Small extensions make a lot of sense for Hamilton imo. The James spur made/makes a lot of sense given the importance of the corridor and cements it as LRT—at least in the lower city— instead of BRT.
I actually think there’s a lot of places where small extensions/spurs could be introduced, lending the LRT to becoming a trunk line. By comparison with KW-C/iON, Hamilton’s travel demand doesnt taper off nearly as quickly from their respective King Street’s given the city’s morphology. With more city control over the LRT’s ops and expansion, we’d likely prefer service flexibility akin to the TTC’s streetcars, and favour piecemeal growth. This would be pragmatic and precise for a cash-strapped Hammer, especially given the intimate knowledge of travel demand the HSR has.
That’s opposed to Metrolinx, who will wait on entire corridors to be transit ready. Full RT BL(E)AST is decades off, but branches to Dundas, Centre mall, Confederation, Meadowlands, and a phased A-line to Limeridge, etc. is much more actionable. It can be less track-kms than a single new line, but hit more of BLAST’s key nodes than any single line would. It also allows for the fabled “continuous work” expansion model.
Aside from initially helping sort/fund this arrangement with the city, Metrolinx can come in and help us out again (in their typical style) when we need a line to climb the escarpment. Save future once-a-generation funding for projects of corresponding scope, like this project itself.