Raise the Hammer

sigh

Why isn't that guy still mayor?

Oh yeah, right... he figured the ticats shouldn't go looking a gift horse in the mouth.

boy, it would be nice to have someone like this as mayor someday....

Just build it. Hopefully our city hall won't spend 20 years debating it.

I don't think I'll stop laughing for the rest of the day; nice work.

Wow, I'm upvoting this simply due to the sheer skill involved in creating a 6 line sentence filled with amazing adjectives. Well done!

The Spec is starting to beat the drum for more trucking (via ope-ed pieces from Foxcroft, Koroscil and Dolbec as well as an "infrastructure" series) and another highway (arguing the path but not the logic) and the city council is overwhelmingly suburban, tax-averse and phobic when it comes to bold, projects, let alone progressive ones. Transit champions have their work cut out for them.

I'm not arguing for more highways. I'm just pointing out that the Spec has been tilted that way, pretty unambiguously. (What does it tell you that Bedford's cameo in today's paper is on the Business page, rather than brandished in the editorial pages?) It also goes without saying that, in case you hadn't noticed, political and business decisions (in Ontario but especially in Hamilton) are not always governed by long-range vision or even elementary logic. Were that the case, this entire discussion would be redundant. And that is why I observed that "transit champions have their work cut out for them." Sleeves-up time.

ex Westdale SS gifted program participants

Westdale SS didn't have a gifted program when I went there. If you came out of Dalewood's gifted program you had to go up to Westmount if you still wanted to get augmented coursework.

What's the difference between a few hundred million put toward LRT or high speed rail and a few hundred million spent on new highways? The money spent on highways is in many ways politically invisible.

The highway-building industry is thoroughly entrenched, and well connected to other dominant industries like auto-making and suburban sprawl. Transit just doesn't have this kind of political/economic clout, even if it does have the public will on side.

Is LRT mind-blowingly expensive? Yes - it's been compared in some cities to buying every family a Buick. A highway, though, can also cost tens of millions per km in an urban area (look at the Linc/Red Hill), and requires us to buy our own Buick.

Perhaps anonymous posts might be banned altogether. A person who identifies him/herself by name is more likely to engage in informed, balanced debate without resorting to name-calling and reputation-bashing. I for one cherish RTH and most of the people who post here.

Thanks to Ryan and RTH contributors for providing an alternative to mainstream media. We are an engaged, highly motivated and intelligent bunch, and it is community leadership on issues such as LRT and enhanced GO rail service that will get things done in Hamilton.
-Harold Sloan

Comment edited by administrator Ryan on 2011-08-08 22:41:01

The fact that we are even talking about the possibility of LRT for Hamilton is, in part, thanks to our former Mayor. Do you honestly think Di Ianni or BoBra would have had the foresight or the vision to actually propose and then champion something like this for Hamilton? Di Ianni was clearly in the camp of putting all our eggs in the aerotropolis basket and making transit a bare-bones social service while Bob (platform smatform) Bratina prefers to make city vision up on the fly (or behind closed doors with the ticats).

The fact that since the last election a number of major opportunities for Hamilton are falling by the wayside is no accident.

I just noticed this partial list of city policies developers say are making it difficult to invest in downtown Hamilton:

Requirements and Regulations
o Height requirements
o Zoning regulations
o Density requirements
o Parking requirements - Participants noted that current parking requirements are not
promoting intensification.
o Heritage Requirements

Source: http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/C2BD81C2-42DA-4247-8CBD-6C4D5632C479/0/BLineDevelopmentIndustryFocusGroupReportFinal.pdf

Hopefully the fact that developers are also complaining about these regulations and requirements means that they will be changed. :-p

Back up the train a bit more, even before Fred was talking about LRT the folks who write for RTH were promoting it when no one else in the city had even heard of it. It was RTH that started up Hamilton Light Rail and got the city talking about LRT in the first place.

If you feel that what you do is productive then good for you! Put YOUR ideas out there on how this city can be made better.

.... meanwhile, the crucial public debate is focused on roadwork.

http://www.thespec.com/opinion/editorial/article/551730--our-house-is-falling-down

True - If it wasn't for RTH putting forward a whole host of ideas, many wouldn't even get on the radar. Eisenberger elevated many of the ideas into the political sphere and got them into a position to be considered for implementation.

The fact that he isn't a bearded, NDP voting, latte sipping urbanite demolishes your basket of lame, insulting cliches about the people who read this site.

