Red Hill Creek Expressway

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by Millstone

The Hamilton freeways aren't built to 400-series standards, hence their low speed limit. Hamilton can basically do whatever the F they want. But I would stick to putting flashy things on straightaways and not curves like at the south end of the RHVP.

They have advertising along the Gardner in Toronto. It is a city owned road and you are correct provincial law doesn't apply.

[SteelTown]

$18-million arterial road planned for 2014

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/909948---18-million-arterial-road-planned-for-2014

It will serve as a major traffic corridor linking the southeast Mountain and Red Hill Industrial Park with the Red Hill Valley Parkway.

A report on the Trinity Church Road arterial corridor plan, part of the Rymal Road Planning Area master plan, is expected to go to the city’s public works committee in April.

If approved by the committee and city council, work on the $16- to $18-million project should begin next spring and take six to eight months to complete.

Guy Paparella, the city’s director of industrial parks and airport development, said the new two-kilometre, four-lane arterial road will run from the foot of the Red Hill Valley Parkway ramp at Stone Church Road, almost due south across Highland Road where it will connect to Rymal Road just west of Trinity Church Road.

The new road, which has yet to be named, is expected to take some of the traffic off upper Centennial Parkway and Dartnall Road as well as serve as a catalyst for future development at the nearby industrial park.

“It’s the spine road for anything that’s going to happen there,” said Paparella, who noted the city has acquired several hundred acres along the corridor that the road will run through, including a house on Highland Road that sits almost in the middle of the projected path.

Paparella said the house will be torn down and the rest of the property is mostly scrub land, although some trees will be cut down.

The report going to the committee will include results from an environmental assessment of the project that, according to Paparella, was done over the past two-and-a-half years.

He noted as a result of the environmental review, the city is looking at building a 35-metre-wide passageway or bridge near Highland Road that will rise above the lowest point of the corridor.

The bridge will allow for the small creek that runs between the Eramosa Karst land to the east and the Hannon Creek on the west side. It will also serve as a runway for area wildlife including deer. A pedestrian pathway is also in the works.

“It will be unique in Hamilton,” said Paparella, who noted planning for the passageway has delayed the project for six to eight months.

The project includes a two-lane road that will connect the new arterial road with Upper Mount Albion Road and Pritchard Road south of Highland and a small park, which is planned for the northeast corner of the arterial road and Highland.

According to the city’s 2006 Rymal Road Planning Area master plan study, the Trinity Church Road Extension is expected to carry 1,850 vehicles during the peak morning rush period and 2,100 vehicles during the peak afternoon rush period.

Future plans in the area include extending the new road to Twenty Road, extending Dartnall Road so it connects to Nebo Road near Dickenson Road, and widening Nebo Road between Twenty and Dickenson.

[mattgrande]

Hmm, kinda strange that it's not connecting directly to Trinity Church.

[thistleclub]

City needs more trees, less asphalt
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, Apr 14 2013)

Too much asphalt, not enough trees or wetlands.

The latest watershed report card for Hamilton shows we have a lot of work to do to improve the environmental health of our urban areas.

The report from the Hamilton Conservation Authority evaluates forest cover, water quality, wetlands, stream buffers and barriers to water filtration.

The only failing grade came on the asphalt front — too much pavement throughout urban Hamilton — but the city overall didn’t earn any mark higher than a C….

Many of the marks reflect an average of extreme rural and urban scenarios.

Forest cover, for example, is measured because trees suck up pollution and greenhouse gases and provide wildlife habitat and travel corridors. The city scored a C in that category — but forest coverage ranged from almost 60 per cent in the Sulphur Creek sub-watershed of Spencer Creek to effectively zero per cent in the Greenhill area around the Red Hill Creek.

Other results include:

• D for surface water quality, with creek water generally becoming more polluted as it travels through the city to the harbour;
• C for wetlands across the city. Extremes vary from excellent wetland coverage in Flamborough in the upper Spencer Creek area to extremely poor in much of the Red Hill Creek area;
• D for riparian buffers — the amount of vegetation along creeks and watercourses that acts to filter pollutants.


Forest coverage of “effectively zero per cent” around Red Hill Creek is a notable red flag.

Seven years ago, Chris Murray (then Acting Director of the Red Hill Valley Project) brokered a $5.4m deal that was to have seen 110,000 native trees replanted in RHV and 110,000 native trees in the RHV watershed.

