Rapid Transit

[Beedok]

Monorail!!!

[flar]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

Better three hours in my own car than three hours on buses.

I actually really enjoy my time on the bus. Every afternoon I get 35 minutes of tranquility after a busy day. I'm happy to let someone else battle rush hour traffic while I sit back and read the news, surf the web, do my email, read a book, etc.

[the905sDW]

Originally Posted by flar

I actually really enjoy my time on the bus. Every afternoon I get 35 minutes of tranquility after a busy day. I'm happy to let someone else battle rush hour traffic while I sit back and read the news, surf the web, do my email, read a book, etc.

Same here! I can say that for definite sure on the GO bus, and subway from Kennedy to Union. I do enjoy most HSR rides but the 1 King through central Hamilton can be a bit of a circus show.
I too like not having to worry about the driving.

[thistleclub]

Transit taxes: Poll shows split on who should pay for gridlock relief
(Toronto Star, Tess Kalinowski, Apr 12 2013)

Nearly half of Toronto-area residents believe the region needs new funding to tackle the crippling road congestion that sucks $6 billion a year out of the economy.

More than two-thirds, 71 per cent, say they’re fed up with the traffic that has them gripping the steering wheel or sitting on the bus longer than commuters in nearly every other North American city.

But a Forum Research poll for CivicAction suggests the region is still split on where the money should come from.

Fifty-two per cent of respondents indicated it was “unfair” to ask residents to contribute to The Big Move, Metrolinx’s regional transportation plan. Only 39 per cent said it was “fair” to ask residents to pay.

The results show that there’s room for more education, said CivicAction CEO Mitzie Hunter....

The interactive telephone poll of 1,491 Toronto and Hamilton area residents was conducted on March 28 and April 3. It is considered accurate within 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Previous Forum Research polls showed that more than half of region residents disapproved of Metrolinx’s short-listed taxes and tolls. A parking levy and tolled high-occupancy vehicle lanes received the most support.

Congestion poll results

71% said they were fed up with traffic congestion
39% said that “as far as they knew” the Big Move regional transportation plan will be built with existing government funds
43% said new funds would be needed
52% said it would be unfair to ask residents to contribute to the Big Move
39% said it was fair to ask residents
26% said improving quality of life was the most important reason to improve transportation
21% said cutting the economic cost was the key reason
14% said the environmental benefit was the chief reason to cut gridlock

[thistleclub]

Hamilton’s tough choice: LRT or all-day GO
(Hamilton Spectator, Meredith MacLeod, Apr 17 2013)

Mayor Bob Bratina says Hamilton will have to choose between a light-rail transit line running through the lower city and extending all-day GO service to Stoney Creek.

The mayor says that was made clear by Premier Kathleen Wynne at a private fundraiser for local cabinet minister Ted McMeekin last weekend. Her senior staff confirmed that when pressed by Bratina later.

“I think we would have to look at that. GO trains stopping on Centennial Parkway could take 5,000 cars off the road,” said Bratina.

But Nicholas Kevlahan, a Hamilton LRT advocate, said he found Bratina’s statement that the city would have to make a choice “very surprising,” and urged caution in interpreting what it means.

Kevlahan, a McMaster University professor, noted there have been many mixed messages in the last few years about what this city will or will not have to do to get LRT and all day GO service.

“I know the mayor has previously had private conversations with ministers and premiers and people in Metrolinx and these comments have later been reversed or adjusted,” Kevlahan said.

Hamilton is getting all-day GO to downtown, plus Metrolinx “has been very clear that LRT for Hamilton is a top priority.”

“To switch things at the last moment would overturn almost seven years of planning by the city and by Metrolinx.”


UPDATE: A revised story was posted at 3:32pm.

Premier says LRT and all-day GO not competing projects
(Hamilton Spectator, Meredith MacLeod & Emma Reilly, Apr 17 2013)

Mayor Bob Bratina says Hamilton will have to choose between a light-rail transit line running through the lower city and extending all-day GO service to Stoney Creek.