I don't think it's fair to attack 'suburban' counsellors when their mandate is to serve their wards the same as any downtown counsellor would. Fair or not, in order to bring the entire city on board with ambitious projects you have to be able to show how it would benefit the entire citizenry. When the current Public Transportation in my ward makes it impossible at any point to use the HSR to travel the 9KM from my house to Downtown Hamilton, blaming the counsellor that is suppose to protect my interests for anything is wrong.

I'm not adverse to building an LRT, but I'd like to see some understanding of situation that citizens like myself are in, especially when it comes to public transit and our limited access to it before we, or our representatives get called out.

And yes, I've heard the arguments that I 'chose' to live where I did and that is part of the problem. They're tired. At the end of the day even the most well intentioned of us are unable to act on those intentions becuase of the current state of transit in our area and we're being asked to pay more in taxes for a project that even if we wanted to use, we couldn't.

Give me a bus that will get me downtown 7 days a week and I'm totally on board with an LRT plan. Until then, try not to judge me too harshly for not being all gung ho for the project. It's a little tough to swallow being the bad guy when I pay taxes for transit but have to rely on Burlington Transit or GO to get me 9KM into the downtown core.

Glad I could help (it was, after all, my intention). Bringing up this report and the comments of developers should lend some support to your views.

In Hamilton we also have no shortage of planning documents that set out what the city should encourage and do, maybe these could be put to some kind of use and referenced in the creation of a performance based code.

i.e. "Development should be consistent with the city's Vision 2020 and Nodes and Corridors documents."

You're flinching in the absence of a punch.

I wasn't in any way attacking 'suburban' counsellors, just identifying the fact that they constitute a majority vote on any issue. LRT would immediately impact the lower city, Wards 1-5, so in theory you'd need to bring at least three other councillors around to advance the cause. That statement is not "blame" any more than it is "wrong." It's just the reality of Hamilton's ward system.

The picture is complicated by the fact that Hamiltonians, like most other North Americans, would like to have a premium grade of services without having to experience any tax discomforts. If the HSR tripled the service volume in mountain wards, it would need to pay for that somehow, and even with gas tax revenues allocated to the challenge (rather than road maintenance) you might still experience a minor tax levy. Which makes the proposition politically untenable. That's what I mean by "tax-averse."

As to "phobic when it comes to bold projects," council is still stinging from the Pan Am Stadium debate, and the Red Hill project was a civic Vietnam. LRT has been described as a once-a-century opportunity to advance city building. As any student of Hamilton history will attest, the precedents for that kind of thing do not bode particularly well.

So once again, for anyone who cares to listen: Transit champions have their work cut out for them

"just identifying the fact that they constitute a majority vote on any issue"

Not only that but they have a lot less residents in their wards, so each suburban vote has more weight than an equivalent urban vote.

For why suburban voters should support LRT, that's easy, when downtown Hamilton is full of new investment, new residents and new jobs driven by LRT, that means more money in the tax coffers, less cost for social services, and less chance your suburban house will get "ringed" by even more suburban growth that adds to your congestion.

NB: My mountain analogy is intended as an illustration – I gather that you live in the vicinity of Waterdown but it really makes no difference to my observation regarding the fundamental economics of expanding route frequency in under-serviced areas. Think of it as an abstract.

Okay that came off defensive. It was more agreeing with your point but saying that the 'burbs and the counsellors do tend to get the blame when projects like this are slowed up.

I think most people are reasonable, everybody hates taxes but understands the need for them, provided they see a tangible results for the money spent, not only in the lower city, but right outside their own door as well. The issue right now, at least for me in my ward is that each quarter I see a transit levy on my tax bill and it pisses me off. I can get 1 bus that will only take me to a Burlington GO station and can only get that bus during rush hour. You approach any sane individual and say 'we need to raise taxes for an LRT system' when the current system doesn't even begin to address their specific needs of course you're going to have backlash.

At least from my perspective, if you want to have more support for LRT, especially in outlying areas, the city and the transit authority have to show us that our public transit needs matter too, right now all it feels like is my taxes are going to pay for somebody else's route.

I don't even need the tripling of service. Give me 1 bus that does a complete loop from Waterdown to Downtown 7 days a week, or even make the #18 Waterdown a full route and give us some way to get downtown from a centralized point (ie. Aldershot GO) and me personally I'm a happy camper and would probably be a lot more agreeable to the idea of LRT.

