It was a little more than a year ago, May 26, 2015, when Premier Kathleen Wynne came to Hamilton to announce a Light Rail Transit initiative for Hamilton.
The Ontario Government is covering 100 per cent of the costs of building the LRT. Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, will own it and operate it.
Since then, Metrolinx and City of Hamilton staff have been working together in an expeditious manner to drive the project forward.
New, modern light rail vehicles on tracks separated from regular traffic will offer rapid service from McMaster University through downtown Hamilton to Queenston Circle.
The LRT will also travel along a spur line along James Street North to connect directly to the new West Harbour GO Station, which is now under construction and will soon be completed. Budget permitting, the line will travel all the way to the harbour.
There will also be high-order pedestrian connection to the Hamilton Centre GO Station on Hunter Street.
Procurement for the LRT will start in 2017, with some early work happening in 2018 and major construction starting in 2019.
If we look further into the future, we can anticipate that LRT will ultimately extend to Eastgate Square. Ultimately the LRT will extend up James Street, up the Mountain all the way to the airport.
But first things first, and that means building the planned line through the downtown to McMaster University.
It is no coincidence that renewed concerns and questions about the LRT initiative arose when the detailed route plan was recently announced. People can now visualize what it will really look like.
It is only natural that concerns have arisen. This happens with every large public infrastructure project.
With respect to our LRT initiative, it will most certainly mean the character of King Street and the entire surrounding area along the LRT corridor will change.
But it is also a 100 per cent certainty that the LRT initiative will help grow Hamilton's economy, reduce travel times, connect people to jobs and to the GO line and other transit systems, and bring new people and new investment to our community.
A billion dollars is a lot of money. Sometimes it is hard to understand how much money that is.
If you turned a billion dollars into a stack of loonies, it would be the height of 4,105 CN Towers. Put another way, that stack of loonies would reach into space six times higher than the International Space Station.
It bears underlining that Hamilton council asked for 100 per cent provincial funding and that is exactly what we got. In contrast, Waterloo Region's LRT, now under construction, is to cost $818 million and the federal and provincial government together are funding $565 million. Local taxpayers are making up the difference. To say we are the envy of our neighbours is an understatement.
Hamilton's $1-billion LRT project is quite simply the single largest economic stimulus our community has ever experienced. It will mean engineering and construction jobs. Hamilton steel will be used for the tracks and train components. Local manufacturers will be building parts for the train.
All along the LRT corridor, particularly around the station stops, we will see redevelopment. Old stock houses will be renovated. New houses and condos will be built. New shops and restaurants and cafés will open. New businesses, particularly in the tech sector, will be established. Established people from Hamilton will want to move back downtown, and new people will move to Hamilton to be close to jobs but also to the burgeoning music and restaurant scene. Our friends in Waterloo are already experiencing this and their LRT is not even finished yet.
If you live on the Mountain, or in Stoney Creek or Flamborough or Ancaster, why should you care? Well, aside from the fact we will have a new, more interesting, more dynamic city, you might care due to dollars and cents.
We all know that as one side of a wobbly table goes up, the other side of the table goes down. Likewise, as property values rise in the lower city, it means property tax assessment also rises. That means we as a city will rely less on property taxes raised in the upper and outlying parts of the city and more on the lower city. In short, that is good news for your property tax bill.
Hamilton's LRT initiative is about growing the whole transit system. LRT, once in place, will mean buses will be freed up to add to those we have already provided last year and this on the Mountain and in suburban communities. We also have a commitment to get even more funding to build the balance of Hamilton's BLAST network, part of Hamilton's transportation master plan and the Metrolinx regional transportation master plan.
Henry Ford, when he was developing the first mass-produced automobile, was told by many then that they did not need a car, but all that was necessary was to get a faster horse.
There were very similar concerns raised about the Red Hill Valley Parkway before it was built. Today we wonder how we ever did without it, and the benefits are readily apparent.
I wish to thank all those who have raised very legitimate concerns about the LRT initiative. That is part of the democratic process.
Now it is time to move ahead with our wonderful LRT initiative. All aboard!
