MIP REVIEW

October 20, 2005
Alan Waterfield, MCIP, RPP
Planning & Development Department
City of Hamilton
Fax: (905) 643 - 7250

RE: West Hamilton industrial area land use and servicing review.

We are writing on behalf of "Transportation for Liveable Communities" (TLC), a working group of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), McMaster.

The planned development at the "Camco" site by McMaster presents a rare opportunity to change what is currently a dangerous but important cycling route.

TLC has long been deeply concerned with the poor infrastructure available for alternative transportation users in the area under review.

We expect that the opportunity to upgrade the cycling and pedestrian infrastructure will be central to the process and taken seriously.

It is important for all people involved in the planned development to recognize that the proposed Innovation Park will accommodate thousands of students, staff and faculty, many of whom prefer to commute by foot and bicycle.

Therefore it is important that the proposed development ameliorate the poor connectivity currently available for alternative transportation users between McMaster area as well as shopping and entertainment areas including Locke St, Hess St and downtown.

We request that the city and other stakeholders take all necessary steps to ensure that any new development in the area includes:

• Implementation of the Shifting Gears Cycling Plan calling for bike lanes on Longwood Road South, Aberdeen to Main by modifying existing 4 lane to 3 lanes and bike lanes.
• Shifting Gears Plan for Aberdeen, Studholme to Longwood - reconstruct and widen.
• Safe bike routes from McMaster to entry points to the innovation park on Longwood Rd. and Frid St. by extending bike lanes along Longwood between Main Street and the Northern leg of the bike lanes at Franklin Avenue, and a connection to link the bike lanes on Sterling Street with Longwood Rd.
• A safe bike route from the east, connecting the current routes on Charlton Avenue and Herkimer Street to the innovation park, perhaps through Chatham St.
• A safe bike route from the proposed eastern extension to the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail. This will probably require modifications to the current dangerous intersection at Beddoe Rd. and Aberdeen, which must include a traffic light.
• Access to the proposed innovation park from the north east requires careful consideration. Perhaps the most reasonable solution is to accommodate bike lanes on Dundurn St.
• Continuous (single stage) pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Main St. and Longwood Ave
• Maintenance of the current pedestrian light located mid-way between Aberdeen Ave and Main St.
• Of course, cycling and pedestrian routes leading to and near the proposed innovation park must continue into all destination within the park and proper bike racks must be located in front of all buildings. A bus terminal and added bus service will be necessary to accommodate public transportion users.
• Finally, we request that TLC will formally be included as an interested party in all the proposed developmental plans and expect to receive frequent detailed updates.

In addition to the mailing address contact above, please send e-mail correspondence to:

Randy Kay and  Reuven Dukas

Sincerely yours,

For TLC.

CC Councilor Brian McHattie.

PUMPED ON CAR FREE

Car-free riders not bothered by pump prices

By Rob Faulkner
The Hamilton Spectator(Sep 24, 2005) 

Randy Kay went car-free the day he dragged his Mercury Topaz -- smoking and dying -- onto the front yard of his mechanic's shop. 

"My car had a major breakdown," says Kay, a transportation activist at Ontario Public Research Interest Group McMaster. "There was smoke pouring out the front. I ran away. It was like an emergency situation." 

That was six years ago, when he ran away from car repair bills that ate into his credit union account. He dodged heavy traffic on the way to work in Mississauga, with a new job at McMaster. He bought a bike trailer for his girls. To leave town, he car pools or rents. 

But the odd thing is, as a week of Car Free Day events wrap up this weekend, even this well-known fan of bikes, boots and buses says the global car-free campaign can be too heavy-handed. Maybe "car-light" is an easier sell. 

"I think car free is a bit misleading, and alienates people who think, 'Oh, so if I own a car, it's not for me,'" Kay says. "It's really about how you use your car and the choices you make. You can have a car and feel good about yourself if you use it wisely. And gas prices may focus attention on things like idling." 

Yesterday, the volunteers who report prices to Hamiltongasprices.com saw gas as high as $1.18 a litre. On Thursday rumours became reality as gas hit $2.15 a litre at a Pioneer station in Fruitland and $2.02 in Grimsby. 

Ironically, the day of near-brawls at gas pumps was Car Free Day. The Danes were the most devoted, banning cars for three days from central Copenhagen. Hundreds of cities joined in. 

In Hamilton, the week saw women-only bike repair clinics, historical harbour tours by bike, and a bike-in movie night at the Gage Park bandshell. It ends tomorrow with a Cootes Paradise hike led by naturalist-turned-councillor Brian McHattie. (Meet at 10 a.m., McMaster Student Centre room 229.)

CULTURE OR CARS?

VIEW MAGAZINE COVER STORY, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005

IT'S TIME TO TRADE IN OUR CAR CULTURE

for 24 hours, at least, if not longer, as Hamilton celebrates International Car Free Day By Sarah Cairns
"The car has become... an article of dress without which we feel uncertain, unclad, and incomplete."
Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, 1964

Is going car-free in Hamilton the most preposterous idea you've ever heard? That depends on how you feel once we look a little deeper into the issues surrounding our autocentric lifestyle. The idea that cars equal freedom, efficiency and economic good sense is a well-preserved myth, and one that needs to be questioned in an age of rapidly declining sustainability.

Many factors perpetuate this phenomenon, not the least of which is corporate advertising that links cars to human values and social normality. This mass media barrage provides the psychological reinforcement of a car culture that begins in childhood with our collection of dinky cars and dreams of 16-year-old freedom.

"I think we need to burst the little bubble we're in with respect to cars," says Randy Kay of Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC), a working group of McMaster's Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG). "We need to shock people a bit or make a fuss (so it's) noticed that there is more to life than working to make your car payment and your gas bill."


And despite current outrage at the pumps, fuel, like the proverbial talk, is still cheap. "When you compare the cost of a litre of fuel to a litre of water - knowing that water is mined locally and fuel is mined a world or country away, it's shocking," relates Daryl Bender, one of two coordinators at Mac's Alternative Commuting & Transportation office (ACT).

But it isn't just paying for the obvious. Even those who don't own a car, either through choice or economic limitation, pay to subsidize driving habits. When you take the hidden costs into consideration the price of a car balloons into an enormous liability. The Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VPTI), a think tank that researches practical solutions to transportation problems, estimates that traffic congestion cost the U.S. economy $44,190 billion in 2001 alone. Increased road and parking expenditures average $264 U.S. per household per year and the health care costs of a sedentary lifestyle equals $150 billion U.S. in direct expenditures annually.

As for efficiency, theorist Ivan Illich noted in Energy & Equity that that, "the model American puts in 1, 600 hours to get 7,500 miles - less than five miles per hour." In addition, "people solely dependent on their feet move on the spur of the moment, at three to four hours miles per hour, in any direction and to any place from which they are not legally or physically barred.

How's that possible? Well, speed equals the distance you travel divided by the time it takes. However, the time it takes includes more than the time spent driving. It includes working to pay for your car, sitting in gridlock, insurance, depreciation, parking, fines and repairs.

According to Go For Green, a national non-profit, the average vehicle expense per year is just over $9,000. That seems like an excessive amount of money to pay to travel one to two miles per hour faster by car, especially when you consider that with the average net salary of $30,000 it takes over three months a year to pay for your car.

Environmentally speaking, the highly publicized effects of air pollution are not the only issue related to automobiles. As a short piece entitled Dirty From Cradle to Grave by John Whitelegg points out, "only 40 per cent of an average car's air pollution is emitted during the car's driving life stage. The other 60 per cent results from other life stages the extraction of raw materials, the transport of raw materials, the production of the car, and the disposal of the car. Cars emit 56 per cent of their pollution before they ever hit the road and four per cent after they are retired. Thus efforts to decrease air pollution by getting old, polluting cars off the road to only replace them with new, "cleaner" cars are misguided, as such efforts have focused on pollution emitted solely during the driving stage and thus have missed 60 per cent of the problem.


In addition, noise pollution, climate change, and death and injury related accidents are all attributed to our obsession with automobiles. The City's Social & Public Health Services annual Health Issues Report notes that reported collisions involving pedestrian and vehicles average 289 a year in Hamilton.
"(Cars are) having serious impacts upon our personal and public lives; it's really something that's gotten out of control, its gotten way too big and it doesn't work. It's not efficient, it's not effective and it doesn't make much sense," relates Kay.

"When a Go train moves four times as many passengers as there are during rush hour in the Greater Toronto Area and the rush hour people aren't rushing anywhere, they're sitting in traffic, then you can start to see that our priorities and our choices are out of whack with what needs to be happening."


Enter Car Free Day. Internationally recognized on September 22, it's a jollification of alternative transportation modes and boasts over 100 million participants in 1,500 cities annually. Spear headed by Kay and other volunteers at TLC, Car Free Day in Hamilton celebrates "the people who do get around other ways, giving them a bit of recognition for what they're doing. I think it's time to say 'yeah you're doing a good thing."


"In Europe, Car Free Day is very much a municipal government directed movement. It started grassroots, then they really embraced the idea so that whole cities are participating and throwing lots of energy and time and effort and money into making an excellent party," Kay reveals.

"In North America it's quite a different scene. I can't speak for all cities, but I know cities like Montreal and others have participated at an official level and supported it, but in Hamilton we haven't had much luck."


