Another TLC meeting!

Transportation for Liveable Communities will meet at 6:30pm Wednesday, June 6 to finalize comments on the city's Transportation Master Plan . All are welcome to attend. We are in Room 220 of the McMaster Student Centre.

Directions

Bus Tickets available upon request.

tlchamilton.blogspot.com

where are the bus bike racks? a question and an answer...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: HSR Customer Service <hsrserve@hamilton.ca>
Date: May 29, 2007 10:24 AM
Subject: RE: bike racks
To: Transportation for Liveable Communities <tlchamilton@gmail.com>

Randy: We are currently waiting for a response to our tender. Could you please

check back with us in approximately one month's time. Thanks.

-----Original Message-----
From: Transportation for Liveable Communities [mailto:tlchamilton@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 10:22 PM
To: HSR Customer Service
Cc: g-tlc@mcmaster.ca; Eisenberger, Fred
Subject: bike racks

Hi - any idea of when the bike racks will be installed on city buses?

Thanks,

Randy Kay
Transportation for Liveable Communities Hamilton
tlchamilton.blogspot.com

TLC Meeting Wednesday, May 30, 2007

TLC invites people interested in drafting a response to the city of hamilton's Transportation Master Plan to meet Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at McMaster University Student Centre room 224 - Please read the TMP at the city web site before the meeting.

Directions

bus tickets available on request

valley inn - cars out

Car free valley inn road in the cards: here's the spectator report on an open house to show the design.
A car free valley inn will enhance the natural setting at the mouth of Grindstone Creek where it enters Hamilton Harbour. It will also be an important part of the cycling network once work begins on the York Street Bike Lanes, due for construction this year (2007)

Walk or bike it, but no more cars

By Daniel Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 15, 2007)

The days are numbered for driving across the clattering timber deck of the Valley Inn Road bridge.

The deck is slated to be replaced this fall in a $200,000 rehabilitation project, which will also close the bridge linking Hamilton to Burlington over the Grindstone Creek to vehicle traffic. It will then be open only to pedestrians and cyclists.

The city held an open house last night to show residents what it has been working on for the bridge redesign since the spring of 2006. The present structure is a Bailey bridge, a military-style portable bridge, which was installed soon after the previous bridge collapsed beneath a truck May 5, 1965. A bridge has been at the site since the late 1800s.

There was talk of replacing the Bailey, but city officials decided to upgrade it, replace the decaying deck and also fund beautifying the area. This includes a 15-car parking lot at the top of Valley Inn Road (named for an old hotel which burned down in 1928) and a lookout into Sunfish Pond.

About two dozen people visited the open house. Lorissa Skrypniak, acting senior project manager, said the majority of comments have been "fairly positive," but she admitted some don't like to see the bridge closed to traffic. An environmental assessment has determined it should be closed to vehicles.

Randy Kay, a member of Transportation for Livable Communities, liked the change. "It's going to make it more intact environmentally and you can forget about traffic and think of other things," said the avid cyclist.

Keith Black, a retired Dofasco worker, believed it was a mistake to ban vehicles. "If it was good for people a hundred years ago, it's good for the people today," he said.

dnolan@thespec.com

905-526-3351

Two stories, one issue: Cootes

Lift your lead foot as you travel Cootes
Speed limit going down to 40 km-h to prevent further accidents
Kevin Werner, Dundas Star News

(May 11, 2007)

Politicians have approved reducing the speed along Cootes Drive from 80 km-h to 40 km-h to prevent another fatal pedestrian accident.

The speed limit along Cootes Drive will start at 50 km-h in Dundas, increase to 80 km-h travelling along the hill, drop to 60 km-h for 325 metres after the pedestrian walkway, then dip to 40 km-h as the road approaches the crosswalk, continues until the Cootes Drive and Main Street West intersection. The speed limit along Main Street West is 50 km-h.

Politicians will vote on the public works committee's recommendation at their May 16 council meeting.

Bryan Shynal, director of operations and maintenance, said city staff insisted that instead of dropping the speed limit from 80 km-h to 40 km-h, there needed to be a transitional speed limit at 60 km-h.

The request to reduce the speed limit along Cootes Drive near McMaster University came from the McMaster University Student Union and the university after complaints that drivers were exceeding the posted speed limit.

Ward 1 councillor Brian McHattie, who introduced the motion, said earlier the idea is to create a "school zone" similar to council-designated school safety zones in front of elementary schools to protect students.

Pedestrian safety has been a particular concern since a 19-year-old McMaster University student was hit by a city of Hamilton truck in February 2006. The woman was struck at the pedestrian activated traffic lights on Cootes Drive. The city had constructed the traffic lights even though there had been no record of an accident at the location in the last 10 years.

McMaster University conducted a study that found between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. just over 3,700 individuals crossed Cootes Drive at the pedestrian traffic.

