Raise the Hammer

one extra issue that has repeatedly been brought to the city's attention with crickets as a response is the timing of the lights on King St.

Two issues here that are VERY easy to fix:

1. the lights are currently timed to be a freeway...changing to green block by block from east to west. Any normal city has lights changing green ahead of the traffic. Stand at Mary and look ahead to James. When all lights are red with cars waiting on each block, the light turns green first at Mary, allowing cars to head into the next block - and thus encounter another red light. This is repeated all the way to James.
   If the lights turned green first at James, it would allow traffic to clear providing ample space for the next group of cars progressing westbound when the lights go green at Hughson, then John, then Catharine etc...... This one fix would probably solve the entire issue, but city hall would prefer to ignore resident feedback and have councillors keep their heads in the sand.

2. Buses trying to turn left on James or into the MacNab terminal need to cross the live lanes of King. Again, there should be transit signals at both of those intersections giving buses their own left-green to make that left turn from the transit lane.

Amazing that a city like Chicago figured all this out almost 100 years ago with America's first transit lanes.
'Ambitious City' is nothing more than an empty slogan. Completely not applicable here anymore.

Right on Jason. The biggest problem in the very fraught block between Hughson and James is your item #2... the need for buses to cross through the live traffic in order to turn left. This causes significant problems (I get to watch this live every evening as I walk along King and then wait at King and James for my bus home).

Other than that, though, the bus lane works brilliantly except in the narrow window between about 4:15, and ending at 5:30 (maybe as late as 6 when the weather is poor).

You've been answered, repeatedly. Get a hobby or see a doctor about your Alzheimer's.

Too bad Chad Collins was re-elected ward 5 councillor. His website is out-dated and so are his views on LRT. He seems to just want to pander to people to stay in power, rather than do what is right for Hamilton's future.

Oh, and on the cycling issue: I must admit that I just cycled in it anyway, and cleared the lane once I heard a bus. Never once caused a problem. I will admit that that sort of ad-hoc solution isn't really good policy.

In response to persistently high oil prices, the industry has massively ramped up its fracking and oilsands operations, which are very expensive and also environmentally devastating, not that you care about such things.

Really? I'd say otherwise. With Saudia Arabia allowing the price of oil to fall, yet not cutting production has made the investments into the tar sands and offshore drilling cost ineffective. I heard an interesting interview on CBC Radio One a couple of weeks ago - they were saying the price of crude needs to be about $110 a barrel for those industries to be financially viable, and that there are plenty of projects being put on hold as a result. It's a massive investment to do those types of extraction and it's not happening right now.

I was going to post something very similar.

Chad's constituents should only be see a very minor impact from the bus lane. If they want to travel through downtown they should take a real highway, not an urban one.

But, if Chad is trying to curry favour with resident's who aren't his constituents then someone should tell him he missed the start of the mayoral race by about a year.

I'm not impressed with Chad, but let's be fair - ward 5 really did get the worst deal out of the bus lane. Traffic through Ward 1 was fine, Ward 2/3 got the best *use* of the bus-lane... but ward 5? That's far-enough that the HSR sucks out there and if you're actually driving King you probably have a reason to go downtown instead of taking the Linc or 403. Those folks really did see the worst effects from the Bus Lane for the least benefit.

The "kill it instead of fix it" view championed by Chad is myopic, but after a cock-up this bad we shouldn't expect anything better.

I'm more peeved at him for pandering to the LRT haters, when LRT would be a massive boost to transit in his Ward.

Seniors in his ward don't know what's best. He should provide leadership on LRT, not pander to folks that are afraid of it.

Ryan is correct. Shale output had the US producing over 10% of global supply for the first time in I think a quarter century. It did increase the inventory of crude.

You are also correct. OPEC is working to stay relevant and seems to have decided to put pressure on American competition, by refusing to cut output in response to falling prices. It is not yet causing financial pressure on frackers, but is slowing new wells. The depletion rate for fracking wells is high if I am correctly informed.

