Big Move transportation workshop in Hamilton June 23 - Let's speak up for transit

Register to learn and contribute to an improved transportation network. Don't leave it to the people who attack transit to be the loudest voices. 

McMaster: tell us about your commute!

This event is a very exciting step in the direction of developing a TDM for McMaster (Transportation Demand Management plan) that initiated with TLC just over two years ago.

Lots happened behind the scenes to bring us to this point. Please participate and help McMaster manage transportation for the future so as to make efficient use of non-automotive modes like cycling, bike share, walking, car-pooling, and car sharing.

Reducing parking demand at McMaster opens up space for alternative uses: see Restore Cootes for a great example.

Wholly Mary

When TLC started as an all volunteer citizen activist group, we always desired to see support for alternatives to Single Occupancy Vehicle use more widely spread, and this is a perfect example of that impetus.

One, Two Launch

Public Meeting to Launch One-Way to Two-Way/Complete Streets Study Group

Monday, November 26, 2012, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Council Chambers at City Hall, 71 Main Street West, Hamilton

On September 12, Council approved a motion to establish a Ward 1, Ward 2 and Ward 3  One-Way to Two-Way Street Study Group.  The motion was moved by Councillor McHattie and seconded by Councillor Farr at the September 6^th GIC meeting.

See http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/C68F1C81-3E15-4AB7-990B-A5796BE07882/0/Sep06EDRMS_n345288_v1_9_1__Motion___McHattie___Establishment.pdf.

Councillors Farr and McHattie invite you to a public meeting to introduce the concept of the one-way to two-way/complete street study group and invite Hamiltonians to participate.  They are looking for a broad group of community stakeholders to help study the conversion of Cannon Street and Queen Street into complete streets.

The meeting will by emceed by Councillor Jason Farr and include presentations by the following speakers:

·        Ryan McGreal, editor of Raise the Hammer, will introduce complete two-way streets.

·        Peter Topalovic, project manager, transportation demand management with the City of Hamilton, will talk about balanced transportation.

·        Sharon Mackinnon, public health nurse with the City of Hamilton, will explain the public health benefits of complete streets.

·        Steve Molloy, project manager, Transportation Master Plan implementation with the City of Hamilton, will discuss the Transportation Master Plan and EA process.

·        Councillor Brian McHattie, will introduce the community stakeholder study group and explain how it fits into the process of converting an existing one-way street into a complete street.

The session will include an hour of Q and A with the panel of speakers.  Attendees will also have the opportunity to sign up for more information or to join the study group of Queen and/or Cannon.

complete streets

TLC's David Cohen will be part of a panel discussion at this event - please let others know!

plains plans

Functional Design Analysis of Plains RoadThe City of Burlington is currently studying how Plains Road should be re-designed in the next ten years.  For more information about this important project click on link and visit the Plains Road Corridor Functional Design and Implementation Strategy web page. Tell Burlington what changes you would like to see along Plains Road.  To participate, complete the online survey or fill out the Comment Form (Word document).

Free Lecture November 7

auto book talk

Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism on the Road to Economic, Social and Ecological Decay
Book launch and discussion with authors Yves Engler and Bianca Mugyenyi

** 5:30pm ** Friday May 13 ** Skydragon (27 King William St.) Hamilton

In North America, human beings have become enthralled by the automobile: A quarter of our working lives are spent paying for them; communities fight each other for the right to build more of them; our cities have been torn down, remade and planned with their needs as the overriding concern; wars are fought to keep their fuel tanks filled; songs are written to praise them; cathedrals are built to worship them. In Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism on the Road to Economic, Social and Ecological Decay, authors Yves Engler and Bianca Mugyenyi argue that the automobile's ascendance is inextricably linked to capitalism and involved corporate malfeasance, political intrigue, backroom payoffs, media manipulation, racism, academic corruption, third world coups, secret armies, environmental destruction and war. An anti-car, road-trip story, Stop Signs is a unique must-read for all those who wish to escape the clutches of auto insanity.



