My list of 36 reasons LRT isn’t right for Hamilton
Electric buses better for transit users, motorists, cyclists, businesses, trees, esthetics …
I believe LRT is wrong for Hamilton, and that electric buses would be a better alternative. In my view, LRT will:
1) cause huge disruption to traffic, businesses, and people’s lives, during construction which would take years;
2) put people out of business during construction since it would be difficult to get to them;
3) put people out of business after construction since LRT with few stops would just go past them and there will be no buses making more frequent stops between the long distance between LRT stops;
4) make it much more difficult for people to get to their destination, particularly disabled and older people since there would only be 14 LRT stops while 34 existing bus stops would be eliminated; 5) take away needed traffic lanes; 6) take away needed parking spaces in front of businesses;
7) eliminate left-hand turns into business parking lots and driveways due to the elevated tracks;
8) make it much more difficult to go in/out of the underground parking garages downtown;
9) prevent driving across King or Main streets at hundreds of cross streets due to the elevated tracks;
10) drop you off at the middle of the street whereas buses drop you off at the sidewalk;
11) at McMaster University, drop you off at the street whereas buses take you right into McMaster and closer to buildings;
12) require unsightly overhead infrastructure along the entire route consisting of hundreds of poles along the entire route, with brackets etc. to support the power lines and cables required to support the power lines;
13) destroy trees in front of McMaster and International Village and flower beds at other locations along the LRT corridor, which would be replaced with railway tracks and unsightly overhead infrastructure;
14) require unsightly continuous barriers that should be provided along the entire route to keep kids and others from crossing the tracks which would be dangerous;
15) require loading platforms at the middle of the streets which would take away space needed for traffic;
16) cause annoyance to cars and bicycles crossing the rails;
17) waste people’s time waiting at intersections for the LRT to arrive and pass;
18) make it more inconvenient when your destination is perpendicular to the ‘straightline’ whereas buses can go anywhere and take you directly to your destination;
19) require a huge amount underground work to relocate and modify existing sewers etc. including thousands of connections to properties along the LRT corridor;
20) make it much more difficult to connect to underground services in the future from the opposite side of the street since services would be moved to one side of the tracks;
21) result in removal of underground services that are in good condition solely for the purpose of LRT:
22) require expropriation of buildings and properties;
23) take up almost the entire street width in the International Village;
24) require new bridge or modify existing bridge over the Red Hill Valley Parkway;
25) require an underpass at the railway tracks on King Street East;
26) require the pedestrian bridge on King at the Art Gallery to be removed or raised to provide more clearance required for LRT;
27) require a “bridge over Hwy. 403” which would actually be a 3,050-foot (1/2mile) long ‘elevated guideway structure’ over existing railway tracks, highways ramps, four lanes of Hwy. 403, private property, and over the sloping part of Main Street to get to level street elevation which would severely affect traffic and access to existing properties and buildings at both ends; 28) require a new garage; 29) require a wider bridge on Longwood Road to get to the garage;
30) result in lost revenue from Hamilton’s most profitable bus route;
31) be noisier than buses due to steel wheels running on steel rails compared to buses with rubber tires;
32) be more dangerous than buses since they take longer to stop and cannot turn if/ when required to avoid collisions;
33) not reduce pollution any more than battery-operated electric buses would do;
34) have higher operating electricity costs since LRT would use electricity during the day at high hydro rates whereas electric buses would be recharged overnight at lower hydro rates;
35) make future development and construction along the LRT corridor much more difficult because of reduced traffic lanes and roadway space available for construction and interference caused by the raised tracks, poles and overhead cables and wires;
36) be extremely costly compared to using electric buses and fixing the roads and underground services including upsizing as required which would avoid and eliminate the huge disruption and problems associated with LRT, not only during construction but after.
Stephen Parazader lives in West Flamborough