tolling for thee

CATCH News – February 8, 2011

Road tolls just a matter of time

User fees on roads, sewers and stormwater facilities are necessary to impress on people that they are dealing with scarce resources says Harry Kitchen. The municipal expert sees user fees as a logical response to the infrastructure deficit that is plaguing cities and advises senior levels of government to require them before bailing out cities.  

Kitchen is renowned in some quarters and reviled in others for recommending in 2008 that Ontario slap tolls on its major highways and expressways, including the Linc and the Red Hill Valley Parkway. Notably unrepentant, he spoke to the Transport Futures 2011 Mobility Pricing Conference in Toronto last week.

“You need user fees so that the user realizes that the resource in question is scarce,” he argued. “In that way, it’s not overused.”

As recently reported in CATCH, Hamilton has about $15 billion in infrastructure with roads comprising the biggest portion. The cash-strapped city is currently managing to replace only one per cent of its roads each year, generating squabbles between urban and suburban councillors over whose roads should have priority.

Kitchen noted that there was “a growing tendency” for people to at least think about road-tolling, especially the younger crowd. Older people, long habituated to use of cars, are more resistant, he observed. But road tolling is coming, he and other speakers at the conference agreed. It’s a question of when.

VELO VETO at CITY HALL

bike lanes that just end, bike routes that don't connect.

Councillor veto power over bike lanes

The cancellation of an east-west bike lane across the east mountain leaves that area with no alternatives either in place or promised in the cycling master plan. The veto power invoked by the ward councillor to block the Queensdale Avenue route wasn’t specifically provided for in the council resolution or in the debate that led up to it but seems to have become an accepted practice.

Tom Jackson cancelled the 3.2 kilometre route last year despite its inclusion in the approved master plan and the Queensdale Avenue reconstruction went ahead without it. Jackson’s opposition to commuter cycling facilities could threaten three other approved bike lanes in his ward.

The master plan went before the city’s public works committee in June 2009 prompting Jackson to voice some concerns. Initially he askedif voting for it would mean “that I’m supporting what looks like about 300 or more cycling links that have been highlighted in this report.”

Traffic chief Hart Solomon replied that “the intention is to implement the network as shown” but noted that at the master planning stage “you can’t perceive every circumstance, every constraint, that you’re going to run into”.

Jackson said the response made him “nervous” and asked if staff would push ahead if “there’s feedback from community” and “they feel overwhelmingly it’s just not going to work”, or would staff be willing to abandon some proposed lanes. Solomon indicated a willingness to do so, but stressed the importance of “continuity” in the cycling network.

“It’s sort of the weakest link in the chain approach.  If there’s a kilometer or kilometer and a half the cyclist doesn’t feel comfortable riding, he will not make the journey,” he explained. “But having said that, we depend on the support of the members of council and council as a whole in implementing this and will simply, as the note up there says, on contentious issues we’re going to work with you and try and work our way through this.” 

“At the end of the day, if it’s simply not possible then the plan will have to be revised,” Solomon continued.  “There’s a possibility after 5 years we’ll revise, certainly after 10, and we’ll have to revise the plan to find alternate routes to achieve the continuity we need in the network.”

Jackson went on to repeat that he was “just not detecting a clamouring from a large number of our citizenry from a commuter standpoint to spend the money, taxpayer money, to convert a lot of our road network”, although he was supportive of strictly recreational trail development. He subsequently sought an alteration to the staff request for endorsement of the master plan.

“Could I respectfully suggest that after the word ‘endorse’ could I put in an amendment conditional upon individual links being subject to community feedback in consultation with the ward councilor in affected neighbourhoods,” he moved. “That captures what Mr. Solomon said to me in response, but I want to put that in writing.”

It’s apparently that wording that led Jackson to order city staff to cancel the Queensdale bike lanes after taking a “straw vote” at a neighbourhood meeting last April. Prior to organizing that meeting – attended by about 40 people, some of whom supported the lanes – the councillor had attempted to put off “bike markings” until after the re-construction work on the road.

