dundas walks: Rail Trail Detour Improved

dundas walks: Rail Trail Detour Improved: "A new bridge to replace the now structurally unsound 'Powers Crossing' on the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail is not imminent, as far as we know...but the detour has been made better for cycling"

Ubiquity for bike stands (Main West)

View Bike Racks, Main West, Hamilton ON in a larger map

Transportation for Liveable Communities volunteers went location scouting for bike rack (ring and post) placement on Main Street West, Hamilton ON, between Dundas ON and Highway 403. (see map, above)

There were only two bike racks visible from the street along this 3 kilometre stretch of arterial road, with commercial and retail buildings along the way interspersed with places of worship, residential homes and low-rise/hi-rise dwellings, and educational facilities.

Green Push Pins represent TLC's suggested locations for ring and post bike racks to be installed by City of Hamilton. TLC's request was sent to Daryl Bender, Manager Sustainable Transportation, City of Hamilton, in e-mail June 30/11.

Bike racks should be easy to find near main entrances (i.e. not hidden in back corner of parking lots) and suitable for securing bicycle frame (i.e. not "wheel benders")

More about bike racks/stands here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_stand

car/air problem

CATCH News – June 28, 2011

Local air pollution mainly vehicles

Clean Air Hamilton says emissions from transportation are the main cause of local air pollution, and is advising city councillors that they should do something about this. In a special section added to their annual report, the city-funded group specifically “recognizes that strong linkages exist between planning decisions and the resulting air quality in cities.”

Chair Dr Brian McCarry says progress has been made in Hamilton air quality, but problems remain with both premature deaths and hospitalizations attributable to the air local residents breathe. And while about half of the pollutants originate in the United States, most of the rest can be reduced by local actions.

“Almost all the oxides of nitrogen … almost all the carbon monoxide, and SO2 , and most of the particulate material are locally generated,” said McCarry. “We have responsibility for those cars, trucks, industries, our lifestyle that contribute to that.”

While acknowledging local industrial pollution, he told the general issues committee the Hamilton “is primarily a motor-based city” not much different from Toronto. This means that “there are a lot of areas of the city that get very little industrial impact, and they are hit primarily, by car and truck emissions” and this is especially true for people living near major arterial roads who get “much higher exposure to these kinds of pollutants”.

Mobile monitoring studies, for example, have shown pollution levels ten times higher at major intersections than on residential streets as little as 200 metres away. McCarry went on to stress “that urban planning decisions made around this council table have direct impacts long term on air quality” and that it is “critical” for councillors to recognize this and act accordingly.

“When you say we're putting in a subdivision here, that subdivision is going to be there in 50 years,” he noted. “The kind of walkable cities that have been talked about in the economic summit is the kind of thing we've been talking about for some time and we think this is a critical issue and an opportunity for this city to step forward.”

A major achievement noted by McCarry has been the establishment of the Hamilton Air Monitoring Network – a linked collection of 17 company-operated monitoring stations that provide real-time air quality data on-line, and make Hamilton “the best monitored city in the country”. Clean Air Hamilton also supports tree planting, participates in sustainable transportation programs, and organizes the biennial Upwind Downwind Conference.

Mayor Bratina asked if city air was improving, and McCarry said it was “incrementally”, but a major problem is ozone arising from coal-fired power stations in Ohio which produce 83 percent of that state’s electricity. He also agreed with the mayor that Hamilton’s air is not significantly worse than other parts of southern Ontario, but argued that action is necessary, pointing to the improvements obtained in Portland Oregon by the establishment of light rail transit.

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.

bike lanes over troubled bridges

Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC) Hamilton

PO Box 19, 1280 Main Street West

Hamilton ON L8S 1C0

tlchamilton@gmail.com

Monday, June 27, 2011

To the Honorable Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Transportation, Ontario,

Transportation for Liveable Communities is writing to draw attention to the problems created by construction projects underway on King Street and Main Street bridges over Highway 403 (Chedoke Expressway) in Hamilton ON.

Rehabilitation of the bridge decks has created a hazardous and disruptive environment for city cyclists and pedestrians.

The loss of both east and west bound bicycle lanes on the King Street bridge (the busiest route for cyclists) forces cyclists to ride in traffic westbound, and to either dismount and walk across the narrow sidewalk eastbound (or in practice, ride along the sidewalk), or to detour to the Main Street bike lane over the bridge, which is narrow with an uneven road surface; the problem with the Main Street detour is compounded by the lack of bike lanes before or after the Main Street bridge, and the two highway off ramps. For good reason, very few cyclists choose this route, pre- or during construction. 

Alternative routes beyond these two bridges are either too out of the way (waterfront trail, a 4 k detour with steep stairs to/from the waterfront trail) or closed during construction (West Hamilton rail trail – 3k out of the way). The only other possibility would be on-street using Aberdeen/Longwood, but without bike lanes on Longwood, this is unlikely to be widely used.

For good reasons of policy, both provincial and municipal governments should be taking pains to ensure the safety of sustainable transportation users. The lack of options for crossing the impediment of highway 403 flies in the face of stated objectives by the Ministry of Transportation that recognize “A sustainable transportation system offers convenient, comfortable, safe, efficient and well-integrated mode choices.”  Multi-modal choices are to “reduce our reliance on the automobile as the primary transportation mode.” (www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/sustainability/strategy/index.shtml), which the current situation fails to do.