But the biggest mover of commodity prices, is often overlooked. The strengthening US dollar exerts deflationary pressure on commodities. While oil has been tanking, guess what USD has been doing? It most certainly is not a coincidence!

and again, those 'worst effects' were easily fixable if anyone cared.

I have watched this Bus Only Lane experiment with great interest and marvel at the strategy of getting buy-in from Hamiltonians by upsetting Hamiltonians. Believe me, it just doesn't work. As for Chad Collins, he should be heeded. He is always good at mirroring what people generally are saying. However, I don't think Council should knee-jerk this decision. Before scuttling bus-only lanes, consider expanding their use to include HOV drivers, taxis, bicyclists and even motorcyclists. Buses, of course, will still use them.

I bet this increased use will assist in making a rationale for them more palatable.

Mike wrote:

"OPEC is working to stay relevant."

Kevin's comment:

In my opinion, Saudi Arabia is not pumping every barrel it can because of any sophisticated market strategy. The Saudi rulers are pumping every barrel they can in order to get quick cash to keep bribing the population. Particularly buying off their Islamic fundamentalist revolutionary elements.

There is a fair amount of evidence that Saudi oil production is over its peak and that the Saudi government has responded by using imprudent production methods that give a quick hit at the cost of doing serious long-term damage to their productive capacity.

One look at the age of the current Saudi rulers shows that their motto is "Apres moi, le deluge" for exactly the same reason that Louis XIV uttered those famous words.

An Islamic fundamentalist government would, of course, have no problem raising money by imposing taxes upon the people. And has very effective ways of dealing with political dissent.

Comment edited by KevinLove on 2014-12-08 19:45:40

Simple solution(s):
-Start the Bus Lane at Wellington/Victoria.
-Advance Bus Green Light at King and James so the buses don't have to try and merge with the vehicular traffic between Hughson and James in order to access McNab terminal.

you're right Larry. This thing was flawed from the start and many folks let the city know that before they ever laid the paint down. I agree with the concept of transit lanes, and would love to see more on Main from Mac to the Delta and some of the Mountain streets.

But we need to learn the basics of designing these things properly. This is where I wish Chad was more of an elected leader and not just mimicking the uninformed feedback from his constituents. He should be working towards a solution, not just saying "no", which Hamilton is great at.

Great idea. Also add a bus lane on Main from McMaster to Wellington and up the Claremont. Tons of extra ideas and simple fixes with the stoplights could have avoided this entire discussion.

You mean to say those old farts in ward 5 are senile?!

They are just setting it up to kill LRT based on 'evidence' that it won't work here.

parking preserved on both curbs with transit lane in NYC:

http://cdn.brownstoner.com/wp-content/up...

Heck, our stretch from John to Bay preserves the curb lane for parking/loading with the bus lane in the 2nd lane. It's not like we're asking for the world here. Simply extend that all the way to Dundurn....yes Dundurn, NOT New St. In fact, let's extend this lane right over the 403.

Comment edited by jason on 2014-12-08 23:01:29

Get rid of that pointless Downtown Hamilton sign, convert a parking lane to a Transit Lane between Wellington and Mary and voila.
This will help keep vehicular traffic flowing once lrt is in place, because the current plan of blocking traffic from Spring to Mary is a disaster of an idea (until they convert Main two-way).

Or you could start your own internet publication, "Lower the Hammer."

Devoted to articles explaining why the 1960's were perfect and we should never change. Here's a quick 60 second video showing so many wonderful things about that era to start you out with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrlEQ15m...

So why didn't you send an email to editor@raisethehammer.org?

Meanwhile, in cities that have moved beyond the 1960's...

I see that Paris is fixing its downtown to not be a traffic sewer for cut-through car drivers.

And so is Hamburg

In Japan, take a look at Tokyo and Osaka

Not to mention pretty well every city in The Netherlands.

Comment edited by KevinLove on 2014-12-09 02:26:09

Are you kidding? Now you're going to lecture that the people who vote don't know what's best, or that they do not deserve to be represented?

If you think that he was re-elected by seniors, don't be mad at them. Be mad at the younger people who didn't vote and "allowed" him to be re-elected. Your anger is misplaced.