Fred Eisenberger is the Mayor of Hamilton
It was a little more than a year ago, May 26, 2015, when Premier Kathleen Wynne came to Hamilton to announce a Light Rail Transit initiative for Hamilton.
The Ontario Government is covering 100 per cent of the costs of building the LRT. Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, will own it and operate it.
Since then, Metrolinx and City of Hamilton staff have been working together in an expeditious manner to drive the project forward.
New, modern light rail vehicles on tracks separated from regular traffic will offer rapid service from McMaster University through downtown Hamilton to Queenston Circle.
The LRT will also travel along a spur line along James Street North to connect directly to the new West Harbour GO Station, which is now under construction and will soon be completed. Budget permitting, the line will travel all the way to the harbour.
There will also be high-order pedestrian connection to the Hamilton Centre GO Station on Hunter Street.
Procurement for the LRT will start in 2017, with some early work happening in 2018 and major construction starting in 2019.
If we look further into the future, we can anticipate that LRT will ultimately extend to Eastgate Square. Ultimately the LRT will extend up James Street, up the Mountain all the way to the airport.
But first things first, and that means building the planned line through the downtown to McMaster University.
It is no coincidence that renewed concerns and questions about the LRT initiative arose when the detailed route plan was recently announced. People can now visualize what it will really look like.
It is only natural that concerns have arisen. This happens with every large public infrastructure project.
With respect to our LRT initiative, it will most certainly mean the character of King Street and the entire surrounding area along the LRT corridor will change.
But it is also a 100 per cent certainty that the LRT initiative will help grow Hamilton's economy, reduce travel times, connect people to jobs and to the GO line and other transit systems, and bring new people and new investment to our community.
A billion dollars is a lot of money. Sometimes it is hard to understand how much money that is.
If you turned a billion dollars into a stack of loonies, it would be the height of 4,105 CN Towers. Put another way, that stack of loonies would reach into space six times higher than the International Space Station.
It bears underlining that Hamilton council asked for 100 per cent provincial funding and that is exactly what we got. In contrast, Waterloo Region's LRT, now under construction, is to cost $818 million and the federal and provincial government together are funding $565 million. Local taxpayers are making up the difference. To say we are the envy of our neighbours is an understatement.
Hamilton's $1-billion LRT project is quite simply the single largest economic stimulus our community has ever experienced. It will mean engineering and construction jobs. Hamilton steel will be used for the tracks and train components. Local manufacturers will be building parts for the train.
All along the LRT corridor, particularly around the station stops, we will see redevelopment. Old stock houses will be renovated. New houses and condos will be built. New shops and restaurants and cafés will open. New businesses, particularly in the tech sector, will be established. Established people from Hamilton will want to move back downtown, and new people will move to Hamilton to be close to jobs but also to the burgeoning music and restaurant scene. Our friends in Waterloo are already experiencing this and their LRT is not even finished yet.
If you live on the Mountain, or in Stoney Creek or Flamborough or Ancaster, why should you care? Well, aside from the fact we will have a new, more interesting, more dynamic city, you might care due to dollars and cents.
We all know that as one side of a wobbly table goes up, the other side of the table goes down. Likewise, as property values rise in the lower city, it means property tax assessment also rises. That means we as a city will rely less on property taxes raised in the upper and outlying parts of the city and more on the lower city. In short, that is good news for your property tax bill.
Hamilton's LRT initiative is about growing the whole transit system. LRT, once in place, will mean buses will be freed up to add to those we have already provided last year and this on the Mountain and in suburban communities. We also have a commitment to get even more funding to build the balance of Hamilton's BLAST network, part of Hamilton's transportation master plan and the Metrolinx regional transportation master plan.
Henry Ford, when he was developing the first mass-produced automobile, was told by many then that they did not need a car, but all that was necessary was to get a faster horse.
There were very similar concerns raised about the Red Hill Valley Parkway before it was built. Today we wonder how we ever did without it, and the benefits are readily apparent.
I wish to thank all those who have raised very legitimate concerns about the LRT initiative. That is part of the democratic process.
Now it is time to move ahead with our wonderful LRT initiative. All aboard!