While getting political buy-in for the event has been challenging, TLC has achieved a few car-free victories. Cycling lanes have been incorporated onto Sterling and Longwood, a pedestrian-activated light was installed along Cootes Drive at Sandhurst (sic), and the Main West Fortinos agreed to continue the bike lane connecting the rail trail to downtown Hamilton.

"I think without our activism a lot of these things wouldn't be happening," says Kay. "It's definitely not been a political leadership issue at City Hall. They're not the ones out there saying 'yes we need to do this,' it's been a grassroots volunteer movement that pushed them into a position where they actually had to start doing something. We still have a long way to go, but we've had some successes and there will be many more in the future."


With just $150 a year to spend on Car Free Day, TLC advocates organizing your own street party. "Hopefully people will read the article and run out and play road hockey or do something with their neighbours on Car Free Day," says Kay.

"Kent Street is doing it again this year, but they're having it a week later. That it doesn't happen on Car Free Day doesn't really matter. The point is they had such a good time last year that they're doing it again. That's building a better community."


While a celebration of alternatives is a great idea and gives those of us currently car free a well-deserved pat on the back, leaving your automobile behind does requires some forethought to incorporate sustainable transportation into our daily lives. One short- term suggestion is the combo approach that works well in an autocentric city like Hamilton. The multi-modal option incorporates discretionary car use, ride sharing, walking, cycling, transit and telecommuting.

Over the long term personal choice becomes much more of an issue. "If you're going to move or live somewhere else you have to think about what that means in terms of driving. Am I going to be close to work? Close to the stores and the things I need to be close too? Or am I living out somewhere where I'll be car dependent?" questions Kay. "So I think it's a choice of seeing, first of all, that there are other options and then pursuing choices over time that make it achievable."

Bender agrees. "The less people drive, the less we have to build expressways, the less we have to widen roads and the more we have a chance to make our urban spaces people spaces as opposed to car spaces."


V

CAR FREE DAY 2005 in Hamilton

a week long celebration by Transportation for Liveable Communities
media reports

• Monday, September 19 - GUIDED BUS/HIKE TO WEBSTER'S FALLS (Dundas) - meet at front entrance to McMaster Medical Centre 5:30 pm sharp. Take a city bus then hike to beautiful Spencer Gorge and Webster's Falls in Dundas. Mac students bring your student card with HSR sticker for a free ride
• Tuesday September 20, WOMEN ONLY BIKE REPAIR WORKSHOP at OPIRG�s RECYCLE CYCLES � 6-9 p.m. � Recycle Cycles is a volunteer run bike repair workshop located in the basement of Erskine Presbyterian Church (19 Pearl Street North) � to register of for more information call Dean at 905-577-7753
• Wednesday September 21 - HISTORICAL HARBOUR BICYCLE TOUR w/BRIAN HENLEY - meet 5:00 pm at mcmaster's wentworth house (Sterling Street entrance) - take a bicycle tour of the waterfront trail with local historian Brian Henley. Learn about the rich natural and social history of the region. Free
• Wednesday, September 21, Gage Park at dusk � FAMILY CAR FREE MOVIE NIGHT - a "drive-in" without the cars. Come for a free outdoor movie at the historic Gage Park bandshell. Feature: The Triplets of Belleville. Gage and Cumberland - take a Delaware bus - bring snacks.
• Thursday September 22 - STREET PARTIES, everywhere! September 22 is CAR FREE DAY, celebrated around the world. Hold a street party, or road hockey game in your neighbourhood. Reclaim the streets from cars.
• Friday, September, 23 - CAR FREE SPECIAL CRITICAL MASS BIKE RIDE, 5:30 p.m. Hess and George. Hamilton cyclists have been meeting for the monthly bike ride since May 1998. Join in and make bikes big on the streets!
• Sunday, September 25 - CAR FREE COOTES - take a guided hike in McMaster's back-yard, Cootes Paradise Nature reserve with Ward One Councillor BRIAN McHATTIE (former President Hamilton Naturalist Club). Meet at 10:00 am at the OPIRG office, McMaster Student Centre room 229.

ban the bus

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Sent to MSU and McMaster administration and parking staff via e-mail
 
Transportation for Liveable Communities is a volunteer working group of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group at McMaster University. TLC seeks to improve conditions and infrastructure that supports and actively encourages healthy and sustainable transportation modes, including walking, transit, cycling and car pooling.

As TLC understands the issue of the McMaster shuttle bus service to parking zones 6 and 7, there are four buses operating during peak hours. A full loop takes roughly 12 minutes, which puts the service level at a diesel-burning bus every three minutes. On the other hand, students, faculty and staff using the environmentally friendly option of HSR buses face wait times of a significant magnitude longer. If the University is to pursue its stated and worthy goal to reduce SOV use in favour of other modes (McMaster's Environmental Action Plan: "shift 15% of 2004 single-occupant vehicle trips to other modes by 2010"), then the differential between HSR service and Shuttle Bus service needs to be brought into a more equitable balance.

TLC is concerned with the MSU position, as stated in the Sil, that would maintain the status quo, i.e. no reduction of service, no increase in parking fees. Quoting from the Sil article "The bus stops here...for now, July 4, 2005, we are particularly concerned with the following statement: 

"Based on the cost to park in Zones 6 and 7, students are already paying for that service....If any reduction or elimination of service were to happen, it would have to correspond with a significant decrease in the parking fee for that space." (MSU President Tommy Piribauer) 

In regard to the above statement, TLC notes that it is arguable whether or not the costs are being paid.

According the official campus plan, "Parking fees for 11 other universities in both suburban and urban locations in Canada and the United States, have been reviewed...the results show that the minimum parking fees for the Canadian institutions range from $95 per semester (Simon Fraser University, which is in a suburban/rural location) to a high of $250 per semester (University of Ottawa, which is in an urban location and includes structured parking on campus). The American universities surveyed generally have higher parking rates, ranging up to $600 (Canadian) per semester. The parking fees at McMaster range from $45 per semester on West Campus to $144 per semester in Zones 1 and 2....McMaster's current parking fees are significantly less than fees in many other universities. (Campus Master Plan 5:8)"

The true cost of encouraging car use needs to be considered. TLC was pleased to read that the link between transportation and smog was made by McMaster's VP Administration Karen Belaire, a connection that is dangerously overlooked in some discussions on car use. TLC might add that the cost to the public goes further than increased air pollution: we must consider the poisons that leak into the environment from parked cars (oil, gasoline, anti-freeze, washer-, brake-, transmission-fluids, etc.), the burden of costs for emergency services and healthcare costs related to car accidents, and the destruction of sensitive habitat.

For context, it is important to note that the parking areas served by the shuttle bus are, unfortunately, built on the natural flood plain for Ancaster Creek. The McMaster Campus Plan suggests establishing a "minimum 30 metre buffer adjacent to the Ancaster Creek" with enhanced "natural landscapes and habitat," (Figure 4-B, Campus Master Plan), a plan supported by the Hamilton Conservation Authority with an interest in local water quality protection and improvements.

With Canada failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in keeping with our Kyoto commitments, with global climate change looming ever larger, TLC strongly urges the MSU and McMaster Administration to work together to seek a reasonable course of action to address this looming catastrophe: cutting back on the white bus service to one bus every 12 minutes would go a long way toward encouraging drivers to seek alternative means (bus, bicycle, car-pool) thereby contributing to our ability to meet our Kyoto commitments.

The significance of this action should not be discounted: "Vehicles are the number one source of smog producing pollutants in North America." (Ontario Ministry of Transportation.) Reducing the shuttle service would lead to improved local air quality and provide the University with significant savings financially, the current service costs for the shuttle bus expected to rise over the current half a million dollar a year ($530,000 per year, Sil July 4, 2005) to $600,000.

TLC is very interested in the outcome of these deliberations, and would appreciate being kept appraised of developments and any opportunities for consultation.

Sincerely,
Randy Kay (for TLC)

Bridge To Car-Free

Wednesday, June 22, 2005
re. Valley Inn Bridge EA

Transportation for Liveable Communities is a volunteer working group of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group at McMaster University. TLC seeks to improve conditions and infrastructure that supports and actively encourages healthy and sustainable transportation modes, including walking, transit, cycling and car pooling.

Car Free areas, especially adjacent to significant environmental areas like the Harbour and Grindstone Creek are an aspect of liveable communities, giving citizens and tourists access to tranquil natural areas while limiting negative environmental impacts of automobile traffic: "Traffic safety, traffic noise and local air pollution, affordability, impervious surface coverage (i.e., the portion of land devoted to roads and parking), preservation of environmental and cultural structures, and opportunities for recreation are all livability factors." (Litman, http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm97.htm)

As Smart Growth initiatives and in-fill begin to re-shape our cities, we need to protect and enhance the valuable natural assets we have. The Harbour, and in particular the area at the mouth of Grindstone Creek, is a natural asset to be enjoyed by the local community and visitors to the region. Making areas of environmental sensitivity more attractive by limiting car traffic would be a boost for the entire region, both in terms of limiting pollution and road/bridge repair/maintenance costs locally, and more broadly, in terms of city image as an attractive and beautiful city with easy access to car-free natural areas.

Valley Inn Road already serves as an important link in the regional cycling network, and lends itself to low impact transportation options suggested by the car-free option. The cycling and pedestrian environment would be made safer by restricting automobile traffic.

