This central Hamilton ward has become a ‘food desert’
FOOD DESERT: The Delta isn’t the only neighbourhood in central or east Hamilton lacking easy-access grocery stores. But Ward 3 only has two dedicated, large supermarkets in total.
THE LACK OF GROCERY stores near the Delta should give Ward 3 voters food for thought ahead of the Oct. 22 election.
Two years ago, the only grocery store near the east city convergence of Main and King streets shut down.
The closure of Giorgio’s No Frills left nearby residents in Crown Point and Delta in a so-called “food desert,” sometimes defined as an impoverished area where a source of healthy food is beyond a reasonable walking distance. (The more recent closure of a nearby 7-Eleven also removed another option from the Code Red neighbourhood.)
The nearest major supermarkets are now both on Barton Street East, between 1.5 and two kilometres away.
“I’m lucky enough to be able to drive (for groceries) now. But not everyone uses a car, whether by choice or necessity,” said Sean Hurley, a Crown Point resident who used to do his grocery shopping on foot. “If that’s your reality, you really do need a walkable grocery store.”
The Delta isn’t the only neighbourhood in central or east Hamilton lacking easy-access grocery stores. But Ward 3 only has two dedicated, large supermarkets in total.
Some of the 13 candidates vying to replace outgoing Coun. Matthew Green have noted the food desert dilemma in their campaign literature. But is there anything the city can do? Hurley thinks so.
“The obvious thing is to get the LRT built,” he said, pointing to the stilluncertain fate of a planned $1-billion light rail line that is supposed to run along King and Main through the neighbourhood. “If we actually get that thing off the ground we’ll have supermarkets lined up (along the route).”
Outside of transit salvation, Crown Point’s community planning team has also hooked up with McMaster University researchers to study the food desert challenge. Hurley, a planning team member, also hopes to find a partner to help with a “market demand” study aimed at luring a grocery store back to the area.
The city’s own economic development staff also pitched the idea of “supermarket development incentives” in the form of forgivable loans as far back as 2012, with the aim of attracting a grocery store to the core.
Other Ward 3 issues voters can ask about ahead of the Oct. 22 vote:
The someday park
The city celebrated the purchase of the former Dominion Glass plant north of the new stadium just ahead of the last election in 2014. The plan was to knock down the iconic smokestack, rebuild the Brian Timmis soccer field lost to stadium construction and create a new park. Four years later, demolition is complete, but environmental studies continue, the park design remains uncertain and a new council will have to find millions of dollars for actual construction.
Tenant displacement
A lack of affordable housing and the displacement of poor residents due to development is a challenge in many wards. But the problem is particularly acute in Ward 3 because so many buildings along King Street are in the way of LRT construction. Dozens of people have already been relocated by project head Metrolinx — and advocates fear countless others will be evicted in the name of development speculation.
Alley fight
Ward 3 has the most “unassumed” alleys in Hamilton — the nearly 400 lanes the city technically owns, but is not legally obligated to maintain to a high standard. City staff would prefer to sell those unloved lanes to off-load future liability pain. But nearby residents often have other ideas. Should the city turn them into bicycle paths, art corridors or miniature neighbourhood parks? Can they be dug up and used for stormwater collection?