 

King and Main from Eastgate to Mac up for discussion

The B-Line Land Use Visioning Workshop is quickly approaching - let us know if you are coming next Tuesday evening!

Details below….

B-Line Corridor - Public Visioning Workshop - All are Welcome!
Help shape the future of the B-Line Corridor along Queenston, King and Main Streets from Eastgate to McMaster.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - Open House 6pm - 7pm, Presentation and Workshop 7pm - 9pm

Hamilton Convention Centre, Albion Rooms, 1 Summers Lane in Downtown Hamilton

Throughout the fall, the City has been hosting a series of focus group meetings to help establish a land use vision for the B-Line Corridor. We have been hearing about how neighbourhoods along the corridor envision the land use and future development. Come out to hear what neighbourhoods are saying about the corridor and participate by adding YOUR vision for the B-Line Corridor.

Let us know if you are planning to attend the event - please RSVP by January 10, 2011.

E-mail: nodesandcorridors@hamilton.ca

Phone: Christine Newbold (905) 546-2424 ext 1279 or Ken Coit (905) 546-2424 ext 1220

www.hamilton.ca/nodesandcorridors

The Novice Cyclist Series: Commuting 101 – McMaster to Harbourfront

What: The Novice Cyclist Series: Commuting 101 – McMaster to Habourfront
When: Friday Nov. 12 @ 12pm (noon)
Where: Meet in front of Wentworth House

View 101 Bike McMaster to Harbourfront Hamilton in a larger map
Learn how to get from Point A to point B on your bike! This friendly afternoon bike ride will show you how to get from McMaster University to the Hamilton Harbourfront on two wheels. Meet in front of Wentworth House at 12pm (noon). We will start at Mac, go east on Sterling, east on King, north on Longwood and take the Harbourfront trail to the Williams Coffee Pub (maybe grab a bite there too!). Before the ride, we will review sk...ills such as riding within traffic, signaling, stopping at stop signs, changing lanes, and making left turns. This is the first ride in the Novice Cyclist series. Beginner cyclists are especially welcome, but experienced cyclists are also encouraged to come out to help facilitate learning.

Presented by TLC (Transporation for Liveable Communities), The Novice Cyclist is a series of bike rides in Hamilton that is meant to foster learning. The ultimate purpose of these rides is to get more cyclists on the road and promote cycling as a viable method of commuting to get to work, school and other destinations. Participants will learn and practice essential skills (such as following traffic rules, changing lanes, and signaling) to break myths and fears associated with cycling on the road.

talking 'bout walking

talk transportation up

Transportation in Hamilton - Hamilton Civic League Speaker Series

* Date: March 22, 2010
* Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
* Location: Volunteer Hamilton
* Address: 267 King Street East (Google Maps)
* Email: HamiltonCivicLeague@gmail.com

On March 22nd the Hamilton Civic League presents the second installment of its monthly Speaker Series entitled “Transportation in Hamilton: Challenges, Goals and Possibilities.”

Featuring guest panelists from: Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee ; Transit Users Group ; McMaster Institute for Transportation & Logistics ; Transportation for Liveable Communities.

Join us for a frank and wide-ranging discussion of Hamilton's transportation systems and road network. Voice your opinion on what specific considerations should inform City planning and policy in this area. What issues MUST be part of the campaign discourse in this election year?

Posted by davidvanbeveren

Dundurn Redux

What: Dundurn Street: from National Historic Site to World Biosphere Reserve (York Blvd to Aberdeen)

Date: Monday, March 22, 2010

Time: 7 to 9 p.m.

Location: Parish Hall, St. Joseph Church, Locke at Herkimer, Hamilton

Dundurn is a street on the cusp of redeveloping and forging a new identity. You are invited to a community meeting to learn about and provide your input into how it could look in the future.