The prohibitive financial costs of maintaining, replacing and/or upgrading the bridge, plus the likely negative cost to the natural area due to such construction, should be seen as an opportunity for ecological enhancement with beneficial impacts for human and non-human species. "From an ecological perspective this could be called the principle of least effort....the idea that maximum environmental, economic and social benefits are available from minimum resources and energy." (Hough, Michael. The City and Natural Process, 18)

The minuscule amount of automobile traffic using the road will not be negatively impacted since such traffic is well served by nearby roads.

TLC would like to see the Valley Inn bridge maintained as a pedestrian and cyclist link, while closing the bridge to automobile traffic.

Thanks for your attention to this matter. Please don't hesitate to contact TLC with any questions or concerns.

Frontal Letter

6 June 2005
Dr. Peter George,
President
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West,
Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L8
Re: Safety concerns associated with McMaster's new vehicle entrance.

Dear Dr. George,

I am writing on behalf of Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC), a working group of McMaster's chapter of OPIRG (Ontario Public Research Interest Group).

In the interest of improved sustainability and safety we write to you during the Commuter Challenge week. TLC members believe that McMaster University has not properly addressed several safety and transportation issues related to the new front entrance. We outline these problems along with suggestions for improvements below.

1. The "Front Entrance Design" document states that: "Permit holders for Zone 3 will not be permitted to use the new road. Only HSR and GO buses, occasional visitors to campus, and service vehicles will use it. Projected volume is very low - similar to that of a local street" (page 14 of The Draft Report, April 2004). We have heard, however, a few rumours that this clear promise by several McMaster administrators will not be kept. Given the persistency of these rumours, we wish to receive an explicit plan outlining how Physical Plant intends to enforce usage of the entrance only by HSR buses and occasional visitors and service vehicles (GO buses are already diverted from the central campus, an arrangement that should represent a positive and permanent change).
We suggest the following: 

1. The Welcome Booth should have a stop sign and a large sign informing ALL Vehicles (with the exception of buses, bikes and emergency vehicles) to stop and check in. This Welcome Booth must be staffed from 7:30 AM until 10:00 PM to prevent reckless cruising of vehicles into the heart of McMaster.
2. Only Visitors who pay the parking fee should be allowed to drive past the booth. This restriction must apply to drop-offs if there is to be limited traffic on campus.
3. The staff working at the Welcome Booth should alert Campus Security if vehicles drive through without stopping and Security should respond quickly and ticket violators. Campus security must also closely monitor the entrance when the Welcome Booth will not be staffed.
4. McMaster University is formally committed to integrating with its surrounding community. Unfortunately, McMaster's administration has not bothered to insist upon the most basic pedestrian need, which is one-stage crossing of Main St, as part of the new front entrance design. This is in spite of the fact that this is a main thoroughfare of pedestrian traffic between the neighbourhoods south of Main St. and McMaster and the hospital. It is telling that a few hundred meters west of McMaster, the new Fortinos store has shown better care of its customers and managed to negotiate with the city of Hamilton two favourable traffic lights that stop simultaneously the two-way traffic on Main St for extended periods. The two-way traffic is also stopped simultaneously in two other intersections just east of McMaster. Arranging a single-stage crossing at Main street by working with city stuff will show necessary commitment to the safety of pedestrians and improved community atmosphere.

The intersection next to the A.N. Bournes Building is expected to become busy because drivers parking in parking lot zone 3 will have to use the Cootes Drive entrance. Unfortunately, the intersection is poorly designed and extremely dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists using the official alternative transportation route, which goes through McMaster and across Cootes Drive. The problem with this intersection is that alternative transportation users travel along an east-west route while automobiles travel along an east-north route AND north-south route, hence creating a dangerous conflict within a giant asphalt zone.

We urge you to take immediate steps for changing this intersection. To avoid health and safety risks to students and staff, temporary alterations will be necessary by the start of the next school year in September 2005. We suggest that the currently much too wide and ambiguous intersection will be changed into a full 4-way intersection with 4-way stop signs. The intersection would consist of three narrow roads from the east, north (the Cootes entrance) and south (the parking lot) and the alternative transportation route from the west. A temporary solution may involve stop signs and bollards.

McMaster University has worsened the situation at the Cootes crossing by creating a hazardous "temporary truck entrance". For safety reasons this entrance needs to be closed permanently by September 8th, 2005 and we suggest the removal of the asphalt and landscaping in the summer of 2006.

To show some commitment towards alternative transportation concerns the University must take this opportunity to enhance cycling and walking on campus and downplay the domination of automobiles. Even though the section of University Avenue north of the front entrance is supposed to be a pedestrian-priority area, pedestrian traffic is currently very restricted with two narrow sidewalks while the limited vehicular traffic enjoys unnecessarily ultra-wide lanes. If there is any real commitment to pedestrians on campus the sidewalks must be widened into the area that is currently roadway. The roadway should be reduced to the minimum 7 m necessary for two vehicular lanes. We assume that the wide roadway that is just being completed in the first phase of the front entrance construction is necessary to negotiate the curve. The opportunity to narrow the roadway for the remaining section heading North towards Gilmore Hall will enhance quality of life on campus.

We are pleased that raised pedestrian crossings have been implemented in the new road design. We wish to ensure that the two busy intersections northeast and northwest of the Psychology Building would have the necessary 3-way stop signs. Furthermore a sufficient number of signs must indicate the posted 20 k/h speed limit and warn drivers that they travel in pedestrian-priority area. Finally, official "no entry" traffic signs (buses, bikes and service vehicles excluded) will be necessary at prominent locations leading north into the limited access portion of University Avenue. Both the limited access and speed limited should be strictly enforced.

We understand that McMaster's administration wishes to make the campus more automobile friendly in order to increase the university's visibility to potential donors. However, many of the talented academics you wish to attract to and retain at McMaster place great value on the quality of life on campus. It is thus unfortunate that McMaster officials fail to understand and provide for the emotional and safety needs of its students, staff and employees. This failure reduces McMaster's competitiveness among Canadian Universities. TLC members look forward to receiving a detailed reply to our requests soon.

Sincerely yours,


Jim

James S. Quinn, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
For Transportation for Liveable Communities.
CC Mr. Tommy Piribauer, President, MSU.
Dr. Betty Ann Levy, President, MUFA
Councillor Brian McHattie
Ms. Nancy Wilk (to be distributed to the Central Joint Health and Safety Committee and to the various faculty or building Joint Health and Safety committees)
TLC

Dundas Walk-About

TLC Members "Walk-About" Dundas with ward councillor Art Samson

Members of TLC arranged a "walk-about" with Dundas ward 13 councillor Art Samson to look at sustainable transportation from the ground up.

Roads without proper sidewalks, no convenient bike racks near stores, missing ramps for wheelchairs, crosswalks that don't align with ramps were all noticed during the exploratory walk.

Transit, or lack thereof was also discussed, as were the lack of bike lanes on Hatt Street, and the need to protect the Spencer Creek trail as a through footpath were also on the agenda.

CAR FREE WEEK IN HAMILTON!

MUSICAL LINE-UP FOR RECLAIM THE STREET PARTY, Sept. 25. 
A WEEK OF CAR FREE EVENTS! September 20 - 26, 2004
contact info for each event below

Monday, September 20, GUIDED BUS 'N HIKE trip from McMaster University to Spencer Gorge (Tews/Websters Falls). Take a city bus then hike the beautiful Spencer Gorge to Websters Falls in Dundas.
Meet your guide, Tony Hendry, at the front entrance of the McMaster Medical Centre (Main Street) at 5:30 p.m. sharp. Full-time McMaster Students use your student card with valid HSR sticker for a free ride.
Bring water and a snack, wear proper clothing, some section rugged terrain. Aprox. 2 hour trip.
Contact Tony: Nocleanair@aol.com

Tuesday, September 21, GUIDED BICYCLE TOUR from McMaster to the Waterfront Trail. Local Historian Brian Henley will mount-up to lead the bicycle tour of the historical harbour along a multi-use path (i.e. suitable for cycling, roller blading and walking). (Under two-hours, easy ride)
Meet at McMaster University's Wentworth House (at Sterling Street) at 5:45 p.m. sharp.
Bring your bike in to the Mac Cycle Co-Op (at Wentworth House) an hour before the departure for a free bike check up! Contact Paul: PAUL.UY@learnlink.mcmaster.ca

Tuesday, September 21, CAR FREE ART, POETRY, MUSIC and FILM night, 7:30 p.m. at the STAIRCASE CAFE THEATRE (27 Dundurn Street North) Celebrate Car Free Day with performances by poets Jeff Seffinga, April A. Severin, Tony Hendry, music by Pauline Kajiura, and John Buffalo Shield plus OPEN MIC.
Check out the CAR FREE ART SHOW in the cafe with art by Gord Pullar, April A. Severin, Richard Preston, Peter Karuna, Tony Hendry, Myles Hagar, Matt McInnis, Jennifer Weiler, Cees Van Gemerden, and others. Contact April: aseverin@sympatico.ca
At 9:00 p.m. it's the feature film RUN LOLA RUN! in the Staircase Theatre.


