The Good and the Bad about the Higgins LRT report

According to a recent McMaster study on LRT, there are 6 prerequisites for a successful LRT system. The problem? Hamilton only meets 3 of them. The McMaster study is a mouthful: Light Rail, Land Use Change, and Image-Led Planning: A Comparative Review and Critical Assessment of Hamilton, Ontario. The study warns Hamiltonians that an LRT system is not a one stop solution to urban revitalization. The critical review gained traction when it appeared in an article by Andrew Dreschel for the Spectator last Sunday. Local publication, Raise The Hammer, also weighed in on the controversy. So what prerequisites is Hamilton failing to meet? Well…

The Bad

Increase in Accessibility
Ironically, the fast moving flow of traffic is great for commuters, but detrimental for proponents for a light rail system.

• Traffic along the proposed line isn’t congested. And according to Hamilton’s Transportation Master Plan, it won’t be even as far ahead as the year 2031. That’s thanks to:
  • One-way streets
  • Synchronized Traffic Lights

Positive Social Conditions
Poor social conditions threaten the success of an implemented LRT system, particularly in the downtown core and east end of the city. The study refers to areas projecting lower income families, indications of poor quality of life, and an under-educated population.

Crime and safety concerns also set the tone for a poor social environment.

Positive Physical Conditions
The city’s one-way streets, apart from reducing congestion within the downtown core, create a poor environment for “potential developers, financiers and buyers,” the study says. In short, a high concentration of fast paced traffic flow doesn’t mix well with commercialized areas and an influx in pedestrian shoppers. Fair enough.

The Good

Positive Economic Conditions
Hamilton’s economic conditions, according to the various sources cited within the article, is slow but steady. And the timing is just right. Here’s where we stand.

• Economic Growth
  • Hamilton’s housing market values are climbing, but the report is weary of making predictions of the future. Hopefully the trend continues.
• