All Statements of Support
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Viv Saunders says,
Just back from a trip to Colombia.
What Medellin has accomplished and are still improving on with their cable system (LRT) and cable cars (gondolas) in just 14 years is something everyone should experience.
More importantly , gaining an appreciation of WHY investments were made and the subsequent positive impacts to ALL citizens (incl future generations) is needed by Decision-Makers.
Listening, witnessing and appreciating the impact a system like this has had on the Quality of Life of citizens, has convinced me we need to get back on track in Hamilton.
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Rahim Malekzai says,
Make LRT happen.
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Frank Decurtis says,
HAMILTON WANTS LRT
Hamilton needs it .....Please do the right thing for our city.....
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Rachel West says,
An LRT is extremely important for a city of Hamilton's size. Buses simply aren't enough. Investing in it will secure future growth.
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ANDREW PETRUCCELLI says,
After the continued investigation, it has become increasingly clear that the LRT is the best option for Hamilton's future. I am writing this message to show support for the project in hopes that the task force will make the right decision. Hamilton is a great city, we need this infrastructure and transportation investment in order to continue to move in the right direction. Thank you.
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Elizabeth Avetissian says,
The LRT is vital to the continued growth of Hamilton.
The provincial government knows this but continues to trash Hamilton.
Cancelling the basic income project, identifying Hamilton for the US company for profit welfare pilot.
Perception clearly indicates Hamilton is being victimized for being the NDP leaders home base.
One day Hamilton which for years had been eat marked for LRT dollars is funded. Dec 16 money is cancelled. Dec 17 Mississauga which is a PC town receives unplanned dollars for a subway extension.
Not fair optics!
Do the right thing and keep your commitment to the economic development of Hamilton! -
Guy Bradford says,
Hello,
I am a former resident of Hamilton, with family and friends that still live and work in the city. Most likely, I will end up in Hamilton again someday.
As such, I kindly ask that you please choose the LRT for Hamilton. So much money, time, and effort has gone into creating this project. It would revitalize a significant portion of Hamilton, and help the city grow by leaps and bounds.
I ask that you give our city a shot. I ask that you keep your promises. I ask that you do the right thing.
Build the LRT.
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Theresa McCuaig says,
Dear Premier Ford and Minister Mulroney:
Now that the accounting glitch regarding Hamilton's LRT has been resolved, please reinstate this important transit project. Homes and businesses have already been expropriated and shuttered along the authorized route. If left untenanted, these vacant buildings will become a mecca for drug dealers and slide into decay. We saw this happen from the 1980's through 2010 in our downtown core and along Barton St. E., so we know what to expect if transit development is left unattended again. Our property values will plummet. Neighbourhoods along the route will become unsafe eye-sores again. Residents who looked forward to taking public transit will turn back to polluting cars. Business owners will think twice about moving to Hamilton. You have the power to reverse this decline and potentially gain a lot of votes in a traditionally NDP area just by doing the right thing. We know you will make the best business decision and move forward with the long-awaited plan to modernize Hamilton's transit.
Thank you very much for reconsidering your position. Wise politicians can pivot when necessary. LRT is very necessary for the common good, in the style of Bill Davis.
Sincerely,
Theresa McCuaig & Family -
Jeffrey Taylor says,
Get it done, make us a world class city!
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Warren KOROL says,
Choose LRT. Stop the merry go round and put a shovel in the ground.
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Hugh MacLeod says,
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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Sean St Cyr says,
Please follow through with the original plan to build the LRT it would provide so many benefits to Hamilton.
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Robin Parsons says,
Last year, Premier Ford said, "I support building the Hamilton LRT because the people of this great city deserve a working transit system. This is an investment that will create jobs, countless new jobs and stimulate economic development." After the last municipal election, Premier Ford said, "When people democratically elect someone, if [Mayor Eisenberger] wants an LRT, he's gonna get an LRT...that's democracy."
More recently, the federal government has offered to cover the funding gap for Hamilton LRT, which was the only reason provincial Minister Mulroney cited for cancelling the project in the first place.
Hamilton Transportation Task Force: make LRT your top recommendation and offer solutions to make the project feasible for the provincial government.
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Michael Root says,
To mitigate the impression that the cancellation of provincial funding for the Hamilton LRT was a matter of political revenge for overwhelming support in Hamilton for NDP candidates in the last provincial election, the current provincial government ought to act in accord with the evidence in support of LRT development in Hamilton ultimately to provide a transportation link between Stoney Creek and Dundas.
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Darren Widenmaier says,
Please move forward with LRT for the plethora of well-known and well-documented reasons. It is shocking that further discussion is still deemed necessary after this many years, and with such a strong case.
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Andrew Durman says,
Push ahead with the LRT. The infrastructure investments with the construction is greatly needed
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Wayne Baker says,
If other cities in Ontario, such as Ottawa, Mississauga and Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge can have light rail transit service for their residents, Hamilton should have such service for its people.
