All Statements of Support
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Alistair Ingram says,
Very strongly support LRT and the forward-thinking Provincial Gov't that is finally moving on this overdue priority. Trust that this will not be "derailed" by parochial local councillors in Hamilton who seem determined to live in the 1970's.
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Claire Morris says,
I support the LRT. Hamilton needs this, let's be proactive in bringing in an amazing public transit system. Let's not falter and hold off until it's too late. I use transit and I also drive. LRT will be good for the whole city and I'm excited to see it start happening
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Michael Mercier says,
The LRT presents a once in a generation (or two) opportunity to reimagine and rebuild our urban core into a transit-oriented (rather than car-centric), dense (rather than spawling), sustainable (rather than environmentally catastrophic), and community-oriented (rather than individualistic) city. This is an opportunity that this city can not afford to pass up.
The returns of this investment will be enjoyed by everybody; property owners along the route and in adjacent areas will see their property values rise as businesses and residents choose to move there, and tax payers across the city will see the benefits of increased property tax revenues which will allow the city to
invest in improved transit, recreation centers, etc. across the city. Urban densification will come as a result of this project, and that will benefit everybody. A system which removes cars from the road helps keeps people and goods moving, rather than sitting on gridlock.Please stop the political posturing and realize the opportunity we have here to make Hamilton better for everyone; decades of neglect of our urban core can begin to be rectified by making a smart decision here.
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Joachim Brouwer says,
One of my interests in being a local history buff are the Radial Railways that connected areas which are now part of the GTHA.
It is my conviction that comprehensive rail based commuter service will lead to sustainable as well as economically and socially equitable growth in our city. -
Diwakar Sharma says,
Hamilton needs LRT to compete with other growing cities. This an opportunity for Hamilton to show courage and move along with betterment. Just for mere votes and individual benefit counselors should fully support this move.
Better public transportation is required, with lot of new construction our city is in dire need of it. We want our city to shine and be presentable and competitive with GTA and Toronto in particular.
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Duc Thinh Hoang says,
To keep our world green for the next generation, we need LRT. LRT will reduce traffic jams, save money and time loss on the highway. Using LRT is also benefit your health thanks to walking. Wake up people of Hamilton and city councilors!!! LRT is our future! Thank you!
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Nicholas Kevlahan says,
Dear Mayor and Councillors,
This is an exciting time for Hamilton. A year ago the Premier announced the biggest ever investment in our city: $1 billion for our LRT project.
We are now a year into the serious business of final planning for the project, and the preliminary design has been released for public consultation.
It is important to remember that this is the result we have been working for since Council first voted unanimously in 2008 to direct staff to pursue LRT with 100% provincial funding. That initial vote was the first of many supporting LRT with provincial funding. Council has been absolutely steadfast in this goal for the past eight years.
Many thought full provincial funding was asking a lot, but that is exactly what the Province has agreed to!
The City of Hamilton has got what it asked for and nothing fundamental about the huge benefits of LRT (as analyzed in City, Metrolinx and McMaster reports) or the challenges and difficulties of the construction phased has changed.
This $1 billion of Provincial money is from a Metrolinx fund specifically designated for large public transit projects. Make no mistake: if we refuse this investment (one year after it was announced!) Hamilton taxpayers will end up funding projects elsewhere.
Don't forget that much of the $1 billion will go into high-paying construction and design jobs for Hamiltonians that will last for years. Hamilton could definitely use this economic boost and Hamiltonians need those jobs.
Hamilton would look foolish and indecisive for not taking yes for an answer.
Next week, help make Hamilton the ambitious city again and say yes (again) to a $1 billion investment in a better future.
Yours sincerely,
Nicholas Kevlahan
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David Hosten says,
To whom it may concern,
Please let Hamilton get LRT. We have The Linc which serves the mountain, but benefits all Hamiltonians. The lower city needs to get LRT to stay ahead of population growth and traffic congestion. This will also benefit all Hamiltonians. LRT works. It is not free, but getting the capital funding taken care of by other levels of government is a boon we can not ignore.
Say YES! to LRT.