The mayor says that was made clear by Premier Kathleen Wynne at a private fundraiser for local cabinet minister Ted McMeekin last weekend. Her senior staff confirmed that when pressed by Bratina later.

“I think we would have to look at that. GO trains stopping on Centennial Parkway could take 5,000 cars off the road,” said Bratina.

The commitment to all-day GO coming in to Hamilton's James Street North station has already been made and was not part of the premier's remarks.

But the premier’s office issued a statement after Bratina’s comments Wednesday saying Hamilton LRT and the expansion of GO “are not competing projects.”

“Metrolinx has already committed to providing two-way, all-day GO service to Hamilton,” a spokesperson for Wynne said in an e-mail.
“Metrolinx will bring forward recommendations for dedicated, sustainable funding for this project and others in June as part of its forthcoming Investment Strategy.”

Bratina’s comments raised almost immediate reaction from councillors.

Councillor Lloyd Ferguson said he attended the same fundraiser last week and specifically spoke to Wynne about LRT. Ferguson says she expressed great support for Hamilton LRT and didn't specifically mention GO service.

"Never was it ever suggested at that meeting - because I was there - that it was one or the other," Ferguson said.

Councillor Brian McHattie, one of council's most vocal supporters of LRT, said Bratina has committed a "highly irresponsible act" and is "disrespecting" council's position.

"For a long time now, the mayor has been focused on the GO train, and he's decided that it's an either/or situation. That's not based on any facts. That's based on his own opinion that LRT is not important and that GO is the only thing that Hamilton needs," McHattie said at City Hall Wednesday.

"We've got a situation where a mayor of a city is totally ignoring his council, and totally ignoring Hamiltonians and their support for LRT. The real downside is that he is the guy portraying these positions to the province of Ontario."

(h/t to mattgrande)

[SteelTown]

Well that's easy, LRT. People from Stoney Creek can take the LRT to the GO Station.

Anyways I doubt the above article is accurate.

[mattgrande]

The Spec has changed the title (but not the content) of the article to "Premier says LRT and all-day GO not competing projects"

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Well that's easy, LRT. People from Stoney Creek can take the LRT to the GO Station.

Anyways I doubt the above article is accurate.

Yup, I live near Eastgate, and I'd prefer the LRT over GO to Centennial. I think LRT has huge potential for the lower, older city if planned effectively.

[SteelTown]

Bob Bratina will be on the Agenda tonight

http://twitter.com/spaikin/status/32...727744/photo/1

[durandy]

ok he's officially a moron. Must have been off the meds again. At least Rob Ford is predictable, this guy is all over the place.

[SteelTown]

Hamilton won't have to choose between all-day GO, LRT: province

By Cory Ruf, CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/stor...na-go-lrt.html

Hamilton will not have to choose between all-day GO Train service to Stoney Creek and an east-west LRT, according to the province.

“The government is committed to all-day GO Service, and that is unrelated to our plans for the Hamilton LRT,” said Kelly Baker, a spokesperson for the Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

This statement conflicts with comments Mayor Bob Bratina made about a conversation he had with the premier at a recent fundraiser for local MPP Ted McMeekin.

He told the Hamilton Spectator the city “would have to look at” whether it wants the province to extend all-day, two-day GO Train service to Stoney Creek or to reaffirm its commitment to lower-city LRT line that would run east-west from Eastgate Square and McMaster University.

Council voted in February to ask the province to cover all of the capital costs associated with the construction of the 13.5 km line, an $800-million price tag.

Sam Merulla, councillor for Ward 4, called Bratina's comments "a distraction" and said "there's a disconnect between what's council's position is and what the mayor believes it to be."

"We need to focus on communicating our wishes to provinces without any obstruction or confusion," he added.

