Statement by Vladimir Smiljanic - Hamilton Light Rail Initiative

The City's LRT plan has $3.4 billion in federal & provincial funding. Show your support for the plan.

Statement by Vladimir Smiljanic

I have lived in Hamilton since I was I was 6 years. My parents decided to pick up everything and leave from Europe and come to Canada. They left everything to start over here in Hamilton. Hamilton provided them with jobs and tools to give us the life we have today and for that I am forever grateful. Though I don't live in the city anymore (my parents are still there...my dad works in East Hamilton) I still care what happens to my hometown.

Being a recent graduate from University of Waterloo Planning program I know the unbelievable benefits Light Rail Transit provides a community and a city. The initial investment is tremendous but the future economic gains are exponential. You don't have to leave the continent to see it's success. Just look at a city like Portland, Oregon which has embraced light rail transit and has used it as the main transportation infrastructure in it's city.

I care about Hamilton and want it to prosper. The cities location in this part of the continent gives it enormous potential for economic success. The city needs to start taking hold of these opportunities to give future families the same opportunities my family was lucky to receive.

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I want to start first by saying that I am not a regular transit user. I drive and so the construction of the LRT will inconvenience me. I say this because quite often those who are against the LRT are like me, they'll never use it so why deal with the traffic? However I have children and I want them to have easy access around the city, just like I did growing up in Europe. One of the reasons we bought the house that we did was looking forward to the constructed LRT and how helpful that would be when our kids hit their teens. Hamilton has spoken, we have said that our transit system isn't adequate as it is, it certainly isn't adequate for our future. For practical purposes alone our city needs this. But our need is even greater than the simple practical day to day operation of this city. We're watching Australia burn right now, we have so little time left to reduce climate change. To wait on other green house gas producers to do something significant before we bother is a moral failing. How can we look our kids in the eye and tell them we just don't care?

- Jennifer Lenoir

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