Thank you. -
Courtney Matic says,
This is a vital opportunity for our city and one that we will never recover from if we let is pass by. The LRT is vital for the City of Hamilton. As Hamilton continues to grow we will need to move people from place to place in a clean efficient mode of transportation. The LRT is the modern way of transportation. Our family member who live in the Suburbs are all in full support of this project. Hamilton city politicians should be doing what is best for the whole community.Take advantage of this project which will transform Hamilton!
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Christopher Strachan says,
i'm all for LRT but not with the current routing plan for the B-Line. Your having both directions go down one way part of king street then block off traffic at wellington through the two lane bottleneck to John street, like wtf? That will cause more confusion to drivers. With the way our roads are from downtown to the delta i say put eastbound on main street, north side of main is fine, that way traffic can still go through the bottleneck part of king and share a lane with the westbound LRV and no need to reroute car/truck traffic and get better coverage area. So people south of main would have to take eastbound to delta to get the eastbound. Have to do that anyways with the HSR. Thats my take on the situation, feel free to contact me if any of you councilors like to chat more about it.
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Dan Gismondi says,
The LRT is vital for the City of Hamilton. As Hamilton continues to grow we will need to move people from place to place in a clean efficient mode of transportation. The LRT is the modern way of transportation. Our family live in the Suburbs and we are all in full support of this project. Hamilton city politicians should be doing what is best for the whole community. This is not the time for Concillors to be trying to seek the limelight and 15 minutes of fame by looking for headlines to distract from this history making project which will transform Hamilton.
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Aaron Gagnon says,
We are mindblown in the motion that Sam Merulla presents. Just as we start to gain confidence in our council....then a move like this. Hamilton has long awaited this type of investment from our province and to shut it down is ridiculous.
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David Fernandes says,
Let's do the math here:
$1b in funding. Thousands of Jobs. Years of work for those workers. Decades of economic development. Increased property prices, increased property taxes, more revenue for the city. Better transit that can grow with the future needs of the city.
Choose wisely.
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Doug Scott says,
City council, how many times do you have to vote on someone giving our city 1 billion dollars?
Do you really want this money going to another municipality?
Let's all be grown-ups and look at the big picture for a change. -
Laura Parker says,
I desperately want to live in a liveable city. One which recognizes the need to facilitate alternative modes of transportation. Hamilton is very far from this ideal, but with a huge investment in a modern light rail transit system we will have a great start. Hamilton needs a downtown LRT to move people around safely and efficiently, to make the city attractive to investors and residents and as a starting point for future public transportation investments. This is an opportunity we cannot afford to to miss.
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Tom Belshaw says,
Hamilton used to be called the "Ambitious City". As far as a few city politicians are concerned it may be called now "THE UNAMBITIOUS CITY".....Don't smack the "Gift Horse" in the mouth.I hope after hearing from the LRT committee that all city hall people will be on board.It took 50 years to build the Linc & the Red Hill Creek highways.Let's not do the same with the LRT....The HSR hopefully will live up to that name once again.....HAMILTON STREET RAILWAY....................TOM
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Allison Branston says,
Would you please do the right thing for once?!
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Jeremy Freiburger says,
Modernized rapid transit is a must for a growing city. As our downtown population increases, student enrollment grows in our Colleges and Univerisites, and our neighbourhood assets develop across the city we'll need a high density rapid transit spin to provide easy access across the city that is safe and affordable. The research and planning has been done, and the investment is at the table from the Province.
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Doug Maunder says,
I really think that this council should really do the right thing and pass the motion of taking the money that the government is giving to them for the LRT.and dont do what they did for the stadium that they almost screwed up on .as well this should not have anything to do about what certain members on counsal what for them self saying that the lrt will not be good for the city .what are they just that interest in making city proud.the city is always saying we have to build up attract people to the down town core so why not get the LRT .and stop thinking about your selfs for once .thank you
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Amina Daimee says,
My husband and I are from Toronto and have been looking to buy in Hamilton for 2 reasons:
1. It's the next urban Centre outside of Toronto, which we cannot afford to purchase in.
2. With all the infrastructure announcements and plans for LRT, it made Hamilton seem like it would be very enjoyable to live in and to get around the city. What we don't like about the suburbs is getting around the city by bus, which can take forever.
We have been battling multiple offer situations and have gone through multiple situations of heartache and frustration. However we still remained positive that buying a home near the future LRT (King/Main) would make all this work worth it. Why else do you think many other outside buyers are scrambling to get into Hamilton?
