The future of Hamilton's public transit

[SteelTown]

Hundreds of e-scooters could be bound for Hamilton in the next few months

https://www.thespec.com/news/council/2021/05/03/hamilton-electric-scooters.html
By Sebastian Bron
Spectator Reporter

It could be just a few months before kick-style electric scooters hit Hamilton roadways.

A report headed to the public works committee Monday recommends council green-light a sustainable mobility pilot that would see hundreds of pick-up-and-go e-scooters available for public use.

If approved, the city would award two-year contracts to three commercial operators who would be permitted to roll out a maximum fleet of 500 e-scooters each.

The proposed pilot comes five months after council voted to allow the zippy electric scooters on city streets.

In December, council approved amendments to a bylaw that permits e-scooters on roads, bike lanes and designated pathways and trails, but not sidewalks and most parks.

Downtown Coun. Jason Farr said the proposed pilot spells out a win-win scenario: residents get another cheap, eco-friendly mobility option to pick from — and at no cost to the city.

“There’s no shortage of interest that we can see, and there appears to be a good number of qualified candidates poised to go after managing this in the city,” said Farr, noting e-scooters could hit Hamilton in “a few months, maybe sooner.”

Indeed, since early 2020, five different companies have registered to lobby Hamilton councillors about the potential of e-scooters.

The report bound for the public works committee states selected commercial operators of e-scooter fleets would bear the responsibility of all capital and operating costs. Any city administration or enforcement costs would be recovered through program fees and fine revenues.

As an added bonus, a portion of the money brought in from operators would go to supplement the budget of the much-beleaguered SoBi bike-share program — which nearly died last June after the former Uber-owned operator bailed on its contract.

Corporate donors and residents rallied to save the program temporarily after council refused to bail out the network.

Farr said finding a funding solution to the bike-share program is “a key component” to the argument in favour of e-scooters.

“For (bike-share’s) long-term sustainability, there should be a funding source,” he said.

While electric scooters are widely lauded as an affordable, climate-friendly transportation source, some disability advocates warn the silent devices can present dangers to blind and deaf residents.

“They keep getting compared to bicycles — but people have had a lifetime to get used to bicycles and their speeds,” said James Kemp, a member of the city’s advisory committee for people with disabilities.

“(E-scooters) are dead silent. People with mobility issues, vision loss, children and families may not have enough time to get out of the way because they can’t hear these things coming.”

Kemp, who will argue against the proposed pilot at Monday’s public works committee meeting, said e-scooters need more regulation before they’re plopped into Hamilton.

Besides there being no mandate that requires riders to wear helmets, Kemp said e-scooters are simply not compatible with the city’s infrastructure.

“They’re trying to put these things in bike lines and roadways, but the roads here are very busy and dangerous,” he said. “Most likely, people will ride on the sidewalk anyway, even if it’s not allowed.”

It’s unclear what safety measures the city is considering to protect pedestrians from e-scooters, but the devices will be limited to a maximum of 20 km/h and “geo-fenced” to reduce speed to 10 km/h when operating in parks or high-pedestrian areas.

[ScreamingViking]

I wonder when the LRT opponents will start adding this to their chants: "Who needs an outdated trolley when we've got 21st century scooters coming?!?!"

[thistleclub]

...

[thistleclub]

City Allocates $3.3-Million in HSR Transit “Quick Win” Funds to “CF Limeridge Master Plan redevelopment”
(The Public Record, Joey Coleman, June 21 2021)

The City of Hamilton and Lime Ridge Mall are working on something big. The City is stockpiling funds to support the “CF Limeridge Master Plan redevelopment” starting with $3.3-million in Metrolinx “Quick Wins” money being parked to support.

The funds date from 2008 when Metrolinx gave the Hamilton Street Railway nearly $30-million in funding to make immediate improvements for HSR riders.

In 2013, $12-million of this fund was placed in a new budget line to be spent on new bus shelters, the Mohawk College Transit the Mountain Transit Centre Park-and-Ride, cover the $565,000 cost of the dot matrix displays at the MacNab Transit Terminal, and Bike Share capital costs.

Now, nearly 13 years after receiving the Quick Wins money, the City of Hamilton still has $3.3-million of the money to put into a Lime Ridge Mall budget line.

The City does not disclose what the planned redevelopment will entail, or timelines.

CF Lime Ridge Mall submitted a conceptual plan for a restaurant district to City Hall in 2018. That plan did not proceed.…

The long-awaited and overdue transit priority signal project on Upper James Street no longer qualifies for the federal Public Transit Infrastructure Fund due to delays.

The PTIF funding, provided to Hamilton in March 2017, came with timelines for ensuring projects benefited transit riders and the money was properly spent. The City of Hamilton failed to complete this project which was approved by Council in December 2017.

A $1.5-million budget line is being removed from the City’s financial lines as a result.

Read it in full here.

[ScreamingViking]

13 years.

Lost federal funding because city staff didn't follow through.

