Raise the Hammer
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Nicholas Kevlahan was born and raised in Vancouver, and then spent eight years in England and France before returning to Canada in 1998. He has been a Hamiltonian since then, and is a strong believer in the potential of this city. Although he spends most of his time as a mathematician, he is also a passionate amateur urbanist and a fan of good design. You can often spot him strolling the streets of the downtown, shopping at the Market. Nicholas is the spokesperson for Hamilton Light Rail.
Email: kevlahan@gmail.com
Hamilton's LRT Megaproject a Top Candidate for Federal Infrastructure Stimulus Fund - It would be deeply irresponsible of Council not to work all-out with the Province to put in a winning bid in to the Federal Government to help us build our LRT system. Published April 16, 2020 in Special Report: Light Rail
The Gilets Jaunes: a Reaction to Progressive Urban Design? - Canada's Yellow Vest movement feeds off some of the same anti-elite and anti-urban identity sentiments as the Gilet Jaune movement in France. Published September 04, 2019 in Special Report: Extremism
Local Media Trying to Frame Election Result as Urban vs. Suburban - The real message from the data is that Eisenberger won in almost every ward in the city, not just "central Hamilton". Vito Sgro's one issue anti-LRT campaign lost almost everywhere. Published October 26, 2018 in Municipal Election 2018
Provincial Position on Hamilton LRT Funding Has Not Changed at All - The PC Government's stance is essentially identical to the previous Liberal government, except the Liberals were explicit about the process for reviewing alternative transit infrastructure proposals. Published October 05, 2018 in Ontario Election 2018
Queen Street Needs Better Than Speed Limit Signs - A horrific crash on Queen this morning highlights the inadequacy of the new 40 km/h speed limit signs to reduce dangerous speeding on this multi-lane one-way arterial street. Published October 05, 2017 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
LRT Poll Shows 52 Percent of Hamiltonians Support or Are Undecided on LRT - Despite a flawed poll and a year long misinformation campaign, Hamiltonians are still split down the middle on LRT. Published April 18, 2017 in Special Report: Light Rail
LRT Opponents Explicitly Refuse to Acknowledge its Benefits - The latest anti-LRT tactic has been to pretend that there are no benefits to LRT by insisting that we deny, ignore and exclude all of its many well-documented benefits. Published April 13, 2017 in Special Report: Light Rail
LRT Goes From Risky and Unproven to Obsolete in Less Than a Year - Clearly, anything goes in the increasingly desperate campaign to undermine LRT, and inconsistency is not a problem. Published April 11, 2017 in Special Report: Light Rail
Latest BRT Pitch Just Another Obstruction Tactic - The real goal of the transit concern trolls is not to make sure we have the 'right solution,' but rather to ensure that no solution is ever implemented and the status quo remains in place. Published April 07, 2017 in Special Report: Light Rail
Enormous Cost to Reject LRT - Fear and divisiveness may lead us to refuse a billion-dollar investment in our city and delay our rapid transit plans for another generation. Published April 03, 2017 in Special Report: Light Rail
Letter: Help Make LRT the Best it Can Be - This development alone will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in new property tax revenue for the City and bring economic vitality, jobs and new residents. Published February 16, 2017 in Special Report: Light Rail
HSR Ridership Drop is No Mystery - It is no surprise that imposing steep fare increases and moving service from abysmal to just bad have failed to produce the desired results. Published February 06, 2017 in Special Report: Transit
Remarks to Municipal Heritage Committee on 18-28 King Street East - With Canada's sesquicentennial coming up in 2017, we have the responsibility and duty to preserve a nationally important example of pre-Confederation architecture in the heart of Hamilton. Published December 16, 2016 in Special Report: Heritage
Hamilton is Already Committed to Completing Light Rail - The anti-LRT councillors are on notice: if they attempt to kill this project in bad faith, Hamilton will be liable for the money Metrolinx has spent implementing it after Council committed to it. Published October 27, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Councillor Brenda Johnson Wrong to Break LRT Support Promise - Council already has two financial sources that it could tap to help improve local transit, and I look forward to Councillor Johnson championing these among her colleagues. Published October 19, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