Agenda:

· Councillor McHattie will speak about his vision of Dundurn Street

· Khaldoon Ahmad, City of Hamilton Urban Design and David Cumming, City of Hamilton Heritage and Urban Design will speak about potential streetscapes on Dundurn as well as the concept of Dundurn as a “Complete Street”

· Al Fletcher, City of Hamilton Planning will speak about what Dundurn might look like under the new Mixed Use zoning and by-law reform; this could include intensification opportunities

· Daryl Bender, City of Hamilton Alternative Transportation will speak about the Shifting Gears Cycling Master Plan, TDM (Transportation Demand Management), and transit opportunities

· Zach Douglas, CEO of McMaster Innovation Park will provide an update on the current progress and how it ties into the future of Dundurn

The presentations will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Resources

Complete Streets

New Urbanism

Commercial & Mixed Use Zoning

Shifting Gears – Hamilton’s Cycling Master Plan

TDM - Transportation Demand Management

McMaster Innovation Park

DDTMP PIC

The Downtown Dundas Transportation Master Plan (DDTMP) is going into the 60 day review period, with a Public Information Centre (PIC) on Tuesday December 15, 2009, 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Dundas Municipal Centre (Dundas Town Hall) 60 Main Street, Dundas, ON L9H 5E7.

(The city's pdf announcement is here.)

The 60-day review period began December 4, 2009.

Please attend the PIC and add your comments. TLC will need to meet and discuss our submission to the review.

Pedaling the Planet's Future

Environment Hamilton's Don McLean (pictured) speaks at the Pedal for the Planet event today outside City Hall in Burlington, Ontario. He spoke of the need for action to reduce the effects of climate change and referred to actions planned in Hamilton this coming October 24, 2009, part of the 350.org climate movement. The 350 web site spells out their cause this way:

A year ago, our greatest climatologist—NASA’s James Hansen—and his team produced a landmark series of studies. They showed that if we let the amount of carbon in the atmosphere top 350 parts per million, we can’t have a planet “similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted.”

The bad news is we’re already past that number—we’re at 390 parts per million, which is why the Arctic is melting, why drought is spreading across the planet, why people are already dying from diseases like dengue fever and malaria occurring in places where they’ve never been seen before.

Meanwhile, the event hosts, who happen to be pedaling their bicycles to Ottawa from myriad starting points in Canada, are taking a message of their own to Canadian politicians.

A new international climate change treaty will be signed next December and the final negotiations are happening now. But Canada is blocking progress. Pedal for the Planet is a chance for Ontarians to send a clear message to Ottawa: we want our country to make us proud and start acting like a leader in global efforts to confront climate change. Cyclists from across the country will converge on Parliament Hill on September 15th.

Pedal for the Planet is an initiative of KYOTOplus, a national, non-partisan, petition-centred campaign for urgent federal government action on climate change that is supported by more than 70 health, environment, labour, youth, women, development, peace and social justice organizations.

Pedal for the Planet riders will hit cities across southern Ontario over the next two weeks, visiting Members of Parliament to ask them to sign the KYOTOplus pledge. “We’re hoping to get as many signatories as possible,” says Cane. “Canada is one of the last industrialized countries opposed to targets for deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This is an opportunity for everyone to join together to call for federal government action on climate change.”

So, there are obviously things you can do to make a difference, like using alternatives to private automobiles such as car-pooling, transit, cycling, and walking; but some, like these groups, are doing this and more: they are not letting politicians off the hook for fiddling while the planet burns.

city walks

Community walks inspired by Jane Jacobs TheSpec.com - Local - Community walks inspired by Jane Jacobs

The Hamilton Spectator, (Apr 29, 2009)

The community spirit of Jane Jacobs is inspiring two neighbourhood walks on the weekend.

Architect Ken Coit will lead a free walking tour of Westdale Saturday at 11 a.m.

Charlie Mattina, who grew up in the James Street North neighbourhood, will lead a tour there Sunday at 1 p.m.

The tours mark Hamilton's first experiences with a program called Jane's Walk, named for urban thinker Jane Jacobs, who wrote about connections between people, buildings and neighbourhoods.

In a Jane's Walk, an organizer leads an informal tour of a neighbourhood, discussing its historical, architectural, social or other characteristics, such as popular shortcuts and local personalities.