At this point, the only bike lanes in Jackson’s ward run along Stone Church Road and had been put in place prior to the adoption of the cycling master plan. Recreational pedestrian/cycling routes are in place on a rail trail running along the eastern edge of the ward and through conservation lands near Albion Falls.

North-south lanes are proposed for Upper Ottawa and Upper Sherman, plus a short east-west section at the eastern end of Limeridge Road, but none of these have are currently at an active planning stage. The “building the bike network” page on the city’s website lists projects “in the works” and being planned as well as a category of “projects not proceeding” that contains just one line: “Queensdale Avenue – as councillor approval was not granted”.

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 hamiltoncatch.org. You can receive all CATCH free updates by sending an email to http://hamiltoncatch.org/newsletter/?p=subscribe. Sharing links are available on thehamiltoncatch.org.

Resistance to Road widening in Ancaster...

Check Out preserveancastervillage.com/ 

No rush for Ancaster road repairs, says residents’ coalition

The city is eager to move ahead with road improvements in Ancaster’s historic core, but a group of residents is pleading for more time to review the changes the city has proposed.

According to Mark Cosens, spokesperson for the Preserve Ancaster Village Coalition, the city’s plan is marred by “inadequate public feedback, a lack of transparency and numerous inconsistencies with existing research and planning documents.”

The $37.6 million plan calls for a full facelift of Wilson Street East, complete with new sidewalks, bike lanes and a third left-hand turn lane in some areas. 

The extensive list of revisions also includes plans to widen Rousseaux Street as well as Stone Church, Garner, Mohawk and Golf Links roads. The city has also proposed a roundabout at the intersection of Wilson and Jerseyville Road, and reconstruction of the intersection at Wilson and Rousseaux.

According to city officials, the changes will improve traffic flow through the village core and alleviate rush-hour congestion caused by drivers crossing town to get to the westbound 403. It will also help traffic move more smoothly at the corner of Rousseaux and Wilson, which councillor Lloyd Ferguson said city staff consider the “worst intersection in the City of Hamilton.”

“Wilson Street is in deplorable shape and it needs capital improvements,” Ferguson said in a recent interview. “But we can’t get the capital dollars needed to go forward with those repairs until we have the transportation master plan.”

Ferguson said the funding for the plan was approved four years ago in the capital budget and the city has completed its report on the proposed changes. That report is out for public consultation until Jan. 31, leaving local residents three weeks to respond to the proposal before the city can move forward.

For Cosens, that’s just not enough time to carefully evaluate the plan and come up with feasible alternatives — especially since the report wasn’t made available to the public before Dec. 8.

At a meeting of the Ancaster Heritage Village BIA Jan. 17, his six-person group announced it was asking city council for an additional three months for Ancaster residents and business owners to review and respond to the plans.

“People who have studied the issue up until now have had years to do it,” Cosens said in a recent interview. “It feels like all of a sudden there’s a mad rush to make a decision that’s going to have a significant impact on our community. I don’t feel we’ve had anywhere near adequate time to be consulted.”

However, Ferguson said a majority of BIA members disagree with the need to extend the public consultation period. The Ancaster branch of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce has also sided firmly with the city on the issue.

BIA chair Bob Wilkins said he wasn’t prepared to make a statement on the BIA’s position at this time.

Cosens’ group has taken issue with several aspects of the plan, and said the proposal clashes with the needs of those who call the quaint village home.

For instance, he said the proposed roundabout will likely confuse drivers and speed up traffic along the historic Wilson Street strip. This, he suspects, will make it even tougher for people to get across the street – a street which he said already has too few traffic lights and pedestrians crossings.

He also said the plan fails to adequately address the issue of westbound access to the Highway 403. There is no direct westbound access to the highway between Wilson Street, at the west end of the village, and Aberdeen Avenue.

“The sum of it is that it will be harmful, not helpful,” Cosens said. “There’s a lot more work that needs to be done.”

“This is the one part of Ancaster that remains largely as it has always been and we should do our best to preserve it,” he added. “Everything else has, for one reason or another, been developed to our detriment.”

Ferguson, however, had a different view.