The Cost of LRT Uncertainty - By prolonging the uncertainty over its outcome, the LRT opponents are playing political games with millions of dollars in foregone tax revenue. They are costing the residents of Hamilton access to new businesses, jobs and investments. Published October 12, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Bike Lane Celebration and Glow Ride - At least 15 cyclists used the Herkimer bike lane on Saturday evening. Published September 26, 2016 in Special Report: Cycling
Remove it and They Will Disappear - If you make it easier and quicker to drive, more people drive. If it is not so easy to drive, fewer people will drive or they will drive less. The net result of reducing lanes is less traffic, not gridlock. Published September 26, 2016 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Mountain Councillors Hijack LRT Information Meeting - Skelly and Whitehead are politicizing a formal communications process, obstructing a Council-approved project and undermining public confidence in city staff. Published September 22, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Why Are LRT Opponents So Down on Hamilton? - Cynicism entails a reluctance to believe that things can change for the better. This is particularly true for LRT opponents who are stuck in a mindset that the city is a hopeless basket case. Published September 16, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Beckett Drive Closure Demonstrates Need for More Balanced Aberdeen - We can do a better job of balancing the understandable desire for cut-through drivers to save a bit of time with the equally-understandable desire of local residents to have a safer, more inclusive street for all uses. Published August 26, 2016 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Two-Way Main Street Necessary for Downtown Vibrancy - Even if it's not necessary to mitigate traffic congestion, converting Main Street to two-way will provide other tangible benefits that will increase the overall success of the LRT investment. Published August 24, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Whitehead Rejects LRT Traffic Modelling Report - Far from his claim of trying to ensure that LRT is successful, the West Mountain councillor actually seems to be trying to ensure that it fails. Published August 04, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Corporate Head Offices Moving Downtown to Attract Millennials - As urban centres become more attractive and demographics continue to favour them, corporations are shifting their head offices back downtown. Published August 04, 2016 in Downtown Bureau
Whitehead's Latest Anti-LRT Ploy Another Pointless Distraction - Seven years and scores of Council votes later, Councillor Whitehead has suddenly decided he is not convinced by staff arguments in favour of the King Street alignment. Published June 20, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Thorough Engagement, Compromise Can Address Business Concerns About Light Rail - Metrolinx and the City need to do a really thorough job of engaging with businesses and other stakeholders along the LRT construction route to ensure we're doing everything we can to set them up for a successful transition. Published June 08, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Whitehead's Anti-LRT Argument is a Jumble of False and Misleading Claims - Updated - Councillor Terry Whitehead's 'list of concerns' is filled with outright factual errors, misleading claims and bizarre omissions. Published June 02, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Light Rail Needs More Frequent Stops - Spreading LRT stops too far apart - up to 1.5 km - will undermine both ridership growth and economic uplift. Published May 04, 2016 in Special Report: Light Rail
Transportation Staff Thrown Under Bus for Doing their Jobs - It is well-known that the City has a problem with staff morale and, given this episode, it is easy to see why. Published April 25, 2016 in Special Report: Cycling
City to Install Only Three to Five Pedestrian Crossovers This Year - The excuses keep changing, but the pattern of inaction continues year after year. It is past time for staff priorities to start matching what citizens are demanding. Published April 19, 2016 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Hamilton Health Sciences Can Do More to Reduce Parking Demand - It's not surprising no one is taking the bus or carpooling when you can park for a month at the General for $60 and an HSR bus pass is almost 60 percent more expensive! Published March 23, 2016 in Special Report: Parking
Expensive Transit Subsidizing Cheap Parking - The City sets both parking rates and the transit rates, as well as taxpayer funding levels for roads and transit. Money spent on roads, or subsidizing artificially cheap parking, is money that cannot be spent on transit. Published February 25, 2016 in Special Report: Transit
City to Present Charlton, Herkimer Bike Lane Designs - Everyone is encouraged to attend the public information meeting this Thursday to learn more and to show your support. Published January 27, 2016 in Special Report: Cycling
