Rapid Transit

[Markus83]

What about the extra 300million plus for a new bus storage building and more new buses? Was that mentioned somewhere?

[king10]

Originally Posted by Markus83

What about the extra 300million plus for a new bus storage building and more new buses? Was that mentioned somewhere?

Wasnt that already announced seperately for GO in flamborough? HSR can take over the vacated GO bus space at wentworth as DARTS is already there.

[Markus83]

Thanks King10.i didn't get that part.

[Markus83]

May 26, 2015 Province announces full funding for a shortened LRT route and a GO station on Centennial Parkway. Funding for express buses and a garage is still under consideration.

[matt602]

Originally Posted by king10

Wasnt that already announced seperately for GO in flamborough? HSR can take over the vacated GO bus space at wentworth as DARTS is already there.

No, it was for the HSR. GO is paying for their own facility. The money was for HSR to build an entirely new, second garage at Wentworth most likely replacing the existing one that GO and DARTS share. It would probably get a new CNG fueling station like the mountain garage is getting now. The new articulated buses are being delivered right now but can't go into service until that fueling facility at the mountain garage is finished, in the fall.

Metrolinx hasn't indicated any support for that ask, instead focusing on the LRT and GO expansion money announced yesterday.

[Beedok]

I will be disappointed if this ends up just being a streetcar thing. Calgary and Edmonton were both about Hamilton's current size when they built their LRTs weren't they? Can't we manage something on par with one of them?

[MalcolmTucker]

How much traffic light preemption/control/preference was studied in the EA? Is the EA sitting online somewhere? Edmonton's new line will look similar, running on the street, but will have a very high level of control over traffic lights.

[king10]

Originally Posted by matt602

No, it was for the HSR. GO is paying for their own facility. The money was for HSR to build an entirely new, second garage at Wentworth most likely replacing the existing one that GO and DARTS share. It would probably get a new CNG fueling station like the mountain garage is getting now. The new articulated buses are being delivered right now but can't go into service until that fueling facility at the mountain garage is finished, in the fall.

Metrolinx hasn't indicated any support for that ask, instead focusing on the LRT and GO expansion money announced yesterday.

Not sure where they will construct a new garage at Wentworth, its already cramped as is.

And the current GO garage is actually the same building that Fleet Services uses to repair/ store vehicles. That isn't getting demolished.

[flar]

Originally Posted by Beedok

I will be disappointed if this ends up just being a streetcar thing. Calgary and Edmonton were both about Hamilton's current size when they built their LRTs weren't they? Can't we manage something on par with one of them?

I think one of the reasons for the lukewarm support is because of just that.

The idea of rapid transit is to conveniently move people from one part of the city to another. That means it needs to go across the city. If it's just a short line through the core, all it is is another transfer.

In Calgary and Edmonton, the LRT will take you from the edge of the city directly to the core. Same with BRT in Ottawa.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by flar

I think one of the reasons for the lukewarm support is because of just that.

The idea of rapid transit is to conveniently move people from one part of the city to another. That means it needs to go across the city. If it's just a short line through the core, all it is is another transfer.

In Calgary and Edmonton, the LRT will take you from the edge of the city directly to the core. Same with BRT in Ottawa.

I think it covers a good length of the city (and covers a better commuter base than the Trillium Line, that's for sure), it's more about separating it from traffic in the core. Hamilton is good for a lack of congestion, but the downtown area has what, a couple thousand new residents on the way with all those new condos? Plus the city is going to keep growing. I don't want Hamilton stuck with a streetcar when it hits a metro of a million and needs full separation in a few area.

[SteelTown]

Myth: LRT will get stuck in traffic.

Fact: LRT will run on dedicated lanes with signal priority. That means the streetlights will automatically turn green for the LRT vehicle as it approaches an intersection.

http://hamiltonlightrail.ca/the-facts

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

How much traffic light preemption/control/preference was studied in the EA? Is the EA sitting online somewhere? Edmonton's new line will look similar, running on the street, but will have a very high level of control over traffic lights.

B-Line Environmental Project Report:
http://www.hamiltonrapidtransit.ca/index.php/project-information/funding-proposal/

[RaginRonic]

Finally...street-level trains here! Woo Woo! ^^

But yeah, my melty mind notwithstanding(XD), here's also hoping that people on that route won't deliberately crash their cars into the trains to muscle LRT out of Hamilton that way.

Anyone who does that is a militant thug, living in the imagination of their own past, scared of anything that takes their money and social power away from them.

=P

[MalcolmTucker]

• Video Link

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[Beedok]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Myth: LRT will get stuck in traffic.

