Rapid Transit

[durandy]

that's a pretty good take on it by Dreschel. It makes a whole lot more sense than the conspiracy theories going around, which ironically play right into the hands of Clark and Ferguson.

[SteelTown]

No LRT funding guarantee: Metrolinx

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...ntee-metrolinx

It is too soon for the province to commit capital funding for two planned light rail lines in Hamilton, said the head of Ontario’s regional transit agency.

Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig responded Tuesday to a motion from city council last week calling on the province to confirm capital funding for two LRT lines in Hamilton.

McCuaig told city manager Chris Murray “the timing of council’s request does not allow for a government response” because of the election, according to a summary of the conversation circulated to councillors.

The summary adds it is “premature to comment on capital cost responsibility” until the city finishes its design and engineering studies for the light rail lines that were pitched by the Liberals during the 2007 election campaign. Metrolinx will consider the studies in 2012.

Reached Tuesday afternoon, McCuaig confirmed he had spoken to Murray and reiterated he “can’t speculate about funding” during an election campaign.

Councillor Brad Clark, who authored council’s motion, dismissed the “election excuse,” noting Premier Dalton McGuinty confirmed funding for all-day GO service last month.

“The Liberals make all sorts of funding promises during a campaign. Our request is absolutely fair game,” said Clark. “The Conservatives have said they won’t fund LRT. The NDP say they will. The only person who isn’t giving a clear answer to the question is the person who promised us LRT in the first place.”

Mayor Bob Bratina disagreed.

“There was no promise to fund,” he said Tuesday, pointing to a June 2007 press release that noted all planned transit projects were subject to review by the predecessor of Metrolinx: the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority.

Bratina said Ontario can promise GO funding because the expansion plan is clear, while council hasn’t submitted a detailed LRT funding request yet.

“If (we) decide to build a subway under the bay to Waterdown, they’re probably not going to fund that,” he said.

McGuinty recently told The Spectator he understood GO Transit to be the “number 1 priority” of both the city and the mayor, spurring outrage from some councillors.

Bratina said Tuesday he never told the premier the city was backing away from LRT, but added council told him to “go hard” on all-day GO service.

On the Bill Kelly radio show Tuesday, McGuinty said the province hasn’t abandoned LRT: “We’re moving ahead thoughtfully and responsibly with both projects. We’re going to have to do both.”

[SteelTown]

Conventional, Rapid and Inter-Regional Transit: Technical, Land Use and Financial Considerations

http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/...4_FCS11072.pdf

[MalcolmTucker]

I wouldn't be surprised to see increased investment in rapid transit infrastructure, including the Hamilton Line, be included in the next budget. There is little way the NDP could vote against such direct investment into Hamilton plus it fits with the Liberal vision.

[SteelTown]

Potential Future Impacts of B-Line LRT

Below is a summary of Financial Implications based on LRT implementation:

• The Capital cost of LRT on the B-Line ranges from $875 million to $1 billion. Financial impact analysis was prepared using a senior government grant assumption ranging from 100% to 50% funding. Based on this assumption, the City’s financial share of the LRT project could range from $0 to $509 million which would be debt financed.

• The City’s own capital costs (non-LRT infrastructure) are expected to be in the range of $1.8 million to $2.4 million.

• The operating budget impact on the City for operating the LRT and the higher costs impacts on existing city services ranges from $16.4 million to $ 25.5 million per year.

• The potential residential tax impact (of both the capital and operating costs) ranges from a low of 1.4% or $42 per household to a high of 7.9% or $230 per household. This impact could be phased-in over a number of years.

http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/...4_FCS11072.pdf

[SteelTown]

Infrastructure Ontario – Value for Money Exercise

Quarter 4 2012

Participation in Infrastructure Ontario’s Value for Money (VFM) Assessment to determine the suitability of the B-Line for Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) delivery. The VFM would provide direction as to whether a P3 process or a more traditional delivery model should be considered. Province would fund this study. City staff would be involved.

[MalcolmTucker]

The operating budget impact on the City for operating the LRT and the higher costs impacts on existing city services ranges from $16.4 million to $ 25.5 million per year.

Does the study consider what the savings in bus service would be?

[SteelTown]

"To give both the high and low cost estimates, LRT Operating estimates include the redeployment of 18 buses into the BLAST network and the removal of 18 buses from the network."

[MalcolmTucker]

Ouch - they only think it will save 36 buses? That is pretty sad. If it is true, and not just a result of a very conservative budgeting effort without a real look at the bus network, the business case for building it must be pretty weak.

I think they just haven't really thought about the network that much - they should be able to save a lot more than that even while maintaining existing frequencies on what will become feeder routes.

