kettal
Banned
If he'd run for Toronto mayor, he will have my vote.
Hamilton Hamilton Line B LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx
- Thread starter Kiwi
- Start date
If he'd run for Toronto mayor, he will have my vote.
Kiwi
Active Member
He's not an effective mayor, he doesn't have any allies in council. Got so bad he demoted himself as chair of council. Now the chair is a rotated job with councillors. All have voted down his pilot projects, voted against rebuilding City Hall, single supporter of the enclosed forecourt proposal, and having a marble facade. Plus he's a horrible speaker, often time someone else from council will take over the speaking part.
Last edited:
catcher_of_cats
Active Member
What's riding on city transit options?
Businesses say they'll cope with buses or LRT
February 17, 2010
Dana Brown
The Hamilton Spectator
(Feb 17, 2010)
Buses or light rail?
Either option is just fine with some east-end business owners.
The possibility of delaying light rail service -- for which plans have not yet been finalized -- and making do with improved bus service from Ottawa Street North to Eastgate Square until 2030 isn't causing much concern among area business owners contacted by The Spectator.
"Buses are fine," said Tim Belliveau, owner of A-1 BBQ Family Restaurant on Main Street East, near Kenilworth Avenue North.
Belliveau noted a rail line would mean more construction and upkeep. To him, either option would be all right.
Last week, provincial transportation agency Metrolinx released a report outlining three possible scenarios for rapid transit in Hamilton:
* One is a rail line from McMaster University to Eastgate Square.
* Another is to run buses on the route.
* A third option would have a mix of bus and rail transit, with rail from McMaster to Ottawa Street and buses from Ottawa to Eastgate.
People making the whole trip would need to get off the train and transfer to the bus. Rail service would replace the bus portion of the route for 2030.
"I think we're moving in the right direction," said Councillor Sam Merulla, whose east end ward covers part of the possible bus route.
"It's a bold initiative and one I support strongly, but I think it is incremental rather than overly radical, which ... I think is in everyone's best interest."
The mixed-use option, built in two phases, is the most expensive proposal at $971 million (in 2008 dollars). A bus rapid transit line would cost $220 million. Light rail, the option preferred by the city, would be $784 million.
There are concerns from some in the business community about the line restricting left turns, but if there were buses east of Ottawa, restrictions would not be likely until light rail is implemented.
Still, Gerald Asa, vice-president of Effort Trust, feels those hurt by light rail should be financially compensated. Effort Trust owns and manages about 20 properties, including Queenston Mall, along the length of the proposed route.
"If someone's business is negatively or adversely affected, I think that person should be entitled to some form of compensation," he said. Asa's primary concern is the left-turn restriction.
Bernie White, owner of Trinket Finder on Queenston Road, said people travelling the line will be heading from A to B, so he doesn't think it will be any kind of big boost for business.
Cecilia Chung, owner of Peter's Variety a few doors down, is happy with the status quo. Her issue isn't bus or rail but the potential for a property tax increase to help pay for the project.
And Tyson Meloche, owner of Brooklyn's Bar and Bistro on Queenston, near Parkdale Avenue North, said it doesn't matter to him whether they put in bus or rail.
"I think it's just going to bring people through quicker," he said, noting that won't necessarily mean more people in the area.
Patty Despinic, executive director of the Ottawa Street Business Improvement Area, said a bus-rail mix wouldn't be at the top of her list, but if it means the city will get its light rail system, then that's what it has to do.
Despinic said she thinks many people won't have a true sense of how the rapid transit line will affect them until some of the logistical decisions get made.
"At the end of the day this is an exciting project and I think this is what the city needs," she said.
"And I think we need to do whatever it takes to make sure that it happens and if it takes longer, then it takes longer. The BIA certainly supports the project from a general picture."
dbrown@thespec.com
905-526-4629
Businesses say they'll cope with buses or LRT
February 17, 2010
Dana Brown
The Hamilton Spectator
(Feb 17, 2010)
Buses or light rail?
Either option is just fine with some east-end business owners.