He said the changes won’t affect the character of the village and, more importantly, they’re practical.

“There’s still a large contingent of people who have to get home every night from work and get the kids out to soccer and gymnastics and hockey,” he said. “That’s the balance we’ve got to reach with this thing.”

Ferguson also disputed Cosens’ claim about access to the westbound 403. He said the city is actively consulting with the ministry about the creation of an additional on-ramp at Golf Links Road.

Moreover, he said it’s misleading to portray the project as a burden to taxpayers, since less than a third of the nearly $38 million price tag will come from the city’s coffers. The rest of the project is developer-funded, Ferguson said.

The city is willing to listen to the coalition’s concerns with respect to traffic calming and the need for additional pedestrian crossings on Wilson Street, he added.

The coalition is hosting a public meeting Wednesday, Jan. 26, at the St. John’s Parish Hall in Ancaster at 7 p.m. More information can be found on the group’s website at: preserveancastervillage.com/

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/477477--no-rush-for-ancaster-road-repairs-says-residents-coalition

bike lanes and ward politics

CATCH News – January 21, 2011
Councillor veto on bike lanes to be reviewed


Staff are being asked to design a formal public consultation process on the installation of new bike lanes to replace the current ad hoc system that allows individual councillors to veto approved cycling facilities in their ward. The change proposed at Monday’s public works committee was questioned by the councillor who last year blocked a major mountain bike lane.
Debate was opened this week by Terry Whitehead asking staff why he hadn’t been consulted about bike lanes on Stone Church Road. He was responding to the committee’s receipt of the minutes of the Hamilton Cycling Committee – a group of volunteers who advise the city.

“Certainly the feedback I’m getting in regards to our bike lanes appearing on the west mountain, the residents feel that they haven’t been part and parcel of the consultation,” he noted. “So I am trying to understand what the process is so I can be able to communicate to those residents who are impacted by this plan.”

Daryl Bender, the city’s alternative transportation coordinator, explained that the Stone Church lanes have been “embedded in the construction project” on that road, but offered to increase consultation with Whitehead.

That led Brian McHattie to ask for “a more formal consultation process” rather than “inventing it as we along or playing catch up.” He cited the challenges he faced in last year’s installation of bike lanes on Dundurn Street South.

“The role of the ward councillor is a little unclear to me as well, as to whether that's in fact a veto role where if I didn't want the Dundurn bike lanes I just would have said I don't want them and they wouldn't have happened,” he explained. “I’m not sure that's the best process.”
Committee chair Russ Powers agreed that there is “perhaps a need to formalize a process” that staff should develop. That brought Tom Jackson into the discussion to remind his colleagues that he was the author of the current veto system and argue that “it would be unfair to staff just to go back and review” the council resolution on the bike lane master plan.

“One of the amendments was subject to a neighbourhood and ward councilor consultations which I think is exactly what Councillor Whitehead is getting at, that I think are incredibly important and critical before the master plan in certain parts of the city is overall implemented,” he contended. “It was a council resolution and I think it was a worthy one a prudent one and one that I supported last term to say that neighbourhoods and ward councilors should be consulted before the final implementation in those particular areas.”

Powers responded that the request for the review doesn’t contradict that practice, but just would just lead to a required consultation process “to ensure that that takes place”.

Last year Jackson vetoed a 3.3 kilometre installation of bike lanes on Queensdale Avenue between Upper Wellington and Upper Ottawa that are part of the city’s cycling master plan approved in 2009. In email correspondence obtained by CATCH through a Freedom of Information request, he initially argued that scheduled reconstruction of the road should proceed without a decision.

“I still maintain that I do not detect a clamouring for more ‘commuter’ bike lanes across the mountain,” Jackson wrote to Bender at the time. “The possible loss of parking on the north side cannot be dismissed that easily.”

Bender had explained in an earlier email that a staff investigation “found the highest demand for parking was less than 30% of available parking” on Queensdale.

“We are not accommodating the occasional cyclist,” he explained. “Rather, by improving the street for cyclists, the intent is to improve the street for bicycle traffic, thereby increasing bicycle traffic.”