[CaptainKirk]

Operating Cost estimates (2011-$000s)

BRT - Based on 36 buses 16,100

LRT - Based on 22 vehicles 13,500-5,700 (18 buses off the network) = $7,800

[MalcolmTucker]

That ain't a compelling case. Albeit Waterloo's was pretty much as bad and they have a line coming so who knows.

[SteelTown]

LRT on track, but plans need funds: Report

Hamilton’s contentious bid for a light rail transit line has surged ahead of competing projects from other municipalities and is a year away from being ready for implementation, reveals a report going before city councillors Thursday.

The cost to taxpayers could range from $42 to $230 per household for capital and operating costs, according to staff calculations.

Senior bureaucrats are urging councillors to seek funding for more planning work through 2012, noting Metrolinx officials said completing those studies would put the city in a “maximum state of implementation readiness.”

Metrolinx would then be in a position to make a funding recommendation for LRT.

The information yet to be collected includes: whether planned and existing land use will support LRT; is there development potential along the route; would LRT factor in to developers’ decisions to invest in Hamilton; and will there be a positive return on investment for the project.

Financial estimates in the report assume a capital cost of $875 million to $1 billion for a 13-kilometre LRT line running from Eastgate Square to McMaster University, and federal and provincial grants covering 50 to 100 per cent of the cost.

The yearly cost for the operating budget for LRT and impacts on other city services ranges from $16.4 million to $25.5 million. Combined, the capital and operating hit will mean a property tax increase between 1.4 per cent if the federal and provincial governments pay for construction and 7.9 per cent if the city pays half the cost on a $1-billion project.

Staff caution that if the city receives partial construction funding, it will impact Hamilton’s AA credit rating and reduce flexibility for funding other capital needs. The city’s debt is forecasted to peak at about $1.1 billion by 2019, without LRT factored in.

The year of planning still to go will cost $950,000. Senior city staff are recommending that council approve the remainder of the planning work and ask Metrolinx to pay for it. Any shortfall should be paid out of the city’s $14.2-million Quick Wins reserves, which is funded by Metrolinx.

By the end of this year, it’s estimated that the city will have contributed $5.3 million in studies and staff time on the LRT project. That’s in addition to $3 million provided by the provincethat covers planning work to be finished this year.

“Metrolinx has acknowledged the extraordinary amount of work completed in Hamilton in a compressed time frame … placing Hamilton two years ahead of rapid transit projects in other municipalities, including Mississauga (Hurontario Line),” the city staff report reads.

City staff is also asking council to beef up HSR bus service along the B-Line to get ready for LRT, including: dedicated transit lanes and signal priority; buses running every five minutes; replacing 40-feet conventional buses with 60-foot articulated vehicles; “disentanglement” of bus routes operating in the B-Line corridor to make it the dominant route; and technological enhancements, such as electronic “real-time” signage.

http://www.thespec.com/news/business...d-funds-report

[SteelTown]

Waiting for the money train

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...he-money-train

Hamilton will finish its homework on light rail transit while waiting for a $1-billion provincial money train to pull into town.

City councillors committed more cash Thursday to the study of a 13-kilometre LRT line from McMaster University to the Eastgate Square mall — even as staff warned Hamilton can’t afford the project unless the province pays all or most of capital costs, estimated at $875 million to $1 billion.

A senior official with the province’s GTA transit agency suggested there might be a lucrative light at the end of Hamilton’s LRT tunnel.

The “current Metrolinx funding assumption model” for Hamilton’s LRT project is 100 per cent capital funding from the province, John Howe, vice-president of investment strategy and project evaluation, told Thursday’s general issues committee meeting.

Howe cautioned that there is “no bank account waiting” with cash in it for Hamilton’s light rail project, but added Metrolinx is “quite bullish” on the city’s plan.

He urged the city to finish the studies needed for the transit agency to make an “ask” of the province.

“You’re so close to the finish line,” he said.

The committee approved another 12 months and $950,000 of staff work, paid for by Metrolinx or a provincially funded reserve, to complete reports on outstanding LRT issues such as cost, land use and potential B-line development needed to reach a “maximum state of implementation readiness.”

The motion approved Thursday also calls on Metrolinx to pay for extra HSR buses in the interim and “reaffirms” council’s commitment to improved public transit, including LRT.

The approved recommendations should not be seen as a promise to implement LRT, stressed city finance director Rob Rossini.

“We don’t have enough information to make a billion-dollar decision yet,” he said, urging councillors to “stay in the game, do your due diligence and wait for a senior government funding announcement.”