The possibility of delaying light rail service -- for which plans have not yet been finalized -- and making do with improved bus service from Ottawa Street North to Eastgate Square until 2030 isn't causing much concern among area business owners contacted by The Spectator.
"Buses are fine," said Tim Belliveau, owner of A-1 BBQ Family Restaurant on Main Street East, near Kenilworth Avenue North.
Belliveau noted a rail line would mean more construction and upkeep. To him, either option would be all right.
Last week, provincial transportation agency Metrolinx released a report outlining three possible scenarios for rapid transit in Hamilton:
* One is a rail line from McMaster University to Eastgate Square.
* Another is to run buses on the route.
* A third option would have a mix of bus and rail transit, with rail from McMaster to Ottawa Street and buses from Ottawa to Eastgate.
People making the whole trip would need to get off the train and transfer to the bus. Rail service would replace the bus portion of the route for 2030.
"I think we're moving in the right direction," said Councillor Sam Merulla, whose east end ward covers part of the possible bus route.
"It's a bold initiative and one I support strongly, but I think it is incremental rather than overly radical, which ... I think is in everyone's best interest."
The mixed-use option, built in two phases, is the most expensive proposal at $971 million (in 2008 dollars). A bus rapid transit line would cost $220 million. Light rail, the option preferred by the city, would be $784 million.
There are concerns from some in the business community about the line restricting left turns, but if there were buses east of Ottawa, restrictions would not be likely until light rail is implemented.
Still, Gerald Asa, vice-president of Effort Trust, feels those hurt by light rail should be financially compensated. Effort Trust owns and manages about 20 properties, including Queenston Mall, along the length of the proposed route.
"If someone's business is negatively or adversely affected, I think that person should be entitled to some form of compensation," he said. Asa's primary concern is the left-turn restriction.
Bernie White, owner of Trinket Finder on Queenston Road, said people travelling the line will be heading from A to B, so he doesn't think it will be any kind of big boost for business.
Cecilia Chung, owner of Peter's Variety a few doors down, is happy with the status quo. Her issue isn't bus or rail but the potential for a property tax increase to help pay for the project.
And Tyson Meloche, owner of Brooklyn's Bar and Bistro on Queenston, near Parkdale Avenue North, said it doesn't matter to him whether they put in bus or rail.
"I think it's just going to bring people through quicker," he said, noting that won't necessarily mean more people in the area.
Patty Despinic, executive director of the Ottawa Street Business Improvement Area, said a bus-rail mix wouldn't be at the top of her list, but if it means the city will get its light rail system, then that's what it has to do.
Despinic said she thinks many people won't have a true sense of how the rapid transit line will affect them until some of the logistical decisions get made.
"At the end of the day this is an exciting project and I think this is what the city needs," she said.
"And I think we need to do whatever it takes to make sure that it happens and if it takes longer, then it takes longer. The BIA certainly supports the project from a general picture."
dbrown@thespec.com
905-526-4629
GTS
Active Member
I hope Hamilton opts for light rail over buses. Light rail is powered by electric thereby reducing the local area emissions. Also less energy is used to move a light rail vehicle because the steel on steel, as long as the rails are kept in good shape, cause less friction then a rubber tire on pavement. Though their are benefits to buses as well I am prejudiced and in favour of light rail. Hamilton has a history with regular streetcars and LRT is very similar except they don't operate in mixed traffic like most streetcars do.
GTS
Active Member
Steve Munro's transit website has an article about Hamiltons LRT plans. You can comment on his website at stevemunro.ca
Kiwi
Active Member
Another Metrolinx detour
Eagerly awaited light rail transit decision delayed again
February 19, 2010
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/724399
This day had been anticipated for a long time.
After months of delays and years of hope, this was to be the day Hamilton would know for sure whether Metrolinx would approve a $784-million light rail transit line.
But when 15 board members meet in an executive boardroom overlooking the Toronto waterfront this afternoon, this city will be no closer to finding out if its dreams of economic revitalization through light rail will come true.
There will be no decisions, only the presentation of a report into three options for Hamilton and a promise of a "status update" in the fall.