Yeah... if LRT doesn't happen I have SO MUCH CONFIDENCE in the city's ability to implement alternative bus-based service/route improvements and expansions.

[LikeHamilton]

Hamilton announces new HSR director Maureen Cosyn Heath

By Matthew Van Dongen Spectator Reporter Mon., June 21, 2021

The city has announced Maureen Cosyn Heath as the new transit director for the HSR.

The longtime London, Ont. transit manager arrives in the middle of a pandemic ridership rut — and just days after city council decided to resurrect a $3.4-billion LRT project that would put the “rail” back in Hamilton Street Railway.

Cosyn Heath will also be responsible for shepherding a long-planned redesigning of the Hamilton transit map via the “Re-envision” project, as well as the city’s first “transit on demand” experiment in Waterdown.

Cosyn Heath previously worked as the chief administrative officer at Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services, which handled school bus services for London-area school boards.

She also spent 10 years in manager roles at the municipal London Transit Commission.

The new HSR director replaces the retiring Debbie Dalle Vedove, who in 2016 became the first woman to lead Hamilton’s transit system.

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-re...ew-hsr-director-maureen-cosyn-heath.html

[SteelTown]

Over the next five years is going to be critical for the future of HSR and the best they could do was hire someone who ran a local school bus system? Plus, a few manager roles here and there in the transit department? Ugh.

Nobody from Metrolinx applied for the job?

[LikeHamilton]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Nobody from Metrolinx applied for the job?

They heard about our council!

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Over the next five years is going to be critical for the future of HSR and the best they could do was hire someone who ran a local school bus system? Plus, a few manager roles here and there in the transit department? Ugh.

Nobody from Metrolinx applied for the job?

Not unless they wanted to torpedo their careers.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by LikeHamilton

Hamilton announces new HSR director Maureen Cosyn Heath

By Matthew Van Dongen Spectator Reporter Mon., June 21, 2021

The city has announced Maureen Cosyn Heath as the new transit director for the HSR.

The longtime London, Ont. transit manager arrives in the middle of a pandemic ridership rut — and just days after city council decided to resurrect a $3.4-billion LRT project that would put the “rail” back in Hamilton Street Railway.

Cosyn Heath will also be responsible for shepherding a long-planned redesigning of the Hamilton transit map via the “Re-envision” project, as well as the city’s first “transit on demand” experiment in Waterdown.

Cosyn Heath previously worked as the chief administrative officer at Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services, which handled school bus services for London-area school boards.

She also spent 10 years in manager roles at the municipal London Transit Commission.

The new HSR director replaces the retiring Debbie Dalle Vedove, who in 2016 became the first woman to lead Hamilton’s transit system.

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-re...ew-hsr-director-maureen-cosyn-heath.html

Someone from The Outside is quite welcome, IMO.

The ambitious to-do list was a selling point for the gig, she said in a first-day interview.

“I was looking for a challenge,” said Cosyn Heath, who most recently worked as the chief administrative officer at Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services, which handles school bus services for London-area boards.

She previously worked in various manager roles at the London Transit Commission.

Cosyn Heath does not have a previous history in Hamilton, although her daughter attends McMaster University. But she said the city was on her radar because she was seeking a transit agency “on the forefront of implementing good, exciting programs.”

She pointed in particular to the “Re-envision” project, which involved public consultation and a partnership with McMaster University transportation researchers with the goal of reconfiguring HSR service and routes.

In interviewing for the job, the new HSR director said she knew some sort of rapid transit project was “on the horizon,” although not necessarily the newly resurrected LRT. She — like everyone else — must wait to learn exactly how the HSR will be involved with the proposed project.

Aside from learning the ropes of a new job overseeing an $80 million annual transit budget, Cosyn Heath said a major early priority will be supporting Hamilton riders with reliable transit “on the road to pandemic recovery.”

Hamilton ridership was cut in half to 11.7 million last year as a result of pandemic restrictions — although that was still markedly better than other large Ontario cities.

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-re...ew-hsr-director-maureen-cosyn-heath.html

[king10]

Last transit Director was also from outside the org. Believe she came from Oakville.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

13 years.

Lost federal funding because city staff didn't follow through.

Yeah... if LRT doesn't happen I have SO MUCH CONFIDENCE in the city's ability to implement alternative bus-based service/route improvements and expansions.

This is an important point and highlights one of the many flaws of our representative democracy.

It hasn't been 13 years or 50 for that matter. One must view our real and perceived political incompetence through the lens of 4 year terms and the taking of ideological sides ie Left v Right. Term limits and political nonsense make it near impossible to plan for the long-term. As governments change, so do the initiatives the 'other side' attempted to implement. A colossal waste of energy and is, at least one reason, why we're stagnating across multiple domains.

China would be polar opposite, of course. Not suggesting we go that route, as if that needs to be said...

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

It hasn't been 13 years or 50 for that matter. One must view our real and perceived political incompetence through the lens of 4 year terms and the taking of ideological sides ie Left v Right. Term limits and political nonsense make it near impossible to plan for the long-term. As governments change, so do the initiatives the 'other side' attempted to implement. A colossal waste of energy and is, at least one reason, why we're stagnating across multiple domains.