At the peak hour, between noon and 1 p.m., about 425 people crossed at the traffic lights. The study found there were a number of "near accidents" involving individuals and vehicles.

McMaster University is also investigating how to make the Cootes Drive area safer for pedestrians, including constructing a fence to "channel" individuals to cross only at the activated cross area and installing a speed limit sign on the Cootes Drive overpass revealing to drivers their posted speed.

Lowering speed not the answer to speeding: transporation rep
Craig Campbell, Dundas Star News

(May 11, 2007)

New speed limits on Cootes Drive won't solve ongoing speeding problems, according to a local transportation activist.

Dundas resident, and member of McMaster University's Transportation for Livable Communities, Randy Kay said Monday the group is pushing for a lane narrowing where Cootes meets a pedestrian controlled crosswalk, rather than new speed limit signs which received preliminary approval this week.

"The effectiveness of that is marginal, unless there's a lot of enforcement - which becomes an expensive proposition for the police and they could be doing other things," Mr. Kay said.

He said TLC has requested the two lane road be narrowed to one, then widen out again where Cootes meets Main Street West to maintain traffic capacity.

Mr. Kay believes that's a better way to slow down traffic because drivers will ignore new posted speed limits.

Council approval is expected next week after the public works committee approved an approximately 560 kilometre long 40 km/h zone on both sides of Cootes from Main West to the McMaster University parking lots.

The current 80 km/h zone will drop to 60 km/h for an additional 325 metres. Staff didn't expect the new speed limit signs up for at least four weeks.

Inspector Vince DeMascio, of Hamilton Police Services traffic department, said local police were not involved with the speed limit change.

A Speedwatch conducted on Cootes Drive in November apparently found no speeders on the two lane roadway.

Mr. Kay laughs at the suggestion that drivers on Cootes are following the 80 km/h speed limit, or 60 zone around the pedestrian controlled crosswalk just south of Main West.

"I think that's a joke. It's bologna," he said. "My experience as a driver and an observer is there's speeding."

His understanding of the Speedwatch program is that drivers can easily see the radar equipment and slow down at that time. Mr. Kay said the results are not a good indication of speeding.

He pointed instead to the 2004 study by Synectics Traffic Consultants for the City of Hamilton. That study led to the installation of the pedestrian controlled crosswalk on Cootes from McMaster to Sanders Boulevard in September 2005.

That study found "motorists were driving in excess of the speed limit and generally did not adjust their speed when pedestrians were observed waiting to cross Cootes Drive."

The study described speeding as "significant" and, in combination with high pedestrian and cyclist volume, creating a hazardous situation..

Synectics recommended lane narrowing and police enforcement to deal with the speeding problem.

On Feb. 13, 2006, a McMaster University student was struck and killed while crossing Cootes at the pedestrian controlled crosswalk. It was the first reported accident at the site in 10 years.

"If they're serious about making it safe, signs aren't the answer," Mr. Kay said.

"Signs aren't effective. They need lane narrowing."

[editorial comment - of course lowering speed is the answer, just how do we ensure lower speeds? a sign? or structural changes? TLC's position is: both]

Rally Out for the Valley Inn...

Public Information Centre will be held to present the design for the
Valley Inn
Road bridge area.
DATE: May 14, 2007
TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Admiral Inn, 149 Dundurn Street North, Hamilton

Full information available at the city of hamilton web site

Support a good design for this car-free bridge! See you there...

step in right direction...

Speed limit cut on Cootes near Mac


* By Nicole MacIntyre
The Hamilton Spectator
*(May 8, 2007)

The city is lowering the speed limit on Cootes Drive to protect university students crossing the busy road.

Yesterday, councillors voted to reduce the speed from 60 km/h to 40 just south of the overpass at McMaster University to Main Street. There will also be a transition zone that will reduce drivers coming out of Dundas from 80 km/h to 60 before they hit the low speed zone.

Mac student Heather Watson, 19, was killed at the crossing in February 2006.

The city vowed after her death to explore whether there were more ways to make the popular crossing safer.

A recent university study found 3,700 people crossed Cootes Drive during the day. At peak time during the lunch hour, some 425 people crossed. The study also found a high risk for pedestrians to be hit.

Yesterday's committee motion, which was brought forward on behalf of Councillor Brian McHattie, noted the primary issue at the crossing is pedestrians and cyclists who ignore the traffic signals or don't use the crosswalk.

Pedestrian Fatalities - SNAFU

TLC member April Severin has been pushing for action on the high number of pedestrian fatalities of late in Hamilton Ontario. In 1998 a Toronto inquest was held after two cycling fatalities and a list of recommendations were drawn up.

TLC would like to see root issues addressed and a coroners inquest might provide the most comprehensive approach, barring concerted and sustained action from the city.