Jackson ruled against the bike lanes after a neighbourhood meeting of about 40 people in April that was also attended by members of the cycling committee.

“Taking the comments under advisement and with the ‘straw vote’ and taking into consideration the citizens that were there both from the Highview/Sunninghill neighbourhoods (bordering Queensdale itself) and those who were from other parts of the city, I am satisfied with the reconstruction plan proceeding WITHOUT bicycle markings,” Jackson explained in an email to city staff. “As well and as discussed, there will be NO loss of parking on the north side of Queensdale and NO need to re-locate any fire hydrants.”

It’s unclear when Bender might report back to the public works committee on possible formalization of the public consultation process on bike lane installation. Later in the same meeting, Whitehead questioned the appropriateness of the cycling committee having reserve funds.
“I like to see people stick to their budget,” he stated. “If there is a surplus you go back to general revenues, not into reserves.”



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 hamiltoncatch.org. You can receive all CATCH free updates by sending an email to http://hamiltoncatch.org/newsletter/?p=subscribe. Sharing links are available on the hamiltoncatch.org.

we all know someone like this

design the b-line

Open Houses to review the draft design of the B-Line & Land Use Studies for both A & B-Lines

The City of Hamilton invites you to a series of Public Information Sessions.  This is your opportunity to:

• Give your view on the ongoing development of a Rapid Transit network for Hamilton
• Review details of the proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) scheme for the B-Line corridor between McMaster and Eastgate
• Discuss and contribute to land use planning issues and opportunities along both the A-Line (Waterfront to Airport) and B-Line (McMaster to Eastgate) corridors

Staff will be available to explain proposals, answer your questions and understand your points of view.  In addition, members from the Rapid Transit Citizen Advisory Committee (RTCAC) will be in attendance to listen to your views.

January 19, 2011 - Downtown - Scottish Rite (4 Queen St S), 6-8pm

January 20, 2011 - West end - Westdale Secondary School (700 Main St W), 6-8pm

January 25, 2011 - East end - Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School (1715 Main St E), 6-8pm

January 27, 2011 – Mountain – Courtyard Marriott (1224 UpperJames St), 6-8pm

For further information about the Rapid Transit initiative, please visit http://www.hamilton.ca/rapid-transit.

Roads Eat Capital Budget

Roads are eating their way into local taxpayers pockets in a big, ongoing way. CATCH is reporting that the draft budget for Hamilton allocates "Nearly one-quarter of this year’s spending...for roads. But that $52.65 million is still $85.35 million less than staff believe is required....Roads are forecast to consume 45 percent of the capital budget over the next decade."

One year ago, this discussion took place, revealing the underlying cost pressure of building roads - not much has changed in practice, but perhaps with Bratina now as Mayor, this issue will be more closely scrutinized.

Downtown councillor Bob Bratina and the general manager of public works, Gerry Davis, transcribed by CATCH.

Bratina: Gerry, how much does it cost to maintain a lane kilometre ?

Davis: Summer and winter included, it’s approximately $10,000 per lane kilometre.

Bratina: How many lane kilometres have we added in the last ten years, roughly?

Davis: We’ve added, I would say, probably upwards 500-700 lane kilometres.

Bratina: A year, on average?

Davis: On average about 50 or 70 a year, Rick? So 60.

Bratina: So if we can’t afford to maintain these lane kilometres of road, why do we add them?

Bratina was calling the city on this again in June 2010

“This looks to me like somebody’s got four clunker cars they can’t afford to fix, so he goes out and buys another car,” the ward two councillor observed. “And the comment that I hear at the table today is well the province didn’t give us enough money to fix these roads. I’m not very good at this accounting stuff, but this seems fairly simple to me. We keep building infrastructure we can’t afford to fix.”

City finance chief Rob Rossini responded that the report showed “how much stuff we actually own” and suggested that reduction is one of the objectives of the province in requiring the reports.

“Part of the rationale for the province doing this is for municipalities to look at their assets as to which ones do we still need, which ones can we surplus and rationalize on a going forward basis,” Rossini noted. “So I think that’s part of the underlying thing that the province wants us to do.”