Continued Neglect of Gore Heritage Buildings an Embarrassment - It has been more than two years since Council voted to designate 18-28 King Street East, but the owner is still trying to delay action to save the buildings from demolition-by-neglect. Published January 18, 2016 in Special Report: Heritage
Dreschel Defends Whitehead's Attack on Safer Streets - Or, How to waste a billion dollars and keep the city divided against itself in one easy step. Published November 27, 2015 in Special Report: Light Rail
Mixed-Income Neighbourhoods Need an Actual Mix of Incomes - Increasing the supply of new apartments is a better way of keeping units within affordable ranges than reducing the demand by preventing downtown Hamilton from being a desirable place to live. Published November 04, 2015 in Downtown Bureau
OIOPBY and NIYBY in the Hammer - More and more, we are seeing Councillors and city staff oppose developments that are actually supported by local residents. Published October 07, 2015 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Book Review: Travellers Without Tickets, Freedom and Equality at No Cost: A Social Experiment in Aubagne - Too often we feel trapped in conventional ways of thinking. Aubagne shows us to think first of the public good, and then get creative on how to achieve it. Published July 28, 2015 in Reviews
What Does Success Look Like for Hamilton Bike Share? - In just a few months since the launch, 7 percent of potential users have already taken out memberships, compared with a realistic but optimistic upper bound of 17 percent, based on the world's most successful bike share. Published July 06, 2015 in Special Report: Cycling
Dangerously High Vehicle Speeds Recorded on Hunter - The fact that half of all drivers exceed the speed limit and maximum speeds of 70 km/h were observed at all times of the day indicates that we do have a very serious and dangerous speeding issue here. Published June 11, 2015 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Change Municipal Act to Stop Rewarding Vacancy With Tax Rebates - A better solution would be to allow a time-limited discount to allow owners to find new tenants, after which the tax returns to the normal rate. Published June 09, 2015 in Policy
Dangerously High Vehicle Speeds Recorded on Herkimer - The City's mobile radar trailer recorded maximum speeds of 80-90 km/h on every day of the trailer's operation on Herkimer Street. Published June 04, 2015 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Hamilton Gets YES for an Answer - Premier announces up to $1 billion to build a light rail line in Hamilton and $150 million for a GO train extension to Centennial Parkway in Stoney Creek Published May 26, 2015 in Special Report: Light Rail
Downtown Renewal Jane's Walk: Real Progress, Ongoing Challenges - The downtown revival is exciting but remains constrained by parasitic property speculators and a transportation policy that continues to prioritize moving cars over accommodating people. Published May 06, 2015 in Downtown Bureau
Hamilton Out of Excuses Not to Put People First - Even car-dominated cities can change rapidly if they make a deliberate sequence of decisions to become more attractive, more efficient, less car-dependent places. Published May 01, 2015 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Hamilton Not Doing That Badly on Air Quality - Hamilton can do more to improve local air quality, but the CBC Hamilton article claiming we are "lagging behind" is misleading. Published April 17, 2015 in Media
Two-Way Conversion on Bold, Duke Meets Knee-Jerk Fear of Change - You can't have a successful participatory process if it gives a veto to those who don't participate. Published March 12, 2015 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Tell Council to Regain Control of the LRT File - This plan will completely reverse almost eight years and $10 million of rapid transit planning, without Council being clear what is being proposed and what the stakes are. Published March 06, 2015 in Special Report: Light Rail
More Divisive Anti-Downtown Rhetoric from Councillor Whitehead - How does denigrating citizen engagement, driving a wedge between neighbourhoods, and reducing the lower city's role to that of a place to drive through promote any of the City's goals? Published February 19, 2015 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Province Suggests Reducing Speed Limit, Victim-Blaming Ensues - We don't accept "blaming the injured" as a sufficient response for workplace injuries. Why is it okay on our streets? Published February 05, 2015 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Council Answers Civic Engagement with Hypocrisy and Contempt - Such flagrant disrespect for civic engagement makes it almost impossible to figure out how to organize a campaign that would effectively get Council's attention on an important issue. Published January 23, 2015 in Special Report: Bus Lane