CATCH noted at the time:

The newly-formed Grand River Employment and Training Inc., is being hired for what "should result in the establishment of a million or more trees and shrubs and restore natural habitat areas of the Red Hill Valley Watershed... In the end, approximately 60 hectares of created or enhanced habitat will be restored in the Valley and Lake Ontario shoreline area".

These numbers were repeated in an April 2007 Red Hill Valley Project newsletter:

“It has been the City's goal to see that habitat restoration in the Red Hill Valley will be significantly improved by efforts that result in the successful establishment of greater than 220,000 trees. Specifically, their work will include an ecological restoration approach that should result in the establishment of a million or more trees and shrubs in the Red Hill Valley, and to restore natural habitat areas of the Red Hill Valley Watershed. The habitat restoration efforts will focus not only on quantity of stock material planted but also on the quality and character diversity of the resultant natural habitat/landscape that will ultimately be restored in the valley. Work is already underway in growing the materials and is scheduled to continue over the next five years.”

A July 2007 newsletter followed with news of progress:

“Over the past several months, Kayanase, our Six Nations contractor for the ecological restoration program, has been engaged in a number of activities in Red Hill Valley. This work includes the planting of trees, from seed to calliper, the planting of native grasses and shrubs, and extensive site preparation in locations across the Red Hill Valley. As of May 31st, the following has been installed in the Red Hill Valley:

• Small plants and grasses: 42,800
• Shrubs: 593
• Trees: 117,000 (seeds, seedlings, whips, calliper)”

Perhaps a broad interpretation of "tree" (out of line with, say, the city's Street Tree Program), but it came in addition to 1,000 trees and shrubs as inventoried in the June 2007 RHV Sustainability Plan.

[thistleclub]

Years of heavy storms force Red Hill Creek rebuild
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, June 6 2013)

Storm-tossed boulders the size of golf carts are forcing the city to rebuild a section of Red Hill Creek that was moved in an unprecedented effort five years ago.

Hamilton spent $7 million to reroute 7.6 kilometres of the creek to make room for the controversial Red Hill Parkway that opened in 2007. At the time, it was billed as the longest rebuilt stretch of urban waterway in North America.

The effort was also hailed as an ecological marvel that reduced erosion, allowed fish to swim all the way to Mount Albion Falls and directed the creek back into a more natural route. The curved and stepped-pool design of the creek was meant to slow fast-moving water.

But in bad storms, water carrying escarpment detritus through King's Forest golf course has undermined the creek bank and bridge foundations and dislodged large armour stones meant to stabilize the waterway.

The city will spend up to $450,000 this year replacing three bridges, fishing out storm-tumbled boulders, widening parts of the creek and relining the banks with armour stone, said city facilities manager Rom D'Angelo.

"We recognize we need to re-engineer this part (of the creek) to meet these 100-year storm events," he said. "This is the one section that is really failing … We need to do something now or risk losing holes on the course, or even closures."

Controlling the steep section of creek coming down the escarpment is a challenge, said Ron Scheckenberger of AMEC Earth and Environmental, the major consulting firm involved in the Red Hill project. "In the right (storm) conditions, the energy of the system will pluck up stones bigger than your desk."

Those Mountain-born missiles contribute to erosion, fill in the stepped pools meant to slow the cascading water and even displace the massive armour stones carefully placed to direct water or stabilize stream banks.

Overall, the rebuilt creek is "performing extremely well," said Bill Annable, a civil engineering professor at the University of Waterloo who helped design the new watercourse and has helped monitor it under an agreement with the city for five years.

"We knew, going in, that section would be a challenge," said Annable, who pointed to the steep slope and propensity for the escarpment to shed rock. "Adaptation is part and parcel of any rehabilitation project."

[flar]

Man vs Nature

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Motion from Merulla....

Advertising along the Red Hill Valley Parkway and Lincoln Alexander Parkway

That staff be directed to bring a report to the General Issues Committee, which explores advertising along the Red Hill Valley Parkway as well as the Lincoln Alexander Parkway (LINC) in order to maximize revenues.

The resulting report, Advertising Program on Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway and Red Hill Valley Parkway (PW13080), goes to GIC on Wednesday.

The report describes the parameters of a pilot for embankment floral advertising: three displays on a 100 by 20 meter site on the south side of the Linc between Upper Sherman and Upper Gage.