All true, though I'm not sure if you meant that term limits would help or hinder things. As it stands, little happens without them because there's so much dithering, the long-term councillors hold onto beliefs and opinions that remain divisive so they can never agree with those who hold conflicting views, and there's no incentive to get something done within their term. But with term limits, would we see that action happen, or just more dithering until a change of priorities and plans occurs once a term is up?

The point with the "quick wins" money was that it should have been spent long ago! Metrolinx obviously wasn't playing heavy with that, or the unspent portion would have been taken back (and here, changes in the provincial government come into play too). Whether the lack of follow-through by staff on the U. James transit priority signalling, after council approved it, was political or just incompetence with project management is anyone's guess, but most on council over the past 5-10 years and probably a lot longer have given transit issues and plans mere nods and platitudes vs. actual follow-through on funding.

Most local councillors have ZERO vision for the city as a whole. They seem content to look after their local complaints and ward pet projects, enough to keep happy the constituents who keep voting for the incumbent.

A re-envisioning of council -- councillors at large, maybe? -- would go a long way toward helping the long-term goals and plans for the entire city. That's not likely to ever happen with the current bunch, many of whom for example put a kibosh on recommended ward boundary changes that made a lot of sense, and would certainly have ensured a more even representation by population (whether that would have helped with long-term planning and execution is debateable, but it may have shaken things up enough to effect more change)

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Most local councillors have ZERO vision for the city as a whole. They seem content to look after their local complaints and ward pet projects, enough to keep happy the constituents who keep voting for the incumbent.

A re-envisioning of council -- councillors at large, maybe? -- would go a long way toward helping the long-term goals and plans for the entire city. That's not likely to ever happen with the current bunch, many of whom for example put a kibosh on recommended ward boundary changes that made a lot of sense, and would certainly have ensured a more even representation by population (whether that would have helped with long-term planning and execution is debateable, but it may have shaken things up enough to effect more change)

Far be it from me to have any answers. All I can say, with some certainty, is that this City is too large and diverse to properly manage. What, exactly, do folks in Ward 2 have in common with those out in Glanbrook? They likely have completely different needs and wants and I'm not sure it's realistic to expect those values to ever align.

I guess we can blame Mike Harris, although I seem to recall many left-of-centre urbanites quietly supporting amalgamation because it increased the new city's tax revenues. I think a lot of us would like to turn back the clock on that decision...

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Far be it from me to have any answers. All I can say, with some certainty, is that this City is too large and diverse to properly manage. What, exactly, do folks in Ward 2 have in common with those out in Glanbrook? They likely have completely different needs and wants and I'm not sure it's realistic to expect those values to ever align.

I guess we can blame Mike Harris, although I seem to recall many left-of-centre urbanites quietly supporting amalgamation because it increased the new city's tax revenues. I think a lot of us would like to turn back the clock on that decision...

It would be a complicated process. And likely mean a return to a two-tier government structure. There are certain things that would have to be planned or operated in a coordinated fashion across all the municipalities, otherwise a messy patchwork may result and there'd just be different kinds of bickering over "winners" and "losers". This would include regional land use planning, transportation (including transit!), water and sewers, police, health and social services, and perhaps whatever else the old Region of Hamilton-Wentworth was responsible for.

There would still be people unhappy with their tax bill, and transit plans, and other services. "Why am I paying tax to the regional government, when I don't ever leave my town?!" "I don't use the bus, why am I paying for buses for people in Hamilton or Stoney Creek?!" "We have no homeless people in our town -- why am I paying for the ones who are in Hamilton?!"

One could argue there would still be much diversity in the original municipalities to properly manage. There are vast differences between lower city Hamilton, Hamilton mountain, and Hamilton south of the Linc. Within the old borders of Stoney Creek, Flamborough, and Ancaster there are the old towns, newer subdivisions, and lots of rural land. Glanbrook has the same makeup, though in different proportions. Or would Hamilton annex much of the contiguous urban area and the rural parts left over after annexation be left to fend for themselves? (e.g., swaths of Stoney Creek and northwest Glanbrook included with Hamilton, perhaps even urban Ancaster and Dundas but the idea of taking pieces of those latter two would ignite a powder keg)

[Dr Awesomesauce]

No comment. Just a

[ShavedParmesanCheese]

So sayeth Mr. Coleman: the Minister for Transport, vice president of LiUNA, president of Metrolinx, and everybody's favourite MPP will be in town with the mayor on Monday to announce... something about transport. GO improvements?


https://twitter.com/JoeyColeman/status/1418659069880045569/photo/1

[ScreamingViking]

Given Skelly's presence, this probably isn't about the LRT. Unless she's been told to "just STFU and smile"

[TheRitsman]

Perhaps the "BRT" bus service from Waterdown to Toronto?

[StEC]

ALL DAY GO TRAIN... ALL DAY GO TRAIN... ALL DAY GO TRAIN... if I say it enough will it come true?