Wednesday, September 22, CAR FREE DAY street parties - It's your street, take it back! Invite your neighbours out for a traffic-calming street-party. Turn the tables on cars by making them "visitors" in your area. Don't want to party? Hold a street garage sale, road hockey, etc. Going for it? We want to know about it! Send an e-mail to grassroots@hwcn.org. Contact Randy - grassroots@hwcn.org

Wednesday, September 22, McMaster Celebrates Car Free with a non-stop cycle of events, including Quadricycle tours with Darryl, cargo carts, H20 for cyclists and transit riders and more. Mac Cycle will be doing repair workshops, safe cycling course and bike buddy offers
Thursday, September 23 - "BIKE DRIVE-IN" at GAGE PARK BANDSHELL. Free Car Free movies outdoors in beautiful Gage Park (Gage and Main, Hamilton) Movies begin at dusk. Contact Gord: gp@nas.net


Friday, September 24 - CRITICAL MASS BIKE RIDE, 5:30 pm Hess and George Street. Since May 1998, Hamilton Critcal Mass has been taking the street to celebrate one of humanity's best-loved inventions: The Bicycle! Grab a friend and head down to Hess Village for this 45 minute tour of the downtown.

Saturday, September 25 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.- STREET RECLAIMING - King William between James and Hughson is the place to be Saturday for the CAR FREE STREET RECLAIMING PARTY. Pepper Jack Cafe is hosting a musical event featuring tonnes of local talent including Matthew de Zoete, The Perennials, John Plescan, Punchbuggy Yellow, Soup & Ante, Raging Grannies and more. TLC is supplying the sod to convert pavement into a green oasis, and there will be street performers, magicians, the Scorpiotron interactive drum-kit/sculpture, face painting, badminton, and free bike repair clinics by Recycle Cycles.


While you are there check out the local eateries for some downtown cooking.
Walk, Cycle, Take the Bus, Car Pool, but get there for the best street party in Hamilton!
Randy contact grassroots@hwcn.org 905-627-2696

Sunday, September 26 - CAR FREE COOTES - Ward One councillor Brian McHattie will lead a nature hike in the Carolinian forest and wetland known as Cootes Paradise. Owned by the Royal Botanical Gardens, it is steps away from the Westdale/McMaster/Dundas areas.
Brian is former President of the Hamilton Naturalist Club.
Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) McMaster office in the McMaster Student Centre room 229. Contact Randy: grassroots@hwcn.org

Background

Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC) is an all-volunteer "working group" of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) McMaster. TLC takes an active roll in advocating and agitating for sustainable transportation options for Hamilton.
 
TLC began celebrating Car Free Day in 2000 with a street demonstration/party and parade downtown Hamilton.

Europe has been holding annual CFD celebrations and events since 1999.

By far our most successful event was a STREET PARTY on King William Street, just east of Hughson in 2002 (last year's party got rained out).

Street musicians including Steve Sinnicks and Raging Grannies, Live DJs, Huffy the Clown with his balloon art, we even unrolled sod to temporarily de-pave the street. We used "street-hockey ettiquite" to limit access to motor vehicles.

One of the goals in celebrating Car Free Day is to get people thinking about streets as public spaces and the way cars have encroached and despoiled our city. It's also a chance to be part of an experiment to transform the space into a more liveable, community-supportive environment. Yes, you are allowed to have fun!

In past years we've had support from the Art Gallery of Hamilton, where two successive Sundays were given over to bike-themed films shown at the gallery for Car Free Day. One year, the Hamilton Street Railway provided thousands of Car Free Day leaflets on all their buses. Our cousins at Recycle Cycles have provided free bike tune-ups, and the ACT office at McMaster has been a great community partner.

We've had articles in the Hamilton Spectator and VIEW magazine and reports on Hamilton Indymedia and CFMU 93.3 fm about Car Free Day, and continue to work to expand the event.

Racing Away with the Cycling Money

WORLD CYCLING RACE - HAMILTON 2003 - "Cycling is not just a sport"

Cycling Is Not Just A Sport: It's Also Transportation!
 
City Council will have a difficult time ignoring the concerns of city cyclists when bike advocates show up to the 2nd floor council chambers with their vehicles.

On Thursday, Hamilton City Council's Committee of the Whole will be voting to "fast track" almost $12 million worth of road improvements so the city can host the 2003 World Cycling Championships.


The work being done for the World Championships will do nothing to make the streets safer for cyclists who live and ride in Hamilton all the time, even though three cyclists have already been killed by motor vehicles on Hamilton's roads this year, and many more injured.

Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC) is demanding that the city recognize that cycling is not just a sport but also a sustainable means of transportation, and fast track plans to make it a safer option in Hamilton.

Roads made up 46% of the city's 2001 capital budget. Approximately $29.3 million will be going towards expressways, particularly the Lincoln Alexander Expressway, and another $33.5 million will be going towards other road projects. The capital budget for cycling projects is only $300,000.

In a city where 20% of households lack cars, and 40% of residents say they cycle regularly or occasionally (Hamilton-Wentworth Community Cycling Survey, 1997), spending $209 on car-centric capital improvements for every $1 on cycling is not acceptable.

The city already has plans that, though imperfect, could make the roads safer for cyclists, and might prevent future deaths. TLC demands that the city immediately implement "Shifting Gears: A New Cycling Plan For The Hamilton-Wentworth" as well as the traffic calming measures for downtown as suggested in "Putting People First: Downtown Transportation Plan."

Transportation for Liveable Communities is a group of Hamilton citizens and McMaster university students committed to promoting sustainable means of transportation--walking, running, cycling, and public transit. We will be attending the Committee of the Whole meeting (Thursday, August 9, 2 pm, Hamilton City Hall's council chambers), along with our helmets, our reflective gear, and our bikes, to demand that City Council make it a priority to support cycling-as-transportation by fast tracking the money to make substantial, immediate capital improvements, just as it will be doing for cycling-as-sport.

MASS ANXIETY

by Randy Kay, April 3–9, 2003

Critical Mass Hamilton came out of hibernation last Friday with a “Pedal For Peace Critical Mass Bike Ride.”

Perhaps it was the mention of the word “Peace” but as the first cyclists arrive at the usual meeting spot at Hess and George Streets, squad cars of Hamilton’s finest are there, one idling in the pedestrian zone, another slowly cruising the area. Two beat cops stroll by to add to the police presence.

The threat? Today it is a peaceful group of cyclists who will ride together in a “mass” and feel safe on city streets as they celebrate alternatives to the private automobile. In a ride that’s too fun to be fully understood as a protest, Critical Mass has the power to fleetingly transform streets normally dominated by exhaust–spewing, carnage–producing motor vehicles and aggressive drivers.

At 5:10pm, one officer suggest he is unimpressed with the numbers, as only a dozen cyclists are on site greeting each other, talking amongst themselves. But slowly, steadily, more riders appear, cruising in from the north, south, east and west, until 20 minutes later the area is filled with 50–60 cyclists, in–line skaters and an intrepid McMaster student on an unicycle. The officer doesn’t mention numbers again, but begins vainly searching for a “leader.”

Fortunately, the cliché about leaders is easily disrupted by a gathering of Critical Mass. For example: police want to know the route, but the route is organic and depends on the mood and initiative of the Mass.

The Mass weaves through the downtown as people make decisions on the fly, ride “leaders”constantly in flux. Tired of hanging around with the paternalistic police, bicycle bells start to chime and at 5:38pm the bicycles coast out of Hess Street toward downtown, two police cruisers, lights flashing, now in tow.

Making their way through wide, one–way streets lacking basic infrastructure for cyclists, the Mass slows the pace of the city to what is arguably a calmer, saner, safer speed.

As cities in Iraq are bombarded, some on the ride equate the profligate burning of fossil fuels with the burning of human flesh in oil wars. “No more oil/No more war/Time to take our bikes out more!” goes the chant.

This sort of pro–active peace–mongering has police on edge? From sidewalks, pedestrians watch in amusement or disbelief as the group glides by Copps Colosseum, the Library, the Farmer’s Market. A cyclist with a knack for alliteration shouts out: “For fossil fuel–free fun/Bicycles are number one!” On his back a home–made sign “Burn Fat, Not Fuel.”

The grins on the faces of cyclists gives indication of just how liberating a ride like this can be. The lack of safe routes in the city acts as a deterrent to thousands of would–be cyclists; for some, Critical Mass is their first positive experience cycling downtown.

The riders wave and smile at drivers and pedestrians as they go, pedaling over downtown streets George, Caroline, Main, MacNab, King, Bay, York, Wilson, Hughson, Cannon, James, King William, John, Queen and finally Hess, 45 minutes later.

As the ride coasts to a stop back at Hess Village, riders give a cheer, followed by a pause of anticipation as the police clamber out of their cars to begin an over–the–top lecture. Clearly frustrated, the two officers invent and exaggerate incidents, including the presence of a TV crew from CH who will, it seems, broadcast the “reckless” and “embarrassing” display to innocent children. (A call to CH assignment editor Mike Miles dispels the officer’s claim.)

Sergeant Paul Johnston claims that they were “invited” and bemoans the fact that the riders spurned their offer to “help.”

Officer Bob Nelson arbitrarily assigns leadership status to one person and hands out a couple of laminated cards detailing Bicycle Fines. Nelson berates the citizen cyclists, calling them “idiots” and threatens to interfere with the next ride by charging cyclists for any infractions.

In a city with high rates of cars running red–lights, drunk drivers and a legacy of hit and runs leaving behind dead cyclists, when it is suggested that cars — not bikes in a Critical Mass ride — are the real threat to children, Officer Nelson just scoffs and tells the cyclist to “grow up — cars are here to stay.” (Ironically, for a week in October, police will be busy shutting down large portions of the city to accommodate cyclists in town for the World Road Racing Cycling Race.)