Hillside Media Communications, the company behind Toronto's landmark landscape advertising, suggests that the capital cost to create each logo logo is typically $60,000 while maintaining the logo is approximately $40,000 per year plus a dedicated staff per logo during peak season. HMC has said it’s not interested in pursuing a similar program in Hamilton because there aren’t enough eyes to sustain their business model (ie. 400,000 vehicles daily on Gardiner & Lakeshore vs 90,000 daily on Linc & Red Hill). The City’s estimates?

“The capital costs for City staff to design, prepare the site, construct/install the display for each client, similar to those discussed in this report are estimated to be $70,000.00. The estimated annual operating cost of each display is $5,000.00 which includes electricity, re-planting, re-branding, and display refurbishment. In addition, the two dedicated staff and a vehicle are required to maintain grass, waste removal, garden maintenance including weeding and pruning, snow removal, and lighting maintenance for the three displays.”

[coalminecanary]

If we stopped making it easier to drive through the city than around it, the highways would be carrying a more appropriate number of cars ;-)

[matt602]

Seems kind of pointless now...

[thistleclub]

Floral ads along Linc and Red Hill get traction
(Hamilton Spectator, Andrew Dreschel, Nov 20 2013)

It's been a decade in the making, but city staff is finally taking a serious look at the idea of installing floral ads on the Linc and Red Hill parkways.

"It's a no brainer," says Councillor Sam Merulla, who first proposed revenue generating ads on city property back in 2002.

But a staff report suggests bringing the concept to bloom may be a more challenging than imagined....

It's estimated it would cost the city about $70,000 each to prepare the site and install a display for clients and $5,000 a year to maintain each.

To keep it going they figure they need two staffers and a vehicle to cut grass, clear litter, weed, prune, and shovel snow.

That might seem a tad excessive for three displays. But Hillside pegs the capital cost of creating live logos at about $60,000 each and about $40,000 for annual maintenance, including one worker per logo at peak season.

Unsurprisingly, Hillside notes paying advertisers expect vigilant groundskeeping.

Merulla remains convinced there's gold to be found on them thar roadsides. He says the capital cost is "not significant" given the revenue potential.

"It's an investment for future gain down the road."

"I've had a number of local businesses contact me directly — which I've referred to staff — asking when this project is going to be up and running because they want to be apart of it."

Merulla declines to name names: "That wouldn't be fair." But suggests developers would love to use it a means of advertising.

"I'm confident that a $70,000 investment will be recouped many times over."

But, as staff notes, there are other challenges.

Apparently the lay of the land along the Linc and Red Hill is difficult because of pitch, depth and rock face.

Driver distraction may be an issue. A 1999 Toronto report found the accident rate on the Gardiner was twice as high as the Don Valley Parkway though traffic volumes were virtually identical.

The program also must be self-sustaining through a public-private partnership and the strain on staff resources needs to be considered.

Still, it's not decision time yet. Staff has more homework to do before the idea buds or withers on a council vote.

[thistleclub]

Red Hill Parkway beginning to pay off: Report
(Hamilton Spectator, Steve Arnold, Mar 8 2014)

Hamilton is starting to see a payoff in jobs and economic development for the years it spent fighting to build the Red Hill Creek Parkway.

Now it just needs a plan to get the best return on that and other transportation investments.

"We're seeing infrastructure investments like the Red Hill Parkway starting to pay off. I mean there are jobs near that highway that weren't there before," said Mark Ferguson, of the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics. He made the comment Thursday in an interview after presenting a new study on how freight moves through Ontario.

One way to measure that growth, he said, is in the way traffic congestion has increased.

"Congestion has also increased over the base of the recession," Ferguson said. "The only thing worse than congestion is no congestion because it means things are not moving. The trick is to achieve some suitable level of congestion."

A major part of the congestion problem, the study adds, results from competition for road space between trucks carrying $500,000 worth of cargo and single-passenger cars making discretionary trips that add to congestion, but not the economy.

"All levels of government in the GTA are making a concerted effort to provide alternatives to car use. What also is needed is education to make the public and government more accepting of the critical role that trucks play in servicing the economy and its population."

Among the study's other conclusions is the warning congestion in the Greater Toronto Area could drive employers to areas like Hamilton which, he said, is well positioned to capture some of those jobs.

On the average day Ferguson's figures conclude up to 25,000 trucks pass through the Hamilton area. On average 4,000 trips come into the city and another 4,000 leave, most carrying cargo relatively short distances.

Ferguson's study simply confirmed what Hamilton economy-watchers like Richard Koroscil, Keith Robson and Neil Everson have known for years. Still, it was good to be told the city is heading in the right direction.


Read it in full here.