There is no timeline, no commitment from either the province or Metrolinx -- the provincial agency charged with transportation planning in the GTA and Hamilton -- to find the money.
Yet the report -- originally promised for last summer, then last fall and finally delivered last week -- envisions wrapping up construction on a Hamilton rapid transit line in 2014, and operational the next year, just in time for the Pan Am Games.
Critics say the agency, which was purged of politicians so it could rise above the squabbles of local politics, has become mired in the politics of Queen's Park.
"Metrolinx was supposed to get things built," said Nicholas Kevlahan, a McMaster professor and light rail advocate.
"It's distressing. My understanding is that we would know whether it would be light rail or bus (today) and that a funding announcement would come later."
In the absence of a decision, Hamilton is still moving forward with planning an LRT line. City officials are close to hiring a consultant to design and engineer a light rail line from Eastgate to McMaster, the option approved unanimously by city council.
That work, funded by the province, is expected to be done about a year from now.
Metrolinx officials are aware of this and say its recently completed benefits case analysis shows a strong case for moving forward with LRT.
Metrolinx president and CEO Rob Prichard told The Spectator last week that the agency might "at some point be invited to make a recommendation" on a transit mode but that it would be "premature" at this point.
He said Hamilton's case will be lumped with other priority projects "further down the line when the province can commit to funding."
According to Metrolinx, the Hamilton project has moved ahead quicker than any other and the lack of a funding commitment does not impede the necessary design work.
In fact, that work is key to developing a precise construction figure that can then be the basis of funding, says Metrolinx.
Prichard acknowledged the Pan Am Games provide a hard deadline.
"You wouldn't want main streets in the midst of construction during the Games."
NDP Leader and Hamilton MPP Andrea Horwath says she's disappointed Metrolinx is not giving a definitive response to Hamilton's light rail proposal.
"It's clear that political pressures are creating a slowdown effect. Because once a decision is made, the community will want to get on with it and get this project done that will transform this city."
Steve Munro, a veteran transit advocate who closely watches Metrolinx, is concerned transit projects are being held up because the province, struggling with a projected $24.7 billion deficit, doesn't want to talk about adding taxes to fund them ahead of an election.
"But there are two main questions: Are you going to build it at all, and when are you going to build it? Hamilton deserves an answer on those questions."
It's also clear that much of the work of Metrolinx is a closely guarded secret.
Today's board meeting, the first since November, includes 25 items of business, with just nine of those to be conducted in public.
Among the private items are the business plan for 2010-2011 and an update on the so-called Big 5 projects, $9.5 billion worth of transit in the GTA.
Even mundane matters such as approving the minutes of the last board meeting will be done in private.
Munro says Metrolinx operates under a culture of secrecy that has only grown since municipal politicians were turfed from the board in favour of provincial appointees last year.
"The private sector experts on the board from banks and large corporations aren't used to operating in the public realm," said Munro.
"They aren't used to making decisions in front of people or being scrummed by the media afterward."
Board members, including chairperson Rob MacIsaac, refer all questions to Prichard and media access to Metrolinx staff is closely controlled.
"It really undermines their credibility because they can't really say what they're doing," said Munro, who is credited with helping to save Toronto's streetcars back in the 1970s.
"It makes the board look like they are just rubber-stamping," he said.
TRANSIT UPDATE
The issue: A rapid transit line for Hamilton, running from Eastgate Square to McMaster. The city wants light rail from Eastgate to McMaster.
Progress: Metrolinx staff released a benefits case last week that studied three options for Hamilton:
* A light rail line running 14 kilometres from Eastgate to McMaster, at an estimated cost of $784 million;
* A bus rapid transit line along the same corridor, at an estimated cost of $220 million;
* A phased light rail transit line beginning at Ottawa Street to McMaster, at a cost of $655 million, with the remainder built in 2030.
The result: All three options produced benefits that outweighed costs but Metrolinx analysts did not recommend a preferred choice.
Eagerly awaited light rail transit decision delayed again
February 19, 2010
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/724399
This day had been anticipated for a long time.
