Raise the Hammer

I am not ignoring anything. I am an advocate of safe efficient roads. We chose a building near major arteries with onsite parking. I have no delusions nor the intention of stopping people from driving. Our buildings are bike commuter friendly. When our 'bike fence' is removed we will make sure to have a good bike rack on site. We would love to see people walking along Dundurn and King more.

I remember listening to talk radio in Vancouver with people saying that the taxes would sky rocket, that criminals would pour into the city, that the money should go to a bridge, or wider highways. On the other hand others said that the Skybus was being put in for 'developers to make money' and would lead to terrible things like increased density, and destroy the environment. The reality is always somewhere in between the rhetoric. LRT will not save Hamilton from idiots, and it will not bankrupt the city either. I think that supporting LRT is worth the risk.

In 1986 Vancouver's population was no where near 2.5 million. Loosely looking at Vancouver's proportional population, length of track, and style of construction, Hamilton's LRT investment is comparable for the smaller city that Hamilton represents. Metrolinx does not intend to bankrupt Hamilton, the lion's share of the capital will come from Metrolinx, and the ongoing cost of operating the system cannot conceivably increase our taxes by 20%. If it does and we don't want it anymore you can pave it in, and just deal with the amortization payments. To date no city has done this with their rapid transit system in the last 50 years.

I appreciate your concern for The Staircase. Nothing lasts forever. I have seen this little theatre survive SARS I and SARS II, The Ecoli outbreak, Gulf Invasion Two, 911, Afghan Invasion, the snowpocalypse, World's Bike Race, the Great Black Out, Walkerton, the Dot Com correction, the Depression of 2009, etc. These kinds of things keep people indoors, regardless of cars, LRT or bikes. So much of how people act has to do with perception, LRT is good for perception, it will help this city specifically, and I hope you can trust my experience and judgement that the risk is worth it.

If the tax burden does become too much it will likely be from increased property values of a blossoming city. Hopefully you can manage to stay here if that happens. The Staircase needs every customer (biking, hiking, driving, hopping, train riding) it can get.

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