Does Hamilton have too much road? Can we look at saving money (not to mention the environment) by rationalizing and reducing redundant roadways? Road diets?

platoon

Wide, multi-lane, one-way streets with traffic lights synchronized to allow maximum flow in Hamilton have this "platooning" effect on traffic:

Friday, 3pm Main, looking west from Queen Street

The traffic comes in dense waves, with these huge gaps (photo above). A two-way system would not have these barren zones, as traffic would be forced into a narrower lane configuration, likely resulting in a more steady, if slower (i.e. safer) flow. Currently, the "green wave" of synchronized lights allows for fast moving traffic, which makes the cycling and pedestrian experience uncomfortable and unsafe, which is why you don't see much of that activity along Main.

20 seconds later...

King and Main from Eastgate to Mac up for discussion

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

Details below….

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

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

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

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

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

E-mail: nodesandcorridors@hamilton.ca

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

www.hamilton.ca/nodesandcorridors

bollards and barriers - the case for physically separated bicycle lanes

http://streetswiki.wikispaces.com/Physically+Separated+Bike+Lanes

Hamilton Transit in Crisis

CATCH News – December 19, 2010

Shrunken HSR in crisis

There have been 26 assaults on HSR drivers this year, a situation being blamed partly on an overloaded transit system where service has shrunk by over 40 percent in the past two decades. Demands for immediate improvements were delivered to councillors last week by several delegations and their transit staff, but to no obvious effect.

In his presentation to the general issues committee, bus union president Budh Dhillon compared today’s HSR with the one he drove for in 1989 when “we used to have 1,264,335 hours of service as opposed to 710,000” reported for 2010 for a considerably larger geographic area. When he began driving a bus 31 years ago he recalled that even on a Sunday “you didn’t have to wait more than 10 minutes for the bus” during daytime hours.

“We have about 767 less hours of service on a daily basis on the road now, where we cover a lot more area than we used to in 1989,” noted Dhillon. “And also we’ve added responsibility on the drivers for seniors, special need riders, and it takes more time to provide that service.”

He pointed to the extra time required to handle passengers with walkers, wheelchairs, scooters and bicycles, and the situation on several HSR routes where full buses are unable to pick up waiting riders. 

“We have to leave the people at the stops to wait for the next bus, and chances are the next bus might be full. That happens on a daily basis, especially on the major routes King, B-Line and going into the university, Upper James. That’s where you get the frustrated clients, frustrated passengers. They’ve been waiting for the bus in the cold and can’t get on.”

In 1989, the HSR had 272 buses on the road, compared to 217 today, and it carried six million more passengers than the 21 million this year. And the city population served by transit has climbed from 400,000 in 1989 to 475,000 today.

Dhillon’s call for more transit funding was echoed by John McIntyre, the vice-president of the McMaster Students Union who argued improved service must occur before any fare hikes. He noted that McMaster student passes contribute $2.5 million a year to the HSR, about 8 percent of the transit budget, and they have a referendum in February to decide on whether or not to continue the contract.

The drivers’ observations were supported by the Transit Users Group represented by Peter Hutton.

“You have a crisis; it’s getting worse,” he emphasized. “It’s not only on the west-end routes, it’s in the Mohawk routes, it’s in all sorts of different places, and you’re not going to get additional riders on the system until you address this.”

The message was also similar from Tom Cooper of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction and Maureen Leyland of the Common Coalition Campaign working to alleviate poverty. Both expressed strong support for the recommendations from HSR director Don Hull to immediately add $3 million to the transit operating budget by using monies not currently needed for bus purchases.

Although that proposal won’t raise taxes, councillors voted to again defer a decision until they debate the city’s 2011 budget that is scheduled to be ratified in April. Shifting the $3 million to expand service on eight HSR routes has been discussed since November 2009 and was also put off by councillors last summer.

The deferral last week was proposed by Tom Jackson who called Hull’s recommendation “noble” and “probably needed to some degree” but argued that no decision should be made until councillors “see how it all measures up in light of other departmental pressures and in light of the overall capital and operating budgets that we’re going to see over the next few months.”