The staff recommendation was approved unanimously, but Mayor Bob Bratina was out of the room and Councillor Brad Clark was away at a medical appointment.

[LikeHamilton]

From Metrolinx today.

Metrolinx is planning mobility hubs all over the GTHA. Are you on this map?

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/projects...s/MapsMHsm.jpg

[SteelTown]

Mohawk/James? Shouldn't it be Fennell/West 5th?

[markbarbera]

Well, for starters Mohawk and Upper James is the intersection where two planned rapid transit lines will eventually intersect, so that in itself makes it a more logical location for a mobility hub. Also, if you look at Metrolinx guidelines for mobility hubs, Mohawk and Upper James fits all objectives listed, while W5 and Fennell falls slightly short, particularly on objectives 5 and 9.

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/projects...uidelines.aspx

[thistleclub]

"I just want to say that what we will do is we will continue to invest billions of dollars building transit in Toronto. We are going to continue to complete the air-rail link from Pearson to Union Station. We are going to invest in the Eglinton-Scarborough cross-town line. That is under way right now. And we are going to complete the extension of the Spadina expressway up into York region by 2015. The investments in transit in Toronto are unprecedented. More funding, more capital dollars have gone into Toronto to build transit now than for a generation." - Kathleen Wynne, Nov 28, 2011

[thistleclub]

Staff caution that if the city receives partial construction funding, it will impact Hamilton’s AA credit rating and reduce flexibility for funding other capital needs. The city’s debt is forecasted to peak at about $1.1 billion by 2019, without LRT factored in.

- Hamilton Spectator, Oct 13, 2011

...the government has just dialed down annual budget increases to 1 per cent overall, but the number is deceptive. The good news is that health gets an exemption to grow by 3 per cent, and education by 1 per cent; the bad news is that, combined, they make up 70 per cent of the budget — which means all other departments must take a big hit for the team.

“You’re talking about real cuts of upwards of 33 per cent in some ministries,” Duncan told me. “You’re right — some of them are going to be enormously controversial, politically.”

- Toronto Star, November 16, 2011

[SteelTown]

Citizens must champion LRT, mayor will not

http://www.thespec.com/news/business...mayor-will-not

Mayor Bob Bratina will not champion LRT, he told The Spectator Wednesday, but a champion is just what Hamilton will need, a Metrolinx executive told a business meeting one day earlier.

“In the case of LRT, we need to let the chips fall where they may … and see what the best outcome and best use of the money is, as opposed to the kind of champion that some seem to want to have,” Bratina told the paper’s editorial board.

“If somebody wants to stand up and be the champion, please go ahead. I’m going to be the champion of careful use of taxpayers’ money.”

Bratina said he disagrees with the idea that LRT will only happen if the city shows it is behind it.

But John Howe, vice-president of investment strategy and project evaluation for Metrolinx, says cities definitely need to champion their projects.

“LRT will be very difficult if we don’t have a strong partner alongside it,” Howe told a meeting of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce’s transportation committee.

Howe said LRT has been proven a “real winner” in Hamilton through Metrolinx evaluations.

“We know LRT is a strong performer. It generates more benefits than costs. It’s a catalyst to economic expansion and higher quality of life.”

But he stressed there are many worthy projects vying for funding and there is a large gap between what Metrolinx believes are necessary regional transit expansions and what the province has committed to pay for.

“The task of keeping political leadership focused is not Metrolinx’s responsibility, it’s the responsibility of citizens here,” said Howe, who encouraged the chamber to continue to advocate for LRT with city leaders and the public.

The chamber, which supports the project, is responding by setting up an LRT task force that represents all divisions and committees of the organization.

“We think LRT impacts all areas, so the task force will look at human resources, energy and the environment, innovation and technology, business development, young professionals and entrepreneurs, government affairs and transportation,” said chamber CEO David Adames.

“We want to help with the economic development and return on investment sides of the argument for LRT so that as the city does its planning work, we can offer good input.”

Bratina said he will rely on city staff for direction on LRT.

“I’m not going to put emotion into a decision, an expensive decision. I’m going to let the facts carry that decision.”

He added that it would be 2018 or 2020 before any tracks are laid in Hamilton.

Two major decisions are needed for Hamilton’s LRT project, says Howe.

The city has yet to determine a location for a maintenance and storage facility for the trains and needs to work out how to bring the line alongside or into McMaster campus.

But the 30 per cent planning, design and engineering work that is considered the standard to make cost projections and implementation decisions is almost complete. Howe says city staff completed the work in record time.

[msakalau]

How can you be a champion of anything, if you do nothing?

Lame.