All Statements of Support
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Peter Malysewich says,
It would be great if this council showed some foresight rather than pander to the automobile.
The electorate will always misguidedly try to keep to the status quo, and then blame others for not having the foresight to take action.
I am so tired of living in a poorly thought out cost avoidance strategy.
I would be able to live will reasonable tax increases to make this happen.
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Richard Rudy says,
As a small business owner I believe the city and the province needs to invest more heavily in more wholistic transpiration strategies instead Iof sticking with the status quo
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Barry Diacon says,
Premier Wynne et al,
I am very supportive of the building of LRT in Hamilton. Every day I ride an HSR bus to get to my work at McMaster University. I see first hand the high numbers of people travelling along this King Street route. Many is the time that a full bus passes by our stop at Queen St. without stopping because it is already full to overflowing. Meanwhile I see enrolment of students dropping in our downtown schools while new housing continues to be built in the far reaches of the City, creating the pressure to build new sewers, roads, schools, etc. All of this density could be easily accommodated within the lower City of Hamilton. Building the LRT will encourage the development of this density that will increase the overall efficiency of our economy and the financial stability of Hamilton. -
Patricia Reid says,
I strongly support the LRT. We have to make public transit fast, efficient, convenient and cost effective. We can no longer be dependent on the automobile to shuttle one or two people from point A to point B. The automobile is not a sustainable solution for people movement in an urban setting.
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Rita Bailey says,
Most people in Hamilton know that transit is a vital part of our future. But Hamilton's industrial tax base has been decimated in recent years. Our municipal tax rate is much higher than bigger cities like Toronto. We cannot afford to pay for transit through our taxes. Therefore, I ask that the Province agree to fund both the $302 million in local transit investment - of which $200 million will go toward a new bus maintenance and storage facility - and the $811 million in rapid transit investment.
This sounds like a lot, but It is actually in the Province's interest to do this:
It supports the Provincial Places To Grow legislation, which directs new growth to happen within the urban boundary.
It supports the Greenbelt, which protects rural and forest land from development.
It helps build Hamilton's tax base, reducing the need for the Province to send annual transfers to Hamilton to meet its budget.
It alleviates pressure to close urban schools and build new suburban schools, saving the Province money.
It reduces air pollution and encourages more active transportation, which helps the Provincial health care budget.
It alleviates pressure to increase capacity on area highways.
Finally, it fulfils the promise that the Province first made to Hamilton back in 2007.Many people in Hamilton abandoned Andrea Horvath in the last election and stood behind Premier Wynne. Now we ask you to stand behind us.
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david marshall says,
Our city council already faced enormous and worsening challenges in maintaining city assets, so any new growth initiatives need to use provincial or federal infrastructure programs.
Please consider that as an important non-bedroom hub in the GTA we need to transition our living and working communities into more flexible and modern villages, interconnected with public transport to help the non-car residents progress personally. -
Sandra Emery says,
The b-line LRT is a critical investment in the future of this city and province. I am so disappointed that our elected representatives do not have the vision and foresight to get this project moving. Efficient public transit, that people need and want to use, will transform this city. It is the hallmark of every world class city. Growth begets growth!
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Carolyn Kinsley says,
Downtown Hamilton needs light-rail transit. The rest of the city needs improved bus transit. The two should not be pitted against each other. Obviously improved bus transit could be up and running faster than constructing LRT, but LRT needs a firm route and funding commitment ASAP to provide certainty to developers interested in the corridor. Hamilton needs the kind of economic boost demonstrated by LRT in the Region of Waterloo, and certainty is key.
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David Wootton says,
I want the province to respect its commitment to Hamilton for free funding of the LRT within the city. Furthermore, I am upset that Toronto gets free LRT again at my expense!!! Toronto got my money to fund the Pan Am games in their city. The housing developments there to host the Pan Am games could have been built in Hamilton along the west bay area. Frankly, I'm tired of this government's favoring Toronto financially over the rest of the province. It's time for LRT in Hamilton along with a lot of other provincial initiatives!!!
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David Colacci says,
Dear Premier Wynne,
Please support the community building LRT in Hamilton. The provincial government has been on the record in committing to covering the capital costs of this most important project and I would urge you to fulfill this promise.
The prevailing winds on Hamilton City Council are floundering toward a status quo solution to local transit issues. Please do not mistake the urban/rural divide in this city as a diminished appetite for higher order transit. It is only shortsightedness and fear mongering by those opposed.