After months of delays and years of hope, this was to be the day Hamilton would know for sure whether Metrolinx would approve a $784-million light rail transit line.
But when 15 board members meet in an executive boardroom overlooking the Toronto waterfront this afternoon, this city will be no closer to finding out if its dreams of economic revitalization through light rail will come true.
There will be no decisions, only the presentation of a report into three options for Hamilton and a promise of a "status update" in the fall.
There is no timeline, no commitment from either the province or Metrolinx -- the provincial agency charged with transportation planning in the GTA and Hamilton -- to find the money.
Yet the report -- originally promised for last summer, then last fall and finally delivered last week -- envisions wrapping up construction on a Hamilton rapid transit line in 2014, and operational the next year, just in time for the Pan Am Games.
Critics say the agency, which was purged of politicians so it could rise above the squabbles of local politics, has become mired in the politics of Queen's Park.
"Metrolinx was supposed to get things built," said Nicholas Kevlahan, a McMaster professor and light rail advocate.
"It's distressing. My understanding is that we would know whether it would be light rail or bus (today) and that a funding announcement would come later."
In the absence of a decision, Hamilton is still moving forward with planning an LRT line. City officials are close to hiring a consultant to design and engineer a light rail line from Eastgate to McMaster, the option approved unanimously by city council.
That work, funded by the province, is expected to be done about a year from now.
Metrolinx officials are aware of this and say its recently completed benefits case analysis shows a strong case for moving forward with LRT.
Metrolinx president and CEO Rob Prichard told The Spectator last week that the agency might "at some point be invited to make a recommendation" on a transit mode but that it would be "premature" at this point.
He said Hamilton's case will be lumped with other priority projects "further down the line when the province can commit to funding."
According to Metrolinx, the Hamilton project has moved ahead quicker than any other and the lack of a funding commitment does not impede the necessary design work.
In fact, that work is key to developing a precise construction figure that can then be the basis of funding, says Metrolinx.
Prichard acknowledged the Pan Am Games provide a hard deadline.
"You wouldn't want main streets in the midst of construction during the Games."
NDP Leader and Hamilton MPP Andrea Horwath says she's disappointed Metrolinx is not giving a definitive response to Hamilton's light rail proposal.
"It's clear that political pressures are creating a slowdown effect. Because once a decision is made, the community will want to get on with it and get this project done that will transform this city."
Steve Munro, a veteran transit advocate who closely watches Metrolinx, is concerned transit projects are being held up because the province, struggling with a projected $24.7 billion deficit, doesn't want to talk about adding taxes to fund them ahead of an election.
"But there are two main questions: Are you going to build it at all, and when are you going to build it? Hamilton deserves an answer on those questions."
It's also clear that much of the work of Metrolinx is a closely guarded secret.
Today's board meeting, the first since November, includes 25 items of business, with just nine of those to be conducted in public.
Among the private items are the business plan for 2010-2011 and an update on the so-called Big 5 projects, $9.5 billion worth of transit in the GTA.
Even mundane matters such as approving the minutes of the last board meeting will be done in private.
Munro says Metrolinx operates under a culture of secrecy that has only grown since municipal politicians were turfed from the board in favour of provincial appointees last year.
"The private sector experts on the board from banks and large corporations aren't used to operating in the public realm," said Munro.
"They aren't used to making decisions in front of people or being scrummed by the media afterward."
Board members, including chairperson Rob MacIsaac, refer all questions to Prichard and media access to Metrolinx staff is closely controlled.
"It really undermines their credibility because they can't really say what they're doing," said Munro, who is credited with helping to save Toronto's streetcars back in the 1970s.
"It makes the board look like they are just rubber-stamping," he said.
TRANSIT UPDATE
The issue: A rapid transit line for Hamilton, running from Eastgate Square to McMaster. The city wants light rail from Eastgate to McMaster.