Debating the Bus Lane with Councillor Whitehead - We've had the goal of doubling per capita transit use for years and have done nothing about it. Published January 21, 2015 in Special Report: Bus Lane
Approve and Improve the Bus Lane - Killing the bus lane would be deeply unfair to the thousands of Hamiltonians who rely on it and demonstrate that Hamilton is not serious about improving transit or planning for the effective transportation our city needs. Published January 09, 2015 in Special Report: Bus Lane
James and Young: Yet Another Broken-By-Design Crosswalk - Why bother spending the money to put this crosswalk in, only to make it minimally useful for pedestrians (while claiming that it is an improvement)? Published October 30, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Bus-Only Lane Experiment Actually Supports Light Rail Transit, Traffic Calming, Two-Way - Why have we designed a downtown shopping street on which just crossing it is such an unpleasant experience that it is driving customers away? Published October 01, 2014 in Special Report: Bus Lane
Vancouver Commits to Zero Traffic Fatalities While Hamilton Stonewalls Even Modest Safety Improvements - Vancouver's impressive pedestrian safety statistics are not some random effect, but the result of several deliberate policies sustained since 1997 and continued to this day. Published September 30, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Debating LRT on CHCH-TV's Square Off - Nicholas Kevlahan and John Best debated the pros and cons of light rail transit on Tuesday. Published September 11, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Safe Speeds for Turtles But Not For People - Maybe the needs of 1,500 turtles will be taken more seriously than those of 25,000 student and staff residents when deciding whether to make Cootes Drive safer. Published September 03, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Bizarre LRT Op-Ed Ignores Community Engagement, Political Commitment - Hamilton Light Rail has engaged in years of extensive community outreach, making presentations to community groups across the city and building support. Published July 24, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Clark Wrongly Claims LRT Plan Lacks Detailed Design Work - This is one of the most studied and pre-designed, pre-consulted projects in the city's history! Published July 10, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Induced Demand, Transit Investment and Congestion - Improved transit doesn't necessarily permanently eliminate congestion on the roads, but it does enable a greater number of people to move around more efficiently at a given level of congestion. Published June 19, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Four Decades of Stonewalling by the Traffic Department - The Durand and Kirkendall Neighbourhood Associations were requesting two-way conversions, traffic calming and reduced speed limits back in the 1970s. Published June 11, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Ontario Liberals Still Trying to Wiggle Out of LRT Commitment - Contrary to Premier Wynne's claim, Queen's Park has heard repeatedly and consistently from Hamilton that we support B-Line LRT with the promised full capital funding. Published June 10, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Paris to Implement City-Wide 30 km/h Speed Limit - This is not a timid pilot project with a five-year moratorium on implementing changes anywhere else: it is a city-wide initiative that follows logically from the city's experiments with lower-speed and pedestrian-only zones. Published May 22, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Over 15,000 Hamilton Motorists Ran Red Lights in 2013 - I suppose all those self-described drivers who say cyclists shouldn't be allowed on the roads because they roll through stop signs will hang their heads in shame. Published May 21, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
More Parochial Excuses Not to Implement Two-Way Conversions - Is it really so strange that the city's largest employment hub, business and creative centre gets a lot of attention, especially since it has been under-performing for so many years due to self-inflicted wounds? Published May 16, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Latest Anti-LRT Tactic a Demand to Re-do Completed LRT/BRT Comparison - BRT can't simultaneously be far cheaper and more flexible than LRT while at the same time fixed and permanent enough to attract economic investment. Published May 06, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Car Culture Victim Blaming at its Worst - This is the end result of a culture that blames pedestrians and cyclists killed and injured by motorists, instead of the drivers who are actually responsible. Published May 01, 2014 in Special Report: Cycling