Here is the response so far:

April 30, 2007

Dear Ms. Severin:

RE: Pedestrian Fatalities

Thank-you for advising me of your concerns regarding the deaths of pedestrians while crossing roads in Hamilton. At this point, no inquest has been called, but I can advise you that our office is investigating the deaths, and will call an inquest if the circumstances meet the legal test for a discretionary inquest, under Section 20 of the Coroners Act.

Thank-you again,

Yours sincerely,

David S. Eden. M.D.
Regional Supervising Coroner Niagara

cc: Dr. B. McLellan, Chief Coroner

CATCH the bus story

The following from Citizens at City Hall (CATCH)

Transit fare hikes reduced

There will be no increase in the seniors annual bus pass or for DARTS riders, and the regular adult ticket will only rise by 5 cents as a result of a last minute budget decision this morning. The senior’s pass was set to rise by $40 a year, and ticket prices to climb by 10 cents a ride.

The motion moved by Brian McHattie and seconded by Sam Merulla noted that plans to subsidize low income riders “will not realistically be in place until late 2007 / early 2008”.

Cash fares will still rise by 15 cents a ride, and that combined with the 5 cent ticket increase is expected to add $650,000 to the HSR budget as opposed to the $1.1 million expected from the full increases. The shortfall is being made up with $290,000 from taxes and $160,000 from the provincial gas tax monies.

The tax effect will only be felt in the former city of Hamilton whose residents pay 90% of transit taxes under an area rating system that is a hangover from the pre-amalgamation period, and see’s Ancaster residents paying less than one-fifth the transit tax rate as those who live in former Hamilton.

Nevertheless, four suburban councillors voted against the motion – Lloyd Ferguson, Margaret McCarthy, Brad Clark and Maria Pearson.

Voting in favour of the fare reduction were Mayor Eisenberger, Bob Bratina, Chad Collins, Scott Duvall, Tom Jackson, Bernie Morelli, Rob Pasuta, Russ Powers, McHattie and Merulla.

Two councillors – Terry Whitehead and Dave Mitchell – missed the 11-minute meeting that gave final approval to the budget and consequently didn’t get to vote on the fare hike issue.

CATCH (Citizens at City Hall) updates use transcripts and/or public documents to highlight information about Hamilton civic affairs that is not generally available in the mass media. Detailed reports of City Hall meetings can be reviewed at www.hamiltoncatch.org. You can receive all CATCH free updates by sending an email to info@HamiltonCATCH.org.

Cootes Drive in the News

The Dundas Star News is reporting that Ward One councillor Brian McHattie is pushing for a speed reduction on Cootes to a maximum 40 km/h in the vicinity of the busy pedestrian/cyclist crossing.

A good first step, acknowledging the danger of speeding vehicles to pedestrians. TLC's position, through our part of the McMaster Pedestrian Safety Committee organized by McHattie, is that speed reduction will only be effectively accomplished through redesign of the roadway, AKA "traffic calming," i.e lane narrowing or lane reduction, and eliminating the on-ramp from Main West in favour of a right turn lane.

TLC will continue to advocate for infrastructure changes that enhance the safety and security of pedestrians and cyclists.

The Dundas Star article is at http://www.dundasstarnews.com/dsn/news/news_769045.html and copied at the Restore Cootes "Media" page

Show Off

TLC needs a new display to use at public events, especially since we've been invited to attend one on the theme of environment and health at the North Hamilton Community Health Centre

North Hamilton CHC is organizing our annual Community Health Day and this year our theme is "How the Environment Affects Your Health". As part of the days activities, we are hosting a showing of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and having a community health resource fair - as relates to the environment. We were wondering if Transportation for Liveable Communities has any information to share or would like to set up a small display (we have limited space) about transportation and its link to health (encourages physical activity, protection of natural environment, etc.)

The date of our event is Wednesday, April 25, 2007 from 5:00 - 7:30 p.m.

If you have a flair for layout, design, propaganda, drop by the OPIRG office all day Thursday (April 19) and lend a hand to create a TLC display board (portable, suitable for transport by bike or transit, of course)

Contact randy (at) opirg (dot) ca if you can help with text, images, ideas, cut and paste, etc.

Also, if you are available the day of the event to staff a table/display - please speak up now!

Thanks.

road diets for hamilton?

A road diet for the city to cut the traffic

hs1608807 2007-04-12-1

An intrepid cyclist takes the bridge on Valley Inn Road, a small road which may be closed to cars.

Hamilton Spectator File Photo

THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

(Apr 12, 2007)

A man from Hamilton's traffic department is poised at a flip chart, marker in hand. He's frozen, not moving.

David Cohen, a member of the audience at the public meeting, is waiting for his comment to be added to the list on the chart paper.