Interestingly enough, halving the automobile lane capacity during construction has not created traffic chaos on King or Main street bridges, indeed, TLC advocates a further lane reduction on King Street to permit the use of the curb lane (north lane) for a contra flow cycling lane, and leaving one lane for vehicles entering Westdale. Observed flows suggest this treatment would not impede traffic in a way to cause anything other than occasional minor delays, if at all.

So: to recap we have gone from two-way protected bike lane on King, and an eastbound bike lane on Main to:

1. no westbound bike lanes

2. one poor quality eastbound bike lane but only over Main bridge (i.e. not connected to bike lanes)

3. detours suggested by city that are not convenient or practical

4. pedestrians and cyclists forced together on a narrow sidewalk (King Street)

TLC strongly urges the Ministry of Transportation Ontario work with the city of Hamilton to immediately restore a demarcated contra-flow bicycle lane during the re-construction of the bridge surface on King Street.

We would appreciate a response to our very serious concerns,

TLC Hamilton

      

cc      Hamilton City Council

         MPP Ted McMeekin

         Daryl Bender, City of Hamilton, Alternative Transportation Project Manager

         Hon. Sophia Aggelontis

         Andrea Horwath

Transportation for Liveable Communities is a citizen advocacy group, founded in 2000. TLC takes action on issues of sustainable transportation in Hamilton Ontario and surrounding area, encouraging walking, cycling, transit and other options to single occupancy automobile use. tlchamilton.org

The 403 Crossing: Cyclists' Dilemma

                                                View Crossing the 403 by bicycle in a larger map

Construction work to upgrade King Street and Main Street bridges over the 403 have disrupted the cycling lanes and, combined with other construction work, have limited the options for a busy cycling corridor. This disruption is expected to remain for over one year, leaving cyclists with
1. no westbound bike lanes
2. one eastbound bike lane but only over Main bridge (i.e. not connected to bike lanes)
3. detours suggested by city that are not convenient or practical
4. pedestrians and cyclists forced together on a narrow sidewalk (King Street)


A cyclist hauling kids in a bike trailer pointed out the poor condition of the bike lane surface on Main Street over the highway - it is very narrow, uneven, with a sharp edge that could catch on the sidewall of a bike tire:

from rail to trail: bridge over Highway 403

 The long awaited development of the cycling and pedestrian link over highway 403 is underway! Paving this section of what will be an extension of the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail will allow safer cycling and hiking between the Kirkendall Neighbourhood and West Hamilton. Construction signs announce the coming activity, between Fortinos and the railyard at Studholme drive.

 This route is already well utilized by cyclists and joggers, but the paving and lighting of the path will enhance the experience, and give more human-powered commuters an off-road option.

[Above: Front end loader shifting gravel on the actual bridge over the highway.]
The highway through the Chedoke creek valley is one of the major barriers to sustainable transportation between west hamilton/Westdale and downtown since it's construction in the 1960s.

The projected completion date for this project is late September 2011.

dundas walks: Binkley Hollow Bridge

A photo and update from dundas walks: Binkley Hollow Bridge: is out of commission with a cracked support beam, a rough gravel/sand path beside the bridge is serving as a detour for cyclists and pedestrians.

Red Hill to the Lake - New Pedestrian-Cycling connection

It is big money, $8 million, but it is a big job, and it looks to be well done. The structure is comfortable to use as a cyclist or pedestrian, and the lines are bold yet simple. 

Getting non-motorized traffic over the Queen Elizabeth Way to connect the Red Hill Valley trails to the waterfront trail on Lake Ontario required a bold initiative. Thankfully, the province of Ontario came through with the majority of funds to see this project to completion.

There were a surprising number of people using the waterfront trail on a Monday mid-day, where the lake was keeping the air cool, unlike places inland where it was much warmer. 

I suspect the city authorities will be adding trail signage to help direct people to the new bridge. There was still being work done to complete the connecting trails on the far side of the bridge.

auto book talk

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

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

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



 

setting up the valley inn car free space

Construction is underway on rest areas at the now car-free Valley Inn Road. Nice to see people space being created in place of car parking. What do you think about this area now that cars are excluded? Share your thoughts.

Missing Bike Lanes on Bridges over 403

With both Main and King Street bridges over highway 403 under construction, the loss of separated bike lanes have left cyclists with a lack of infrastructure to safely cross the bridges.

Ward One councillor Brian McHattie responded to our complaint with a supportive e-mail reporting that he has requested the bike lanes be reinstalled, noting that auto traffic should be able to get by with one lane.

We'll keep you posted.

cyclists sidelined

The King Street bridge over Highway 403 is due for repair work from the Ministry of Transportation Ontario. As a result, lane reductions have left two lanes for cars and a narrow sidewalk, but nothing for cyclists.
The busy contra-flow bike lanes have been replaced with instructions to dismount and cross using the sidewalk. There are limited options for crossing the highway, with this bridge being the most popular with cyclists. So, why nothing for cyclists?
In a "balanced transportation system" touted by the city, this kind of marginalization of cycling on a major commuting route should not be occurring.

evolution of bike culture

I would trace the grassroots development of bike culture in Hamilton from the 1997 beginnings of Recycle Cycles with the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) McMaster, where the idea of starting Critical Mass Hamilton sprung (May 1998) and, after two years of rides, the formation of an advocacy group in 2000, Transportation for Liveable Communities (again through OPIRG McMaster). Other groups followed, like MaCycle and advocates for sustainable transportation at Raise the Hammer, and this wonderful group out of New Hope Bicycle Co-Op. The point is, the basis for a healthy cycling culture is blossoming, and the city needs to do more to make room for us on the streets.

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?