Statement by Hugh MacLeod

Hamilton resident for >25 years. Business owner at King and Dundurn for >20 years. Much of our clientele is young and uses transit. The young folks were devastated by the abrupt cancelation of this transit project.

As a business we planned our growth around the expected nearby LRT station. This included investment in property and development.

The project was publicly supported by hundreds of businesses in lower Hamilton. The project was democratically supported with dozens of votes and two mayoral races. The project was fully funded for 30 years by the treasury. The project was underway with 100s of millions of dollars already spent.

If one cannot plan a business around a mega project with this kind of support what can one plan for? What is the point in investing in a city that where radical activists can kill off something supported and under construction?

I travel in circles where business discussions around property, investment, and innovation abound. From Vancouver to Kitchener these folks are laughing at Hamilton. More importantly...

"If a democratically supported, fully funded, under construction billion dollar project can be skewered by radical anti-transit activists nothing is safe. Why would anyone invest in Hamilton?"

As a business person I am weighing my options for growth and success. This transit debacle has shattered any sense of trust for planning in this city.

I have lived through the successes of fixed transit lines in Vancouver and Kitchener. I heartily recommend that the misstep of killing off Hamilton's LRT be corrected. You won't grow if you can't plan.

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