[LikeHamilton]

Trinity Church Road extension getting formal name

By Gord Bowes, News staff Hamilton Community News
Tuesday, April, 01, 2014 - 7:07:04 AM

The Trinity Church Road extension is getting a formal name.
If council approves the name later this month the arterial road will be called Upper Red Hill Valley Parkway.
Councillors Tom Jackson, Brad Clark and Brenda Johnson worked with city staff to come up with the moniker for the road which will run from the Stone Church exit of the Red Hill Valley Parkway down to Rymal Road.
The name fits with those of other roads that have an “upper” version of the street it aligns with below the Mountain, said Jackson.
“The more I think about it, the more I think it makes logical sense,” he said, citing examples such as Upper Centennial Parkaway and Upper Kenilworth.
It would also serve as an extension of the current Red Hill, said Jackson.
Longtime residents got used to the Linc ending at Mud Street for many years before the Red Hill opened and still think of that point as the starting point of the Red Hill.
Jackson said while technically the Red Hill meets the Lincoln Alexander Parkway about halfway between Dartnall Road and Upper Ottawa, and is marked by large signs, he didn’t expect there would be confusion among the public.
“This is the current dividing line between the facilities, although arbitrary and sometimes vague,” said Public Works superintendent Gary Moore.
“In general, the Linc is an urban section (with curbs) and the Red Hill is rural section with ditches.”
Construction on Trinity Church Road/Upper Red Hill extension is scheduled to begin this fall. It is expected to open the following summer.

http://www.hamiltonnews.com/news/trinity-church-road-extension-getting-formal-name/

[ScreamingViking]

How creative.

Not sure what news to trust today, but this sounds like it's in character for city hall.

[thistleclub]

Pavement markers will light up the Red Hill
(Stoney Creek News, Kevin Werner, Dec 30 2014)

The top of the Red Hill Valley Parkway will be a little brighter for motorists in 2015.

Hamilton city officials are installing raised pavement markers this month in the roadway of the Red Hill Valley Parkway from Greenhill Avenue to Dartnall Road. It is expected to cost about $234,520 for the work.

Politicians, including councillors Chad Collins and Tom Jackson, have urged city staff to improve the lighting and safety along the parkway where it joins with the Lincoln Alexander Parkway at Mud Street and Stone Church Road.

In January 2013, Collins introduced a motion to improve the safety of the parkway, after his office received numerous complaints from residents about the poor lighting in the area. Collins said at the time that safety issues are heightened during heavy rains and snow storms. Collins’ motion, which was supported by Jackson, included better lane markings and different coloured paint. The motion was referred to staff for review.

City staff announced last week that safety improvements would be introduced on the road by installing pavement markers early in the new year. The markers, which have been used effectively across North America, Europe and Australia, include a lens or sheeting that enhances their visibility by reflecting headlights.

“I’m very encouraged by the markers,” said Collins. “(The RHVP) is very dark and there are no lights. A safety audit confirmed the problems up there."

Read it in full here.

[mattgrande]

Are they talking about cat's eyes?

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by mattgrande

Are they talking about cat's eyes?

I would assume something like that — maybe SolarLite studs, which are apparently 10 times more visible than Cat Eyes and come at 1/3 of the cost.

[coalminecanary]

Don't cars have headlights? Where was the half-day of deliberation over this 230 grand? Pedestrians are legitimately dying and it's like twisting arms to get a penny spent on infrastructure. But "numerous" residents complain about highway lights and it just gets done

[NortheastWind]

Well it's about time. Pavement markings should have been installed to begin with.

[mishap]

Originally Posted by NortheastWind

Well it's about time. Pavement markings should have been installed to begin with.

If that stretch had been built properly, there'd be less need for the markings (maybe not no need, but less need). Check it out next time you're headed upbound through there. The road curves to the right, on a nice, smooth arc. Then suddenly near Pritchard Rd, there's a jut to the right, and the road seems straighter. A short distance later, another jut to the right, and the old arc resumes. Basically it's like travelling the edge of a circle with a straight line short-cutting to hack off some of the distance. And this is also where traffic merges in from Mud St. Quite dangerous at night.

[thistleclub]

City of Hamilton – Public Works:

The work will take place, weather permitting, from Monday, January 12 to Friday, January 16 between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. To safely complete these traffic improvements, intermittent lane closures in this area of the RHVP will be required. The contractor will not work during the peak directional flow time periods to minimize disruptions to commuters during the morning and afternoon rush hours.