Fact: LRT will run on dedicated lanes with signal priority. That means the streetlights will automatically turn green for the LRT vehicle as it approaches an intersection.

http://hamiltonlightrail.ca/the-facts

Calgary has a similar set up in their downtown, along with a dedicated street, and they're always complaining about how that slows the whole system down to a crawl and ruins the rapid angle. (I agree a bit, but I didn't ride it that many times.)

[LikeHamilton]

.@FredEisenberger says Metrolinx will own, operate, and maintain Hamilton's LRT.

[RaginRonic]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

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• Video Link

Exactly, Malcolm....this type of stupid 🞵🞵🞵🞵 should be dealt with LOOOONG before LRT is rolling here. =P

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by LikeHamilton

.@FredEisenberger says Metrolinx will own, operate, and maintain Hamilton's LRT.

I'm not entirely sure of the significance of this. But really, the way the HSR has been run over the years, I can't say I'm disappointed or surprised, frankly - keep it away from the City and its agencies.

A little article from CBC on the spur from King to the new GO station. Spoiler alert: according to the article, plans won't be released for another year and a half or so.

Exciting.

[HillStreetBlues]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

A little article from CBC on the spur from King to the new GO station. Spoiler alert: according to the article, plans won't be released for another year and a half or so.

Exciting.

What a can of worms; I’m not looking forward to the conversation about James. The distance between King and James and the West Harbour Station is 1100 meters. That’s not much too far to walk to commuter rail, and it’s not long enough to justify maybe more than one station between the two (even then, stop spacing will be too tight). The suggestion in that article is that we should have a streetcar like some of those in Toronto serving James. What does that mean? Three or four stops, a mere 250 meters apart. That doesn’t sound like rapid transit to me; that’s more like a tourist trolley car.

I’m not necessarily opposed to LRT running in mixed traffic where it’s necessary. I bet it’s politically impossible to get King closed to automobile traffic through International Village, which is what it would take. But having a streetcar line running in mixed traffic with frequent stops one kilometre up James seems senseless to me.

[lucasmascotto]

Councillors climb aboard LRT bandwagon
(The Hamilton Spectator: Thursday, MAy 28, 2015)
By: Matthew Van Dongen

Not all city councillors are over-the-moon about LRT — but a clear majority agree you don't say no to a $1-billion offer.

Ardent council fans of the long-standing light rail transit plan were rapturous — one, Aidan Johnson, broke into song — following Tuesday's provincial promise to build an 11-kilometre line from McMaster University to the Queenston traffic circle.

Eight returning and new councillors campaigned against LRT in the recent city election — raising the possibility even a provincial commitment wouldn't save the project. But Wednesday, enough light rail skeptics indicated they were back on board to scratch the prospect of council rejecting the deal.

Coun. Terry Whitehead admitted the LRT proposal was not his first transit priority, but added with provincial funds in hand he is "on board, 100 per cent committed."

"Our job now is to ensure this plan is the absolute best it can be," he said, emphasizing the city must work to mitigate potentially "devastating" consequences for businesses during years-long LRT construction.

"Any time a senior level of government wants to drop $1 billion on our city, we should just say a heartfelt thank you," added Coun. Tom Jackson, who told The Spectator last year he no longer supported the project.

Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, who had made his light rail support contingent on full provincial funding, said the announcement proves "you can dream big."

Ferguson told councillors communities surrounding the lower city "are celebrating (the funding) with you."

But he cautioned negotiating the potential pitfalls facing the plan — including construction woes, traffic disruption and possible hidden costs or overruns — "will make the stadium debate … look mild."

LRT opponent Coun. Chad Collins previously said he hasn't changed his opinion on the project, but added he was grateful his ward was left off the amended route, which originally extended to Eastgate Square.

Coun. Maria Pearson said Wednesday she viewed the LRT commitment "with trepidation," but praised the news an east-end GO station was on the way.

"If we're moving ahead with LRT, I need to see that the public is back at the table and will have input," she said, adding she'll "keep an open mind" but isn't ready to say if she'll support a final vote to enter a master agreement with Metrolinx.

"I'm not convinced King (Street) is really the right place for it. The bus-only lane didn't really work out well, did it?"

New Stoney Creek Coun. Doug Conley said $1 billion "sure sounds like good news," but added he still has "many questions that need to be answered" before he is comfortable with the project. He noted he wasn't on council when it voted to request the LRT cash.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who first pushed LRT during his first term as mayor in 2007, stressed the project will "transform" all of Hamilton — not just the lower city. He acknowledged the looming challenges, but asked skeptics not to "tear apart" the project "for parochial, political reasons."

Coun. Sam Merulla successfully moved a motion Wednesday to resurrect a dedicated LRT office and form a subcommittee of councillors devoted to the "epic" city-building project.