Hello Ward 8 Neighbours,
On April 9th, 2020 the Province of Ontario publicly released the Hamilton Transportation Task Force report and recommendations – a full copy of the report is available here.
Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation issued the following statement regarding the Hamilton Transportation Task Force Report:
“I am pleased that we are one step closer to ensuring that the province’s commitment of $1 billion in capital funding is invested in realistic and affordable transportation projects in Hamilton.
The Task Force has recommended a list of proposed projects that will improve access to the transportation network, reduce congestion, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
In order to determine which of these projects will best serve the needs of Hamilton, the Task Force has also recommended further analysis.
To this end, I am asking Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario to conduct a technical review of the project options contained in the report.
In the interest of full transparency, I am also releasing the report to stakeholders and the public.
Caroline Mulroney, Ontario Minister of Transportation
Continue reading below for more information…
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister Mulroney Listened to You
When LRT was abruptly cancelled by Ontario Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney back in December 2019, it seemed that Hamilton’s LRT was officially dead.
Between the cancellation of the project and today, the Ward 8 office has received more than one thousand individual emails from Ward 8 and Hamilton residents asking Premier Ford and Minister Mulroney to reconsider.
(For a sense of scale – 1000 individual emails is an unprecedented level of support and public engagement – no other issue comes close.)
While I am disappointed that this whole process led to a completely unnecessary delay in getting shovels in the ground and moving our City forward, I am incredibly appreciative that Premier Doug Ford and Minister Caroline Mulroney listened to you, the residents of the City of Hamilton.
Local Higher Order Transit is the Top Recommendation for Hamilton
The Task Forceās top recommendation is to invest in local higher-order transit, because these projects are expected to bring substantial benefits to the residents and businesses of the City of Hamilton.
The Task Force recommends further evaluation of both LRT and BRT as potential local higher-order transit projects.
The Task Forceās initial preference is for an intra-city higher-order transit project that addresses the City of Hamiltonās transportation needs such as current and future demand and congestion.
This could either be an LRT on the B-Line or BRTs on the B- and A-Lines (with additional complementary priority bus projects as part of the BLAST network).
The LRT option on the B-Line could include the original project scope (if additional capital funding is identified), or a truncated version of the original project as a first phase provided the benefits meet or exceed the benefits of projects on the preliminary list of recommendations.
The Task Force recommends that the Province and Metrolinx consider both of these projects equally and undertake further analysis concurrently to determine which project is the best fit for Hamiltonās transportation needs.
Recommendation Two – Hamilton Transportation Task Force Report
It is important to recognize that widening Provincial Highways and increasing capacity of local roadways like the Linc and Red Hill were considered, but not recommended.
Similarly, the Task Force considered other options such as simply adding more conventional buses and electric buses (click here for “Why Electric Buses Will Not Replace LRT”).
These options were not recommended.
A Thorough High Quality Report with Clear Recommendations
Overall, the Task Force report is very well organized, well written and fully referenced (which is a very refreshing change from many past LRT related discussion pieces).
Most importantly, the Task Force developed a clear problem statement, assessment framework and evaluation criteria against which potential projects were evaluated.
The following are some of the criteria considered during the assessment of potential transportation projects:
- Ready to implementĀ : projects should be able to reach contract award or begin construction within two years of the submission of this report, or March 16, 2022.
- Strategic importanceĀ : projects should have a tangible impact by providing substantial benefits to the residents and businesses of Hamilton. As a proxy, a threshold of $100Ā million in project capital cost was used to identify projects of significance.
- Increases economic development potentialĀ : projects should generate increased investment in the City of Hamilton such as attracting new businesses and increasing land values.
Please click here to read the full report.
What is Bus Rapid Transit?
As the Task Force report recommends further evaluation of both Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) it is very important to reiterate that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is not just more buses.
In fact, the report specifically defines BRT as “fully-separated median BRT with level boarding”.
Essentially, BRT as recommended in the report is exactly the same as LRT except it is a train on rubber tires instead of a train on steel rails.
BRT runs in its own lanes (and cannot run in regular car lanes or be diverted), is separated from traffic, has full intersection priority ahead of cars and has dedicated stations (not bus stops).
The only real differences are that BRT is initially less expensive to build, but it costs more to maintain and operate long term, requires more roadway area and has less economic impact than LRT.
The following are two photos of typical Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems.
Commuter GO Rail
If either LRT or BRT proves not to be possible, the Task Force recommends consideration of improved GO Transit.
If after further analysis, intra-city higher-order transit projects are not feasible, then the inter-city higher-order transit in the form of 15-minute two-way all-day GO rail service to Hamilton has been identified as the next priority for the provincial investment…
Recommendation 11 – Hamilton Transportation Task Force Report
As GO Transit is already a provincial responsibility, on February 13th, Hamilton City Council passed a resolution stating that none of the $1B in capital funding allocated to Hamilton transportation should be used for provincial highways or other provincial transportation projects (GO Transit).
Council strongly supports the expansion of GO Transit in Hamilton, but it is the Province’s responsibility to deliver better service with their own provincial budget – as they have already promised to do.
While many Ward 8 residents rely on GO Transit for commuting to work, 72.6% of Ward 8 residents work within the City of Hamilton.
Overall, Hamilton is a regional employment centre, not a bedroom community for Toronto.
Next Steps…
Ultimately it will be up to the Province to determine the future of Hamilton’s LRT.
However, whether you are pro-LRT, anti-LRT or agnostic, everyone should recognize that it is a very positive and significant step forward to firmly establish that local higher-order transit is the top transportation recommendation for the City of Hamilton.
As all levels of government begin to consider what the end of the global COVID19 pandemic will look like, it is clear that significant stimulus will be required to kick-start our economy.
In this context, it would be difficult for the Federal or Provincial governments to design a custom, shovel-ready economic stimulus package for Hamilton better than LRT.
Questions or Concerns?
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact our office here.
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