City: Regional Transportation Plan Open to Light Rail in Hamilton

Public Works staff "will continue to meet with Metrolinx officials to demonstrate that Hamilton is ready to implement light rail transit now."

Published in Raise the Hammer on Tuesday, September 23, 2008.

In response to Metrolinx releasing its Draft Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) this morning, the City of Hamilton's Public Works Department has issued a press release confirming the details of the RTP and asserting that staff "will continue to meet with Metrolinx officials to demonstrate that Hamilton is ready to implement light rail transit now", in the words of Jill Stephen, Manager, Strategic Planning.

The RTP calls for two rapid transit lines in Hamilton to be built in the first fifteen years, with the east-west B-Line identified among the top 16 "easy implementation" priority items. The north-south A-Line is also identified as part of the fifteen year plan, with a third line running east-west on Mohawk Rd from Ancaster to Main St. E. identified for the twenty-five year plan.

The RTP does not specify whether the lines will be bus rapid transit (BRT) or light rail transit (LRT), and Metrolinx Chairman Rob McIsaac answered questions about this by pointing out that the RTP is still in draft form and will be refined through public consultation and analysis with a final plan released in November.