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Steve Konkle says,
Hamilton residents want the LRT rail. Please dont waste all our time and money we have already spent on this project. Make the hamilton LRT happen!
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Andrew McPhail says,
Hamilton needs LRT and I support it!
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Matthew Dugdale says,
The LRT project has demonstrated its self over and over again that it is the best bang for the buck project for this city.
The population of this city has been growing at a consistent rate and new development will benefit from a light rail system connecting the busiest parts of hamilton.
I’m a grown man now with a baby on the way, but since I was a kid the legacy of this city and this province has been talk talk talk and never build anything.
I remember the discussions of this project while i was a child and now my kid still won’t be able to ride it.
We have become a city of dreamers with no action, meanwhile we buy up properties along king st, displace people from
Their homes and then cancel a project making all of this worthless.I truly this city is at a turning point, if we continue our path of broken promises, cancelled projects and inability to build infrastructure, then I believe people will see hamilton as a bad investment.
Please do the right thing and fight for this project
The people of hamilton want it
The city needs it
No more waiting; no more talking, assessments are done, business studies are done
It’s time to get shovels in the ground.
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Shane Percy says,
Please get Hamilton back on track and approve the LRT. The cancellation is based on incorrect math. We deserve better than mistreatment by this failure prone Ford government
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Kimberley Eng says,
The LRT is the best solution, and always has been, to promote clean transportation and traffic efficiency while supporting business development. We are fast growing city that requires a LRT.
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Joanne Edmiston says,
We have already spent a lot of money on this project for it not to move forward. Land has already been expropriated and the economic viability has already been determined as significant.
Let’s get on with it and start construction! -
Andrew Pettit says,
Dear Task-Force,
Your affirmation of the democratically made decisions of our community - by putting forward LRT as the task-force recommendation - is crucial on so many levels.
LRT is the best choice for transit, economic development and environmental impact. It's been voted on by council, won in a defacto referendum last municipal election and is our best foot forward to be the city we'll need to be for the future. Not to mention the critical under-road infrastructure upgrades that are included in the project.
Please: Do the right and best thing for our great city - keep our LRT project moving forward.
Sincerely,
Andrew
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Michael Ayotte says,
We have fought over this long enough. It is the only project that will get people moving and is ready to go. On top of that, the city needs the infrastructure repairs that go along with the LRT. Let’s do this already.
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Jana Kumar says,
We need the LRT Hamilton to be resumed. People’s taxes have already been spent on this initiative which we like to keep moving on.
Please Listen to the people of Hamilton prior decisions.
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Barry Diacon says,
My wife and I were recently in Budapest and Prague. Both of these cities have extensive LRT lines (There they call them trams).
Prague has a population of 1.319 million with 25 tram lines and 882 vehicles. The system had 373.434 million passengers in 2018. There are few cars on the streets because it is faster to get around by tram or subway (There are also 3 subway lines).
Budapest has a population of 1.764 million with 36 tram lines and 612 vehicles. The system had 393.4 million passengers in 2011. There are also 4 subway lines.
Hamilton has a population of 536,917. As the population grows the traffic congestion can only be combated by implementing mass transit. Buses get caught in the grid lock. The dedicated tracks of LRT ensure the LRT cars to keep moving their passengers on to their destinations. The tracks are more durable than pavement. The number of drivers needed are less than with buses.
Many cities in Europe and in the US have proven the advantage of LRT/Trams a long time ago. Our neighbouring municipality of KW is just now reaping the benefits. Hamilton should NOT be left behind.Barry Diacon
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Glen Hodges says,
Let's not waste the money already sunk into this project. It's the best option for the people of Hamilton, hands down.
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Anthonios Partheniou says,
When I think of Hamilton I think about green space but the majority of people see Hamilton in a different way. Hamilton has a reputation of having bad air quality. See this article from the spectator from over a decade ago: https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/2267564-the-scariest-sight-in-hamilton/
Our city’s reputation needs to change otherwise no one will want to live here. Not only will people leave the city, but we will also lose the opportunity to be seen as a place for tech companies to grow. There are literally no software tech companies in Hamilton. I’m forced to commute an hour to Mississauga every day. I would love to be working in Hamilton but it is just not feasible due to limited growth. I strongly believe the LRT will promote growth for the city.
We have already plenty of bike lanes and we are moving in the right direction in terms of changing the public’s perception of Hamilton but we also need LRT for growth reasons. We need this new method of green transportation in Hamilton to change our reputation. There are way too many cars on the road adding to Hamilton’s bad air quality, making our green space less attractive.
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Chris Osborne says,
As a senior who no longer drives, public transit is very important. The LRT would provide me with reliable rapid transit that is environmentally friendly. The groundwork has been done. Let's get the future of public transit built now. It is long overdue.
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