Please say yes to Hamilton.
Sincerely,
David Colacci
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KELLY TILMA says,
I believe in support of the LRT for investment in the future. The short sightedness of our City Council has amazed me since moving here from the Waterloo Region. Self serving agenda that does not represent the best interest of the community.
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John Thompson says,
March 12, 2015
I strongly urge, as a Hamilton resident and taxpayer, that both the Rapid Ready and 10-year HSR financing plan receive approval.
The LRT will serve a densely-populated commercial and residential corridor, with McMaster University and its karge transit-oriented population at one end, and the Eastgate Square Mall, which could offer high density redevelopment, at the other terminus. Rail transit is cleaner, quieter, smoother and more efficient than bus service, and has been proven to attract new riders who would not travel on buses. The "B" line corridor is currently Hamilton's busiest bus route and would be an ideal location for LRT.
It is also critical that Hamilton's bus system be expanded to better serve existing and future patrons, including attracting new riders.
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Thomas Lorini says,
As the owner of several homes in Hamilton, the implementation of the LRT is CRITICAL to the future of this great city.
This is an amazing opportunity for the leaders of this province to make the RIGHT choice.
Adding the LRT will improve local traffic, add tax dollars and greatly elevate the dynamics of the city.
Listen to what the people want!
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Jeff Taylor says,
Let's get this city moving, ignore the fife-building councillors who only think of where the next vote will come from.....
As the old saying goes "You snooze, you loose", lets get this thing going! -
Ross Ricupero says,
Don't waste another decade waffling on upgrading our transit infrastructure. Hamilton deserves and needs a high-quality LRT system to stitch our city together.
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Michel Dufour says,
The LRT project is a natural progression to a city that is quickly becoming an attractive place to set up house hold for new canadian and immigrant families alike. We don't have to be geniuses to recognize and realize the future needs of our great community. Stop the political arrogance and move this project ahead. Buying million dollars worth of new buses in the wake of the LRT is counter productive and shear incompetence.
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Robyn Sifton says,
I love my city. I love exploring my city. Hamilton is beautiful and has so many different cultural pockets in many different areas around the landscape. By ignoring the lrt project, it not only dissolves the image of Hamilton as a popular and even tourist city, it puts us behind cities that have already transitioned into better transportational services. I've used hsr all my life. Increasing fares for users without justification is kind of sly. If increasing the fare is mandatory, I would love to see where the money is actually going. If we had more drivers, or more frequent buses, improved bus shelters, the list goes on- maybe I would endorse paying more. However, I digress, improving hsr is only a fragment of what should be done for Hamilton. It makes me wonder if things get shut down in Hamilton because of internal interests, or if city councillors just don't want to see Hamilton get ahead.
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Phyllis Alfano says,
Please save the citizens of Hamilton from a short sighted Council. Hamilton needs LRT!!! Please fulfill your commitments to Hamilton and fund our LRT.
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Adriana Harris says,
A solid public transit system is necessary for a large urban community. Please take a moment to hear the citizens of Hamilton and our desire for fast, efficient public transportation in our city. Council has let us down...I only know of ONE councillor who accepted and successfully completed a challenge to ride public transit to work every day for a week (Matt Green).
Enough with the love affair with the car. There is a huge population of us that support alternate transportation - cycling, bus, train (all day GO service also a big deal, don't get me started!) and hopefully LRT.
Please look seriously at this investment into our growing, Ambitious City
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Wayne Elshaw says,
What a boon this would be for Hamilton-reliable transit with ancillary new development. The immediate positive on the downtown would be quickly visible. An LRT would put the entire city on the map. Increased tax revenues from new development would benefit all parts of Hamilton, especially the suburbs who would gain better transit service. Councillors, please think of the big picture.
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Sean Gadoury says,
Hamilton needs to wake up and step into the future! We need to make these investments in transit now!
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Larry Berberick says,
I attended public meetings in 2008 for planning Hamilton's LRT. I fully expected it be built (or close to completion) by now. PLEASE...Look to the future, and start building NOW!!!