Despite the dressing down, departing cyclists seem buoyed by the buzz of the communal ride. The next Mass is set (as always) for the last Friday of the month, Friday April 25, 5:30pm starting at Hess and George Streets.

C'mon! Cootes Needs Changes!

January 20, 2004
Ms. Christine Lee-Morison,
Capital Planning
City of Hamilton
FAX 905-546-4435

Re: A major concern about part of the proposed Ainslie Wood / Westdale neighbourhoods transportation master plan.

We are writing on behalf of "Transportation for Liveable Communities" (TLC), a working group of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) at McMaster University.


TLC members found several well thought proposals for improving alternative transportation corridors, discussed on page 61 of the class EA for the proposed Ainslie Wood / Westdale neighbourhoods transportation master plan. However, we consider as unacceptable the proposed changes to the bicycle and pedestrian crossing at Cootes Drive and Sanders Boulevard (hereafter Cootes crossing). We think that the proposed Cootes crossing fails to address major negative environmental impacts at one of the most environmentally sensitive marshlands in our region, Cootes Paradise.

Whereas we hope that we can negotiate a resolution to our substantial concerns, we will have to involve the Ministry of Environment if you do not promptly outline a timely resolution process. Please note that we do not seek explanations but a suitable resolution procedure resulting in a safe Cootes crossing.

DEFFICIENCIES OF THE CLASS EA

The class EA correctly identifies Cootes crossing as a safety hazard on page 34. However, on the same page and on successive pages, the document depicts gross misunderstanding of pedestrian and cyclist needs. This failure must be corrected in order to prevent negative environmental consequences.

1. Improper description of Cootes crossing

Cootes crossing is one of the busiest junctions of alternative transportation corridors in west Hamilton and is well used by cyclists, pedestrians and runners for commuting and recreation. Cootes crossing appears on the official Hamilton Bike map as part of a signed bike route and is indeed well signed. At this crossing, cyclists, runners and pedestrians from Ancaster and Dundas converge on their way to McMaster University, Westdale and downtown Hamilton.

Unfortunately, however, the class EA wrongly refers to both Sanders Boulevard and the alternative transportation trail next to Cootes Drive as ending at Cootes crossing. Furthermore, we feel that the reference to "pedestrian infiltration" (line 17, page 34 of the class EA) is offending.

In short, the class EA fails to depict the importance of Cootes crossing, its current formal designation and, most importantly, the future positive environmental potential of a safe alternative transportation crossing in that location.

2. Failure to consider and to properly evaluate all reasonable and feasible alternatives

The class EA (page 34) correctly identifies Cootes crossing as a "safety hazard". It proceeds to consider the four alternatives of do nothing, close access, improve access and build overpass. Although improved access is the preferred alternative, neither the proposed improvements nor the evaluation criteria are appropriate.

First, given the importance of Cootes crossing and the necessity of generating a massive increase in alternative transportation users in this area, the city must provide a safe passage to alternative transportation users. Hence the critical question must be "is the preferred alternative safe?" The obvious answer, however, is no!

We believe that the only alternative that can allow for a safe Cootes crossing is a traffic signal. Disappointedly, this option was not considered.

3. Deficiency of the preferred alternative

The current official speed limit along much of Cootes Drive is 80 Km/h. A sign of 60 Km/h is posted approximately 100 m north of Cootes crossing. In reality, automobiles approaching Cootes crossing from either north or south currently travel at speeds exceeding 80 Km/h. Changing the 60 Km/h sign to 50 Km/h, which is the most substantial proposed "safety improvement" for Cootes crossing, will not make that crossing safe.

We are puzzled about the logic for, and cost effectiveness of, the proposed changes in curvature of the right lane approach from Main St. into Cootes Drive (see Figures on page 37). Either the current exit or the proposed reduced-curvature exit effectively serve as acceleration lanes by drivers heading north into the four-lane, divided highway of Cootes Drive, just a few hundred meter from the official 80 Km/h speed limit sign.

Finally, the proposed line markings are insufficient and unrealistic (see Figure on page 37). The Figure suggests a 1.5 m wide pedestrian crossing where dozens of pedestrians cross at the same time during peak commuting.

Our proposal

Research and professional polls have unambiguously indicated that a large number of people are prepared to switch to alternative modes of transportation if a safe route is provided between their community and work place. A safe Cootes crossing can make commuting in west Hamilton much more appealing. Thus a safe Cootes Crossing will help McMaster University and the City of Hamilton achieve their formally stated goal of generating a dramatic increase in the use of alternative modes of transportation.

We think that the only alternative that can allow for a safe Cootes crossing is a pedestrian/cyclist activated traffic signal and physical traffic-calming measures to slow traffic (ex. raised table). We realize that a traffic light may cause minimal delay to vehicles. However, the environmental cost of a massive increase in automobile traffic and parking next to Cootes Paradise are much higher.

Sincerely yours,

For the members of Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC)
CC Mr. Brian McHattie, City of Hamilton

PLAYING IN TRAFFIC

Despite minor interventions by weather and some very large Hamilton police, Car Free Day was a huge success in Hamilton.

Precisely, at 3:00 pm, as 50 cyclists prepared to depart for a Critical Mass bike ride the lurking, massive grey clouds opened up and poured rain all over the place. The shower, which lasted only a few minutes failed to dampen the rider's spirits: the sun was soon shining again on cleaner streets as the ride coasted out of Hess Village and onto downtown Hamilton streets.

The ride snaked its way through the downtown, a traffic calming, pollution halting mass of cyclists, including young children, enjoying the safety and thrill of riding together on streets built to serve the speed of cars rather than the needs of sustainable transportation.

The ride flowed over Main, King, Bay, York, James, John, Wilson, Catherine, Hughson and, half an hour later, rolled in to King William street to begin a street party that would last the next two and a half hours.

The vision of children playing in a liberated street space is a powerful one. In an urban environment overrun by roads and motor vehicles and polluted with smog and noise, the sight of children chalk drawing, dancing, running freely and playing is a joyful sight.

Adults were experiencing the pleasure of the car free space by reclining on pavement covered with sod, by mingling and talking, laughing and dancing to live music and live Djs.

Cars coming upon the scene looked for an alternate route, while the few insistent drivers who didn't quite get the message were escorted through a crowd which gave way slowly to allow them passage. It was "street hockey" etiquette that put the car in its place by reversing the usual power structure that sees cars dominate and erode human spaces.

People passing by on the Barton bus looked with astonishment on a scene that jarred with the normal reality for auto-inflicted Hamiltonians: here were people reclaiming streets for human interaction, for people not cars, for clean air not smog, for life not death.

Approximately 40 minutes into the festivities the group was challenged by two Hamilton police beat officers who, after stumbling upon an unauthorized expression of joy, eventually called in backup to deal with the dancing, chalk drawing, bubble-blowing crowd of all ages. An SUV-sized Sergeant Harris arrived on the scene and after some quick sizing-up, informed the celebrants that while the event was likely illegal ("we're not going to quibble over it" he informed us- we had no permit - imagine, a permit to use your own streets!), the police would "give us a break" and allow the party to continue. He warned that we were "lucky this time."

WE SHALL PROCEED... 

Lucky were the people who like their streets safe, active and democratic. The one remaining bike-officer stayed for a short while and then disappeared to leave the car free crowd to their own non-automotive devices. With only the occasional undercover drive-by, the party continued with a musical line up which included local performers Luna Tico drummers, Steve Sinnicks, Hamilton's knitters of radical song the Raging Grannies, and Guelph-based DJ Skywok with DMS and Jesse Miller spinning awesome techno and house.

The Rude Native Bistro on King William was the anchor for much of the day, setting up an outdoor food table on their narrow patio (a car free street would allow for expanded patio space) and accommodated our requests by allowing musicians to plug-in to their power supply until the tardy portable generator arrived.

They understood the value of a people friendly space and were totally in support of the idea of car free city spaces.

The estimated one hundred people who braved the threatening weather helped to create a vision of a possible -- and if we are to save the planet, a necessary -- car free future. And of course a party to remember and build on.

Local bike-mechanics from Recycle Cycles set up a bike stand to do free bike tune-ups for lucky cyclists. For the past five years these volunteer mechanics have been running a bike-repair workshop in the basement of a church, taking donated bikes and fixing them up to sell cheaply to people who can't afford, or don't want, the latest high-end bike model.


Huffy the Clown, a regular at Car Free Days in Hamilton, was there creating balloon animals for grateful children, some of whom took advantage of free face-paint; and there was a rusty honda civic which was made available to receive painted messages signaling an end to the automobile age and calling for a sustainable transportation future: "Paint the Car into Oblivion" read the banner above the car.

Indeed, it seemed entirely possible during those few hours of car freedom.
____________________________

Hamilton Indymedia was there. The McMaster Silhouette sent a reporter and photographer to cover the event for the student paper at the university. And although the corporate media was notified they failed to show. Hamilton's only daily newspaper the Spectator was apparently busy working on important breaking news items for Monday, with the following headlines destined for the front page: "Chief wants hookers off streets," "Halloween pumpkins smaller this year," "Autumn's here, and that's all there is to it" and "City wards get names for next vote." 
 
Recycle Cycles is always looking for volunteers to help repair bikes and learn bike repair skills (all skill levels welcome) Visit the shop in the basement of Erskine Presbyterian Church, 19 Pearl Street North (enter off Morden) Saturdays from 9:00am until 12:00 noon.

