Just the facts on LRT
To paraphrase the old McCarthy-era witch-hunt phrase–“Are you now, or have you ever been an LRT denier?” After simmering on the back burner of public opinion for a few months the LRT issue suddenly...
View Article$9 Million spent selling LRT to council and public
A Bay Observer examination of LRT related documents and other sources provides a picture of a massive public relations campaign in Hamilton that ran from 2008 to 2011 and absorbed millions of dollars...
View ArticleAs council, Province mull LRT, urban experts start to question touted benefits
At the meeting last month between Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca and city representatives, the minister said Hamilton city staff will soon be invited to meet with Metrolinx in an...
View ArticleMY TAKE: HAMILTON LRT ASSESSMENT CLAIM IS CAUSE FOR CONCERN
Any conclusion that there would be a property assessment boom if a Hamilton LRT were built is problematic. The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) Study asserts that the financial benefits of a B line LRT...
View ArticleA golden opportunity for transit clarity
Forget about the he-said, she-said news conferences that followed Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s meeting with Premier Wynne to discuss transit. It is time for Hamilton council to seize the opportunity to...
View ArticleLRT’s Unintended Consequences
The previous four notes have covered the LRT topics of: the false assessment increase claims, the lack of transparency in the alleged business case, the dangers in the fine print and the misleading...
View ArticleMetrolinx open to bus-first approach to transit in Hamilton
When Hamilton Transit Chief David Dixon presented his 10 year transit master plan to council last month, Mayor Eisenberger and some councillors expressed concern that the plan, which called for an...
View Article2016 Will be a pivotal year for Transit in Hamilton
As of publication time the Minister of Finance had not yet released the date that he will bring down his spring budget. When he does bring down the budget however, transit watchers in Hamilton will be...
View ArticleHamilton transit picture still muddy
A fair criticism of Hamilton Council is that it tends to avoid taking action on tough, divisive issues until the very last minute. The stadium location is a prime example. Now in 2016 it appears...
View ArticleLRT PROJECT WILL FORCE SOME TOUGH DECISIONS
With Premier Wynne’s announcement that Hamilton will indeed get an LRT system, the focus in Hamilton is rapidly shifting to questions around the total funding envelope, the 10 year master Transit Plan,...
View ArticlePushing back against LRT
The Ministry of the Environment will have a few Hamilton citizen Light Rail Transit objections to mull over between now and early August. The Bay Observer has learned that Environmental lawyer John...
View ArticlePolitics trumps evidence in transit policy and we all pay
The Toronto Star, often accused of being the house organ for the Wynne government, showed a commendable streak of independent thinking in its investigation of meddling by Transport Minister Stephen Del...
View ArticleCLOUD OF FOG ENVELOPS GO TRANSIT PICTURE
Hopefully somebody briefed Antoine Belaieff of Metrolinx about the pitfalls of appearing before Hamilton City Council to discuss transit. The Metrolinx Director of Regional Planning’s presentation...
View ArticleTrying to do long-term planning in a short-term political environment
You have to feel some sympathy for any transportation planner trying to map out a transit plan for the GTAH in the current political climate. Metrolinx, which started out with much promise as an...
View ArticleAll day GO may be more gradual than thought
After unsuccessfully trying to get answers from Metrolinx about what it would take to get all day GO service into Hamilton, the Bay Observer talked to some transit experts familiar with the process who...
View ArticleIt’s still better to put the brakes on LRT
Metrolinx appears to be in a race with the clock to throw as much money at Hamilton’s LRT project before the elections later this year as to make the project unstoppable. The transit agency has...
View ArticleCommentary
Hamilton LRT project has spent $74 Million. Simultaneously with the Rob Ford pledge to allow Hamilton to spend the LRT funding as it sees fit we have been hearing various estimates of how much money...
View ArticlePoll casts more doubt on LRT for Hamilton
A poll commissioned by Metrolinx indicates that while Hamilton ranks ahead of other GTA communities in awareness of the LRT project, actual support is the lowest of the surveyed cities. Further, as LRT...
View ArticleAnother vote for versatile buses
Toronto Star transportation reporter Ben Spurr has published a story that suggests the lowly bus is the best way to get an uptick in transit ridership. This is the latest in a series of developments...
View ArticleThe self-destruction of Ontario Liberalism
Despite the fact that just under a million more Ontarians turned out to vote in the Ontario election last week compared to 2014, the Ontario Liberal party lost more than 800,000 votes. While...
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