Other than yakking Fred did nothing to advance our LRT case...blah blah blah while other cities got funding...then he exaggerated during the election....at least Bratina just doesn't care, Fred cared but was not competent. And Dianni well, he didn't care about LRT either but at least what he cared about he got done.

In Hamilton, LRT (Light Rapid Transit) means two completely different modes of transportation. Until this confusion is cleared up, as in stating publicly that Bus Rapid Transit is not an option, arguments will continue. The corridor in question would benefit from either mode regardless. Funding is at the heart of the problem and the scope has not been narrowed to the Light Rail Transit option. Personally, I would have no use for it, I use public transit once a year, to avoid the rediculous parking rates near my Doctors office. If you look at a map of Hamilton there are numerous rail spur-lines running in the proper direction. Can time be rented on these rail corridors, that's what Waterloo region is doing, saving millions in the process. Given Hamiltons addiction to busses, BRT could happen years sooner and the busses are very sleek and aerodynamic. Just my two cents worth.

Comment edited by administrator Ryan on 2011-08-08 22:40:26

I'm gonna go ahead and recommend that you get a life, instead of hanging around all day on a website you think is pointless just so you can feel clever about insulting everyone.

It's kind of folly considering the current trends in urban planning to think anything done in central Hamilton is going to do anything to alleviate growth and congestion in the suburbs. That growth is going to happen regardless.

It is great that Hamilton will be full of new investment and new jobs, but to be self centered for a moment: Beyond the additional tax revenue, which is welcome, how does all that new investment and jobs help me if I'm not able to even access the city via the public transportation that my taxes pay for?

To pay for a large capital project like this there surely is going to be a tax hike. I'm fine with that. It'll hurt short term, but I'll adjust the budget and pay the extra. What will burn me though is I'll be paying for a service that even if I wanted to use it will be unable to.

Surely even with all the different priorities that the suburbs and the lower city have, there has to be some understanding of my point? Those of us who want to do our part, to take cars off the road and use Pubic Transit are literally unable to do so.

Fred: I took your meaning, I lumped in Waterdown with the rest of the burbs. It's all good.

Hey, I just finished a latte!

good stuff there. I chatted with an architect recently who said the stupid height restrictions are a constant source of killing potential downtown high-rise projects before they even start planning. He said not to expect any real density or new tower development in Hamilton until we get rid of such a small-town, small-vision piece of legislation. I agree with him.

Another recent example can be found on this facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/citysquarecondo

Scroll down to see my comment about how nice it would be to see a building like this built as a taller tower.
The developer 'liked' the comment and then replied suggesting I contact Jason Farr and Bratina (are citizens even allowed to anymore??) and share my thoughts with them. Not wanting to read too much into that response, I can't help but see it as a thinly veiled response to the city's nonsense height restrictions. And this is in Durand where 20-30 storey buildings are common. If we can't build highrises there, where can we??

"The Durand Neighbourhood Association came into existence in 1972 when a group of concerned citizens organized themselves to try to stem and bring under control a seemingly unplanned surge of demolition of housing accompanied by massive high-rise development. Their initiative in defence of the integrity of their neighbourhood led to the establishment of Hamilton's first official neighbourhood plan and other measures to bring order to rapid change in the Neighbourhood....

1988 The revised Durand Neighbourhood Plan is approved; a study is sought to establish a Heritage Conservation District in the vicinity of MacNab South; the Central Area Plan is updated; a proposed high-rise redevelopment of the Thistle Club site stirs controversy."

http://www.durandna.com/history.htm

I am pleased that the DNA was formed and sought to halt the destruction of many grand mansions that were sacrificed for large commie blocks, but this becomes the problem in Hamilton - no room for good design, or basing project approval on merit. We now simply paint everything with the same brush - ugly commie blocks destroying beautiful mansions in 1970 = wonderfully designed, modern condo building being built on an empty, ugly, weedy lot in 2011.

The two aren't the same and shouldn't be treated as such.
What we need (instead of height restrictions) is an architectural review board that will ensure we are getting good development. Some 3 storey buildings are ugly and shouldn't be allowed anywhere. Other builders could wow us with a stunning 40 storey building in the appropriate location designed from the ground floor up, with the surroundings and integration into the urban fabric as a priority.
The projects should be reviewed based on urban design guidelines, not ad-hoc height restrictions that now blanket the entire city simply because city hall dropped the ball in the 1965.

I just returned from Miami, where the skyline is completely unrecognizable from 5 years ago....and this during a massive recession and in America's most dangerous hurricane zone.

