Special Report: Light Rail

Mayor Replying to Letters of Support for LRT

We cannot afford to let Bratina continue to hijack the agenda for transformative change in Hamilton.

By Ryan McGreal
Published July 23, 2014

Hamiltonians have been sending statements of support for LRT to Council and the Province this week as Transport Minister Steven Del Duca plans to join a secret meeting with Mayor Bob Bratina and his governance advisory committee.

Bratina has been responding to some of the messages. Several people have forwarded the email response they received to RTH, and they all include the same copy-pasta text:

At present, Council's position is stated in the Transportation Master Plan presented in February 2013 which advocates extensive investment in active transportation, acknowledging that increased active transportation is an outcome essential to achieving Council's Vision for Hamilton. The entire Rapid Ready report which is a must read for anyone interested in the future of transit in Hamilton can be found here.

http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/1EF0629C-3003-4FC2-A286-8ECACE07BB0E/0/RR1_Rapid_Ready_Report.pdf

The report states the following: "The first key contributor to becoming Rapid Ready in Hamilton is to invest in improving transit services and reconfigure the transit network in anticipation of rapid transit. These early investments would increase ridership, elevate the role of public transit in Hamilton, and prepare customers for rapid transit implementation."

So it is critical that immediate improvements be made to the current system with standard buses. Pending project funding from the provincial government, the earliest construction start date for an LRT system is following the completion of the 2015 Pan Am Game with a length of phased construction estimated to take 5 to 7 years. In other words a functional LRT service for Hamilton would commence by 2021 or beyond.

Thank you again for your interest.

Mayor Bob Bratina.

Let's get a few things straight. According to the Rapid Ready LRT report Bratina cites, present-day ridership on the B-Line would put the LRT in the middle of the pack of North American LRT systems if it opened today.

B-Line LRT boardings per kilometre compared to other North American cities with LRT (Source: Rapid Ready)
B-Line LRT boardings per kilometre compared to other North American cities with LRT (Source: Rapid Ready)

So Bratina is misleading when he claims we need to build ridership on the B-Line before LRT makes sense. The City has been steadily building ridership on the wast-west LRT route since the "Bee Line" express bus service between Eastgate Square and McMaster University first opened in 1986.

Next, Bratina claims construction for LRT could not start until after the 2015 Pan Am Games. Of course, Bratina himself has spent the past four years of his mayoral term stalling and delaying progress on LRT, including telling the Province it is "not a priority" and having city manager Chris Murray suspend the Rapid Transit team and disperse its staff members.

Back in October 2008, the Rapid Transit Feasibility Study final report stated:

[A]s a result of Provincial timelines, which impact the potential funding for rapid transit projects in Hamilton, it has been made clear by Metrolinx that Provincial project priorities, will in part, depend on projects that have strong political support and that can be completed under aggressive timelines. Rapid Transit Team Staff are dedicated, from a technical standpoint and subject to Council approval at a future date, of making rapid transit in Hamilton happen with an anticipated ground breaking scheduled for Spring 2011, subject to Provincial and Federal funding commitments through the MoveOntario 2020 plan.

There are a lot of reasons why that "aggressive timeline" was not met, including foot-dragging at Metrolinx and Queen's Park, but Bratina's political opposition starting after he was elected (he supported LRT during his election campaign) is a big part of why the City didn't submit its LRT plan until 2013.

It is also a significant part of why the Province has felt safe ignoring that plan for the past year and a half.

Next, Bratina claims a "phased construction" would take five to seven years. According to Appendix C: Building Rapid Transit [PDF] of the Metrolinx big Move Baseline Monitoring Report, "An LRT project can take 4 years to build between 10 and 15 kilometres."

Of course, it could be 2021 or even later before we get LRT, but Bratina himself is arguably the single biggest reason why the project is so delayed from the "aggressive timelines" staff and the public were pushing for back in 2008.

We cannot afford to let Bratina continue to hijack the agenda for transformative change in Hamilton. Add your voice of support for LRT so Council and the Province get the message loud and clear.

Ryan McGreal, the editor of Raise the Hammer, lives in Hamilton with his family and works as a programmer, writer and consultant. Ryan volunteers with Hamilton Light Rail, a citizen group dedicated to bringing light rail transit to Hamilton. Ryan wrote a city affairs column in Hamilton Magazine, and several of his articles have been published in the Hamilton Spectator. His articles have also been published in The Walrus, HuffPost and Behind the Numbers. He maintains a personal website, has been known to share passing thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, and posts the occasional cat photo on Instagram.