Oh, people care, but they are too few to make anything actually occur. Maybe the 5 amigos could have a sit-down with Chad, hosted by Farr? That way you could "open the lines of communication" to let him know the error of his ways?

Don't forget to check out @RTHS on Twitter, and mediumDOTcom/@RTHStinks for some grounded views from the other side.

Over at @RTHS (Twitter, obviously) we'll be writing the other side of the argument where it's warranted.

On the bus lane issue, something Ryan doesn't make mention of - that we do - is that the bus lane essentially takes two lanes of traffic away from morning commuters.

One for the bus lane, one for the metered parking. Don't try to convince me that the metered parking doesn't remove a lane of traffic - it does. Cars have to switch lanes, slow down, stop completely in heavy traffic, all in order to avoid that lane (Near Tim Horton's/Hess) if even one car is parked there.

The city needs to look at demand (IE - the number of people using the bus lane ALL DAY, not only during rush hour) before they look at accommodating it. The city continues to try and manufacture demand (Bike lanes, anyone?) for services or options for which no (or minimal) demand currently exists.

Anyways, go look at @RTHS and the blog on Medium - links in the profile.

Your concept of reality is substantially different from mine.

By notlloyd (registered) - website | Posted December 09, 2014 at 09:01:47

The bus lane from Bay to Dundurn poses no problems. Traffic flow in the morning is good and so long as no one parks on King in the evening it is also good. The problems occur in the downtown, largely between the Fairclough Building and the international village. But that is more a problem with the buses looping through the core because of all the connections, and the need for buses to cross over King. It worked a lot better when all the connections were made on the South side of Gore Park as opposed to where it all happens now. That has just created traffic problems. The reduction of Traffic from John to James has created a log jam. From my perspective, if you could figure that out I wouldn't complain about the bus lane at all.

The stats were posted here before and the ridership justifies the bus lane on its own. I think putting bikes in there would gum stuff up as buses would have to swerve around them out into traffic.

I like the idea of HOV but enforcement would became a big issue.

Dude, you're double-counting. There was already metered parking on King before the bud lane.

It is all really a matter of fairness and equity. Wards 1 - 3 are forced to bear an unfair burden of "undesirable" facilities from subsidised housing to second level lodging homes etc. and on top of that a hostile environment for anyone who is not travelling in a car.

No one would accept this where they live but they all adore the present set up of Hamilton. This is not how you build a healthy vibrant city.

You do realize that Hamilton is in competition for jobs with other communities like Mississauga and Waterloo don't you. Making our downtown a drive thru racetrack is ONE element that makes us less attractive than either of those communities.

By caring about complete streets and healthy neighbourhoods everywhere but in our core will ensure that we grow only as a place to live to drive to somewhere else to work which will validate everyone like you who only cares how fast you can get through or in and out of this town.

No thanks. the Spec and Bay Observer fill that role quite nicely

I saw your anonymous blog - the one based in fantasy land. It would be funny except that you obviously believe the drivel you're spewing, which makes it kinda sad. If you're so confident in your positions why don't you put your name behind your words? That's what I thought, coward. I'm sure your 7 twitter followers are truly impressed by your progressive vision for Hamilton.

I don't know if I'm double counting. I mean, the street normally has parking on the right hand side - like you said - I'm saying that the bus lane decreases the number of total lanes (including the parking, regardless of what side) by two lanes.

Maybe a bit unclear, so I appreciate that.

I'm guessing your drivers license...sorry, health card, doesn't have Nice Try on it.

Concept of reality is a contradiction in terms.

Solid straw man, amigo.

it's not a straw man. it's a comment on your actual beliefs which are indicated by your own writing.

I'm not the one starting my own website hoping to be taken seriously.

Comment edited by PiersixBrawler on 2014-12-09 15:35:21

I'm one of the seven, but purely for entertainment value!

I appreciate your response, but you are indeed double-counting. Before, there were 3 general lanes and one parking lane. Now there is one bus lane, 2 general lanes and one parking lane.