Transcript available

The transit presentation made by St Thomas More teachers and one of their students was reported on in the Hamilton Spectator on Saturday. A transcript of their presentation, as well as questions and comments by councillors in response, has been prepared by CATCH volunteers and is posted here.

sELFish season?

This person seemed to be in such a busy, important rush, that a lack of parking close to their destination in Westdale caused them to seek an alternative - the sidewalk.

People with strollers, or walking side-by-side sharing good cheer would have had a difficult time getting past this obstacle.

Parking in bike lanes, now parking on sidewalks. What's next, parking in the store?

BFCL 549 - you win some kind of Grinch award!

ham il to n bi k e lan es

Some new bike lane paint on York Bld approaching the re-configured (converted to 2-way traffic with bike lanes) stretch between Bay and James.

A quick check with city cycling staff confirms that the bike lane will not be continuous from the existing lane ending west of Dundurn, and the new lanes, east of Queen. There are "sharrows" from Dundurn to Locke.

A fully integrated bike lane is included in the Cycling Master Plan, but according to staffer Daryl Bender "the challenge" is the narrow width of the existing asphalt.

A frequently voiced complaint among Hamilton's cycling, and would-be cycling community is the lack of continuous bike lanes. This latest project will, unfortunately, be another such example.

If we want to see more cycling, these broken links stand as barriers. Why not solve the challenge by taking one of the three one-way lanes on York in the "narrow" stretch and making it available to cyclists? Only then will the integrity of the lanes be intact.

Starving Transit?

CATCH News – November 22, 2010

Bus improvements and fare hikes on agenda

The new council will grapple with possible bus fare hikes and route changes before the end of the year. Fares were raised last January, but not as much as recommended by staff, and a provision of more monies to the HSR for service improvements is also up for debate.

The new council takes office on December 1 in a strictly ceremonial inaugural meeting, but will be asked to make several key decisions before Christmas – including raising water and sewer rates and other fees, and finalizing the transit budget before discussing other aspects of next year’s budget. The rush to raise fees is intended to ensure these can be collected as early as possible in 2011.

The transit budget is scheduled for debate on the morning of Tuesday, December 14, but actual proposals from staff won’t be made public before December 10. Ridership this year was higher than expected and bus repair costs were lower, but those revenue gains have already been shifted to reserves – leaving the overall 2010 budget at “a net zero position”.

HSR cash fares have climbed more than 20 percent since June 2007, while the price of adult monthly passes has jumped by a third and school-age passes have gone up 40 percent (see table below). But rising fuel prices and regular wage increases of transit employees could be used to argue for another fare hike for 2011.

Last year’s recommended increase was 20 cents a ride, but some councillors wanted less and a 15 cent increase was eventually adopted by a narrow 9-7 vote. Three of those who voted in favour aren’t part of the new council – Fred Eisenberger, Margaret McCarthy and Dave Mitchell – all of whom supported the 20 cent hike.

The seniors’ annual pass was left at the $205 level it’s been fixed at since 2003, but adult and student passes each climbed $8 a month to $87 and $71 respectively. That translated into $96 more per year for each regular rider – and much more for those with several family members using the transit system.
Council refused to consider the alternative of raising taxes to cover increased HSR expenditures. It also ignored commentary in the staff report that suggested that might be the best option:

“Ideally, transit program managers recommend fare increases to generate new revenue to fund service level increases stipulated in corporate strategic objectives,” stated the report. “Less desirably, in a challenged fiscal environment, fare increases are applied to meet fiscal goals for program budgets versus strategic goals. Finally, fare increases where the new revenue is used to offset increases to the general tax levy are detrimental to the sustainability of transit programs.”

In its final resolution, council directed staff to come up with a policy for automatically raising fares without a council debate, but that hasn’t happened yet. A second issue facing councillors is a proposal to use federal gas tax monies for transit.

The city receives $32 million a year in these payments, but so far has used none of it for bus services. Brian McHattie has been advocating that $3 million of that money be shifted to the HSR to pay for more bus service.