The man at the chart refuses to move, his Sharpie wilfully restrained from touching the page. He will not, indeed appears incapable of, writing the words on paper.

The words he won't write?

"Hamilton needs more traffic congestion."

Recalling this event, Cohen infuses it with meaning, a metaphor for institutional resistance, resistance frozen in time.

"Since the 1950s, we've created conditions for automobile travel at the expense of other ways of getting around. Congestion was the issue then and is still the issue; so, are we going to do something to make it more convenient to use cars?" he asks rhetorically.

"If history has any meaning, we will only crowd up those streets and expressways with more cars."

In other words, catering to cars hasn't paid off, unless you consider the payoffs to be air pollution, traffic-related deaths and injury (more than 800 fatalities a year in Ontario) and frequently clogged major highways due to "accidents" and traffic volume. Most wouldn't.

To shift the emphasis to other modes of transportation, Cohen advocates creating conditions "more conducive to transit and less conducive to cars."

The way to escape congestion is, counter-intuitively, to take space from automobile traffic and give it to other uses: transit lanes, roadside parking, wider sidewalks, bicycle lanes. Call it a road diet.

Hamilton has a disproportionately high amount of arterial roads and expressways compared to other Ontario cities. We weigh in at second highest with 7.1 "lane metres" per capita. Toronto has 3. So a diet seems in order.

Taking a Robin Hood approach to existing roads, i.e. stealing lanes from cars to give to other modes, would serve to calm traffic (making things slower, thereby safer) while creating the kind of infrastructure needed for intrepid cyclists and transit users to get ahead.

But what about the displaced automobile traffic? Cohen's assertion is that congestion, accompanied by beefed up alternatives, is precisely the thing required to move drivers toward sustainable alternatives. He figures people would think twice before hopping in the car when transit or bikes are moving faster.

Further support for road diets comes from a major British study published in the New Scientist, based on 60 cases worldwide where a road's carrying capacity was reduced. As recounted by the late urban-issues writer Jane Jacobs:

"When a road is closed, an average of 20 per cent of the traffic it carried seems to vanish. In some cases they studied, as much as 60 per cent of the traffic vanished. Most of the cases involved urban areas ... The report at hand is a logical extension to a 1994 finding that building new roads generates traffic."

Cohen uses Hamilton's Main Street as an example of a road whose only purpose is moving cars, a "traffic sewer" that displaces other modes of travel and opportunities for businesses to develop.

"Main Street between Dundurn and Queen should be busy with pedestrians and business but it just moves cars and trucks," he laments. "Cars and trucks are zooming along a curb; it's not only unnerving but it is completely wrong if you want street life, amenity and business. There's a huge potential to redevelop along these arteries. Bike lanes could be part of that."

Not far away, Ward 1 sports a nice example with recent work on King Street West just west of Longwood.

Adding an island pedestrian refuge, plus bicycle lanes on both sides of the street means a formerly four-lane road is now two lanes. It's a safer crossing point for primary school kids and cyclists finally have some room of their own.

It costs about $700,000 to repave one kilometre of four-lane road. That's almost the price needed to prevent a damaging fare increase from torpedoing the HSR. Yet all we hear is how fares should go up to cover the costs of transit, while roads drag their bloated bottom line under the radar of public outrage.

Another way to save money on roads is to close them to auto traffic. Closing a small road like Valley Inn Road to cars, (which is in the works), will have a positive effect on the natural integrity of the area at the mouth of Grindstone Creek. We should be looking for more opportunities to scale back roads in order to create islands of restored nature, neighbourhoods and business areas.

By following a path that downsizes roads, we can make room for other users, save money on roads that could be spent on transit or an alt-trans staff position, while ensuring we have more access to clean, quiet, safe areas to explore in the city. Road diets could help get the city in shape for the tough climate-change years ahead. And with more opportunities for active modes like cycling and walking, a trimmer population as a happy byproduct.

Randy Kay lives in Dundas and writes occasionally on issues involving alternative and sustainable transportation.

• Rob Faulkner 
• Tue Apr 10 2007 
• Be the first to Comment
• 0 Recommend

'Cyclists ticked' over budget cut

hs1607749 2007-04-10-1

Cycling advocates are refusing to meet to advise Hamilton until a city co-ordinator is hired and council restores its annual funding of $300,000 for bike projects.

Hamilton Spectator File Photo

THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

(Apr 10, 2007)

The decades-old volunteer Hamilton Cycling Committee is suspending its monthly meetings to protest the axing of the city's annual cycling budget.

The group advises city hall on cycling projects and says the cut reveals a lack of effort in combating auto dependence and pollution as urged in city documents like the new Transportation Master Plan.

In budget talks, councillors voted last month not to spend the usual $300,000 on cycling projects in 2007. Advocates call it a wrong turn if Hamilton ever wants to become a bike-friendly city.