Freeway Speeds on City Streets Designed Like Freeways - Apart from the houses and chain link fence on the Claremont Access, its design is not much different from Highway 407. Published April 16, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Ideas to Recall Our Streets from Boulder, Colorado - In Boulder, Colorado, they have 'recalled' dangerous highway-style slip turn lanes to slow traffic and make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to cross. Published April 09, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
City Streets Engineered for 70-100 km/h - Our traffic engineers are actively enabling dangerous lawbreaking by motorists. This is not just hypocritical and immoral, it is also extremely dangerous. Published April 04, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Time to Issue a Recall on Hamilton's Unsafe Streets - Our streets are designed for fast driving, and that has made them far more dangerous than average. When are we going to 'recall our streets' to fix their fatal design flaws? Published April 02, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Cannon Bike Lane Consultation Complaint Reflects Double Standard - Status quo projects costing millions of dollars pass unnoticed while small projects to promote active transportation are subjected to impossible levels of scrutiny. Published March 25, 2014 in Special Report: Cycling
LRT in a Tailspin After a Hopeful Start - Lack of interest from City Hall, short-sighted provincial politicking conspire to sideline Hamilton's LRT plan. Published March 18, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Driver Kills Elderly Pedestrian, Found Not Guilty of Careless Driving - It is hard to build a safe transportation infrastructure for pedestrians when the courts interpret the laws in a way that makes it clear there is no real deterrent for not driving safely around pedestrians. Published March 14, 2014 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Bratina Concern-Trolling the LRT Debate - If Mayor Bratina really supports LRT, he has had over three years to develop a properly thought-out alternative to the B-line and try to convince his colleagues that some other better option is possible. Published March 06, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Light Rail Transit, Leadership and Democracy - Our Mayor and Council should make the case, forcefully and convincingly, for what they have been officially supporting for almost six years: a B-line LRT with full funding of direct costs from the Province. Published March 03, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Is the Fix in for Hamilton's LRT Plan? - It is starting to look like the Ontario Liberals want to back out of their promise to build LRT lines in Hamilton. Published February 24, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
If We Reject LRT, We Will Still Pay - Given that we will have to pay our share of the whatever revenue tools the Province imposes either way, it only makes sense that we demand the best value for that money. Published February 19, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Why Doesn't Premier Wynne Know Hamilton Wants LRT? - If we fail to articulate our commitment to LRT today, Hamilton could easily end up left out of the next wave of Metrolinx projects, even as we help pay for LRT in other parts of the GTA. Published February 07, 2014 in Special Report: Light Rail
Dangerous, Unacceptable Bus Transfer at Longwood and King - Each morning, passengers risk running across King Street on a red light in an attempt to catch the bus on King before it pulls away. Eventually, someone will be injured or killed. Published January 31, 2014 in Commentary
Demolitions, Illegal Parking Lots and Danegeld - Our leaders have the power to stand up to the property speculators threatening to sack our city, if only they will have the courage to exercise it. Published December 09, 2013 in Special Report: Heritage
How Legal Liability is Determined in a Driver-Pedestrian Collision - Legal liability assessments in the case of collisions between drivers and pedestrians indicates that the City's policy of neglecting uncontrolled crosswalks is not legally sound. Published November 10, 2013 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Anti-Pedestrian 'Courtesy Crossing' Pilot in New Pedestrian Signal Program - City staff recommend a new proposal to put up signs at uncontrolled intersections warning pedestrians that vehicles are 'not required to stop'. This dangerous plan misrepresents the Highway Traffic Act. Published November 04, 2013 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Conference Board Study: Drivers Do Not Pay Full Cost of Ontario Roads - Despite taking a convoluted view of the social cost of collisions and injuries, this study confirms the analysis that the total revenue from drivers does not pay the full cost of Ontario's road system. Published October 30, 2013 in Commentary
City Tells Cyclists to Get Lost - In 2013, it is not acceptable to redesign a street to exclude cyclists, especially as there are no practical alternatives. Published October 21, 2013 in Special Report: Cycling
