Hamilton Hamilton Line B LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx

It is SO good to see my hometown actually get the ball moving on the transit issue, as I used to be a transit activist there, I miss the place a bit, lol, The HSR is going to have to get some balls though, the NIMBY syndrome in Hamilton has killed many a transit project in years gone by, if you go downtown you'll notice the different patterned sidewalks with the contrasting cement bricks and colours, that was one of my projects I was deeply involved in, it's called "URBAN BRAILLE" I miss working on it.
I'm going to TRY to get to the Thursday meeting, it sounds interesting.
Don Hull, Director of HSR and Scott Stewart of Public Works actually are good people and in my opinion they believe in public transit, Don is a bit old school sometimes, but he is a great person to talk to and get ideas from and bounce ideas off him, he knows Hamilton and he is one of my favorite people there.
 
I just got back from the A-Line public meeting. There were probably around 40 people or so present, most in the 35+ demographic. Some guy plugged Hamilton Light Rail in the question period, and that was nice. There were several misconceptions cleared up, such as the one fellow who thought King/Main and James/Upper James would be closed to all traffic. Not a lot of new info, though it was mentioned that, should LRT be chosen as the technology, a new car yard would probably be located near McMaster. I don't recall hearing that before, and it's interesting to wonder if they might consider moving the downtown bus routes to that yard, as it would cut a lot of deadhead time. There were also boards scattered around with preliminary diagrams for what the road design around the stations would look like. It appears fairly standard, with platforms jutting out into the road at intersections for boarding and alighting. LRT seems to be the preferred choice overall, by both the city and the public.

Overall, it was a good public meeting.
 
Panzerfaust said:
There were also boards scattered around with preliminary diagrams for what the road design around the stations would look like. It appears fairly standard, with platforms jutting out into the road at intersections for boarding and alighting. LRT seems to be the preferred choice overall, by both the city and the public.
Click to expand...

The boards will be up online by the end of the week, I asked a rep. If not I was prepared to start snapping pictures lol.

The light rail guy made a good point that LRT is a lot better for seniors as they can wheel or roll in. Plus LRT is stable and not so bumpy. Think a lot of seniors in the room liked that point. There was a good chunk of seniors in the room.
 
Check the title of this article, did the Spec foresee the future?

Dundas added to LRT plan

Dundas has been added to a proposal for rapid transit lines in the Hamilton area.

City officials told a public meeting on the issue last night the end of an east-west line across the city has been extended to University Plaza on Osler Drive from McMaster University.

Jill Stephen, Hamilton’s manger of strategic planning, said afterwards it was decided last month to extend the proposed line into Dundas because it is already the western terminus for bus service returning from Eastgate Square at the Stoney Creek border.

Proposed funding from Ottawa and Queen’s Park under the Move Ontario 2020 plan had envisioned the western end of the rapid transit line being McMaster.

“The University Plaza part is new,†Stephen said. “The Move Ontario 2020 announcement only went to McMaster University, but our existing B line goes to University Plaza. It’s a logical extension.â€

She said the extension does not add any costs and has been figured in by city officials.

The capital cost estimate for bus rapid transit (BRT) is between $6.5 million and $9 million, and between $15 million and $25 million for light rail transit (LRT).

About 50 people attended the first public meeting about rapid transit options for Hamilton.

The meeting was held at the Sackville Hill Seniors Centre.

A study has identified two rapid transit routes: the A line, on James Street and Upper James from the waterfront to the airport, and the B line, on Main and King streets from University Plaza to Eastgate.

The routes were included in the $17.5-billion Move Ontario 2020 announcement last year.

If comments from the audience are any indication, Hamiltonians prefer light rail on the two routes over bus rapid transit. Some spoke of their experiences using LRT in other countries and said Canada was far behind on getting people out of their cars and helping to reduce pollution.

One man spoke of riding LRT in Switzerland and not seeing any cars. He learned later cars were parked outside the community.

“We thought they had banned them. It was a fantastic system,†he said.

Grant Ranalli, a school teacher and a member of the Hamilton Light Rail interest group, said he believed LRT would help the city’s economy. Stephen noted Portland, Ore. figured it got a 1,400 per cent return in development
spending compared to what it spent on LRT lines.

“This could be a real economic stimulus for Hamilton and I think the ambitious city can be ambitious again,†Ranalli said.

Bernice Price, however, said LRT would cost billions and people would not stop using their cars to get around the city.

“We had transit like this years ago and they ripped it down,†she said.

“Forget it. They’re trying to throw out the baby with the bath water.†[haha they quoted that old lady last night lol]

Another public meeting is set for tomorrow night at the Education Centre on Main Street West (across from City Hall). It runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with a presentation by Stephen at 7 p.m.
 
Extending it to University plaza is logical, but it brings up a lot of design issues. Main Street is narrower along most of this stretch and the buildings are much closer to the street. Also, will they have the service run straight along Main or detour in to the University? Either way, the HSR will have to substantially reorganize the bus service in the west end, perhaps abandoning their long haul crosstown service routes and setting up a more grid network service. The 5C must be one of the longest and most complicated bus routes in the country!

Kiwi said:
Bernice Price, however, said LRT would cost billions and people would not stop using their cars to get around the city.

“We had transit like this years ago and they ripped it down,” she said.
Click to expand...

Does The Spec just quote the ramblings of anyone they see?