Metrolinx, a provincial agency that coordinates transit expansion in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), has already committed to creating all-day, two-day GO service to a new James North GO station in downtown Hamilton by 2015. And the body announced in November that rapid transit for downtown Hamilton is one its top priority for the “next wave” of the Big Move, the $50-billion plan to build rapid transit across the region.

An environment assessment has already been completed on the possible expansion of GO service to the Niagara region, which would include at least one stop in Stoney Creek. The province has yet to decide on whether to proceed with the project.

Province to move ahead with tolls, taxes to pay for transit: Wynne

Bratina's comments came on the same day Wynne announced her plans for the province to move ahead with new levies to raise money for public transit upgrades in the GTHA area — even if some municipalities oppose the measures.

She says she'd prefer to have their support to raise the $2-billion a year that's needed for transit in the region.

But she says the governing Liberals will take action. Provincial transport agency Metrolinx is suggesting highway tolls, raising the sales tax and a half-cent-a-litre tax on gasoline.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has already made it clear that he'll oppose them all. Other municipal politicians outside Toronto — including several Hamilton councillors — have been concerned about paying for improvements to services their residents don't use.

“[My constituents] would be very angry, they would be strongly opposed to it,” Brad Clark, councillor for Ward 9 and an opponent of the LRT plan, told CBC Hamilton in March.

Last week, Wynne suggested in an interview with The Canadian Press that she won't hike property taxes, saying it's not enough to pay for all the transit infrastructure that's needed in the region.

She said she'll consider all the options, but won't make a decision until she looks at Metrolinx's final report in June.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Bob Bratina will be on the Agenda tonight

http://twitter.com/spaikin/status/32...727744/photo/1

Nooooooooooooooooooooo!

He's gonna make this city look absolutely ridiculous.

Hopefully he takes a double-dose of ginkgo biloba before opening his mouth on TV.

[SteelTown]

Mayor’s comment on LRT takes wrong turn

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...kes-wrong-turn

An erroneous comment by Mayor Bob Bratina about how the premier views the future of Hamilton transit left city politicians aghast Wednesday, prompting one to question whether Bratina was being “wilfully stupid.”

Bratina told The Spectator that Premier Kathleen Wynne made clear at a private event last weekend that Hamilton will have to choose between a light-rail transit line through the lower city and extending all-day GO service to Stoney Creek.

During the interview Wednesday at a transit forum in Toronto, Bratina also said Wynne’s senior staff confirmed Hamilton will have to make that choice.

“I think we would have to look at that,” Bratina told The Spectator. “GO trains stopping on Centennial Parkway could take 5,000 cars off the road.”

But it emerged later Wednesday that Bratina did not attend the event where Wynne spoke last Sunday — a $500-per-ticket fundraiser for Hamilton cabinet minister Ted McMeekin at the Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

McMeekin said the premier spoke about transit in general, but did not convey any expectation that Hamilton would have to make such a choice.

“I’m a little confused because he (Bratina) wasn’t at the fundraiser,” McMeekin said Wednesday, noting only a member of the mayor’s staff attended.

Bratina did not respond to The Spectator’s requests for a second interview to clarify his comments.

McMeekin said Wynne did not indicate any projects were in competition.

The premier’s office also confirmed in an email statement that the long-planned Hamilton LRT and the expansion of GO “are not competing projects.”

Bratina’s comment prompted questions about his motivation.

“It’s no secret that Mr. Bratina has been pretty cool on LRT,” said Nicholas Kevlahan, a Hamilton LRT advocate and McMaster University professor.

“Over the past few years, he’s not lost any opportunity to try to cast doubt or confusion or set up false choices that Hamilton has to choose LRT or something else, or that Hamilton would have to pay for it ourselves, which is clearly not the case.”

Councillor Lloyd Ferguson attended the McMeekin fundraiser and spoke to Wynne about transit. He said the premier expressed great support for Hamilton LRT and didn’t specifically mention GO service.