Christopher Hume and Guests on Transit in Hamilton - The most important factor in running an efficient transit system is population density - and the population density below the escarpment is enough to make transit work. Published October 02, 2013 in Events
Live and Don't Learn, Downtown Parking Edition - We have not absorbed any of the lessons about how choices about parking supply and management affect behaviour, land use and the economy - especially in downtowns. Published September 16, 2013 in Downtown Bureau
Lack of Heritage Designations Not Reasonable or Understandable - The problem is not the complexity of the task, but a lack of political will. Published September 06, 2013 in Special Report: Heritage
Durand Neighbourhood 'Betrayed' By New Horizon Rezoning Application - This is not a case of anti-density NIMBYism, but of a developer playing a game of bait and switch and using the goodwill of the neighbourhood to advance his project, only to change his plans at the last minute. Published May 08, 2013 in Commentary
No One at City Hall is Responding to LRT Criticism - No one from the City is out there talking to the media to respond to questions that were already raised and answered years ago in the various studies and at the Public Information Centres. Published May 07, 2013 in Special Report: Light Rail
Bratina Refuses to Understand Council Support for LRT - Mayor Bratina still refuses to accept that his job is to support Council's decision to aggressively pursue a B-line LRT from Eastgate to McMaster - a decision for which he also voted! - and not to keep finding reasons to argue against it. Published April 21, 2013 in Special Report: Light Rail
Kill a Pedestrian, Pay a $500 Fine - Far from always being 'blamed', the motorist who kills a pedestrian in a crosswalk is almost always given the benefit of the doubt. Published March 21, 2013 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Police Enforcement Should Prioritize Risk, Not Annoyance - Evidence-based policy making means focusing resources where they will have the greatest harm reduction, not taking sides in the cars vs. bicycles culture war. Published March 07, 2013 in Special Report: Cycling
Billions at Stake in LRT Project - Why isn't Council up in arms over the flouting of their decisions and directions to staff on their support for light rail transit with full provincial funding? Published February 18, 2013 in Special Report: Light Rail
Big Move Consultation Continues LRT Holding Pattern - LRT is the preferred option, but no one will commit to it until a new funding model is decided on by the provincial government. Published February 13, 2013 in Special Report: Light Rail
Alarming Notice for Metrolinx Big Move Meeting - Has Metrolinx simply published a sloppy and confusing notice about tonight's meeting, or has the plan for LRT in Hamilton changed without anyone being told? Published February 12, 2013 in Special Report: Light Rail
Mississauga Leads on LRT While Hamilton Dithers - Does Mayor Bratina really believe that languid take-it-or-leave-it passivity is a winning political strategy? Published January 31, 2013 in Special Report: Light Rail
Hamilton Deserves Same LRT Deal as Toronto - Toronto is demanding - and receiving - full funding from Metrolinx for its three new LRT lines. Why is Hamilton content with a much less generous deal that Council won't accept? Published September 24, 2012 in Special Report: Light Rail
Time to Fight for Fair LRT Deal - Mayor Bratina and Council need to have a "focused discussion" on why Metrolinx and the Province seem ready to offer Hamilton a much worse LRT funding deal than they gave to Toronto. Published August 28, 2012 in Special Report: Light Rail
LRT Funding Forecast Still Hazy - With so little still known about the funding details of Hamilton's LRT project, the danger is that any Council discussion at this point would be driven by confusion and fear of the unknown. Published August 24, 2012 in Special Report: Light Rail
Safety In Numbers: More Cyclists Leads to Fewer Injuries - The evidence clearly demonstrates that cycling becomes safer the more people engage in it - and this is also true for pedestrians. Published August 08, 2012 in Special Report: Cycling
One-Way Streets and Two-Way Conversion in Paris - It is possible to make a one-way street like Main pedestrian-friendly, but it would involve huge cost and a major decrease in traffic capacity - and it wouldn't address the harm done to local businesses. Published June 22, 2012 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Plans for Pedestrians or Streets for Pedestrians? - Although the various plans and policies developed in Hamilton are usually progressive and intelligent, they are mostly ignored by our decision makers. Published February 18, 2012 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Council, Province Must Work Together to Break LRT Funding Standoff - The only way to break the political deadlock is to keep up the public pressure, at both the provincial and city level, to show the politicians that this initiative has a lot of vocal support. Published September 30, 2011 in Special Report: Light Rail