LET'S CYCLE INTO THE FUTURE

By RANDY KAY, The Hamilton Spectator


Look around. Can you imagine a city street without cars? It's not easy given the design of North American cities built to serve automobiles, where people no longer walk but drive everywhere, where a suburban home's most prominent room is the garage.

With cars prying into our lives more and more it seems hard to picture a place where children move freely, where street life is quiet and open for interaction, where people go to meet, eat and play in a downtown, where cyclists are accepted as an integral part of the transportation mix, where mass transit is used by a majority of people.

As a society we have stopped thinking of streets as interesting places to be. We have learned, as a result of traffic design, that streets are for moving privately owned vehicles as efficiently as possible from a to b. As a result, we get ugly, unliveable downtowns, lots of smog, noise, and far too many deaths and injuries.

But there are glimpses of a better way.

Car Free Day, an annual celebration of the potential for a safer, cleaner and more liveable world is one such glimmer of the possible.

Cities in Europe have been celebrating Car Free Day since September 22, 1999 when 66 French towns, 92 Italian towns and the canton of Geneva came together to coordinate the first Car Free Day. Since then, participation in Car Free Days has grown to include over 1000 cities in 33 countries.

This year Car Free Day coasts in on Sunday September 22 in Hamilton.

Transportation for Liveable Cities (TLC) has been pushing car free day into traffic for the last two years in Hamilton.

An afternoon rush hour parade of roller-bladers, cyclists, wheelchair users, and pedestrians followed by a parking meter party on King Street (CFD 2000); a sidewalk clinic at King and MacNab for people seeking to go car-free or car-light and a locally produced video about Car Free Hamilton shown at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (CFD 2001).

This year people looking to escape the car-trap they are in will celebrate Car Free Day 2002 by temporarily reclaiming street space on King William Street, between James and John, beginning at 4:00 pm.

There will be drumming by Luna Tico drummers and Drum Call!, live music from Steve Sinnicks; DJ Skywok with DMS and Jesse Miller spinning techno and house, and the friendly bike mechanics from Recycle Cycles spinning your wheels in a Free Bike Clinic. Also on hand: children chalk drawing, a free speech video corner and lots of fun.

While there, let your imagination roll down streets where music flows, where concrete is transformed to green grass, where quiet outdoor chess games replace grease and oil stained parking spaces, where new statues and fountains rise, where people rest in former parking lots now treed parkettes, where cafe dwellers have front row seats for a parade of diverse and unexpected street life void of revving engines, squealing tires and clouds of exhaust.

In an invigorated, liveable downtown, King William would be a great car-free destination due to its scale and selection of unique shops and restaurants. A car-free atmosphere would only enhance the character of this street and perhaps inspire movement to restore the rotting facade of the Lister Block: decent affordable housing and independent shops in the Lister would help cement the core's future as a people place.

Author Katie Alvord (Divorce Your Car) provides some existing models: "Car-free and car-restricted zones can create inviting public spaces like Boston's verdant Southwest Corridor, Boulder's thriving outdoor Pearl Street Mall, or the networks of auto-free streets gracing European cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Closing out cars can make terrific space for people and is often great for business. Several Tokyo shopping districts ban cars on Sundays; when people regain possession of these streets, says one report, an air of carnival prevails."

In Europe, local merchants' approval rate is 60% in support of Car Free Day. Why not Hamilton?
The return of two way streets on James and John is also a sign that good things can happen in the city to improve opportunities for cyclists and pedestrians to co-exist with calmed (slower) traffic. Off road multi-use paths like the Bayfront or the Rail-Trails also beckon as beautiful alternatives to ugly and congested main streets for recreational as well as commuter cyclists.

Streets become people places when we reassert our right to have a place to meet and play, where cars are scaled back, slowed down and in some instances outright banned.

David Engwicht has written about streets in terms of our right to street space. In Reclaiming our Cities and Towns he observes that "At the moment there is an unspoken assumption that the streets of the city belong equally to everyone and therefore there is a divine right for people to drive where they want to, when they want to."(114)

What this observation points to is hinted at in the oft used street protest chant: "Who's Streets? Our streets!" In terms of roads and traffic, "traffic reduction and street reclaiming have at their heart a redemocratization of our streets, a handing back of control....[leading] to much more efficient cities and neighborhoods...stamped with their own character and personality." (Engwicht, Street Reclaiming, p.183)

Theorists can argue over the finer points of how, when and where to create decent streets for vibrant exchanges, but on Car Free Day people are free to conduct their own experiments.

In a world where we don't blink at the 849 deaths that occurred on Ontario's highways in 2000, the safest year ever according to the Ministry of Transportation, where each day there are now more than 2.78 million vehicles on highways in the Hamilton and Toronto areas, of course it is difficult to summon up images of a world not infested with cars.

All the more reason to work harder to build alternative vision through action. If the people lead, the saying goes, the politicians will follow (which begs the question why have politicians in the first place').

In Toronto, Car Free Day is officially recognized and supported by the city. In Hamilton, Car Free Day seems to be resisted by the majority of the pro-road-building council.

A presentation by TLC to council a year ago included a requests for Hamilton to get on board with free HSR on the day, some official recognition of Car Free Day, and since the city is spending millions repairing roads to be ready for an international bike race in 2003, we asked them to fast-track in tandem the modest but much needed (and long-awaited) "Shifting Gears" cycling plan for cyclists who happen to live and ride in Hamilton.

A report returned acknowledging what we knew: that our ideas were totally in line with the sustainability plans in the city's own (and sadly neglected) Vision 2020 documents, but it would come down to budget day.

So here we are in 2002 doing it yet again without official help, with the notable exception of the Hamilton Street Railway who reproduced our Car Free Day flier and made them available on all 180 HSR buses.

Any proximity to a car free or car-lite future of course depends hugely on expanding and enhancing the HSR so that, both in terms of cost and efficiency, public transit becomes a viable option for people currently car-dependent.

Unlike private automobile ownership, Public Transit gives a wider range of people safe independent mobility, helping integrate young, old, low-income, differently-abled and other non-drivers more fully into community life.

A single bus can take up to 40 vehicles off the road, save as much as 70,000 litres of fuel and keep 9 tonnes of air pollutants out of the air per year; given our record breaking smog seasons, more good reasons to increase funding to the HSR and expand GO train service.

City politicians could help by preventing sprawl development which all but guarantees an auto-dependent future of people driving through your neighbourhoods to reach destinations formerly walkable.

Perhaps, as one person who contacted us suggested, if politicians rode the buses they would improve the service.

We are not proposing a multi-million dollar, all-in-one silver bullet to cure the downtown's ailments, so embarrassingly popular with the politicians; instead we offer a grassroots approach to incremental change, seeds for a new way of living in the city. Car Free.

PMP 2002

SUSTAINABLE CYCLES (Hamilton, Monday, July 29, 2002)

Report on the Parking Meter Party and Esso leaflet
by Transportation for Liveable Communities.

In the relentless afternoon sun and heat, the sidewalk chalk almost melts into the pavement as a succinct message is scratched onto the asphalt entrance at the Esso station at Main and Leland: "STOP SMOG."

For 40 minutes people hand out leaflets about smog and Esso's attempts to discredit the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty on global warming which the U.S. has refused to join.

Greenpeace is calling for a boycott of ESSO (ExxonMobil in the U.S.)

The majority of people are happy to receive the information, along with a free bike-route map for the Hamilton region.

One customer suggests going after Ontario Power Generation (formerly Ontario Hydro) for their coal burning power plants in Nanticoke, which he describes as "a disgrace."

He is told about a peaceful protest last year at the Corporate Offices of OPG in Toronto where several people were arrested and criminally charged for demanding that OPG convert from burning coal to cleaner natural gas.(their trial is in Toronto in September)

One woman receives the leaflet on Esso, scans it, and decides to go elsewhere to fill up. A boycott is begun.

No one disputes the fact that humans are seriously messing up the air with hyper-consumption lifestyles.

One driver refused to accept any information. He apparently complained to Esso staff who finally ordered the leafletters off the property, tersely giving them a "one minute" warning and threatening to call the police.

The threat happened to coincide with the need to depart for a soon to begin Parking Meter Party just a few blocks away organized by local transportation activists in Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC).

TLC arranged the party to welcome a dozen members of the Cycling for Sustainability crew who had just arrived in Hamilton on their way across Canada.

About 30 people gathered to share food, listen to music, play hackey sack, decorate the asphalt's oil and grease stained ugliness with colourful sidewalk chalk, and hear a premierC4S recitation of Dr. Seuss's environmental tale" The Lorax."

As bicycles displaced cars in the parking spaces, people stopped by to say hello and share food with the C4S cyclists and take a leaflet.

C4S's Kevin Hamilton explained that they are hoping to raise awareness about simple steps people can take to live sustainably on the earth. They are cycling their message from coast to coast from Victoria B.C. to St John Newfoundland. On the way they encounter people in various communities putting sustainability into practice in their daily lives.

Yet even in the enjoyable atmosphere of people gathered in community to celebrate the possible future of sustainable living, the poisoned atmosphere of the current state of air quality lent a sense of urgency to the message.

1,900 people in Ontario go to early grave each year due to smog-related respiratory problems according to the Ontario Medical Association, 110 of them in the Hamilton area. Transportation accounts for 27 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada as well as being the single largest source of air pollution in the country, according to stats from Environment Canada.

While the message about air pollution gets into the news, (the day after the parking meter party the Hamilton Spectator ran a story on air quality, reprinted below) positive grassroots actions such as these by C4S and TLC are largely ignored by the corporate-owned media in Hamilton.

