Who is LRT really serving?

RE: LRT AND ELECTION

Given the issue of the increasing gap between the upper and lower income in Hamilton and discontent with aggressive gentrification we need to consider who LRT will impact. The city is facing rising rents resulting in angered tenants. Low income residents are forced to live with bed bugs with nowhere else to go. Yet, expensive condos are dominating the downtown core. Poorly maintained buildings and condos beyond the common downtown resident’s budget is are formula for displacement and social marginalization.

It is this very issue that is halting the progress of livable low income housing units and harm reduction services such as a safe injection site. The implementation of the LRT would only stoke the “not in my backyard” discourse currently circulating.

The LRT is not meant for low income working class people who rely on public transit. It is meant for the individuals who only just moved here and need to travel Toronto for work. Are we willing to further neglect Hamilton’s residents in an attempt to better outsource labour to Toronto? History has shown, as demonstrated with GO transit, that the implementation of such a transit service leads to further stratification of wealth.

Short-sighted leadership isn’t the issue, concern for the well being of the most structurally vulnerable is. Where is the evidence that the LRT will improve the lives of the people most in need?

Stephanie Arlt, Hamilton