Saturday's walk starts at the Westdale branch of the Hamilton Public Library on King Street West. Sunday's starts at the Mixed Media store at James and Cannon streets.

car co-op

Groups float city car-share plan TheSpec.com - Local - Groups float city car-share plan

The Hamilton Spectator, (Mar 5, 2009)

Thousands of people in Toronto do it.

Share cars.

Guelph, Waterloo and other cities across North America also have non-profit services that rent cars to people who don't need to drive every day.

And now an alliance of two environmental groups and one church now want to gauge interest in setting up a Hamilton car-share co-operative.

To do it, they're inviting anyone interested to attend a presentation at 7 p.m. Wednesday at First Unitarian Church, 170 Dundurn St. S. The event is sponsored by Green Venture, Clean Air Hamilton and the church's social justice committee, which hope some who attend will take on a leadership role and participate in two next-steps workshops to develop a made-in-Hamilton sharing plan.

Guest speaker will be Mike Driscoll, president of the Guelph Community Car Co-operative (guelphcarshare.org).

more than ready for cycling stuff

Cycling in Hamilton: updates and ideas with City Cycling Coordinator Daryl Bender

Begins at November 26th 19:00 PM ending on November 26th 21:00 PM

MDCL 3024

Transportation for Liveable Communities (OPIRG), MacGreen, MaCycle, ACT office

The City of Hamilton is updating their Shifting Gears Cycling plan, and they want your input - McMaster gets a chance to meet with Daryl Bender, the city's alternative transportation coordinator, to hear about suggested updates to the cycling network, and to provide input.

Don't miss this opportunity to contribute to cycling in Hamilton!

Wednesday, November 26, from 7-9pm in the MDCL room 3024.

tlchamilton.org


The City is hosting a round of Public Information Centres in November 2008 for this study. Your review of information presented at these centres is encouraged and the submission of your comments is welcomed.

DATE: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, 100 Main St. W, Hamilton/Downtown

DATE: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Stoney Creek Municipal Service Centre, 777 Jones Road, Hamilton/Stoney Creek

DATE: Tuesday, November 25, 2008
TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Ancaster Rotary Centre, 385 Jerseyville Road West, Hamilton/Ancaster

DATE: Thursday, November 27, 2008
TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Sackville Hill Seniors Recreation Centre, 780 Upper Wentworth Street, Hamilton/Mountain

getting ready to walkabout

Sustainable transportation takes to the streets and sidewalks on Governor's Road in Dundas May 29, 2008, as parents, city staff, principals and teachers, along with politicians and media join TLC volunteers in a walkabout to look for ways to improve the walking and cycling environment in the vicinity of three schools on a one kilometer stretch of road.

The event was part of Safe Kids Week.

Thanks to the organizing efforts of TLC volunteer Erin Willson, supported by Hamilton Public Health nurses Sharon Mackinnon and Sue Connell, and a small grant from Safe Kids Canada, much insight was gained on needed improvements, with action to follow.

Participants used checklists and information provided by Safe Kids Canada to evaluate the area around the schools for safety and comfort for children walking or cycling, and identified areas in need of improvement.

A fuller report will follow at a later date.

Thanks for all who gave their time to make this important event a success!

commuter challenge

TLC had a table at the Active Transportation Fair, Friday, May 30, at McMaster University where we handed out cycling route maps, and a tlc flyer. We also met other groups working on creating a sustainable transportation system including the HSR with a bus bike rack for people to try, MaCycle with their free bike tune-ups, GO transit, the city of Hamilton strategic planning department with a survey on rapid transit, and McMaster Security with free bike identification engraving.

Congrats to the organizers from McMaster's ACT office.

June 1-7, 2008 is the Commuter Challenge, you can find out more and register your participation here.

The week includes free HSR on Clean Air Day, Wednesday, June 4, if you have your wristband/bracelet, and participation (i.e. logging your daily commute) gets you a chance at a grand prize of VIA train tickets for two, anywhere in the Quebec-Windsor corridor.