SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
So pretty much Hamilton is on the hook if it goes over a billion. Sounds like the Feds should pony up $ before the election.
Hamilton Hamilton Line B LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx
- Thread starter Kiwi
- Start date
So pretty much Hamilton is on the hook if it goes over a billion. Sounds like the Feds should pony up $ before the election.
micheal_can
Senior Member
Sounds like a great stop on the campaign trail this year.
JasonParis
Moderator
Wow, has anyone ever tried arguing with Hamilton's large, but minority, anti-LRT crowd online? They are some of the most ferociously anti-urban people I've ever come across anywhere.
blaixx
Active Member
Obviously terrible PR for the project given that many people were sold on "100% funded by the province". In the grand scheme of things, if this project goes through over budget and Hamilton is hit with a $100+ million bill, it would still be a tremendous value to Hamilton at 90% provincial funding.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
They are definitely anti-urban. If they were pro-urban, then maybe they would have this LRT line up and running by now?
mdrejhon
Senior Member
We've also got the most fervent pro-LRT people, too!
Our LRT rally was Ontario's bigger -- reportedly even bigger than the 1970s Toronto streetcar rallies.
The council and the population keeps voting LRT.
Hamilton definitely will just keep trying until the LRT is finally built.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
We've also got the most fervent pro-LRT people, too!
Our LRT rally was Ontario's bigger -- reportedly even bigger than the 1970s Toronto streetcar rallies.
The council and the population keeps voting LRT.
Hamilton definitely will just keep trying until the LRT is finally built.
Blame the Ford for fear monging people into hating streetcars/LRTs.
steveintoronto
Superstar
Like it or not, that's not how the Feds dole out their share of grants. The Province is on the hook, and then reimbursed once the project is finished, or finished enough to the satisfaction of the Feds. Again, like it or not, there's good reason for the Feds doing it this way, not least to not 'get stuck with the bill'.
I hate to say this, and I'm the messenger, this isn't my choice, but it's not looking good for Hamilton's LRT. The tea leaves were there to read post Ontario election, and many of we cynics are being proven correct. That being said, Hamilton is not alone. I predict the Relief Line *as touted* is also dead in the tunnel water.
But I do think the Feds will make a move, but not to shore up individual civic projects. It's going to have to be something over-arching, like championing The Missing Link, with the Province, and with Enterprise (including the InfraBank). That will allow Metrolinx an 'easy way out' too, and drop a large number of projects in lieu of.
There's irony in that the best 'way out' for all three levels of government is to unite around one massive project that then renders the rest of the projects much more doable.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Does Hamilton need an LRT? Anyone here willing to answer that, I am not agisant LRTs, I just wonder if a city with a medium-to small sized population needs an LRT.
steveintoronto
Superstar
I'm very much pro transit, but your question is a good one. They need something, but I'm not too sure this is it. The route sucks. And it will be very slow.
Let me say this, and it's been a few years since I looked into their system and the latest proposal: The benefit they'd gain from having one pales compared to other cities, and I can't help but wonder if it's going to be an orphaned part of their transit system mostly due to 'we want one too' rather than as a part of a change to a much more rational way of delivering transit in Hamilton.
The real shame is historically, Hamilton used to have a very well developed streetcar system, and after that, trolley buses. I'm watching this one from a distance. Perhaps easy, since Toronto is an example where LRTs *should* work very well. Toronto lends itself to such by being on an established grid system.
Hamilton's case isn't helped by being a massive conurbation of what was mostly Wentworth County, a forced amalgamation, and like Toronto, forever married in a very mismatched betrothal. Downtown Hamilton has nothing in common with most of the rest of it.
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OneCity
Senior Member
First I think it will really help Hamiltons Core and warn areas along the LRT route will re-develop nicely for decades to come so Id like to see it built mainly for that reason. 50-100 years from now once the development take place it will be a great asset for these specific areas
But necessity really depends who you ask and where they live within the Greater Hamilton or their occupation. For many residents in the greater Hamilton landscape there is next to no benefit, for others near the line there are improved lifestyle benefits and huge economic benefits for a few current, soon to be future residents, business owners, moreso business associated with construction and development.
Bottom like if we are going to plan these sugar sweet projects in select parts while many surrounding Hamilton areas receive minimal to no benefit from then these other areas should also receive some type of extra funding closer to home to boost their own areas. Otherwise it becomes unjust stealing of taxes and will cause political chaos, and taxation fear for generation to come. There is no other way we should be proceeding without looking for ways to invest better in all these other areas in parallel
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thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
I still do wonder, if they do need it (I'm pro transit as well, don't say I am an Ford supporter!) just because this is the first example, aside from Kitchener/Waterloo, that an LRT has been built in a smaller city. Mississauga is fairly medium size
micheal_can
Senior Member
Do they run bus routes that follow the routes of the BLAST network? How does the ridership stack up?
blaixx
Active Member
There are express bus routes (limited stops) on the A and B line routes and local service on B, A, S, and T routes. I can't find any specific numbers, but the vast majority of bus trips in Hamilton are along the B line (LRT) corridor.
blaixx
Active Member
Hamilton is much closer in size to Mississauga than K-W. And it's impossible to define which cities "need" or don't need an LRT. I think in the case of Hamilton, the LRT is a tremendous opportunity to revitalize the downtown, which it not seen as the nicest area. It's also a chance to improve urban density and limit urban sprawl which is going on all across Ontario.