Why it makes sense to vote for transit investment
Drivers in Hamilton ought to support provincial and municipal candidates advocating for investing in public transit. That may sound counterintuitive, but it’s really in the best interests of everyone who wants to both get around and, eventually, to park.
People travel by a variety of means depending on destination and circumstance. We can knock down a lot of walls if we view ourselves as road users rather than identify by mode of transportation. As road users, we share a common objective: to get from A to B as efficiently as possible and within our means. We may also share any number of secondary goals such as comfort, safety, environment, and parking.
At a public meeting in April over Pier 8, Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr, in response to a woman who was critical of public transit as an alternative to driving and parking, said, “Parking is the most prevalent issue in the lower city.” Moments later, Chris Phillips, senior adviser for the waterfront redevelopment, added “... there hasn’t been a meeting that I’ve been a part of that hasn’t been bogged down on parking.”
It’s important to appreciate that all of the traffic management plans for West Harbour, Pier 8, and the Downtown Secondary Plan are premised on the City achieving objectives for a modal shift to public transit identified in existing plans. Plans that have set modal shift targets not even close to being met.
Hamilton’s Transportation Master Plan of 2007, set a pitiful target of increasing public transit modal share for single trips from five per cent in 2001 to nine by 2011. Not only was the goal missed, but transit ridership actually declined and, today, is little improved from where it was 17 long years ago.
The primary reason these targets are not met is that city council fails, year-over-year, to prioritize the funds necessary to meet them. When road users do not have transit that is reliable and convenient, they buy a car. They become another single occupant vehicle jockeying for the same space as thousands of other single occupant vehicles. Like all of those other commuters, they will need a place to park.
Those constant complaints about street parking that municipal staff hear about at public meetings, turn into arguments, slashed tires and other types of petty vandalism in our neighbourhoods. This is followed by police intervention, bad feelings, and erosion of the enjoyment of the home. It doesn’t have to be this way.
In a potentially game-changing announcement, The NDP’s Andrea Horwath has promised to meet half the operating costs of Hamilton’s HSR and LRT. The NDP pledge could provide fully-funded HSR at no additional expense to ratepayers. Alternatively, the City could cut fares while expanding the service.
If Hamilton continues to fail to meet modal share objectives for public transit, residents will have to endure the outcome. The downtown secondary plan aims to add between 8,500 and 10,000 people to the downtown. The Pier 8 Development another 3,000. Without fully implementing the agreed to transit strategies, the proposed new housing developments could jam downtown and commuter lanes with in excess of an additional 8,000 vehicles, not accounting for visitors, deliveries, commercial and other activities.
There are tangible benefits to a transit-oriented city. From cleaner air to lower carbon emissions, safer streets, and less stressful commutes. Families with two or more cars may find they can get by with one fewer. Lower transit fares and the ability to eliminate a vehicle could represent significant savings to low-income earners facing increasing rent pressures. For others, the additional money from savings could provide disposable income spurring spending. The many feuds over parking could be brought to a low heat.
By focusing on filling seats rather than the fare box, and with committed representatives at Queen’s Park and city council, HSR could begin to finally shift the modal share in line with objectives long ago established and neglected.
Our choice in June and October is to build a city while helping each other to move forward through the process, or to do nothing and wallow in the self-made stew of gridlock and petty disputes. To choose to invest, employ, and build, we must support parties and candidates who recognize that any plan is only as good as the implementation. We already have the plans. Now is the time to implement.
Our part is easy. Vote.