Yet it is citizens' actions that are necessary if we are to survive in a tolerable, liveable, breathable world.
The message? Don't wait for someone to do it for you, organize your own street party, a walk to school program, car-share club or car pool. Try the bus, bike, or walk to some of your destinations. Call your city councillor and tell them to make clean alternatives like the HSR bus service more available instead of cutting back - tell them to stop planning on paving the Red Hill Valley or the Mid Pen Highway. Write a letter to the editor in your local paper. Be the change you want to see!

CAR FREE DAY HAMILTON - VIDEO

FREE CAR-FREE COUNCILLING ON CAR FREE DAY 2001

Thursday September 20, 2001 12 noon until 1:00 pm
Stuck in traffic? Wanting to break the car habit but need a helping hand? Looking for a quick car divorce? The good Doctor Foutenspoche will be on hand on Car Free Day (Thursday, September 20) with practical solutions to North America's car addiction problem.

Pull up a chair in his downtown office, conveniently located in a parking space on King Street West, near Jackson Square (between James and Bay).

While Hamilton Council waits for a staff report on Transportation for Liveable Communities' request for municipal support on Car Free Day, TLC activists will be in the streets once again with their message of car free-dom.

The same folks who've brought Parking Meter Parties, Memorial Processions and Critical Mass bike rides invite you to come for the music, the chalk drawing, the bubble-blowing, banner waving, drumming, face-painting, car-free fun. And right after the party, check out the three minute epic Car Free Hamilton VIDEO at the Art Gallery of Hamilton Community Gallery/Upper Lounges. Free!


After all, Hamilton could sure use a little TLC: cleaner air; quieter, slower, safer streets; more bike lanes and paths; pedestrian zones; improved HSR service; bike racks on buses; parking lots transformed into green spaces; better links to commuter rail; in short: a bold step in the direction of sustainable transit for all.
Last year, 70 million citizens in 760 municipalities located in 26 countries enjoyed Car Free Day. With TLC pushing, Hamilton won't be far behind.

---

CAR FREE DAY 2001 Report

Car Free Day in Hamilton unfolded beneath cranky skies.

A pre-fab "the Doctor is IN" facade is erected in moments. A giant "World Car Free Day" banner is duct-taped to the window of the Royal Bank on King Street West, and signs attached to light standards and (again) to a conveniently located illuminated Royal Bank sign.

"Transportation for Liveable Communities: No Room for Racism on our streets" read one sign in response to racist attacks in Hamilton in the aftermath of the World Trade Centre bombing. Another read "Stop the Carnage" referring to the estimated 3000 traffic fatalities that occur every year on Canadian roads.

Our Car Free Day goal today is to help people out of their cars - permanently.

Members of TLC handed out leaflets offering 12 steps to Car Freedom, as well as information on the true cost of our auto-addiction, taken from Katie Alvord's Divorce Your Car (which passes as an article of faith for TLC die-hards.)

John Milton donned his Mad Doctor disguise and waited on patients seeking a way out of their unhealthy co-dependency with their local petrol dealer.

Some therapy questions you can ask yourself:

• Do I really need to take this trip?
• How Can I get where I want to go without using a car?
• What changes would allow me to take this trip without using a car?

Collective Changes:

• Better land use, safer and slower streets, more support for transit, less subsidization of highways, car-free city centres.

Individual Changes:
Location and lifestyle choices.
If you are planning to relocate, ask yourself these questions:

• Can you easily walk, bike, or take transit to work?
• Does your employer, or do other community employers, offer bicycle commuting support, carpooling, vanpooling, and/or telecommuting programs?
• What services, stores, schools and other facilities are within walking distance (whatever that distance may be for you) of your home/your job site?
• What's within biking distance, and are the routes near your potential new home comfortably bikeable? Also check to see whether bikes are allowed on transit, and ask for a local bike map.
• Where's the nearest transit (bus, light rail) stop, and is it within a 15-minute walk from your home? What areas does the transit system cover, and does it reach places you'll want to go, like your job site, schools, shops, medical services, sports stadiums, theatres, libraries, or parks? Check to see also if it links with other transport services, like passenger train stations or airports; if it operates past midnight and /or before 7 a.m.; and if there is a transit map or guide available.
• Are there additional services such as long-distance train service, car-sharing, car rentals, paratransit, taxi service, a rid matching service, etc.?
• Is the community compact and does it have plans to stay that way? Does it have other features that support car-free travel, like car-free streets or parks or an urban growth boundary?

The good Doctor might also recommend David Engwicht's "5 R's of Traffic Reduction"

• Replace car trips with walking, cycling, and transit;
• Remove unnecessary trips by batching errands, sharing rides, using the phone, or getting deliveries;
• Reduce trip lengths by shopping and/or working locally
• Reuse save space by reallocating and reclaiming streets;
• Reciprocate for mutual benefit with walking buses, car sharing clubs, bike-maintenance clinics, transit passes, and shop-and-work-local incentives

As it turns out, the ugly weather cut in to potential clients in a serious way; nevertheless, TLCers, some as young as two-years-old, stuck it out long enough to hand out plenty of flyers and give away free bike route maps for the City of Hamilton to many a passer-by.

As the rain increased its tendency to soak our almond-butter sandwiches, the mini-alternative-to-the-car-circus folded up shop and hustled over to the comfy confines of the Art Gallery of Hamilton. There, the accommodating folks had set up a television and a vcr for a screening of the latest video from our friends at DIVA (Dundas Independent Video Association) who produced a three-minute epic: Car Free Day Hamilton.

A dozen spectators sat spell-bound through the production which outlines the negative impact of cars on our city and then, like sparks of sunlight flashing off stainless steel spokes, shows a glimpse of a potential future. Critical Mass bike rides, parking meter parties, Car Free Day.

We were pretty impressed, as were city councillors who managed to stay awake for the entire 180 seconds, plus another 180 seconds of a speech when the Car Free video premiered at the swanky Hamilton City Hall Council Chambers on a huge screen, just over a week before, on Tuesday September 11 (yes, that Tuesday!).

In the speech, TLC asked council to support Car Free Day by providing free bus service on the day, as well as creating car free areas in the city, and undertaking a public awareness campaign to promote sustainable transportation.

TLC also slid in some demands for the City to fast-track their excellent but so-slow-as-to-seem de-railed "Shifting Gears" (soon to be dubbed "Spinning Wheels") Cycling Plan, and to think about things like front-mounted bicycle racks on buses.

By way of punctuation, they also received a petition supporting TLC's demands signed by hundreds of citizens.

What we got from council was this: "(Item 5.3).Committee directed staff to bring back a report to provide an overview of the existing cycling plan, a review of a 'Car Free Day' and consideration of "free" HSR Day, by the end of the month."

Rest assured that TLC is on the case in Hamilton and is not about to let the city rain on our sustainable transportation parade.

Pedaling toward Car Free Day 2002 with the wind at our backs

TAKING TLC TO CITY HALL

TLC Presentation to Hamilton City Council, S.11, 2001

When the eyes of the world are focused on Hamilton during the World Cycling Championships in October 2003, we have to wonder what possible scenario Hamilton will be showcasing.

Will we have a high death toll, as we have this year, among pedestrians and cyclists run down by automobiles on city streets?

Will we have experienced another record breaking summer of smog days?

Will we still have giant one way roads splitting the downtown into loud, fast and dirty traffic corridors?

Or, will we have slower, quieter, safer two-way streets with pedestrian improvements, bike lanes and paths. Will we rest in treed park-ettes where there were once parking lots? Will the HSR be well funded and sporting front mounted bike racks as are found on bus fleets in several Canadian cities including Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver?

The question is, will we have a much more liveable city than today, with solid infrastructure in place to support sustainable transportation?

Can we, in the next two years, step up the pace of needed transportation improvements?

There have been some excellent advances made in Hamilton with recreational trails that can be further linked to expand environmentally healthy transportation options. There are innovative and progressive plans in the city's "Putting People First downtown land use and transportation plan" and "Shifting Gears: A new cycling plan for Hamilton."

Today we are here to ask that the city and staff put an emphasis on implementing the city's shifting gears cycling plan in its entirety prior to the cycling race.

When the world media gathers in Hamilton, we want to show off these and other improvements: dedicated bike lanes and a linked series of paths, traffic-calming on major streets, and bike racks installed on the HSR bus fleet.

Now if I could focus on CAR FREE DAY by quoting from carfree canada's website: "With Toronto hosting and staging it's First Car Free Day in 2001, we take our place as the First Canadian and North American city to host Car Free Days. We have also positioned ourselves to become the model and leader of an initiative that has captivated the imagination of bureaucrats and citizens alike around the globe" www.carfreeday.ca

This month, Car free day Toronto will be enjoying full-street bike lanes on St. George Street, road games, street performances, bikewear fashion show, hay-rides, grass-covered pavement, obstacle courses, and valet bike parking.

The bragging rights to car free day may go to Toronto for being the first city in North America, but Hamilton has an opportunity to catch up by making meaningful changes to our transportation system now.

We have a petition with hundreds of signatures gathered on short notice asking the city and staff to support car free day this year and in subsequent years by providing free HSR service on Thursday, September 20; by undertaking an ongoing significant public relations campaign aimed at promoting car free day and sustainable transportation in general; and finally, asking Hamilton to create car-free zones within the downtown (and elsewhere) which would enhance local business environments with the long-term goal of making car free zones in Hamilton permanent, vibrant and viable people places.

