Hello, Ward 8 Neighbours!
On October 2nd, 2019 the General Issues Committee of Hamilton City Council agreed to apply for $8.5 million dollars in funding towards A-Line transit improvements along the Upper James / James Street corridor between Hamilton International Airport and the waterfront.
The funding is part of an application for $511 million dollars in dedicated transit investments for the City of Hamilton as part of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Public Transit Stream.
For more details, please continue reading below.
Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Public Transit Stream Grant Program
The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Transit Stream is $8.3 billion dollars of federal and $7.3 billion dollars of provincial funding dedicated to support public transit projects.
Out of the total $11.8 billion dollars in funding available to municipalities across Ontario, $511 million dollars in funding has been dedicated to City of Hamilton public transit initiatives.
The federal government will cover 40% (up to 50% for transit growth projects), the province 33.33% leaving the municipalities with a 26.67% contribution.
This means that for every dollar invested in public transit in Hamilton under this funding program, City of Hamilton taxpayers are only responsible for twenty seven cents.
It is important to note that the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Public Transit Stream Grant Program is dedicated transit funding – this money cannot be spent on anything except growing and rehabilitating public transit.
This funding also cannot be used to fund projects which are currently underway – therefore this funding source cannot be applied to finance LRT which is currently in procurement.
$8.5 Million For the A-Line Upper James Transit Corridor
Behind the scenes, I have been working closely with City of Hamilton staff to ensure that a portion of this new investment in public transit was dedicated to improving transit for Ward 8 and the Hamilton mountain.
The $8.5 million dollar investment for Upper James / James Street will implement a Priority Bus corridor on the A-Line segment of the BLAST Rapid Transit Network.
It will include a combination of infrastructure improvements; transit signal priority and transit stop enhancements which will result in a faster, more reliable and more comfortable transit experience between Hamilton’s Waterfront, Downtown Hamilton and Hamilton International Airport.
Priority transit will be a precursor to the light rail transit (LRT) on the A-Line as identified in the Ten Year Local Transit Strategy.
Other major public transit funding investments that will benefit Ward 8 and the Hamilton mountain include $187 million dollars towards replacing and expanding the current fleet of HSR buses.
The complete list of Hamilton’s public transit projects included in this application are detailed on the table below (click for full size pdf):
Questions or Concerns?
For more information, the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Public Transit Stream Grant Program staff report is available here.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Ward 8 office here.
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