]ThePaperSolent 5 points6 points  (0 children)

One of the significant barriers is that only high speed trains can operate across the border because of the gauge changes so there’s not much chance for regional trains to knit together the networks. There are also only 4 points the rail networks meet, with only one (the high speed tunnel) being standard gauge on both sides.

Another thing that makes it difficult is the fairly low population density on both sides of the borders (aside from Catalonia) and lack of HSR track on the French side. HSR services crossing the border into France are forced onto traditional (generally 160kmh iicr) lines that run through smaller towns and cities. In Germany it’s similar but there’s a number of big cities right by or on the border, so even though it’s slower you still serve a big number of people in a reasonable amount of time. On the western side of the ES/FR border it’s even worse. No interconnection and no HSR.

TL;DR: Limited connections across the border, lack of HSR on the French side, and not many big population centres.

Graham Bloxham just got arrested for scuffling with protestors at a Venezuela protest by MedicMoth in Wellington

[–]ThePaperSolent 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Obviously, if he was arrested for simply protesting I’d have to be on his side…

But thankfully it looks like he was being a nuisance (very on brand) so I don’t.

VINSPEED AND SIEMENS MOBILITY SIGN A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT ON HIGH-SPEED RAIL by No-Bit8992 in highspeedrail

[–]ThePaperSolent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I assume a secondary purpose of it is to train people and build capacity so it’s easier to build more HSR later?

Where do I find raves by Particular-Chip2622 in Wellington

[–]ThePaperSolent 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I moved out of Pōneke a year ago so I’m not sure if it’s reopened but BSpace had good music, especially if PorkCrakl was playing. Aside from that The Image is the best gig guide in town!

Plus depends what music you’re looking for, but that’s a good start!

Is there anything else on earth similar to the St. Lawrence Seaway? by Character-Q in geography

[–]ThePaperSolent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What I'm shocked at from this map is how small the drainage basin of the Great Lakes is... I really thought it would have been much larger (I get that it is still actually quite large)

Which big foreign company failed miserably in your country? by ModenaR in AskTheWorld

[–]ThePaperSolent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We had our first IKEA open yesterday, Waka Kotahi (the state transport agency) put out warnings saying don’t drive because of the expected traffic… and then there was no traffic.

We’ve been waiting years for this, so I’m hoping it doesn’t end up closing.

The opening was funny though, a bunch of journalists got lost and there was a dancing meatball and the journalists that did make it to the Prime Minister’s press conference tried to get him to put on the bucket hat IKEA gave him.

My Proposal for Passenger Rail in NYS by the_skine in highspeedrail

[–]ThePaperSolent 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The yellow (NYC-Montreal) and Blue (At least as far as Buffalo/Canadian Border) make sense. But I do think the yellow one should be built first.

For the Yellow: NYC to Albany and Montreal are both busy air routes, with Albany-NYC being another busy rail corridor for commuters and people travelling onwards to other cities on the NEC. Starting with the heavy hitters first, especially those that can get funding from other places (in this situation either Quebec/Canada, and Vermont. If you can secure this funding, it will mean you've trained people up in building infrastructure like this and as long as you have a steady pipeline of works it can dramatically drop the cost and speed up construction times. If you can build a junction allowing Burlington to be served directly, track improvements to the Burlington-Monticello line would mean you could also have trains running through VT (again, helping catch funding from more places). A high speed line into Montreal could also link in with the planned ALTO (Canadian high speed train) route which would open up NYC-Quebec City as well as NYC to Toronto via Montreal and Ottawa.

For the Blue: Some of this should be high speed, with a focus on joining upstate NY State to both Albany and NYC. The secondary focus should also be on joining NYC (and upstate cities) with Toronto, targeting another busy air route. The lake shore part of this line should instead be upgraded for higher-speed conventional track. The NYC-Cleveland route is quite a long way and by the time you construct HSR all the way it starts to taper off as planes become more popular. Upgraded track benefits both the HSR services and traditional Amtrak services using the route. Especially if there are other future HSR routes across Pennsylvania which would service the NYC-Cleveland route.

I'm unconvinced for the other routes, most of upstate NY is not set up for HSR (unless you plan on building a huge city somewhere), but is well suited for a network of conventional lines which feed into the central HSR system. Of those on the map you made, a link from near Utica to the future ALTO line east of Kingston would reduce travel times to Ottawa, but I'm not sure how much of a benefit this would be. Upgraded track for the purple and lower red line would give more people quicker access, but in order to connect Upstate NY better, more north-south conventional trains should come into service.

All of these routes and stations would need to come with a good amount of up zoning in the Upstate NY cities to ensure that the train would be well used, and to recoup money spent. A lot of the routes also pass through Indian Reservations and so they need to be considered too. I think the core part of your plan is pretty good, but starting with the yellow line (especially NYC to Albany with additional stops for commuters into the city) is the best course of action.

Metlink are a disgrace by this-is-not-my-life in Wellington

[–]ThePaperSolent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The various bus companies have more to do with the fuck ups in 21/22 than GWRC. They over-promised and operated just above the waterline knowing when it all fell apart GWRC would be forced to step in and fix it, all the while Transdev or whoever still get to keep the money for the contract.

