Statement by Shawn Bines

I commute from downtown to Arvin/Fruitland and back daily for work all in all I spend over 3hrs on the bus daily that's THREE HOURS DAILY! As a regular HSR rider we desperately need higher order transit and obviously a subway system is not in the cards so LRT is the next best thing.

We need high capacity, more accessible transit for the disabled, environmentally friendly and faster more frequent transit. LRT in it's own dedicated lanes will make a world of a difference for my commute and countless others. Yes I will still need to transfer at Eastgate Mall to the 55a bus to get to Arvin Ave but the time savings from the LRT stretch not to mention the ride in quiet comfort... will make a world of difference for me!

Our busses are falling apart, have you ever tried riding the B-Line from one end of the city to the other? It's brutal on the back & brain. The constant bumps from the huge potholes to the rattling bus parts, loud engine noise and the terrible exhaust fumes we're constantly breathing in, it's just not a pleasant or healthy experience.

The LRT will also fix our infrastructure all along the route and the main arterial roads which is desperately needed and it will be a MASSIVE catalyst for a building boom the likes this city has never seen before all along the entire route! More people, more businesses, more jobs, more housing, a cleaner & quieter lower Hamilton with those old busses taken off the road and a huge new tax base that benefits ALL of Hamilton! How can anyone say no to that???

PLEASE I BEG OF YOU ALL, move our city forward, don't go down in the history books as the city council that blew our best chance at greatness! A BRT works on the mountain but it does not work in the lower city. Lets get LRT built and then focus on BRT for the rest of the city as Phase 2.

Last thing... if you turn this down you signal to the province, to the country & to the world Hamilton is broken, dysfunctional, stagnant and not interested in moving our city forward!

If you read this all, I thank you for your time.

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