Hamilton has the opportunity to seriously add infill into the core and do it in a way that will be breathtaking and vibrant. High density is not bad. Bad high density is bad.

The problem with utilizing rail lines is that the same forces at work driving rail transit are also hitting the transport industry hard. As rising gas prices and intensifying cities push trucks toward the margins, we're going to need that extra rail capacity.

CP freight trains already take priority over VIA for huge chunks of the national network.

"High density is not bad. Bad high density is bad."

http://goo.gl/NeFlw
vs
http://www.castlebuilding.ca

BTW, I said "LRT would immediately impact the lower city, Wards 1-5, so in theory you'd need to bring at least three other councillors around to advance the cause" because you might have fewer than 5 gimmes.

Example:

Councillor Sam Merulla says the provincial government won’t provide Hamilton with the funding it is expecting for rapid transit. “I’ve been informed that the money is not forthcoming from the province,” Merulla said Monday.... “We’re at the point where the entire community is engaged in a discussion that is more of a concept than a reality,” Merulla said. “I don’t want to go through a dog and pony show.”

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/482613--alderman-says-there-will-be-no-lrt-money-from-province


Councillor Chad Collins wonders if all this design work isn’t putting the cart before the horse, because the city doesn’t know what its ultimate financial contribution will be. There is nothing allocated in the capital budget, so Collins says the money will have to come from cutting back in other areas or from a tax increase. He says he doesn’t believe Hamilton taxpayers have an appetite for either option. “My concern is that this is starting to look a lot like the (Pan Am) stadium debate. We’re talking about buying property in some instances … and we don’t have a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities the city will have.” Collins says LRT is an important public debate, but until costs and senior government funding are known, the ongoing design work may be for nothing.

http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/549656--lrt-planning-meetings-to-begin-tuesday

You've attacked a group of people you yourself debase to a group of nothings, not by compelling argument or by effectively debating the issues, but rather through a series of unprovoked character assassinations, jokes about disabled children, and insulting the nature of people's personal employment. You've spent two days trying your best to insult and mischaracterize a number of volunteer contributors to a small civic affairs website.

What's next, you're going to take on the corrupt leaders of your local neighbourhood association or PTA? Going to bust up a knitting circle at your community centre because you hear they have discussions about politics that tend towards a shared worldview?

Bravo, courageous young anonymous freedom fighter! Give those hipsters shit! Who gives them the right to stand around in comfortable clothing drinking fancy coffees and get involved in things? WHO, I ASK YOU? Those young jerks and their little bikes! GAHHHH I HATE THEM!!!! IHATETHEMIHATETHEMIHATETHEM!!!!!!!111

Teach them to break through their silly progressive urbanist misconceptions and re-make themselves in your image. You've so bravely thrust "the mirror" in their stupid hipster faces, and they hate what they see. Clearly, you win, "Blenda", oh wise commenter.

So perfect. So righteous. So PURE. Lead the way. Show us the light.

Whoever you are, you should go see a doctor to work out some of your issues.

Blenda, if I send an email to the mayor's office that says "if the b-line LRT doesn't go ahead, I'm leaving Hamilton" will he get it? Does he read mail from nobodys?

DON'T FEED THE TROLL

insult spam deleted

Comment edited by administrator Ryan on 2011-08-08 22:40:16

Mark-Alan Whittle wrote,

"In Hamilton, LRT (Light Rapid Transit) means two completely different modes of transportation. Until this confusion is cleared up, as in stating publicly that Bus Rapid Transit is not an option, arguments will continue. The corridor in question would benefit from either mode regardless.

Paul Bedford wrote

" The lesson is that fixed rail attracts investment/buses don’t/experience elsewhere has shown that successful transformation from suburban to urban streets is possible with the introduction of fixed rail transit

Man, just wait till you find out about all the projects being held up becuase of set back regulations. Yes, seriously, setback regulations. One is the Hamilton Hotel thing by Harry Stinson. Go ahead and email him Ryan and you will find out that is the reason for this crazy set back rule. Why the setback? They need it for the posibility of road widening. Yes, that is what I said. Nutso.