Panzerfaust said:
I just got back from the A-Line public meeting. There were probably around 40 people or so present, most in the 35+ demographic. Some guy plugged Hamilton Light Rail in the question period, and that was nice. There were several misconceptions cleared up, such as the one fellow who thought King/Main and James/Upper James would be closed to all traffic. Not a lot of new info, though it was mentioned that, should LRT be chosen as the technology, a new car yard would probably be located near McMaster. I don't recall hearing that before, and it's interesting to wonder if they might consider moving the downtown bus routes to that yard, as it would cut a lot of deadhead time. There were also boards scattered around with preliminary diagrams for what the road design around the stations would look like. It appears fairly standard, with platforms jutting out into the road at intersections for boarding and alighting. LRT seems to be the preferred choice overall, by both the city and the public.

Overall, it was a good public meeting.
Click to expand...

I always found it odd that the HSR gave up it's downtown bus yard many years back. The extra cost of fuel from sending the buses back and forth way out of the city was one of many things never considered when the electric bus network was abandoned. Could the hydro corridor between McMaster and University Plaza be a prime spot for a bus/streetcar facility?
 
I believe one of the main reasons why they want to extend the LRT to University Plaza is because it's located right next to the Hydro Corridor, therefore plenty of land for a yard and storage facility for the LRT to be built. Jill did mention during the session that they want to place the yard near McMaster.

I guess quoting that old lady was the Spec's chance to be fair and balance as most in the room supported LRT.
 
I get the reasoning behind extending the LRT only as far as University Plaza, as further into Dundas, it gets a bit tricky finding room. But then again, they demolished dozens of homes and businesses in the early 1970s for York Boulevard (which still has the scars in the urban fabric), only a few houses might go. Downtown Dundas is tantinalizing close to University Plaza.

The LRT should probably go in a block south of the main Downtown strip along Hatt Street, with a terminal at Sydenham or Market Street, as the main street in Dundas is narrow.

The alternate might be to follow Cootes Drive from Mac via the old TH&B Dundas spur (before that, the Hamilton and Dundas interurban), but it does miss a relatively important population concentration at Osler and Main.
 
It's sad that they are not considering any sort of rapid transit for Barton St. Even Mohawk is being considered, but not Barton.
 
Guess who attended yesterday information session? Your favourite in UT....Harry Stinson haha. He said he wouldn't invest a cent in BRT.

Based on the two sessions the public overwhelming supports LRT. So Hamilton is one step in getting LRT.
 
Kiwi said:
Guess who attended yesterday information session? Your favourite in UT....Harry Stinson haha. He said he wouldn't invest a cent in BRT.

Based on the two sessions the public overwhelming supports LRT. So Hamilton is one step in getting LRT.
Click to expand...

LOL... I'm not sure if I would trust financial advice from him, but if he's on my side...:D
 
Public meetings spark excitement for Rapid Transit initiative in Hamilton

HAMILTON, ON - May 9, 2008 - Two Public Information Centres hosted by Hamilton's Public Works Department this week drew more than 150 people to
learn about the findings of a recently completed Rapid Transit Feasibility Study and to share feedback and ideas.

"We were extremely pleased with the attendance at the two Public Information Centres this week," said Jill Stephen, Manager of Strategic Planning for Hamilton's Public Works Department. "We heard from numerous people in the City representing diverse demographics and interests and that's exactly what a public consultation process needs. We learned that there is strong support for transit improvements in Hamilton and light rail in particular."

In general, based on an analysis of the comment forms that have been submitted to date, 92 per cent of those who have responded support Rapid Transit as defined by the Feasibility Study. That is further broken down to 68 per cent of respondents supporting Light Rail Transit, seven per cent supporting Bus Rapid Transit and 17 per cent not having a preference between the two at this time but are supportive of the need for rapid transit in general. An additional eight per cent do not support either of the technologies being presented.

Public information centres were held on Tuesday, May 6th at the Sackville Hill Seniors' Centre and on Thursday, May 8th at the Board of Education building. On both nights, guests had an opportunity to review the display panels and listen to a presentation which concluded with a dynamic question and answer period.

"There is a sense of urgency to ensure that Hamilton is included in the first cut at the Metrolinx five-year capital budget being released this fall," Stephen said. "We're currently analyzing feedback received at the public meetings, and through additional phone calls and emails, and will report back to Public Works Committee on June 16th with a summary report and recommendations on how to proceed from here."

The deadline for public comments for inclusion in the next report to Public Works Committee is May 20th, 2008, although staff will continue to receive formal comments via email, phone and mail, and there will be additional opportunities to comment through mailings, workshops and public meetings to be arranged in the future.
 
Hamilton LRT plans-Good to see!

Everyone: It is good to see that Hamilton is looking at possibly constructing a LRT system-definitely better then a BRT system. LRT has the potential-if it is well run-on being a good alternative to driving easing traffic on busy streets.
Those incline routes look good also-it is surprising to me that HML has no inclines left being the bilevel city it is. With the increasing cost of fuel public transit is becoming a larger alternative-I feel that Canada supports public transit better then most US regions do. In closing I will mention something about the Silver Line BRT in Boston that I read: It is still nothing but a bus!
LI MIKE
 
Here's some of the plans for Rapid Transit in Hamilton from the information session....

LRT1.jpg


LRT2.jpg


LRT3.jpg


LRT4.jpg


LRT5.jpg


BRT6.jpg


Go to www.hamilton.ca/rapid-transit to read more from the display panels.
 
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