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By acanadianyoda (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 07:39:37

I got this letter from Bratina also. Do you think its better to try and educate him or just ignore him as he becomes more and more irrelevant?

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By whatgives (anonymous) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 08:21:38

I got the exact same letter! What a guy!

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By Giver (anonymous) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 21:58:46 in reply to Comment 103400

You aren't really so naive to think you'd get a personal response to a Special Interest Group email campaign, which even included a web based submission form, are you?

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By DowntownInHamilton (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 22:55:08 in reply to Comment 103422

Too right.

You send a form letter to the mayor and he responds in kind. Yet he's the bad guy???

I'm no fan of BoBra, but you're grasping at straws here...

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By redmike (registered) | Posted July 27, 2014 at 00:34:07 in reply to Comment 103428

"I'm no fan of BoBra," you make so little sense you might BE bobra.

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By adrian (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 23:12:04 in reply to Comment 103428

It's not a form letter. The http://hamiltonlightrail.ca site does not provide you with any text whatsoever. You are free to - and in fact must - write your own statement, using your own words, with no assistance from the site. If you do not have anything to say, you can still sign the petition, but the nothing is sent to officials and politicians. Go check it out.

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By Bobra (anonymous) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 09:19:41

Bob Bratina has the courage of his afflictions. He's Rob Ford without the crack. He's the town jester without a hat, and he has absolutely no moral authority to act in any capacity of leadership on this important issue so late in his lame duck term of office.

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By Mark-AlanWhittle (registered) - website | Posted July 23, 2014 at 10:04:43

The Hamilton LRT project is part of a long-term vision to connect key origins and destinations across Hamilton. The project will help revitalize Hamilton’s downtown core and improve public transit options in the city. The 14-kilometre LRT line will extend from McMaster University in the west to Eastgate Square in the east. The corridor will run along Main Street and King Street, on a combination of shared and exclusive at-grade track. Today, bus service operates in mixed traffic along the route. The project is currently in the planning phase, with an EA approved in December 2011. Significant planning, design, and engineering work, made possible through Metrolinx Quick Wins funding, was undertaken collaboratively by the City of Hamilton and Metrolinx and resulted in the “Rapid Ready” report completed in February 2013. The current cost estimate is approximately $1 billion for construction and implementation, and will be updated as engineering work continues.

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By DelMIA (anonymous) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 10:30:53

I have sent numerous email and tweets to Minister Del Duca on this subject and have not gotten one reply from him.

Has anyone gotten a statement from this guy?

Is he just a Wynn Puppet? Does he just stand there until Kathleen tells him what to do and say? Or is he an actual Minister with the ability to do his job?

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By jason (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 12:50:16 in reply to Comment 103406

He's probably scouring a map trying to find this 'Hamilton' that you're referring to in your emails.

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By DowntownInHamilton (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 22:56:08 in reply to Comment 103407

Maybe you can help and provide him with the URL: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/

Oh, wait, that's YOUR vision for the city of Hamilton...

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By teddymac (anonymous) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 13:09:41

a certain minister just confirmed through email that hamilton's lrt plans are going to be in the next wave within 7 to 10 years.

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By jason (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 21:15:59 in reply to Comment 103408

of course, Hamilton is always in the 'next wave'. Funny how that wave never comes.

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By DowntownInHamilton (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 22:56:39 in reply to Comment 103420

Maybe the wave already came and left you on the shore?

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By hang ten (anonymous) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 23:04:03 in reply to Comment 103430

the only "wave" to arrive was in the fifties: the green wave to hell.

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By DowntownInHamilton (registered) | Posted July 24, 2014 at 07:32:07 in reply to Comment 103431

So 60 years later we're still with this "green wave to hell". Guess it isn't so hellish.

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By DissenterOfThings (registered) | Posted July 24, 2014 at 09:02:11 in reply to Comment 103444

!!!ATTENTION RAISETHEHAMMER.ORG USERS!!!

‘DowntownInHamilton’ has replied or commented on this post. It is a troll software virus not a person. Do not engage with it. Do not reply. Do not acknowledge. You risk infecting others if you do.

This has been a public service announcement in service of humanity.

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By DowntownInHamilton (registered) | Posted July 25, 2014 at 06:29:35 in reply to Comment 103448

Thanks, we appreciate you showing how witty you are. Trying to shut out those who disagree (or perhaps, dissent things), is never the right way to have a conversation.