Hey man, talking about something is the first step. Bravo! Lets vote in someone who doesn't care, because he stands for not caring. This notion that just getting something done because it is better then nothing is terible! Red Hill, Center Mall, Civic Square, New City Hall, need I continue? Hey Mike Harris must be a god to you, what he cared about got done. Ready for 4 years of Who-Duck? He'll get shit done. Mid-Pen. Mid-Pen man!

agreed

Comment edited by administrator Ryan on 2011-08-08 22:39:59

Do you have anything to add beyond the equivalent of standing at the back of the room yelling "Stupidhead!"?

If you have alternative suggestions or specific reasons as to why ideas won't work I'm sure we'd all love to hear them.

Blenda = Alan Taylor in drag.

The report also said:

"When discussing the impact of the proposed LRT opinions were mixed. Many
participants were of the opinion that the LRT was a good tool for encouraging
development and intensification while others were concerned about the possible
effect on larger economic issues, especially increases in municipal taxes that were
identified as a factor in discouraging development. There was general consensus that
in order to realize investment in intensification it is essential that changes to policy
and incentive programs be implemented along the corridor before construction begins
on the LRT."

Your LRT is a pipe dream. To suggest that investment will flock dt because people can get get from eastgate to McMaster 5 mins sooner is just a crock. They said that when we got GO Train and where is the dt investments? You want to bring investment to the dt? Ease up on the zoning restrictions and stop turning the dt into a ghetto. Who wants to buy a condo beside a methodone clinic or a halfway house?

"ethnic looking thing made of bamboo" is making me laugh my ass off and agree whole-heatedly.

Blenda, you sure have some ferocious, sharp & spot-on hilarious descriptions of people/situations.

Again, nice work.

I email (and get replies from) Jason Farr often. I cannot say for sure if he's walking the walk as far as what I'm asking him, but he is replying to be on a regular basis.

I cannot comment on BoBrat.

Blenda is pretty negative, true, but come on: "...Hordes of "urban consultants" and barely employed hipsters are lurching their way to your house, arms extended, groaning for brains..." is pretty hilarious.

"Everybody on earth other than hipsters hates hipsters."

...so true.

of course they're imposters---that's the point

"I don't even need the tripling of service. Give me 1 bus that does a complete loop from Waterdown to Downtown 7 days a week"

18 Waterdown currently involves two buses currently driving a 39-minute loop. Extending the route into downtown Hamilton without involving a transfer would add another 39 minutes to the loop and require twice the buses to maintain the existing level of service. If there's pent-up demand from transit users, the case can certainly be made (as McMaster has done with the sardine cans of 5C/10/52, reliably ripe with undergrad BO eight months a year). If most users get off at Aldershot, though, you're running near-empty buses into Hamilton constantly, which is obviously inefficient from financial and environmental standpoints. I'd guess that 7-day service to Aldershot would be more likely.

Burlington Transit is an interesting case – abysmal adoption rate (annual ridership around 1.9 million for the last 20 years) and correspondingly 40% of the routes down't run on Sundays... but Burlingtonians still back the service with little complaint, even though it's reasonable to assume that a large chunk of the ridership is non-residents.

Hamilton’s business leaders say a lack of political support is hobbling efforts to revive the city’s economy.

In a meeting with The Spectator’s editorial board Wednesday, members of the business lobby complained they’re not getting the support they need from city council on crucial issues such as the light rail transit proposal, all-day GO service and efforts to attract new employers.

“We just don’t appear to have any champions,” said Doug Duke, executive officer of the Hamilton-Halton Home Builders’ Association. “We have to act like a city that deserves these things and right now we don’t have the political will to go and get them.”

Hamilton Business Leaders brings together the heads of the Chamber of Commerce, home builders, realtors’ association and airport to push a jobs and prosperity agenda for the city. They argue city councillors should use that lens in looking at every decision they make.

“There appears to be a real disconnect between the business leadership and council right now,” said Ross Godsoe, CEO of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington. “We just don’t see these issues being championed by city leadership.

“It’s a tough job for us to even get a meeting with the mayor now,” he added.

The last time the business group met with Mayor Bob Bratina was in November, just after the municipal election. They’re not scheduled to get together again until July 21.

http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/555635--business-group-says-politicians-dropping-the-ball-on-city-growth

I agree. Though it might be risky to plough in the funds for a new LRT system, only bold moves will allow the city to grow and prosper. Long term decisions like building a new LRT system will allow the city to expand, with new businesses to sprout out and the efficiency brought about by better transport can facilitate the growth.

The LRT will cost $1B, money that no level of government has to spend. It won't appreciably increase ridership along the route and there is precious little space for intensification required along the majority of the route. This has zero chance of happening