"If they are willing to drop this $300,000, what kind of commitment does the city have to cycling?" committee chair Daryl Bender said. "These kinds of hiccups are very frustrating."

Adds Randy Kay, of Transportation for Livable Communities: "They dropped it for the second time, the other being 2003, the year of the world cycling championships, ironically.

"Cyclists are ticked they are getting dropped off the budget. It's not a lot of money, and it gives a big bang for your buck," Kay said.

The $300,000 cycling budget, which pays for things like bike trails and paths, has been accumulating, going unspent due to capital project delays. Councillor Brian McHattie says about $650,000 collected is already earmarked for approved projects -- but is caught in a backlog.

Advocates say the lack of a dedicated cycling staffer at City Hall is causing the backlog. Others say a new hire is not in the cards.

"Could we spend it faster if we hired a co-ordinator? Sure we could," said Councillor Terry Whitehead, adding it's not the time to expand staff when social service cuts may be a trade-off.

Kay said bike projects are typically overseen part-time by junior traffic department staff, with turnover so high basic information isn't updated online and questions go unanswered.

Councillor Sam Merulla, who supported the cut, said it's wrong to ask for $300,000 more from taxpayers if it won't be spent in 2007 due to the backlog.

"Nobody is anti-cycling. I know there's a spin going out there right now," Merulla said.

Bender said the cycling committee is calling off its meetings because with no new money allotted in 2007, there's nothing to advise the city on regarding future cycling projects. The committee won't meet again until council hires a full-time cycling staff person, and restores the $300,000 in funding.

Still, Bender and Kay are optimistic about local cycling, thanks to recent victories like bike racks on HSR buses. But they too see challenges.

"It's a chicken and egg: we are not spending the money because we don't have the staff to do the projects, and if we don't change that, (the projects) are not going to happen," McHattie said.

rfaulkner@thespec.com 905-526-2468

CYCLING

Transportation Master Plan guiding philosophy

* Old Thinking

"Walking and cycling are only viable modes for a select group of people, and only for part of the year."

* New Thinking

"Walking and cycling accounts for 11 per cent of all morning rush hour trips. The fact that 50 per cent of all rush hour trips are less than 5 kilometres suggests there is potential to increase walking and cycling activity with spinoff environmental and health benefits."

PROJECTS

Projects the Hamilton Cycling Committee helped get done.

* Multi-use trail on the Beach Strip

* Bike lanes along Sterling Street, Markland Street

* Two-way bike lanes over the 403 on King Street West

* East-west bike corridor on Stone Church Road

* Ongoing installation of bike routes, paths and paved shoulders along North Service Road (Grays Road to Niagara region)

* Bike racks on HSR buses, expected this year

ENHANCEMENTS

From the city's proposed cycling enhancements:

* 66 kms of new on-street bike lanes

* 143 kms of new multi-use paths

* 60 kms of new shoulder bike lanes

* Incline railway

* Trail improvements

* And one goal is to increase the share of local trips made by bike, from current 6 per cent to 15 per cent by 2030.

"This is a modest target and one that can easily be exceeded if continued enhancements to cycling infrastructure are made," the Hamilton Transportation Master Plan states.

City Cycling Committee Calls it Quits: protest lack of action

Hamilton Cycling advocates react to lack of action on cycling and the cancelled $300,000 budget line for cycling in 2007 by "suspending operations"- the story, including quotes from TLC, in the local daily on line here

Alt Trans Axe Falls in Hamilton: Make some noise

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Transportation for Liveable Communities PO BOX 19, 1280 Main Street West Hamilton ON L8S 1C0 905-525-9140 ext. 26026 tlchamilton(at)gmail.com

Transportation Advocacy Group says Hamilton is Driving Away Sustainable Transportation Options.
TLC opposes move to pull funding for cycling, walking and transit.

Since our inception in 2000, Transportation for Liveable Communities has been engaged in addressing a dysfunctional traffic system that prefers cars to cycling, walking and transit.

TLC's long awaited hopes for the city to take positive steps to improve infrastructure for alternatives to the private automobile have been devastated by the Committee of the Whole's decision to raise bus fares, drop the modest annual allocation for cycling improvements ($300,000), and to turn down a proposal for an alternative transportation coordinator position.

This is the second time in recent memory that the cycling budget has been dropped because previous year's money was not spent: TLC understands that the lack of spending has more to do with the absence of a staff position than anything else, since there is an obvious and urgent need for spending on a multitude of cycling projects.

In our experience, programs and infrastructure for cycling are continually falling years behind schedule, while frequent changes to city staff for cycling issues make follow through difficult. This situation leaves TLC with the clear realization that there is a strong correlation between the two. Hiring an alt trans coordinator would be the most efficient way to support cycling initiatives in the city.

