Hamilton Roads

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

I was looking at MTO's highway program mapping, and noticed that the Highway 6 interchange in Waterdown is now listed as "future expansion", which suggests that it is now funded.

Sorely needed. For the volume that intersection handles, the time savings associated with an interchange will be enormous (even for just a partially free-flowing one, if there are to be traffic lights where the ramps connect to Hwy 5). It will be a lot safer too, though I have no idea what the collision rate is like.

[catcher_of_cats]

We needed this interchange a decade ago to deal with all the heavy truck traffic. I do wish that a second interchange will be built at Hwy 6 and the Waterdown Bypass.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by catcher_of_cats

We needed this interchange a decade ago to deal with all the heavy truck traffic. I do wish that a second interchange will be built at Hwy 6 and the Waterdown Bypass.

I think the ideal is that 6 is turned into a RIRO like Highway 11 between Barrie and Gravenhurst or 35 between the 401 and 115, but that's not really the plan. The traffic levels on 6 on that stretch are quite high for a regular 4-lane highway.

Regardless, the interchange is a good start.

A reminder of the plan for it:



A typical Parclo A4 on Highway 6, 2 signalized exits onto Highway 5, and a lot of local road closures and re-alignments.

What isn't shown in this image is that Parkside Drive is planned to be closed at Highway 6 once the Waterdown Bypass opens from my understanding, with the signalized intersection moving north to the new Bypass intersection.

[ScreamingViking]

I'm on the fence about converting 6 to a RIRO. Barrier separation would be a good thing; the continuous centre median turn lane is great, but it's still risky making a left. But with so many properties needing access it may not be the best solution, even if MTO were to add wide paved shoulders to improve safety for exiting and merging onto the highway.

Eventually a parallel divided highway may be needed.

Once the bypass at the north end is built I guess we'll see how the existing stretch is affected.

[TheHonestMaple]

City council will consider a call for the conversion of one-way Main Street to two-way traffic this upcoming Wednesday.

[Innsertnamehere]

Yay!!! Long overdue, especially with the LRT screwing up traffic on King starting next year - converting Main will provide a much needed alternative for westbound travel and make the street much, much safer.

Now if they can focus on a longer term reconstruction of the street to get some wider sidewalks.

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Yay!!! Long overdue, especially with the LRT screwing up traffic on King starting next year - converting Main will provide a much needed alternative for westbound travel and make the street much, much safer.

Now if they can focus on a longer term reconstruction of the street to get some wider sidewalks.

I hope this motion actually gains some traction. This conversion really needs to be top priority for the city. Usually i'm not a fan of Councillor Nann or Wilson and their style of politics, but on this one I totally agree. I hope all councillors can come together and get this done. And not 10 years from now, ASAP. It's a totally dangerous stretch of road, terrible environment for walking down and not at all conducive to a positive public realm.

Also the argument that it can't be done because of the 403 off ramps is total BS. Surely some engineering firms can come up with a way to make that possible. With the Ontario election coming up as well I hope Ford comments on this and commits some funding for that. There's no excuse.

[TheRitsman]

Wilson is like the best councillor on this council. She's also likely the most qualified for the job too.

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

Wilson is like the best councillor on this council. She's also likely the most qualified for the job too.

Can't say I agree. I'm more a fan of Farr. I find she focuses on identity politics and virtue signalling a bit too much. But I hope everyone can come together and agree on this particular issue.

[ScreamingViking]

Good!

Though I can guess who will be against it. Or perhaps he'll just be glad it's not in "his" ward... just like the idea of closing a long stretch of King on a summer Sunday for pedestrians and cyclists:
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%...near-park.html

Here's the Spec's story about the conversion issue, and an editorial piece about it:
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%...in-street.html
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%...-highways.html

[bigguy1231]

More stupidity from city hall. One way or two it's still going to be 5 lanes of traffic. The difference is if it's two way people are going to have to worry about cars coming from both directions. Typical reactionary stupidity out of city hall. I hope they all choke on the pollution caused by the gridlock this would cause in the lower city.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

More stupidity from city hall. One way or two it's still going to be 5 lanes of traffic. The difference is if it's two way people are going to have to worry about cars coming from both directions. Typical reactionary stupidity out of city hall. I hope they all choke on the pollution caused by the gridlock this would cause in the lower city.

