Taking the GRIDS Show On the Road
By Ryan McGreal
Published August 22, 2005
I just read Hamilton's Goods Movement Study for the Growth Related Integrated Development Strategy (GRIDS). If we needed more evidence that GRIDS is a farce, this is it.
Taking no account of any considerations outside the narrow economic issues around goods movement, the study draws only conventional conclusions about Hamilton's long-term needs in this area. Their grand vision appears to be Hamilton-the-warehouse. Here are some highlights from the recommendations:
- "Address Highway 403 Congestion/Incidents"
- "Improve Connection Between Burlington St. & QEW"
- "Improve Operation of Burlington St."
- "Expand Hwy 6 Capacity"
- "Evaluate Year Round Lift Bridge Operation"
- No transportation recommendations for economic activity in the downtown core, other than assessing height restrictions for trucks driving through the city
- Continued segregation of uses - business over here, homes over there
- An "east-west link connecting the Highway 6 extension from the airport to Red Hill Creek or to the Queen Elizabeth Way to the east of the City"
In other words, more lane, more lanes, and new signs so the trucks can find the new lanes. Their token nod to sustainability (ostensibly the purpose of orienting planning through the GRIDS process) is their recommendation that the city offer transit service to the aerotropolis. Otherwise, it's strictly business as usual in the Economic Development Department.
Pathetic.
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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