Council backs Main’s two-way conversion
‘More people will die,’ warns Coun. Maureen Wilson in calling for immediate safety measures for artery
Council has backed the two-way conversion of Main Street with the hope of improving safety after a tragic string of pedestrian deaths in Hamilton.
City politicians have also told transportation staff to flag immediate measures to make the busy fivelane artery and its one-way twin, King Street, safer.
Year after year, staff reports have shown Main and King — the latter of which is set to become bidirectional with the construction of the future LRT line — have the worst stretches in the city for fatalities and serious injuries.
“And while we wait, more people will die and be injured,” Coun.
Maureen Wilson said Wednesday. “Or do we take action now to be proactive to address the legitimate needs and safety of citizens in this community?”
In a 12-2 vote, council opted to approve Main’s two-way conversion and direct staff to return with an implementation plan early next year.
The decision comes amid growing public outrage over 10 deaths, nine of whom were pedestrians, so far this year.
The latest was last Thursday, when Sherri D’Amour, a 49-year-old DARTS driver, was struck after a car hopped the curb on Main Street West near Locke Street.
Coun. Nrinder Nann, who seconded Wilson’s motion, recalled D’Amour and others who have died or suffered serious injuries in the recent rash of tragedies.
“We can never bring back the lives that have been lost and we can never restore the health of those who have been critically injured,” Nann said.
But council can “take a clear, an unequivocal stand ... that we will no longer accept the status quo,” she added.
As part of the groundwork ahead, staff are to seek public feedback on a “complete streets” revamp that ensures safety for all road users. They’re also to report back on costs, construction and timing.
Another task will be consulting with provincial transit agency Metrolinx and the Ministry of Transportation on what the conversion could mean for LRT and Highway 403 interchanges. Staff are also asked to “reassess all remaining oneway streets” in Hamilton.
In shorter order, staff can proceed with other changes to help improve safety, transportation operations director Edward Soldo said.
But some tweaks, including eliminating parking restrictions and barring right turns on red lights, will need council-approved bylaw amendments, he noted.
The two-waying of Main has been a prickly issue for years with political pressure to keep traffic flowing quickly through the crosstown spine’s synchronized lights.
During Wednesday’s meeting — which overlapped with a rally outside city hall urging immediate safety measures — councillors Maria Pearson and Lloyd Ferguson argued it was premature to approve a conversion without more information from staff first.
Ferguson called it “unacceptable” that 10 people had died this year but added he
hadn’t heard “any evidence” that twowaying Main would be a “silver bullet.”
Moreover, many drivers — “who pay a lot of taxes because they go to work every day” — take Main to commute to and from work, including residents in his Ancaster ward, he said.
“We’re going to get a lot of criticism from them because it’s going to inconvenience them.”
John and James streets were twowayed about 20 years ago, Coun. Tom Jackson noted, recalling how he lost some votes over those conversions over concerns about congestion.
“But overall, it’s been, in my humble opinion, a tremendous success,” the east Mountain councillor said in support of the Main Street conversion and other safety measures.
“The timing is right, and it was eventually going to happen. It was just a matter of when and we’re accelerating it with this motion.”
Coun. Sam Merulla said congestion in any major city’s core “is a good sign” because it forces drivers to slow down “to save lives.”
In 2018, the city examined the feasibility of two-waying stretches of Main as part of a master transportation plan update. That staff report noted the conversion was possible between Wellington Street and the Delta, the site of a recent triple-pedestrian fatal in March.
However, two-waying on Main farther west was “not realistic for the foreseeable future” due to Highway 403 ramps designed to unload traffic onto the oneway artery.
Nonetheless, Metrolinx suggested in 2010 that two-way traffic on Main would facilitate a light rail line on King Street.
On Wednesday, council also supported Merulla’s call to reiterate a 2013 request to the province to grant pedestrians the right-of-way through changes to the Highway Traffic Act.
In Europe and other Canadian provinces, motorists are expected to stop for crossing pedestrians no matter where they are, said the east-end councillor, who noted he was once “mocked” as “Stop Sign Sam” for installing them in his ward.
As the legislation stands in Ontario, pedestrians are “looked upon as second-class citizens,” Merulla said.