Vancouver: 40 Years of Urbanism in Pictures - A series of photos to illustrate some aspects of the Vancouver Model of urban development. Published August 05, 2011 in Photo Essay
A Distant Mirror: 40 Years of Urbanism in Vancouver - Vancouver and Hamilton were remarkably similar cities 40 years ago, but deliberate choices have put these two cities on diverging paths. This article examines the reasons Vancouver has become a city known for its livability and dense urban form. Published August 02, 2011 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
Light Rail Needs Leadership From Mayor - If our own Mayor still doesn't clearly support LRT, we are going to lose out to our neighbouring competitor cities, who are better able to enunciate their priorities clearly and forcefully. Published July 05, 2011 in Special Report: Light Rail
LRT Needs Two-Way Streets for Success - Pedestrian-friendly streets are a necessary part of transit-oriented development. If Hamilton does not successfully support transit-oriented development, our LRT project will fail. Published December 16, 2010 in Special Report: Light Rail
Hand-wringing Over Spike in Pedestrian Deaths Avoids Effective Solutions - If we are serious about eliminating pedestrian deaths and injuries, we need to re-engineer our urban streets to make it difficult or physically impossible to drive at high speeds. Published January 27, 2010 in Commentary
Myth and Reality of Cycling and Safety - Too much of the car-vs-bicycle debate is overrun by myths and rank misinformation. Published October 01, 2009 in Commentary
High Speed Rail Opposition Based on False Claims - When Wendell Cox claims that "intercity roads are self-financing", this is both untrue on its face and disingenuous with respect to public transit such as LRT. Published June 10, 2009 in Commentary
Transportation Summit: Tension Between Sustainability Language and Status Quo Priorities - A significant shift in the city's thinking is that a focus on moving people and goods efficiently, not moving vehicles efficiently; yet staff highlighted the fact that decisions are still constrained by the need to maximize traffic flow. Published April 28, 2009 in Commentary
Moving Hamilton Up the Ladder of Citizen Participation - What would plans such as GRIDS, the Cycling Master Plan or the downtown urban plan look like if they if they had been designed and, most importantly, implemented, using a Citizen Power model? Published April 23, 2009 in Commentary
Moving Forward on Hamilton's LRT Initiative - The City cannot reasonably expect the province to pay 100 percent of the capital costs for light rail. Why is LRT important, and yet not important enough to warrant any City contribution? Published November 04, 2008 in Special Report: Light Rail
How to Shift our Transport Paradigm: Learning from Grenoble - Re-balancing our urban transport network is possible, but it takes time and a real political campaign to change people's minds. Published May 18, 2007 in Special Report: Light Rail
The Ambitious City's Victorian Values - A history of Britain's Victorian industrial cities offers compelling lessons for Hamilton. Published March 19, 2007 in Cover
Hamilton's Future: Forget About It - A myopic employment study prepared for City Council by Hemson Consulting imagines a dreary, low-skilled future of air transport and goods warehousing. Published February 09, 2007 in Cover
Rebalancing Our Transportation Network: A Case Study - Hamiltonians often talk about how much they enjoy spending time in Europe, but we could have a European quality of urban life here as well. Published January 10, 2007 in Special Report: Light Rail
Urbanists, Amateur and Otherwise - Like any part of culture, a vibrant and inventive city requires professionals, connoisseurs and amateurs: people who care passionately about their city. Published December 13, 2006 in Opinion
Kuwabara on Hamilton's City Square - The architect who renovated the AGH says Hamilton needs to focus urban revitalization around Gore Park, which he calls "one of Canada's great urban spaces." Published June 16, 2006 in Opinion
Clark: No Existing Money for LRT, and No New Money for LRT, Published April 15, 2014 in Light Rail
Ontario NDP Forget that Taxes Are Redistributive, Published February 19, 2014 in Transportation
Double Standard in City Willingness to Modify Pilot Projects, Published December 05, 2013 in Transportation
Hamilton 2nd Most Dangerous City in Ontario for Pedestrians, Published November 06, 2013 in Transportation
James Street Baptist Church Proposal Looking Worse and Worse, Published October 09, 2013 in Heritage
American Urbanist Slams Downtown Parking Study, Published September 18, 2013 in Transportation
Blanchard Should Listen to What His Commercial Property Vacancy Survey is Telling Him, Published July 12, 2013 in Heritage
Confused Anti-Bike Rant Ignores Most Dangerous Road Users, Published July 04, 2013 in Transportation