The Transportation Master Plan, "intended to move the City towards the achievement of the objectives of Vision 2020 and are reflective of the 9 Strategic Directions to guide development decisions...identified as part of the GRIDS process, including Direction #6 - Expand transportation options that encourage travel by foot, bike and transit and enhance efficient inter-regional transportation connections," specifically states the need for a "permanent full-time staff position for Cycling and a permanent full-time position of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Coordinator," as well as recognizing that "that planned population and employment growth over the next 30 years can be accommodated without the need for major new Escarpment crossings provided that viable alternatives to single occupant vehicles are fostered and developed"

By failing to pay the price in the budget (despite the fact the salary was to come from the annual cycling budget), we can expect more lip service to sustainable transportation when what we need is action.

Council's approach to the HSR: raising fares rather than taxes to support public transportation, hurts the city's potential to escape the jam we're in regarding traffic, air pollution, poverty, and pragmatic economic development in these global warming times. A serious look at area rating is long overdue. Making users pay the majority of the costs is not the answer.

In the big budget picture we're talking about small amounts, but amounts likely to deliver a huge payoff in terms of liveability and sustainability. For less than it costs to resurface a kilometer of four-lane road ($700,000) we could have the cycling budget and a staff position ($300,000) and still have half a million dollars to put toward transit; yet a majority of city councillors don't seem to recognize the value they would get.

By comparison, the City of Toronto has just allocated $3 million for next year's cycling budget.

"It's ironic that they made their decision to cut support for sustainable transportation during a poor air quality alert (March 28, 2007, Downtown Hamilton AQI 53), with pollution largely generated by roads and traffic" notes TLC. "We fail to see any logic in council's votes and we want the issues reconsidered."

Run Around the Bus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 23, 2007
Local group says "Run for the bus, don't drive to Around the Bay Road Race"

Local advocacy group Transportation for Liveable Communities is encouraging organizers of the Around the Bay Road Race, City Police and local media to promote transit as an option for people traveling to the weekend race.

"Nobody wants to be stuck in traffic, but given the fact this is a race of runners, extra traffic can only add unwanted air pollution. Taking transit, car pooling, cycling and walking are all viable alternatives to private automobiles in many cases," suggests TLC's Randy Kay. "We just want people to explore the options."

TLC is suggesting the Race web site include a link to info about transit to help people avoid parking hassles, help keep the streets from becoming congested, keep the air cleaner for the runners/walkers, and help people consider alternatives to the car.

LINKS:
HSR http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/CityandGovernment/CityServices/transit/
Burlington Transit http://cms.burlington.ca/Page146.aspx
GO - http://www.gotransit.com/
Greyhound http://www.greyhound.ca
VIA http://www.viarail.ca/en_index.html

TLC hopes the police and media will suggest transit as an option to keep things efficient, clean and safe.

Transportation for Liveable Communities is an all volunteer working group of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) McMaster. Since 2000, TLC has been active promoting and advocating for sustainable transportation options in the city of Hamilton.

Pedestrian safety and McMaster

The Silhouette

McMaster University's Student Newspaper, Online!

http://www.thesil.ca/

http://www.thesil.ca/article.pl?sid=07/03/15/2037254

TOM PERRY

THE SILHOUETTE

Thursday, March 15, 2007

One year after McMaster student Heather Watson was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing Cootes Dr., a local action group is still fighting for progress to be made in pedestrian safety in and around McMaster University.

Watson was a second year Arts & Science student who was tragically struck by a City of Hamilton salt truck.

“We're definitely disappointed that not much is happening with regards to the situation because there's a lot of potential for improvement here,” said Randy Kay, member of the McMaster chapter of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group.

Kay, along with a number of city officials, police officers and independent parties, has formed an advocacy group called Transportation for Liveable Communities, which focuses on street safety in high traffic areas.

The group had been concerned with the danger posed by motorists in the area long before Watson's tragic death. They were able to effectively draw the city's attention to the issue.

“We petitioned the city about the danger of the area. They hired consultants who came in and did a thorough job studying traffic volumes and speeds with their technology. Their final analysis was that the area was very dangerous and they proposed the idea of a pedestrian controlled traffic light across Cootes behind the university,” recalled Kay.

Although a light was installed at the time of Heather's death, the accident did prompt the TLC members to continue pressing on in their fight for improved conditions. The group tabled a number of secondary safety recommendations for the area.

“One major improvement would be to get rid of the ‘ramp' from Main St. W. to Cootes Dr. and have traffic turn right at the intersection. That would definitely slow down vehicle speeds on that stretch of road,” said Kay, who also suggested narrowing lanes, implementing caution signs in the vicinity and condensing Cootes Dr. into two single lanes flowing in each direction.