Yet people manage to cross busy streets like Fennell, Mohawk, Centennial, Dundas, Golf Links. etc. though they are two-way with multiple lanes.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

Can't say I agree. I'm more a fan of Farr. I find she focuses on identity politics and virtue signalling a bit too much. But I hope everyone can come together and agree on this particular issue.

Farr is a do nothing that attacks defenseless homeless people and pushes for developments that never come to fruition. He has never been to a single community meeting I've attended and barely responds to my emails or contact. I've spoken to Maureen at more events and she's not even my councillor. She responded to my email at 10:30PM last night. Good luck getting Farr to respond to an email at 11am Tuesday with no meetings on his calendar. He's a 9-5 councillor, when the job is a 24/7 job and tires most people out after two terms. These 3-10 term councillors are barely putting in effort. When you're a councillor you are your community's leader, it's biggest fan. Farr barely seems interested in the problems facing downtown, he just keeps selling everything to developers in the hope that one day Hamilton will get lucky instead of making active efforts to change the outcomes.

Don't get me wrong, I like Farr as a guy, he's a nice guy, and cares about the community and has pushed for some good things, but I am honest enough to admit when someone I like may not be a great leader in the community.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

More stupidity from city hall. One way or two it's still going to be 5 lanes of traffic. The difference is if it's two way people are going to have to worry about cars coming from both directions. Typical reactionary stupidity out of city hall. I hope they all choke on the pollution caused by the gridlock this would cause in the lower city.

Gridlock is coming either way with 200,000 more residents over the next few decades. Better to do it now and make the street more enjoyable to move people out of their cars.

[Crapht]

I’m hoping for something like 2 east bound lanes and 2 west bound lanes with the remaining lane given to widening the sidewalks on both sides. Even temporarily with the entire stretch of Main using some sort of temporary construction division to protect pedestrians in the time being. It’s going to be a long painful transition regardless of when it happens so it should start immediately. LRT will be painful as well. It’s inevitable.

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

Farr is a do nothing that attacks defenseless homeless people

I don't know, man. Those homeless encampments weren't good for anyone. Not good for the tax paying residents of this city, the children that want to enjoy the parks safely, and especially not good for the drug addicts and mentally ill that lived in those tents.

I'm glad Farr pushed for those encampments to be removed, and at least he made attempt to get those people inside shelters/hotels/permanent situations. Much better than allowing that issue to continue.

Wilson and Nann's intentions, although rooted in good, seem to be misguided or at the very least based on a misunderstanding of the cause of the issue.

[HamiltonBoyInToronto]

2 lanes in each direction and a beautiful boulevard with trees/landscaping... and turning lanes .

[Hawrylyshyn]

Originally Posted by HamiltonBoyInToronto

2 lanes in each direction and a beautiful boulevard with trees/landscaping... and turning lanes .

This^

It's still going to be a wide road, but making it two way with turning lanes, etc. will reduce the speed of drivers on the road. It will have to be driven on like an actual city street and not a highway going through the downtown core

[TheHonestMaple]

Totally. Something like what they did with Barton Village would be amazing. A nice row of trees through the centre, landscaping on both sides as well. Heck, there's probably even room for a bike lane on one side. I'm excited to see what the discussion on Wednesday leads to.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

I don't know, man. Those homeless encampments weren't good for anyone. Not good for the tax paying residents of this city, the children that want to enjoy the parks safely, and especially not good for the drug addicts and mentally ill that lived in those tents.

I'm glad Farr pushed for those encampments to be removed, and at least he made attempt to get those people inside shelters/hotels/permanent situations. Much better than allowing that issue to continue.

Wilson and Nann's intentions, although rooted in good, seem to be misguided or at the very least based on a misunderstanding of the cause of the issue.

The problem is that Farr says there's enough space, but there just isn't. Kicking people out of parks (a place myself and very few advocates wanted them in either) only makes sense if they've got somewhere for them to go. I didn't want them in the park near my house either, but unless we've got a solution, it's just pushing them into a different space and a different neighbourhood. I live downtown, the homeless population that sleeps in parks, under bridges and roams the streets hasn't shrunk after we kicked them out of parks, heck some still sleep in tents in parks. It was a power play to fix an issue by pushing it somewhere else. That's not actually a solution, if you're just shoving the mess in the closet and under the rug. Wilson and Nann recognized that simply tearing down tents doesn't solve homelessness, and while Nann isn't my favourite politician on Earth, she has been doing a lot of work to increase homeless shelter spaces in her ward.