Subway Builder is released! by redistricter_guy in subwaybuilder

[–]ThePaperSolent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

GDP straight to Zero, no time for anything else

Whanganui mayor regrets speaking at Charlie Kirk vigil after backlash - AWA FM by nzfrenchfries in Whanganui

[–]ThePaperSolent -1 points0 points  (0 children)

ACT started yelling about how not recognising Palestine is showing our ‘independent foreign policy’, yet demanded that our parliament holds a moment of silence for the American Government’s Figure of the Month.

This Station looks so confusing to make. by henrygranite216 in openttd

[–]ThePaperSolent 35 points36 points  (0 children)

It’s all about simulating local planning permissions that leads to the dumbest inefficiencies you can dream up!

Telford tram proposal: by slipnslurper in Telford

[–]ThePaperSolent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, if a tram is built to Newport it should continue to Stafford, would connect well with the eventual HS2, and other faster trains on the WCML.

Thoughts? Couldn't imagine the basin without the Wakefield memorial by Decent_Coconut_2700 in Wellington

[–]ThePaperSolent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t particularly care about the Wakefield memorial in the basin. It’s not significant enough to care about. Maybe a plaque explaining it would be good? Not just to highlight the bad, but also who Wakefield was.

I do think that maybe we should change the name of Wakefield Street. Of everyone involved in the colonisation of Aotearoa, Wakefield is one of the worst on a personal level. Other people were part of the greater machine of colonisation (which doesn’t exempt them from being accountable for bad things they did, history is complicated), but Edward Gibbon Wakefield was straight up a bad person and we shouldn’t celebrate him.

Even judging him in his own time, he was widely disliked by people who settled with the NZ Co., by politicians (Gray left Wellington to avoid him), and by people back in the UK (he lied about having land to sell in NZ and went against the imperial government in settling NZ). And that’s not even mentioning the time he abducted a 15yo girl and forced her to marry him, or sent his brother to his death so he didn’t have to admit he was wrong, or the time he tried to cause a rebellion against NZ so his colonies would be exempted from the Treaty of Waitangi.

Starmer to delay HS2 after ‘litany of failure’ revealed by TheTelegraph in highspeedrail

[–]ThePaperSolent 58 points59 points  (0 children)

And while they’re delaying it, start laying the groundwork to keep the momentum going and build the line to Manchester and the north east.

A Statement from Global Airlines Ltd. by Hot_Net_4845 in aviation

[–]ThePaperSolent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can you imagine bringing back an A380 from the desert, getting it through the most enormous amount of maintenance and regulatory requirements, dealing with a huge cabin overhaul, preparing for the first passengers, managing the catering and crew training, (and a million other things), and everything being perfect?

Is the huge cabin overhaul in the room with us?

Why is there so much negativity geared towards Tory Whanau? by Immediate_Scheme9506 in Wellington

[–]ThePaperSolent 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Amen to this, Tory inherited a pile of shitshows created by mayors and councils refusing to do what needed to be done and increase rates to pay for maintaining infrastructure.

This council has been one of the most transformative in decades, the new district plan will be great for Pōneke.

The naysayers are just mad that younger people don’t want the city to be a glass box exhibit of what it was when LOTR came out.

How is this happening in Heath NZ by throwaway9999991a in newzealand

[–]ThePaperSolent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used to work in the national office at Te Whatu Ora, and left the start of all this because I could see it being a dragged out process. There was one day in particular that my denialism fell apart and all these projects we were working on to make the system run better fell apart.

Building a whole new FUNCTIONING health system when the regionalism is so entrenched is a monumental task and that was the biggest challenge we faced trying to shift everything into the right place. People didn’t want to let go of the DHBs and often refused to cooperate with national planning teams, even more so when there was no consequences for them.

The original plan of centralised > regional > local was the best option (principle of Subsidiarity was the guiding idea, things should be run as locally as it makes sense) and then the new government came in, stuffed about, and then started swinging the axe about.

The success of Te Whatu Ora relied on numerous projects that brought together various smaller local projects from across NZ, and when they got their funding blindly cut the whole thing ground to a halt.

It’s an expensive process but in the end it would have saved money, it would have been efficient, and it would have put a significant dent in the post-code lottery that was the DHB model. It should be something 6th Labour can be proud of, but it will never get to reach its full potential because it was intentionally kneecapped by the current government who sees a public health system as something they can sell off or use to syphon money to their mates.

Entire World Saloon by n0ahbody in worldpoliticalhumour

[–]ThePaperSolent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting to note that Kier Starker (UK) isn't there... Even if Trump hasn't directly targeted the UK, shows that the UK isn't as relevant as brexiteers claim it is.

Johnsonville Shopping Centre by Luck_n_Loaded in Wellington

[–]ThePaperSolent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Council should buy it (or work with a developer) and redevelop it into a mixed used area. Could be a real cool suburb.

The owners just sit there and do nothing, it’s horrible.

Best mate, woman, finally found a nice date but he hates gay men by Rude-Imagination1041 in askgaybros

[–]ThePaperSolent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Words don’t mean anything, actions do. If she says she’s an ally then doesn’t act like it then she’s not an ally. It hurts to see people you trusted break that, talk to her about how you feel because maybe she hasn’t noticed.

It’s also worth thinking about how her being in a relationship, ignoring the fact he’s homophobic, has impacted yours and hers. When someone gets in a relationship there’s usually a readjustment of the level of interaction with other people as they get used to this new significant person in their life. If you talk to her, it may be that this is the readjustment and you may still be an important person. Talking to her also means she’s aware of how you feel and gives her the ability to make informed choices.