Chance for Hamilton to Avoid Mistakes of Overpriced Cities, Published June 21, 2013 in Revitalization
Still Struggling to Make Sense of City Policy on Crosswalks, Published May 14, 2013 in Transportation
Tactical Urbanism and the Judgment of Hart Solomon, Published May 13, 2013 in Transportation
Mississauga Aggressively Pursuing LRT While Hamilton Bickers, Published April 25, 2013 in Light Rail
Traffic Department Recommends Traffic Calming - in Suburban Neighbourhoods, Published April 22, 2013 in Transportation
Beckett Drive Renovations Another Case Study in City Priorities, Published April 09, 2013 in Transportation
On Roads and Transit, Hamilton Spending Priorities on Display, Published April 08, 2013 in Transportation
Crosswalk Requires Multi-Year Campaign but $18 Million Road Just Appears, Published March 28, 2013 in Transportation
Public Transit Disproportionately Reduces Traffic Congestion, Published March 28, 2013 in Transportation
Police Ticket Cyclists While UN Slams Canada for Failing to Design Safe Streets, Published March 14, 2013 in Transportation
Hamilton Still Looks Like the 1970s, Published February 26, 2013 in Revitalization
Council Supports Funded LRT, but Mayor Refuses to Advocate For Funding, Published February 14, 2013 in Light Rail
Toward Understanding the Moral Double Standard of Law-Breaking Drivers, Published December 17, 2012 in Transportation
Amsterdam Bike Network is Too Successful, Published November 23, 2012 in Transportation
Watch for Dangerous Driver on Aberdeen, Published November 23, 2012 in Transportation
LRT 'Ten to Fifteen Years Away', Published October 26, 2012 in Light Rail
Speed Limits Should Reflect Neighbourhood Safety, Not Driver Preference, Published October 19, 2012 in Transportation
Bike Helmet Study Confuses Relative Risk, Published October 16, 2012 in Transportation
Lessons on Livability from Paris, Published October 04, 2012 in Transportation
Blaming the Victim When Pedestrians Are Injured, Published September 13, 2012 in Transportation
LRT Could Die Through Delay and Neglect, Published September 01, 2012 in Light Rail
Focus on the Most Dangerous Road Users, Published August 30, 2012 in Transportation
Another Example of our Transportation Spending Priorities, Published June 21, 2012 in Transportation
Rules for Bicycles and Rules for Cars, Published April 28, 2012 in Transportation
Cycle Plan Gutted, Motorists Trump Other Road Users, Published April 05, 2012 in Transportation
Metrolinx Project Development Process for B-Line LRT, Published October 04, 2011 in Light Rail
Grenoble Building Fifth LRT Line While Hamilton Backpedals, Published September 05, 2011 in Light Rail
City Needs to Complete B-Line Land Use Study, Published August 12, 2011 in Light Rail
Mayor Responds to Kevlahan on Light Rail, Published August 05, 2011 in Light Rail
Car Culture Shifts Blame to Victims, Published July 28, 2011 in Transportation
Letter: Renew Your Support for Light Rail, Published July 06, 2011 in Light Rail
European Cities Choose Walkability Over Traffic Flow, Published June 28, 2011 in Transportation
Ford Wrong About Toll Roads, Published June 13, 2011 in Transportation
Louvre Courtyard Used to Be a Parking Lot, Published June 07, 2011 in Revitalization
British Study Finds Usual Reasons for Low Levels of Cycling, Published June 06, 2011 in Transportation
Letter to Clr Jackson: Support the Cycling Master Plan, Published February 03, 2011 in Transportation
Double Standard in City Spending Priorities, Published January 19, 2011 in Light Rail
Walkability Consultation Report Recommends More Consultation, Published December 23, 2010 in Walkability Fail
Letter to Council: Reject the East Mountain Stadium Site, Published July 09, 2010 in Sports
Chedoke Trail: Construct the Railyard-Rail Trail Section Now, Published June 01, 2010 in Transportation
Burlington to Recoup Some Driving Costs, Published April 15, 2010 in Transportation
Walkability Fail on the Wellington Street Freeway, Published March 19, 2010 in Walkability Fail
Metrolinx Draft BCA on Hamilton Rapid Transit Now Online, Published February 12, 2010 in Light Rail
Remember Why We Support LRT, Published January 14, 2010 in Light Rail
Case Against Highway Tolls is Disingenuous, Published December 10, 2009 in Transportation
Selective Outrage Over Law Enforcement Illustrates Double Standard, Published December 04, 2009 in Transportation
Jobs No Longer Bundled in Bunches of 500, Published September 01, 2009 in Revitalization
The Walrus on its Way to Extinction?, Published February 11, 2009 in Media
Same Old 'Traffic Trumps Everything' Thinking, Published December 01, 2008 in Transportation
The Return of Streetcars to US Cities, Published August 14, 2008 in Light Rail
Durand Neighbourhood Association: 'Shock and Extreme Disappointment' at Transportation Master Plan Decision, Published July 13, 2008 in Transportation
Bordeaux Streetcars a Working Model for Canada, Published October 23, 2007 in Light Rail
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