Light Rail

Letter: Hamilton Deserves a City That Places People Before Cars

By Letter to the Editor
Published July 06, 2011

Dear Mayor Bob Bratina and Councillor Brian McHattie,

As the elected representatives of the ward and city that I live in, go to school, and love, I am making a personal plea to both of you to please go forward with B-Line LRT project.

I am currently going into my second year of studies in Engineering at McMaster University. I was born in Toronto, but decided to do my schooling here not only because of the great reputation of the school, but because of the city.

Hamiltonians are among the friendliest, most down-to-earth people I have ever met, and the city is beautiful, practical, and fun. If career opportunities present themselves once I graduate, I will gladly be staying in the city.

Hamiltonians deserve a city that places people before cars. That means it should prioritize transit and cycling projects. The B-Line will be a phenomenal investment for the city - one I hope will be well under construction by the time I finish my studies. Please support the LRT project.

With kindest regards,

Kevin Carmona-Murphy

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By Lister (anonymous) | Posted July 07, 2011 at 00:15:15


Nice letter, Kevin.

Sadly, as you have obviously noticed, Hamilton has a proven and deserved reputation for putting automobiles before people. I read today that Toronto is toying with the idea of "revitalizing" Yonge Street, already one of the most vibrant streets on the continent, by putting people first. Meanwhile, in Hamilton, plans to pedestrianize the south side of King Street upon the removal of Gore Park buses are completely abandoned in favour of parking meters. How is this acceptable? It is not. Where is the vision? There is none.

All the best to you at Mac, and I hope this city provides you with a reason (or many reasons!) to stay upon graduation. Lord knows it wouldn't kill this city to retain a grad or two!

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By Logo (anonymous) | Posted July 07, 2011 at 10:28:26 in reply to Comment 65677

insult spam deleted

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By Lister (anonymous) | Posted July 07, 2011 at 11:37:07 in reply to Comment 65703

Respectfully, I'm having a little difficulty following your logic. Only those who use parking meters patronize establishments and purchase products? The rest wander aimlessly in search of art crawls and free Ringolos (who could blame them; they're delicious)? I highly doubt that a handful of parking meters will cure what ails Gore Park and its immediate surrounding area.

It has been my experience that the most successful, diverse, and vibrant commercial areas in urban areas contain virtually no parking at all. This is not a coincidence. These areas are successful because they provide interesting and stimulating environments that place the pedestrian ahead of the vehicle (and parking meters).

Unfortunately, it seems as though this city cannot shake its embarrasingly outdated mindset when it comes to balancing the relationship between people and automobiles.

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By mb (registered) | Posted July 07, 2011 at 11:42:20

CARS, CARS, CARS! I LOVE CARS!

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By bm (anonymous) | Posted July 07, 2011 at 12:16:36 in reply to Comment 65720

Real mature.

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