If city council decides against LRT, many people, including ourselves, will be very upset as this is one of the main reasons we all are investing in Hamilton now all of a sudden. It isn't because we all just woke up one day and decided "hey Hamilton is awesome, let's move there!" It was "Hey the changes in Hamilton sounds like this will be a cool place to live in with easy transit and mobility. You take that away and people outside of Hamilton will see no reason to invest in this city.
City council, please reconsider your decision and support the LRT. Hamiltonians and new/future Hamiltonians are relying on it.
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Andrea Costantini says,
It is amazingly backward that we're even debating the issue of accepting a billion dollars in infrastructure funding for LRT. Hamilton needs to shift toward more sustainable, intensified development - it can't afford not to. We have to stop dumping our money in car-focused infrastructure that is too expensive to maintain and forces us to lay more and more of the burden on too few taxpayers. We have to move toward planning and strategy that leads to better returns on our tax dollar investments and divides the burden among more people and attracts the companies of the 21st century. This should be a no brainer! Show some courage and foresight and stop thinking about appeasing the 10-15% of the electorate that gets you elected.
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Hubert Shen says,
If the newer generation, professionals,attract more professional into the city, need to have a reason to stay in Hamilton and enjoy the city without eventually consider leaving. LRT is a important element, it also is a powerful check mark for invesrors of all kinds to invest in Hamilton. Just go investigate all the LRT that had been built across Canada and the benefits of growing a better city. LRT is a long term gain with perspective. It is a MUST if city of Hamilton need to have positive grow.
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Craig Hermanson says,
Transit investment is critical to attracting young workers and employers to Hamilton.
Improved GO service was one factor which brought us to Hamilton 20 years ago as a young couple. Soon our life and work were in Hamilton instead of commuting.
If we want to attract young people today -- with their energy, enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirt -- then we must get moving on LRT. Millennials will settle in cities that have transit infrastructure and employers will move with them. Once they they settle in a community, they're locked in for 20 years.
Yes, there will be pain during construction. Visionary people understand short-term pain for long-term gain.
Investments happening in downtown Hamilton are directly related to LRT. LRT in Kitchener-Waterloo is an important factor in the expansion of knowledge companies like Google and Shopify there.
We must invest in LRT or Hamilton will lose a generation of talented young workers to other more visionary cities. Many of their parents will follow.
Enough of the games. Move our city forward now.
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Jeff Teal says,
If Hamilton is ever going to become a world class city,it must have a world class transit system and this must include the LRT.
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Dave Minard says,
Hamiltonians expect City Council to be leaders and support this fully-funded plan. I find it disgusting that City Council would be willing to play games with the city's future.
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John Wilbur says,
It's hard to believe that Hamilton City Council is so screwed up that it is still jeopardizing our LRT!
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Michael Johnston says,
Why is my city council playing more games with what is now a billion dollar investment in our city ?
Stop wasting everyones time, yet again, on something that has been voted on multiple times in the past, and start doing what is actually needed, making the individual compromises necessary to implement LRT successfully.
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Anne Chaffee says,
If not now, when ... ? If not us, who ... ? I continue to strongly support Hamilton's LRT plan - and strongly urge council members to reaffirm their support for LRT on May 18. LRT is a game-changer for the city, the region and the planet.
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Christopher Godwaldt says,
Good morning,
As a resident downtown, and a business owner on King Street East, I support and desire LRT for Hamilton.
The latest motion and deferral have me worried the Hamilton City Council is more interested in playing games with the future of this city, then in showing integrity with past voted and supporting a plan that will bring jobs and economic development to a tired and worn-out city core. LRT is a positive and with the province and MetroLinx on board and footing the 1 billion dollar price tag, I'm confused by actions as of late, especially as city council requested the province fund it, and the province has said they will. At least three times Hamilton City Council has already had this vote and the vote passed.
Please show you have the care and concern for the entire city at heart...not individuals or individual business, not single wards but all of us, and truthfully, more importantly, the future us, as a a community and as a collective whole.
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Elizabeth Seidl says,
Dear Mayor and City of Hamilton Councillors: LRT is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to move Hamilton forward and will better the city, by encouraging it to grow up rather than out. It would be devastatingly unwise to turn this opportunity away.
Vote for this statement