According to Ward 1 councilor and TLC member Brian McHattie, some of these smaller scale initiatives are underway and very close to fruition. “The speed [on Cootes Dr.] will be reduced shortly as well as having signage posted on the bridge reminding drivers that they are entering a school zone, and to drive accordingly.”

The same cannot be said about TLC's long-term plans, such as lane reduction and narrowing behind the school, as the group has received little support from City Hall and other councilors involved in the decisions.

“There's not a lot of opposition for these safety initiatives until you get into road reconfiguration. The city and my colleague in Dundas are not very keen on changing the road around,” noted McHattie.

Some feel that while the traffic light has been a positive step in assisting street safety on the bustling thoroughfare, its technical flaws have produced equally negative effects.

“Many students weren't using the crosswalk effectively because the delay on the light was so long, people would get tired of waiting and run across through breaks in traffic,” said Kay, who was critical of the way the city's Traffic Engineering and Operations department dealt with the concern.

“They recognized that this was a problem and addressed it by adjusting the light to be more responsive off of rush hour. The city is very concerned with traffic backup,” added Kay.

McMaster student Patricia Consentino also commented on the situation. “I live on the other side of Cootes Dr. and I use the light everyday. Sometimes I get sick of waiting for the light to change and I just go when I see a clear path.”

This type of impatience is exactly what has Mike Hill, manager of Hamilton's Risk Assessment services, so frustrated with over the issue of street safety, to which he cited as the responsibility of the pedestrian. “Students show no regards for the rules of the community. We can't keep putting up barriers, people need to start taking accountability for their own actions.”

Andrew Blair, a third year McMaster student said it is up to the individual to take responsibility - whether it is a pedestrian or a driver. “If you're a pedestrian, make sure you're not stepping out in front of a moving car. If you're a driver, you have to realize that people can get seriously injured by your vehicle if you're not paying attention or being careless.”

Hill added that cost is a factor. “Infrastructure costs money and we have to get the message out to force people to do things in a responsible way, not just as they please.”

The infrastructure that Hill is referring to includes other streetlights in high traffic areas, such as near shopping centers and a handful of red light cameras strewn across the city to catch motorists who fail to beat the changing lights.

According to the City of Hamilton website, these cameras are responsible for an almost eight per cent decrease in intersection collisions throughout Hamilton.

However, this figure is somewhat contradictory to the Hamilton Police Services traffic report for 2004-05, which cites only a one per cent decrease in motor vehicle accidents. This statistic is paired with an increase of 16.6 per cent in vehicle collision fatalities, which rose from 17 in 2004 to 20 in 2005.

One proposed method to improve street safety in Hamilton is to desynchronize the traffic lights on King St. W. and Main St. W. to prevent speeding, though Kay does not see this as being the answer. “We suggested the city could deal with speed by altering the synchronized “green wave' to hold cars to a maximum 50km/h. This is something they could do right away to slow speeds and make the pedestrian climate much safer.”

Kay remains optimistic, especially in light of the recent change in the mayoral guard. “The city has always catered to the motorist, an example being all the one-way streets and arterial roads. They need to develop express bus lanes and more bike lanes. I do get the impression we'll get further with [Fred] Eisenberger than we did with [Larry] Dianni as there's indications of move towards more environmental programs.”

MARCH MEETING

TLC meeting, Monday, March 19, 5:00pm at McMaster University Student Centre room 229.
Agenda - Discussion and input on the City of Hamilton Transportation Master Plan

Dear Terry and Karen:

Thanks for this update. I hope that some of the actions will improve the traffic situation on Campus. I think that the efforts at the main street entrance will have a positive effect in the short term. I am sure that this will need constant attention until there is a more permanent solution such as a gated entrance and exit. Thank you for your efforts to try to reduce conflict between pedestrians/cyclists and cars. I will share this information with TLC.

Cheers, Jim

Dr. James S. Quinn, Professor, Biology Department
McMaster University

-----Original Message-----
From: Terry Sullivan [mailto:sullivan@mcmaster.ca]
Sent: 03 March 2007 21:15
To: 'Karen Belaire'; 'jim quinn'; 'Terry Sullivan'
Cc: 'Cathy O'Donnell'
Subject: RE: Main Street Entrance problems

Karen and Dr. Quinn,

Karen has mentioned some of the problems which we face while trying to resolve a problem with heavy traffic using our Sterling Street entrance. This coupled with about 450 HSR buses traveling through our University Ave results in a traffic flow that we try to manage. You may have noticed the improved style of crosswalk (piano heavy making) and the installation of stop signs midway through University Ave. We have also reviewed all crosswalks throughout the university and have or will be improving them.

I met with HSR and Councilor McHattie a week ago and expressed our support for moving the almost 100 HSR - Bee Line buses back to Main Street and off of University. There is a little conflict in that many of the passengers object to having it moved from the University Core and Main Street.