Comment edited by DowntownInHamilton on 2014-07-25 06:36:23

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By redmike (registered) | Posted July 27, 2014 at 00:35:43 in reply to Comment 103490

waahhhhh!!!

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By Anon (anonymous) | Posted July 24, 2014 at 08:20:54 in reply to Comment 103444

And so favourable for ALL street users and businesses that it is being mimiced everywhere...........

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By jayrobb (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 13:28:54

The conversation about rapid transit in Hamilton starts with Friday's meeting. Let's not blow the meeting and derail the conversation by trying to score points, soundbites and votes.

We need to stay the Ambitious City and not become the High Maintenance City.

Demanding the province keep its promise is one approach.

Or we could use Friday's meeting to get a better handle on the Province's transit priorities and identify where there's alignment with Hamilton's priorities.

The 2014 Provincial budget offers some clues. The Province is investing $15B over 10 years for GTHA transit projects that address congestion and improve mobility throughout the region (we may want to stop talking about excess lane capacity and posting pics on social media of empty downtown streets).

The budget speech made specific mention of investing in GTHA projects that "help people get to work, home and school more quickly and safely". So let's highlight where Hamilton's plans align with that objective.

Hamilton rapid transit is one of nearly a dozen priorities in the GTHA and more could be added to that list. Expansion toward two-way, all-day GO transit rail service got special mention as a priority of the Province. GO Transit improvements on all corridors would include additional track, grade separations, improved signalling, station improvements and additional fleet. The Province is also looking at a proposal to electrify the GO rail system to deliver regional express rail service at intervals as frequent as 15 minutes.

So how does Hamilton's transit plans tie into the Province's plans for GO Transit? How could investing in Hamilton rapid transit deliver more riders / commuters and revenues for GO Transit? The Rapid Ready report mentioned a GO Station in Stoney Creek. Where are we at on that file?

Anyone expecting Friday's meeting to end with an $800M grip and grin cheque presentation will likely be disappointed. But Friday's meeting can be the start of a conversation and a collaboration that meets the needs of both the Province and our city. And we're going to need the Province's help on other projects beyond transit during the next four years.

Please don't blow it.

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By AlHuizenga (registered) | Posted July 24, 2014 at 10:16:47 in reply to Comment 103411

We need to stay the Ambitious City and not become the High Maintenance City.

This is not how political advocacy is done. Hamilton needs to get way more high maintenance with the province.

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By jason (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 15:33:09 in reply to Comment 103411

the conversation has been going on for years. Friday is just a continuation of the leadership-less sideshow at city hall. No real discussion will take place until after the next election when we find out if we've elected a mayor with vision or not.

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By IanReynolds (registered) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 14:22:32

I got the same email response, but with an extra first paragraph about how Hamilton's median income is higher than Toronto's. It screamed of "My dad could beat up your Dad" insecurity.

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By misterque (registered) - website | Posted July 23, 2014 at 14:24:32

I think we all got the same letter except he responded to my letter from May 2011. A letter that late by definition is retarded.

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By 21stCentury (anonymous) | Posted July 23, 2014 at 21:52:32

Retarded?? Your choice of language is offensive. Please return with your choice of words to 1979.

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By redmike (registered) | Posted July 24, 2014 at 23:33:31 in reply to Comment 103421

some might say YOU are living in 1979 and should quit being such a scold.

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By DowntownInHamilton (registered) | Posted July 25, 2014 at 06:32:22 in reply to Comment 103477

Some might say YOU are living in the middle ages, under a bridge and should stop being such a troll.

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By redmike (registered) | Posted July 27, 2014 at 00:32:45 in reply to Comment 103491

ouch, looks like you have had a nerve touched.

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By LOL_all_over_again (registered) | Posted July 24, 2014 at 12:01:30

Nothing ever changes. Another day another pro LRT article. How long has this been going on? Years and years and nothing changes. Hamilton's population is not big enough to warrant an outlay of a billion dollars for an LRT line. Every single urban area listed in your little graph has a population which is far greater than Hamilton. I know, I know you are going to tell me that St Louis has a population similar to Hamilton, you have before, but we both know that's crap. In the States they don't amalgamate the cities so we have St. Louis with a population of 300k which is what the old city of Hamilton was, and half of the "new" city. But St. Louis metro has a population of a couple of million. The same holds true for every one of the cities you mention. Not a single one has a population of well under a million with no reasonable expectation of getting there soon. Every single city on your little chart is the destination city for miles around. Hamilton not so much. Hamilton is as much a suburb of Toronto or the GTA as it is a city in its own right. I guess the exception would be Jersey city which somehow got included as its own city when in reality it is part of NYC. But when you want to promote your pet project what's a little lying or bending the truth, right?

