Comment 119208

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted June 09, 2016 at 10:07:12 in reply to Comment 119205

These are all excellent suggestions, but please don't minimize the fact that the planning and outreach and consultation for LRT has been going on for a very long time: since 2008!

There was an intense consultation effort from 2009-2011 and the current B-line alignment was already clear in the 2010 BCA and firmly set in the 2013 Rapid Ready report.

Council has voted dozens of times to support and pursue LRT with full provincial funding, so it is not actually a question of trying to get Councillors to change their position to become pro-LRT. We are just asking them to remember why they have supported it for so many years.

I should point out that I first met with the International Village BIA as spokesperson for Hamilton Light Rail way back in 2008 to explain what LRT is and what it would mean for Hamilton and especially Hamilton Downtown. They were very supportive of LRT and this letter shows that they are still supportive, but have concerns about implementation. City Rapid transit staff also met with them and other BIAs during the 2009-2011 consultation phase.

The RTCAC (Rapid Transit Citizens Advisory Committee) included BIA reps from downtown and International Village. RTCAC met regularly from September 2010 to December 2011.

There is opportunity for compromise and ensuring that disruption is minimal and they definitely deserve a station.

But shifting the route from King to Main is a not a minor change after many years and millions of dollars spent planning and designing this route. As I mentioned, there is strong justification for choosing Main (traffic flow: more lanes and mountain accesses, economic uplift).

And, of course, then the businesses on Main would then complain that they would prefer it on King.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2016-06-09 10:26:23

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