In August, council decided to put off that re-allocation to the 2011 transit budget, so that proposal will also be up for decision on December 14. Some councillors suggested this amount is “pie in the sky”, but it was strongly defended by transit director Don Hull who said the system really needs ten times that amount.

“$30 million is just what it would take over the next five years to keep moving towards the Transportation Master Plan,” he explained. “The $3 million that we’re asking for in alternative to the $30 million is simply what we feel we need in the very short term to prevent the public satisfaction with this program from deteriorating.”

Hamilton is one of only two municipalities that currently use none of their federal gas tax for transit. The other is Durham Region which plans to spend its entire share on a new incinerator. Hull’s August report indicated the extra monies could fund weekend service on the King, Stone Church and the B-Line routes and weekday expansion on the Delaware, Upper Kenilworth, Rymal, Locke, York and Aberdeen lines.

cycling update: Burlington

Burlington Councillor Rick Craven reports that delayed improvements to Northshore Blvd will be completed in the spring 2011:

View Northshore Paved Shoulders in a larger map

North Shore Boulevard Improvements

The plan to improve shoulders on North Shore between Eagle and Glenwood has been delayed. The work, aimed at improving pedestrian and cycling safety, was scheduled for the fall. The delay results from an opportunity to add federal/provincial infrastructure dollars to the pot allowing the city to completely resurface the road at the same time we do the shoulder work. Unfortunately, we still have not received word from Ottawa about these additional funds. Now, it’s too late to do the shoulder work this fall, but it will be done in the spring regardless of whether we receive the additional money.

The Novice Cyclist Series: Commuting 101 – McMaster to Harbourfront

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

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

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

it happens

We could do a lot better for ourselves if we put the infrastructure in place for cyclists, and transit.

TLC Meeting

TLC is meeting Thursday, November 4, 7:30pm at the McMaster University Student Centre room 224.

TLC is ten-years-old this year, and there is still a need for citizen action to ensure Hamilton gets the sustainable and accessible transportation system we deserve.

We need people to take on specific tasks so whether your strength is research, web, maps, public speaking, video editing, etc. you have a role to play.

our own private idaho law?

Bicycles, Rolling Stops, and the Idaho Stop from Spencer Boomhower on Vimeo.

Found this video with a comment over at raise the hammer. Check it out. Would you like this in Hamilton?

Great news for student transit - Guelph/Hamilton

Service that was dropped by Canada Coach between Guelph and Hamilton has been picked up by Aboutown Transportation!  Looks like two trips a day, avoiding the grueling, out of the way route that became the substitute for direct service. Guelph bound folks: does this work for you? Let us know!

New bus service links Hamilton, Guelph

GUELPH — Daily bus service between Guelph and Hamilton is running again.
London-based carrier Aboutown Transportation Ltd. began providing twice-daily service between the University of Guelph and downtown Hamilton Monday
There has been no regular service between the two cities since Coach Canada cancelled its service last year.
Those brave enough to make the trip with GO or Greyhound have had to detour through Toronto, taking up to four hours and paying up to $46 to cover 52 kilometres.
There has never been rail service between the two hubs.
Ian Weir, the University of Guelph’s manager of parking and transportation says he was “delighted” at the news.
“This new service will fill a gap in our connectivity with the regions south of Guelph,” he said.
Coach Canada service expanded in 2008 to five trips daily and prompted the university to renovate its transit loop to accommodate the increase.
That’s why many were shocked when the company abruptly dropped its service in last October, one month after students, many of them from Hamilton, had returned to class.
The company said its hand was forced to act after ridership dropped to an average of 11 passengers.
“You are not even covering the cost of the fuel,” Coach Canada spokesperson Brian Morehouse said at the time.
Starting Monday, Hamilton-bound buses will leave from the south end of the University of Guelph’s transit loop at 6 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each day, arriving at Hamilton’s GO Terminal and McMaster University about an hour later. Return buses will depart Hamilton at 7:25 a.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online or at the University Centre on campus.
The Guelph Mercury