Raise the Hammer

I asked the Metrolinx Chairman about the future of LRT in Hamilton, here's the reply, as directed by the Chairman of the Board.
--
Dear Mr. Whittle,

Thank you very much for your interest in the City of Hamilton's Light Rail Transit project along the King/Main corridor, locally known as the B-line. I have been asked to respond to your inquiry on behalf of the Chair's Office.

Rapid Transit projects take considerable amount of planning, design and engineering before it is in a state ready for funding and implementation. The feasibility work and the Metrolinx Benefits Case Analysis (BCA) on this corridor has demonstrated that rapid transit investment will generate positive net benefits for the corridor. Metrolinx in partnership with the City of Hamilton is working quickly to advance the Hamilton LRT project in a responsible manner.

Over the past year City of Hamilton staff, working with Metrolinx, has undertaken planning, design and engineering (PDE) in preparation for an environmental assessment (EA) for this project, which was made possible by $3 million in funding provided by Metrolinx. The notice of commencement for the B-line's environmental assessment was recently issued on June 17th 2011. Before the project can proceed further, a completed EA will be required.

Timing for the major capital funding commitment for this project, at this time, is unknown.

However, once the EA is successfully completed, further preliminary engineering work is required before the project would be ready for construction. Given the further design, engineering, and procurement timelines estimated for this project and its relation to the 2015 Pan AM games, it is unlikely that this project would be constructed and in service in time for the Pan AM Games.

At Metrolinx, we are working towards securing a sustainable stream of funding to construct the transit infrastructure this region needs, as identified by the Regional Transportation Plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, The Big Move. As mandated by our legislation, we will report back to the Province by June 2013 with an Investment Strategy for the sustainable funding for transit and transportation infrastructure in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

More information on the Metrolinx BCA and Investment Strategy can be found at our website: www.metrolinx.com.

Thank you very much for your interest in this project.

Sincerely,
Ashley Ward
Customer Service Coordinator
Metrolinx