Raise the Hammer

Yes, @ref_erendum Hamilton's LRT would probably be among the busier systems in North America because generally Canadians are far more likely to use Rapid Transit than our American cousins. Research going back 60 years backs this up. Canadians use transit more often! We built far fewer lane miles of expressway than American cities did and now thankfully are not faced with the hard choice many American cities now face.

The Federal Interstate Highway Program and the supporting State Highway systems were all subsidized from many different budgets, not just federal or state transportation departments. For example, 10-15% of the budget for the Interstate highway system in the 50's-the early 70's came from the Nation Defence budget. Another 5-10% o both Federal and State Highway Programs came via federal and state freight railway transfer payments that were meant for freight railroad infrastructure. American highway lobbyists made the case that they carried freight too so they should have access to this cash. The effect on highway construction was that federal and state highways were heavily subsidized from many budgets. This has multi budget raiding/funding for highways has now dried up and must come entirely from the rapidly dwindling highway construction funds. Many old highways and their associated bridges have no chance of ever having upgrades to them being funded. In several cities already like San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York, old highways are just being torn up and not replaced. What is truly amazing is how little effect losing these roads has had on traffic.

No amount of LRT construction will make the total traffic volumes across the city of Hamilton change greatly. But having LRT will greatly enhance your city's ability to move people without having to build more roads.