“Never was it ever suggested at that meeting — because I was there — that it was one or the other,” Ferguson said.

Councillor Brian McHattie, one of council’s most vocal supporters of LRT, said Bratina has committed a “highly irresponsible act” and is “disrespecting” council’s position.

“For a long time now, the mayor has been focused on the GO train, and he’s decided that it’s an either/or situation. That’s not based on any facts. That’s based on his own opinion that LRT is not important and that GO is the only thing that Hamilton needs,” McHattie said Wednesday at City Hall.

“We’ve got a situation where a mayor of a city is totally ignoring his council, and totally ignoring Hamiltonians and their support for LRT.”

McHattie said that during a private meeting with the mayor and several councillors last week, Bratina denied council had endorsed the east-west LRT B-Line. (That endorsement happened in February, when councillors approved Hamilton’s pitch to Metrolinx for 100-per-cent funding of the $800-million project.)

“He didn’t think council chose the B-Line. It appeared to be news to him,” McHattie said. “I think it’s only because he’s being wilfully stupid, because he doesn’t support that (LRT).”

McHattie says he plans to raise this issue at next week’s council meeting.

Other councillors were also critical.

“Bob often forgets that when we take a corporate position, that position provides the marching orders to the mayor. It’s not the premier that provides the marching orders to the mayor,” said Councillor Terry Whitehead.

“I think he’s a little confused about his role.”

[SteelTown]

^ Wow after reading that article I'm speechless.

[Pearlstreet]

It would only seem natural to me that once LRT is started, the GO-train connection would follow suit. More reason to be here and to connect that missing GO-Train link.

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

...it emerged later Wednesday that Bratina did not attend the event where Wynne spoke last Sunday...

Some next-level backroom heresay. Meta, even.

It occurs to me that Wynne was Minister of Transportation for 19 months, and most of Mayor Bratina’s first year. Just after she came in, Metrolinx was weighing whether Hamilton would be a candidate for BRT or LRT. Wynne was also Minister of Transportation during the conspicuous Lib-pimping that Bratina engaged in during the run-up to the 2011 provincial election, which of course is when all of this all-day GO vs LRT nonsense got started in earnest.

I find it hard to shake the suspicion that there's more to the picture. I don’t think either side can be taken at face value.

[SteelTown]

Tim Hudak not convinced Hamilton needs LRT....

http://www.thespec.com/news/business...lton-needs-lrt

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Tim Hudak not convinced Hamilton needs LRT....

http://www.thespec.com/news/business...lton-needs-lrt

The TimBob show
http://www.thespec.com/opinion/edito...-lrt-yet-again

So, how did this go so wrong? Who told Bratina that Wynne said it was one or the other? Bratina claims he later talked to provincial staff who confirmed that. Who were they? And why is the premier’s office now so clearly contradicting that position?

The mayor needs to explain, even if he does nothing other than acknowledge he was misinformed. Anything less will give the strong impression that he continues to work against LRT — while publicly offering lukewarm support — in stark contrast to his city council colleagues who have made a clear and firm commitment to continue the pursuit until there is a valid reason to change that strategy.

Can Hamilton afford LRT in the end? We don’t know that yet. We do know we can’t afford to give up on a project with game-changing potential until it is fully explored. City council, business and labour groups, developers and progressive citizens know this. Does the mayor?

[durandy]

Originally Posted by thistleclub

Some next-level backroom heresay. Meta, even.

It occurs to me that Wynne was Minister of Transportation for 19 months, and most of Mayor Bratina’s first year. Just after she came in, Metrolinx was weighing whether Hamilton would be a candidate for BRT or LRT. Wynne was also Minister of Transportation during the conspicuous Lib-pimping that Bratina engaged in during the run-up to the 2011 provincial election, which of course is when all of this all-day GO vs LRT nonsense got started in earnest.

I find it hard to shake the suspicion that there's more to the picture. I don’t think either side can be taken at face value.