Thank you.

POST PARKING

Transportation for Liveable Communities (Hamilton) REPORT

UN-CHANGING THE CLIMATE, 
ONE PARKING SPACE AT A TIME

Combining the motto "live as though the revolution has already occurred" with Emma Goldman's "If I can't dance, it's not my revolution" members of the Climate Change Caravan and Hamilton's Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC) ate, played and danced in the parking lot in front of Westdale businesses for several hours Saturday (July 28, 2001.)

Children are twirling, running and playing, chalking the bare asphalt with images of beauty or hopscotch squares; music is playing through loudspeakers, people are talking and dancing, handing out leaflets, writing in journals, hanging out.

The Climate Change Caravan (CCC), a group of 30 cyclists on a cross Canada mission to educate and activate citizens to take responsibility for global climate change, has arrived in Hamilton and a parking lot in Westdale has been transformed into a pedestrian play zone.

Car drivers stare blankly, trying to figure out why people are not moving out of their way: they want to park where they are accustomed but bicycles and moving bodies are in the way.

Cars reverse, and look elsewhere for a place to deposit their cumbersome metal shells.  About 60 people are reversing expectations by holding a parking meter party in celebration of the potential for Canadians to change: rather than continue to change the climate with unparalleled levels of fossil fuel combustion, the Climate Change Caravan is betting on the actions of citizens to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet.

At around 3:30 pm, TLC scouts Christine and Andrew started laying down orange traffic cones to reserve five parking spaces for the CCC support bus. They managed to stave off the parking commissionaire who approached them and gruffly inquired as to whether or not they had a permit. Since the spaces were paid for (with quarters in the meters) and the dilemma of finding a location for leaving the ticket was too much of a quandary, (neither Christine or Andrew where wearing wiper-blades at the time) he left them to attend to the more usual routine of ticketing automobiles.

Then around 4:00 the bus pulled in, just as other cyclists from TLC arrived to claim other empty parking spaces for the party.

In all, about 15 spaces were made temporary pollution-free zones.

Onlookers could be seen staring, dumbfounded; cyclists cruising through the area changed their course to stop and check out the inviting scene which included soap bubbles; children with faces painted with flowers, buses and bicycles; a table laden with food; parking spaces filled with bicycles and lawn chairs; people dancing, playing hacky-sack; and the rather impressive deep-red Climate Change school bus replete with solar panels, wind turbine and a store of vegetable oil (used to fuel the bus.)

People from as far away as the Yukon happened upon the party and joined in the fun.

The sight of children liberated and able to play without fear of being run down by automobiles was inspiring. Children are too often the victims of North America's obsession with cars, either as fatalities, or as prisoners in neighbourhoods over-run with motor vehicles and roads.

Children are also going to bear the brunt of global warming. As Canada's top climate change expert says, "we can expect temperatures in the Toronto-Hamilton area to top 30 C -- often 35 C -- more than 50 days each summer by 2050, unless we cut global greenhouse gas emissions. That's up from the present 15 or 16 days each summer."(Hamilton Spectator)

Increased temperatures will result in more smog (the heat from the sun "cooks" pollutants from motor vehicles, industry and power plants to create smog) which means more people dying from bad air. The Ontario Medical Association estimates that 1900 Ontarians die prematurely each year due to poor air quality.

As this article is being written, yet another smog advisory has been issued by the Ministry of the Environment, making this the worse year on record for smog alerts.

Are we going to be hostages to our hyper-consumption lifestyles, or are we going to learn to tread lightly on the earth?

Cyclists in the CCC began their journey in Tofino, B.C. and have been raising awareness in cities and towns along the way about personal consumption habits which drive the damage of climate change. Check out their web site at www.theBet.ca

parking meter noise

Car culture killing us, activists say

By MIRA OBERMAN, The Hamilton Spectator
A12, Thursday, July 19, 2001

Trying to convince Hamiltonians to leave their cars at home is about as easy as convincing them to skip Tim Hortons in the morning.

It just goes against the grain.

Kind of like playing chess on a blanket of sod spread out over a King Street East parking spot.

About 30 people created a "car-free space" in front of Jackson Square Monday afternoon in an attempt to raise awareness about the destructive side of a North American obsession.

Beatrice Ekwa-Ekoko, 32, can't fit everything she dislikes about cars into one breath.

Cars harm the environment, kill children, isolate people from their community, gobble up half of the city with parking lots and roads, and frighten cyclists off the streets.

It sounds wonky, but the mother of three has a lot of solid facts to back her up. According to Statistics Canada, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of hospitalization among Canadians aged 15-35.
More than 40 pedestrians have died in traffic accidents in Hamilton in the past six years while 470 more were hit by cars last year.

And motor vehicles are the leading cause of smog pollutants in North America.

"We're in an environmental crisis -- we've had more smog days this year than ever before," Ekwa-Ekoko said as dozens of cars sped past the parking spot filled with lawn chairs, bikes and protesters sitting on green grass.

"People actually cannot breath the air it's so bad."

As a solution, Ekwa-Ekoko would like to see city hall do more to encourage alternative forms of transportation.

She'd like to see big improvement for the HSR and GO transit, She'd like to see more bike lanes so cyclists can get downtown safely. She'd like to see a city-wide educational campaign that would include closing downtown streets to cars on World Car Free Day, "It's about quality of life --slow down and take a breath of clean air," she said.

Ward 2 councillor Andrea Horwath stopped by the parking meter party yesterday and said Ekwa-Ekoko might be able to get some of what she wants.

"Out city will be totally connected with trails in the next couple of years," she said. "Bike racks (on HSR buses) are a great idea since we're also having issues around strollers and walkers."

But major changes, like reworking traffic flows to make Hamilton feel less like an expressway, are going to take a lot more time. If they happen at all, Horwath said.

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PARKING METER PARTY - VIEW MAGAZINE

BY SCOTT NEIGH

For a few short hours, last week, the uniform grey of downtown Hamilton's concrete was disrupted by a splash of vibrant green. Members of Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC) held a "parking metre party". They reclaimed a parking space on King Street, in front of Jackson Square, putting a layer of sod on top of the asphalt, blasting out music, dancing, playing chess, and placing phone calls to their municipal councillors.

"Cars kill community," says TLC spokesperson Beatrice Ekwa-Ekoko. "We're claiming a piece of public space that's usually destined for the car...where community can be encouraged."

The group was demanding that city hall increase funding for new bike lanes and public transit service, put bike racks on HSR buses, and lobby for expanded GO service to Toronto. In addition, they were asking that city council close downtown Hamilton to cars on September 20, 2001, which is World Car Free Day.

Ekwa-Ekoko points to countries like Denmark and the Netherlands, where 20% and 33%, respectively, of all trips are made by bike, not car. Some Latin American cities, most notably Bogota, Colombia, have taken steps to restrict automobile use in their downtown areas, and Bogota's mayor hopes for a complete ban on cars in urban core areas by 2015. Bordeaux, France, will soon have 50% of its streets reserved for pedestrians and cyclists.

For TLC member Seth Sazant, the imagery of the plot of grass in the parking space was a "representation of how crazy things are...My mode of transportation is bicycle. I feel angry as well as threatened a lot of the time by cars." This action was important, he says, becasuse it is "bordering on useless to be writing to my councillor, when the city has not done much to make streets safer for bikes, for example. I'm pretty frustrated."

The reaction from passers-by was mixed. William Davy, aged 13, stopped as he was biking past the party, and after brief discussion, joined in the fun. He says, "I'm really hoping that they'll make it so bikes can go on buses."

Ralph Ellis was more skeptical. "Getting rid of cars is a lost cause. It's a good idea, but it's a lost cause." Even intermediate measures, like a significant increase in bike lanes, he sees as unlikely. "You'd have to take up a certain amount of road space...[and] then you'd have drivers getting mad."

City councillor Andrea Horwath, who represents the downtown ward, paid the party a visit. She described the event as "great", and herself as "frustrated" with the speed of progress in the city on sustainable transportation measures. "The focus of our transportation department and the focus of our council is asphalt expansion programs." She wants to see "equal investment in other modes of transportation."

Marvin Caplan, who represents Ward 1, also dropped by. He expressed general support for TLC's demands, and said everyone should "act locally by reducing the use of single occupancy vehicles." However, he said the demand for a ban on autos downtown during World Car Free Day "would be a problem," and he was skeptical of the direct action methods chosen by TLC. "Not that I have a problem with them. They just won't work."

One of the participants in the action was Euan Gibb, an auto worker. Though it might appear that he would have a lot to lose if there was a cultural shift to more sustainable means of transportation, he doesn't agree. "I don't accept the premise that we need to perpetuate a huge auto market." He believes that auto workers would "not necessarily be adversely affected." He advocates changes like reducing opportunities for overtime, and having a shorter standard work week, to allow more people to benefit from a given demand for labour. He points to the success of France's recent reduction of the length of its work week.

TLC's next action will take its struggle on the road, to the corporate headquarters of Ontario Power Generation (OPG) in Toronto, on August 20. OPG operates the Nanticoke coal power electiricity generation plant, the largest single source of air pollution in Canada. The group will be joining people from across the province in a civil disobedience action to demand greater action to improve air quality. Back in Hamilton, the group will be taking part in Gaia-Fest 2001, a radical eco/political gathering and festival, in Gore Park on September 9.