LRT isn't bad it's just very very expensive especially in a city where the efficient one way road system allows not only cars but buses to make the cross town trip in a very reasonable time. The B line takes about 1/2 hour for the trip and the King bus about double that for the trip the LRT is supposed to cover. If the province is going to spend a billion dollars in Hamilton then lets have something we need, not a boondoggle like LRT. If the province is going to spend a billion dollars on transit then let's do it something we need. Not LRT.

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By WHATever (anonymous) | Posted July 25, 2014 at 00:44:20 in reply to Comment 103450

so what is it exactly that we need, o great one?

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By LOL_all_over_again (registered) | Posted July 25, 2014 at 20:18:07 in reply to Comment 103478

If I had a billion dollars to spend to improve Hamilton I would build some serious apartments and condos. Buy some of the empty lots and build modern spacious condos and apartments. Maybe some ground floor commercial. Use a small percentage (10%? 15? 20%) as geared to income housing. That stops the ghettos. Underground parking. Bringing people back to the core is the only way to re-vitalize it. People will move much more readily to premises that meet the modern lifestyle. Deed it all to the city so that it can benefit from the buildings virtually forever.

I certainly don't have all the answers but a billion dollars on LRT in Hamilton is a huge waste of money.

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By DowntownInHamilton (registered) | Posted July 25, 2014 at 06:35:25 in reply to Comment 103478

Sometimes the person posing the question doesn't have the answer. I don't. I do agree with LOL that tossing a billion dollars into LRT with no guarantees on ROI, cost of total ownership, who pays for what and how is not the right answer. Not now. We're trying to balance the budget federally, keep spending in check at all levels of government, and don't have a $1B surplus under the mattress right now. If we did I'd say let's get started on LRT tomorrow. Even if we were anywhere near being able to afford it.

We have transit now. It's broken, but I'm sure someone can figure out how to make it work, without putting in LRT.

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By Tybalt (registered) | Posted July 25, 2014 at 07:28:00 in reply to Comment 103493

They have put together several extremely good committees, commissions and groups, led by transit and transport expertise, at both the provincial and local levels to study the issue of how to fix transit. The solution these best-minds have come up with is the province's Big Move strategy, and the city's Rapid Ready strategy.

So I agree with you that someone can figured out how to make it work.

It's easy to be amused at people asking over and over for things that have already happened, but we shouldn't be suckered in by amusement.

As to whether Hamilton gets anything from the province's multi-billion dollar investment, that will be mostly up to Hamilton and not so much up to the province, although our local Cabinet Minister is trying to make sure we don't. But that money is going to be spent, and the election just gone by confirms it. If Hamilton chooses not to play, others are lining up to take our share.

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By DissenterOfThings (registered) | Posted July 24, 2014 at 13:01:22 in reply to Comment 103450

!!!ATTENTION RAISETHEHAMMER.ORG USERS!!!

‘ LOL_all_over_again’ has replied or commented on this post. It is a troll software virus not a person. Do not engage with it. Do not reply. Do not acknowledge. You risk infecting others if you do.

This has been a public service announcement in service of humanity.

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By LOL_all_over_again (registered) | Posted July 25, 2014 at 20:25:32 in reply to Comment 103454

Wow. Well I've been called a lot of things over the years, some good some bad, but a virus is a new one.

I find it amusing how those without the intelligence to debate, or even contribute to the conversation resort to name calling. An undeniable sign of their lack of intelligence and or maturity. Reminds me of being 11 and when I proved a classmate wrong he looked at me all he could say was "Well you're stupid" and walk away. Now I assume it is your turn to walk away.

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By Tybalt (registered) | Posted July 25, 2014 at 07:20:57 in reply to Comment 103454

Please stop this. It does nothing. Thank you.

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By Michelle Martin (registered) - website | Posted July 24, 2014 at 19:22:26

An observation: the Mac students in this household are regularly passed by B-line buses that are full by the time they get to our neighbourhood (they would catch it a Main and Ottawa). This has been happening since our oldest started at Mac seven years ago.

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By LOL-all-o er-agaim (anonymous) | Posted July 25, 2014 at 00:45:22 in reply to Comment 103470

oh shut up, we don't need this, i want to spend taxes on what we NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED

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