That seemed the case during the election when Bob seemed to be offering the libs a way out of their promises to fund LRT. But when Wynne and McMeekin and Murray are contradicting him, and when the whole spectrum of councillors, Merulla, Clark, McHattie, and Whitehead all despise him, it becomes pretty hard to see any reason behind this. He's actually acting a lot like Rob Ford but minus an agenda.

[SteelTown]

Council pushing back against mayor’s LRT gaffe

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...or-s-lrt-gaffe

Councillor Brian McHattie says he’ll introduce a motion at next Wednesday’s council meeting “to make it clear that our No. 1 priority is LRT on the B-Line.”

McHattie says he’s still working out the specifics of his motion, but his intention is to clarify council’s support of LRT and remind Mayor Bob Bratina he must endorse that position.

The motion is in response to comments Bratina made Wednesday. The mayor said he was informed by Premier Kathleen Wynne’s office that Hamilton will have to choose between LRT and extending all-day GO service to Stoney Creek. However, soon after Bratina made those comments, the premier’s office said that wasn’t the case.

During an appearance on the Bill Kelly Radio show Thursday, Bratina categorically denied speaking to Wynne about LRT and accused The Spectator of fabricating the story.

McHattie says the motion will also include a stipulation that Bratina must include members of the Chamber of Commerce LRT task force — McHattie and fellow councillors Lloyd Ferguson and Jason Farr — in any LRT meetings he has with the province.

“It’s my feeling that we need to get the record straight,” said Ferguson, who supports McHattie’s plan. “In my view, it is straight, but let’s say it one more time.”

This incident is the latest in a string of episodes revolving around Bratina’s tendency to backtrack, speak off the cuff or communicate a position that differs from council’s corporate stance.

“The only consistency Bob is displaying is inconsistency in communicating and following council’s will,” said Councillor Sam Merulla. “Bob’s antics are a distraction from the real issues we are working on, and it is becoming an epic embarrassment. I implore him to seek out guidance to facilitate the necessary action to prevent this from happening in the future.”

In an email sent Thursday, Bratina refused to speak to The Spectator.

“I have nothing further to add to this. I stand by my comments and consider the matter closed,” wrote Bratina, without clarifying exactly which comments he was referring to.

One of the earliest examples of Bratina’s pattern of behaviour came a few months after he was elected mayor. In March 2011, Bratina told The Spectator he would like to see the complete removal of the toxic goo in Randle Reef rather than move ahead with a plan to isolate and seal off the mess — a council-endorsed solution that was decades in the making.

At that time, he said, “Maybe someone is going to find something that eats it up” now that Hamilton is the “innovative centre of the universe,” thanks to the McMaster Innovation Park.

In October 2011, council passed a motion barring the mayor from meeting with senior levels of government, making financial commitments and negotiating, unless he was in the company of other councillors and the city manager.

That move was in response to Bratina’s behaviour in and around the 2011 provincial election campaign, when the mayor endorsed the Dalton McGuinty Liberals the day before the election — without council’s knowledge or approval. Bratina also told local radio station CHML that LRT “was not a priority,” a comment McGuinty referenced when the premier appeared to back away from LRT.

Bratina also became the first mayor in Hamilton’s history to face a unanimous censure from his council colleagues after a series of flip-flops over a $30,000 raise he gave his chief of staff, Peggy Chapman.

On three occasions, Bratina changed his story about who requested the raise. When the story first broke in December 2011, Bratina denied requesting the raise, saying it came from the city’s human resources staff. However, he later apologized and took responsibility for the decision, heading off a planned in camera debate about whether he contravened the city’s code of conduct.

But a few months later, Bratina once again argued in an email to The Spectator that human resources requested the hike. That led to council’s March 2012 decision to censure the mayor.

In June 2012, Bratina once again denied asking for the raise in a subsequent email to The Spectator, stating “nowhere does it state in any document that I requested a pay hike.”