RTH folks are sometimes guilty of the same sorry of thing when we talk about "5-lane one-way streets", many of which aren't actually 5 lanes.

this is correct.

Mind you, King through my hood and Main through my hood are actually 5 lane streets. Lol

It's funny. Back when it was the previous lay-out, drivers would complain about getting stuck behind all the buses on King, slowing them down. So we give the buses their own lane and all the drivers complain about not being allowed to get stuck behind all the buses.

Entitled much?

Comment edited by jason on 2014-12-09 19:07:38

Ryan, if we are experiencing peak oil then that would imply that oil is becoming more scare and prices are rising. This is why people like you and Jeff Rubin made predictions of $200 oil. That fact that oil prices are dropping is an indicator of greater abundance.

High oil prices have encouraged innovation in places where oil is used the most like US and Europe (exactly as econ theory would predict and we have seen time and again throughout history). However these alternative oil producers do produce at a higher marginal cost. Some may go under with prices below $80 many will stay in business as long as prices stay above $40. Advances in technology have and will lower the marginal cost of oil extraction the same way it has for other resource extraction and other industries over time.

This new technology has essential broken OPEC. The Saudis are not cutting oil production for fear of losing more market share in the US (which is now the world's largest oil producer).

The innovation in the sector will now allow oil prices the be determined in the free market with less manipulation from OPEC.

You should expect to see real oil prices trend down over the long term relative to the prices of other goods and the average daily wage. Oil will continue to be the major source of energy around the world for the 21st century as its abundance and versatility has become more apparent thanks to recent events.

That fact that oil prices are dropping is an indicator of greater abundance.

No, it is not. It could be that Saudi Arabia is allowing lower prices due to their higher reserves than other countries, and that lower prices hurts their enemies in the region. But you'd know better, obviously.

Comment edited by No on 2014-12-12 06:14:15

Saudi does not "allow" lower prices. Market determines price. It's supply and demand. Saudi either permits more or less oil to be sold to control price.

Reserves affect futures and stock value.

Comment edited by notlloyd on 2014-12-12 09:40:27

You're playing semantics. GP is saying Arabia has enough supply that it can influence the price by how much or little it sells. The point stands.

Why would one want to gloat about a worst case scenario not playing out? Yes, the falling oil price is indicative of greater above ground inventory. It does not mean the earlier warnings were invalid or false. It means the situation that was warned about may have been averted, however perhaps only for the short term.

The extra inventory comes from new but environmentally destructive methods, and fracking wells deplete quickly too that's why so many get drilled. Also in the short term, the decline in price is partially due to the US dollar making a comeback, and yes partially due to all the geopolitical intrigue that goes on constantly and forever, and will be debated around dinner tables constantly and forever. All of this is temporary. Nice analyses from us all, but only applicable to this specific boom bust cycle, in my opinion.

The permanent economic adjustments will start occurring as new technologies are arriving to replace oil as a transportation fuel. The full change may take more than one generation, but it's begun. Economic models will have to adjust as the changes take place, and already it is getting harder to replace all the blacktop that cars and trucks are crushing to pieces, so a fully weight or vehicle class based system may be inevitable.

In the meantime my guess is the boom bust cycle continues on various time scales. And people will continue to think individual downturns will continue down forever, and individual upturns will continue up forever.

Regardless of all of this ...

No reasonably sentient species that is the steward of any planet they may live on, should deliberately pump 100 million years worth of organic matter built up during a dense lush carboniferous forest that existed a quarter-billion years ago, into the atmosphere in one century, just because they can.

By taming dependence on oil, we can have it available for responsible use at a reasonable price, for whatever there isn't a good substitute yet. In addition to and perhaps surpassing environmental stewardship - the threat of real damage to the economy from the real threat of permanently soaring oil prices if demand wasn't tamed too, didn't just spur quick fixes to squeeze more drops out of our suffering biosphere, it spurred actual innovation of many new energy technologies. Why would you gloat at a good outcome like that!

Comment edited by mikeonthemountain on 2014-12-12 10:58:18