Progress: Metrolinx staff released a benefits case last week that studied three options for Hamilton:
* A light rail line running 14 kilometres from Eastgate to McMaster, at an estimated cost of $784 million;
* A bus rapid transit line along the same corridor, at an estimated cost of $220 million;
* A phased light rail transit line beginning at Ottawa Street to McMaster, at a cost of $655 million, with the remainder built in 2030.
The result: All three options produced benefits that outweighed costs but Metrolinx analysts did not recommend a preferred choice.
GTS
Active Member
^^ If I were running the show Hamilton would get the 14km LRT line from Eastgate to Mcmaster for $784 million. Does anyone know what the Big 5 projects as per Metrolinx? I guess Sheppard LRT, Finch LRT and Eglinton LRT wouldn't be part of the Big 5 because they already got there funding in place. The much needed subway extension to York U has its funding in place as well as the extra extension into Vaughn. I hope Hamilton's LRT lines is considered for the Big 5 as well as the heavily populated Mississauga- its sad that a city that size doesn't have some rapid transit infrastructure in place already.
drum118
Superstar
GO, VIVA and TC as well Metrolinx have used the $11B up leaving crumbs for everyone who want something.
I listen to what was said at the meeting and I take issues with it as well the BCA itself.
Considering Mississauga/Brampton LRT line is going to be over $1B, it not going to fair as well Hamilton considering the daily ridership is over 27,000 today.
I plan on pulling out my 403 BRT report for 2004 EA study and will modify it for My Mississauga/Brampton BCA to show how flaw Mextrolinx BCA is and show why LRT is better over BRT. It will support the Hamilton LRT case too.
Not sure what other BCA is to come forward this year beside these 2, but Durham BCA is based on BRT in the first place. Then there is the DRL line in Toronto that has yet to start the EA process to even come up with a BCA at this time other than we know there should be one.
Some way I feel the Yonge extension to RHC is been protected when there is no real case for it north of Steeles in the first place.
The other issue Metrolinx has to deal with is the cost over run for TC as the figures were too low going in in the first place.
There will be no 30 minute service on the Lakeshore this year due to lack of funding.
kettal
Banned
Is this official??
DavidJamesTO
Active Member
It's hard for half-hourly service to make sense on Lakeshore unless they run shorter trains. I was on a midday Lakeshore West train from Aldershot to Exhibition on Thursday and it was virtually empty. I think there were only about a dozen people in my coach total. They can't really justify half-hourly service unless they plan to run smaller trains in off-peak periods and save the ten-coach behemoths for peak service. I have no doubt that will change with time, but they need to start small. Lease some American Railcar DMUs until catenary is strung and run three or four-unit trains every half-hour for off-peak services. The demand is there; just not ten coaches' worth (yet).
Kiwi
Active Member
VIVA, Sheppard East, Finch, Scarborough RT, Elington Crosstown.
http://www.metrolinx.com/Docs/Agend...ramework_Report-C-MX_Big5Project_Profiles.pdf
But you'll notice it also includes Hamilton Rapid Transit Study, $3 million which the City has a tendering out currently.
Kiwi
Active Member
Nope, sorry the tender closed on Tuesday.
C11-12-10
Closed
2/16/2010
(>) Proposal for Professional Consultant Services for Rapid Transit Preliminary Design and Feasibility Study
• Buyer: Lesley Parker-Bowen - 905.546.2424, Ext. 5973
• Award: Under Review
C11-12-10
Closed
2/16/2010
(>) Proposal for Professional Consultant Services for Rapid Transit Preliminary Design and Feasibility Study
• Buyer: Lesley Parker-Bowen - 905.546.2424, Ext. 5973
• Award: Under Review
kettal
Banned
the answer is to reduce the price of off-peak tickets.
Dan416
Senior Member
If the trains ran every half hour people would be more inclined to take it since they wouldn't be so beholden to a schedule. But that's just my opinion. I don't know how much it would actually increase ridership.
Kiwi
Active Member
The city has selected a winning bid for the Environmental Assesment for the B and A-Line, worth $3 million.
The winning bid is Steer Davies Gleaves for $2,898,563.
The winning bid is Steer Davies Gleaves for $2,898,563.