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Dan Gismondi says,
Hamilton is a city that desperately needs LRT. For the city to prosper for employment there must be a way for them to get to their employment. Public transportation in Hamilton must be improved immediately. We have talked about this issue long enough. Please build the LRT
now and let's get this city moving. No more waiting! -
Edward Harris says,
I believe that Hamilton is ready to grow beyond the boundaries of roads and cars. Approving the rapid ready transit plan sets Hamilton on the right path to create a sustainable transit system that is not dependant on cars and roads. The reality for Ontario municipalities is that of, road maintenance will far exceed the fututre tax levies due to urban sprawl. The best chance we as citizens have is to focus on densification and decrease maintenance costs of roads. It's time to get cars off roads and get people on to the streets. Hamiltons future is dependant on a sustainable mass transit system LRT. I choose to live in te urban dense core. I choose to use mass transit. I choose to live in Th Cory of Hamilton. I could drive a car. I could move to another city. I could live in suburban communities that reduce our available infrastructure. Help me and many more citizens choose to work towards benefiting the provine and municipalities by choosing urban dense living and access to transit over large space lots and personal vehicles.
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James King says,
Stop faffing about and build the LRT in Hamilton.
As a new family to the city we're counting on it. You can't get anywhere fast on the bus system. It's already crowded during peak hours. We don't own a car. We don't want to own one. Hamilton doesn't need another damn car on the road.
The studies have been done. There is an enormous wealth of evidence to suggest that building an LRT system is a good idea. If you want Hamilton to have reasons to attract new business and growth you need to give them more than just a larger fleet of buses and promises of traffic congestion and slow development.
Detractors only have heresy to offer. Let's stop listening to this bull-crap and get to work. Hamilton needs this LRT system.
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Jane Cudmore says,
This is another example of elected leadership failure in Hamilton.
All the renewal initiatives have been citizen driven; the politicians have been late to the party.
Don't let this happen to our transit.
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Nicholas Kevlahan says,
Dear Premier Wynne,
I urge urge you, almost 8 years after the Liberals originally promised Hamilton two rapid transit lines, to fund Hamilton's B-line LRT and the ten year transit plan that supports it.
These investments fulfill 8 years of Liberal promises to Hamilton, ensure that Hamilton receives its fair share of Metrolinx transit funding and are an effective way of ensuring Hamilton fulfills its economic and social potential over the next decades.
Now is the time to say yes to Hamilton and Hamiltonians!
Yours sincerely,
Nicholas Kevlahan, PhD
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Kim Newcombe says,
Our government should embrace this opportunity to make a lasting positive investment in Hamilton. The LRT is not and cannot be all things to all people.It is, however, an essential step toward a revitalized Hamilton which will benefit everyone.
The LRT requires vision and like the Water front trail... it will be appreciated and valued by those who use it.But its strength is in its ability to change peoples perceptions about what Hamilton is and can be. -
James Arlen says,
Provincial Leaders,
It's been years. Literally 8 years.
The beknighted local leadership in Hamilton is yet again working from the fictional "Letters from Wingfield Farms" Persephone Township playbook and doing their level best to derail or completely ruin the idea of Hamilton being a world-class city and truly regain its rightful place as the engine of Canada's economy.
I wrote about the parochial behaviour of our council in an article for Raise The Hammer all about area-rating transit investment (https://www.raisethehammer.org/article/2473/how_area_rating_transit_taxation_affects_decisions_on_transit) and the latest request ($300 million on top of the $811 million already committed) shows an alarming lack of comprehension about how to build a business case for transit.
With the Rapid Ready plan, Hamilton and Metrolinx have determined the best plan for higher-order transit in the city. Council voted to accept and promote the Rapid Ready plan.
In holding the province to its commitment for funding, as a citizen I ask that the province hold Hamilton to task and require the council's obedience in building the thing they voted for. Hamilton has a long history of voting for one thing and doing another - remember the Stadium, it was a renovation, not a complete rebuild. You don't want to look into any of the details, it would cause unnecessary tears.
I really do believe that the time has come for the Province (through Metrolinx) to take over the HSR (Hamilton Street Railroad) and run it with a sense of professionalism and an attempt to actually get things done. Off and on for more than 20 years, I've been a GO Transit user and while it has had its share of frustrations, it is infinitely better than the way that council, city staff and HSR staff run transit in our city.
Please help solve this problem. Do not leave it up to the children who inhabit our council chamber, they haven't learned the most basic lessons of life - they bully and shove like it is a playground, they are regularly caught in half-truths, conflicts and other foolish behaviour. And they are regularly re-elected by the s time. Build the LRT. Take over HSR and run it properly. Do what you promised. Make them do what they promised.
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John Treen says,
We need improved bus service AND LRT. Please support the Ambitious City.
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