Beginning next week we will assign officers at the Main Street Entrance to ensure only those who should be using it will be doing so. All permit holders will be warned and turned around. Repeated attempts will result in tickets. We will report results to you on completion.

Sgt. O'Donnell will you assign the CP officer to this detail. Log times and results and develop plan to ticket repeat offenders.

Thanks.

Terry

---

From: Karen Belaire [mailto:belaire@mcmaster.ca]
Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 2:46 PM
To: jim quinn; Terry Sullivan
Subject: Re: Main Street Entrance problems

Jim
I know that when we last exchanged emails I informed you of the challenges that the University was facing with the neighborhood association regarding traffic through the community. The result of that challenge was that HPS began ticketing all truck traffic . We then reached an interim solution with the neighborhood regarding the movement of truck traffic - the result is that it is moving through campus and we have implemented stop signs and crosswalk areas as well as escort services to ensure the safety of the pedestrians and cyclists on campus.
We are challenging this action with the city of Hamilton and it is taking longer than I would like to get this resolved. I won't bore you with the legal discussions , but I can tell you that they are continuing.
We have also been in discussion with HSR to address increasing bus traffic on the campus - and we have asked specifically for some buses to be moved off of our campus - again we wait for HSR to respond. HSR is not being an active participant in trying to find a solution to the traffic concerns. We have also engaged our lawyer to assist in these discussions.
We continue to monitor the traffic on campus and Terry Sullivan and the security staff do their best to catch people who are not abiding by our traffic rules - Unfortunately we do not have dedicated traffic security staff - they must do a lot of security services all across the campus and the staffing numbers have not been increased as the budget has been reduced in this area. On top of this we now have to provide escort services to the truck traffic.

I have copied Terry on your emails and he is doing his best to address your traffic concerns . We will do our very best to increase our ticketing of the traffic violators.

Terry may want to add some additional comments to this as he is closer to the action than I am.

Karen Belaire

staying on the case...McMaster Front Entrance

Friday, March 2, 2007

Dear Karen:

Although I have written three memo’s representing TLC on this issue between this and last year, I am writing today representing only myself, and mainly out of pure frustration. If you have been dealing with important personal or extenuating circumstances that have prevented responding to my last two messages, then I extend my best wishes for an upturn and look forward to an eventual reply to my those memos.

As a member of the original Main Street Entrance Steering committee I opposed many features of this entrance. The basis for my opposition, shared with other pedestrian/cycling advocates, was that the plan brought traffic onto the main campus and into conflict with cyclists and pedestrians unnecessarily. We lost the main arguments, being outnumbered by others that voted in favour of the basic plan. However, we won a number of concessions. Some of those concessions included physical structures, such as raised crosswalks, while others involved the operation of the Kiosk that was to ensure that only visitors to campus whom wished to pay and then park in lot 3 would be allowed to proceed through that entrance (buses, emergency vehicles etc. were to be exempted from this restriction). As time has gone by these “soft” or non-physical concessions have eroded away. TLC’s concerns have been expressed and the only response that we have received from you, dated January 15, 2007 (responding to questions that were initiated by my TLC memo to Dr. George dated June 6, 2006), did not address the concerns at all, deftly deflecting the campus traffic issue to an unrelated topic that was easy for you to rationalise, but was not the concern of our memo.

The past two storm events forced me temporarily to change my cycling route to campus, bringing me in through the main street entrance instead of across Cootes Drive. I have been frustrated to watch cars pass the kiosk in the open lane to the right and drive straight through to lot 3, despite assurances that a) non-visitors would not be allowed access to parking lot 3 through the main street entrance and b) folks would not be permitted to drive onto campus to drop passengers off. This was an issue that we had already identified during meetings of the steering committee. We were assured that this problem would be circumvented. It would appear that there is no intention to follow through on this promise, or that it is failing.

In addition to concerns over the operation of the Main street entrance there have been other changes to the roads on campus. There have been crosswalks and stop signs put in place. I do not know whether this has normalised driving through parts of campus that are designated only for pedestrians, buses, and service vehicles, but I am seeing more and more traffic that appears to be students and other folks driving through from the south west parts of campus (including from the Main street entrance) through campus to Sterling street or the parking lots near the Sterling street entrance. Many of those cars, especially after dark, seem to be travelling at high rates of speed as if they think this is now an open thoroughfare. While I recognise that this was not the intention of the changes, and it may not even be related to these changes, more drivers seem to be ignoring the small signs designating non-traffic areas and traveling on campus past the front of Life Sciences and Divinity college. This increased danger might be reduced by more prominent signage and increased efforts to enforce.

I am frustrated and would like to see some positive changes that favour pedestrians,cyclists and safety over unsustainable transportation and danger!

Sincerely,

Jim

Dr. James S. Quinn, Professor, Biology Department
McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1