Fred Eisenberger is the Mayor of Hamilton
It was a little more than a year ago, May 26, 2015, when Premier Kathleen Wynne came to Hamilton to announce a Light Rail Transit initiative for Hamilton.
The Ontario Government is covering 100 per cent of the costs of building the LRT. Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, will own it and operate it.
Since then, Metrolinx and City of Hamilton staff have been working together in an expeditious manner to drive the project forward.
New, modern light rail vehicles on tracks separated from regular traffic will offer rapid service from McMaster University through downtown Hamilton to Queenston Circle.
The LRT will also travel along a spur line along James Street North to connect directly to the new West Harbour GO Station, which is now under construction and will soon be completed. Budget permitting, the line will travel all the way to the harbour.
There will also be high-order pedestrian connection to the Hamilton Centre GO Station on Hunter Street.
Procurement for the LRT will start in 2017, with some early work happening in 2018 and major construction starting in 2019.
If we look further into the future, we can anticipate that LRT will ultimately extend to Eastgate Square. Ultimately the LRT will extend up James Street, up the Mountain all the way to the airport.
But first things first, and that means building the planned line through the downtown to McMaster University.
It is no coincidence that renewed concerns and questions about the LRT initiative arose when the detailed route plan was recently announced. People can now visualize what it will really look like.
It is only natural that concerns have arisen. This happens with every large public infrastructure project.
With respect to our LRT initiative, it will most certainly mean the character of King Street and the entire surrounding area along the LRT corridor will change.
But it is also a 100 per cent certainty that the LRT initiative will help grow Hamilton's economy, reduce travel times, connect people to jobs and to the GO line and other transit systems, and bring new people and new investment to our community.
A billion dollars is a lot of money. Sometimes it is hard to understand how much money that is.
If you turned a billion dollars into a stack of loonies, it would be the height of 4,105 CN Towers. Put another way, that stack of loonies would reach into space six times higher than the International Space Station.
It bears underlining that Hamilton council asked for 100 per cent provincial funding and that is exactly what we got. In contrast, Waterloo Region's LRT, now under construction, is to cost $818 million and the federal and provincial government together are funding $565 million. Local taxpayers are making up the difference. To say we are the envy of our neighbours is an understatement.
Hamilton's $1-billion LRT project is quite simply the single largest economic stimulus our community has ever experienced. It will mean engineering and construction jobs. Hamilton steel will be used for the tracks and train components. Local manufacturers will be building parts for the train.
All along the LRT corridor, particularly around the station stops, we will see redevelopment. Old stock houses will be renovated. New houses and condos will be built. New shops and restaurants and cafés will open. New businesses, particularly in the tech sector, will be established. Established people from Hamilton will want to move back downtown, and new people will move to Hamilton to be close to jobs but also to the burgeoning music and restaurant scene. Our friends in Waterloo are already experiencing this and their LRT is not even finished yet.
If you live on the Mountain, or in Stoney Creek or Flamborough or Ancaster, why should you care? Well, aside from the fact we will have a new, more interesting, more dynamic city, you might care due to dollars and cents.
We all know that as one side of a wobbly table goes up, the other side of the table goes down. Likewise, as property values rise in the lower city, it means property tax assessment also rises. That means we as a city will rely less on property taxes raised in the upper and outlying parts of the city and more on the lower city. In short, that is good news for your property tax bill.
Hamilton's LRT initiative is about growing the whole transit system. LRT, once in place, will mean buses will be freed up to add to those we have already provided last year and this on the Mountain and in suburban communities. We also have a commitment to get even more funding to build the balance of Hamilton's BLAST network, part of Hamilton's transportation master plan and the Metrolinx regional transportation master plan.
Henry Ford, when he was developing the first mass-produced automobile, was told by many then that they did not need a car, but all that was necessary was to get a faster horse.
There were very similar concerns raised about the Red Hill Valley Parkway before it was built. Today we wonder how we ever did without it, and the benefits are readily apparent.
I wish to thank all those who have raised very legitimate concerns about the LRT initiative. That is part of the democratic process.
Now it is time to move ahead with our wonderful LRT initiative. All aboard!
Fred Eisenberger is the Mayor of Hamilton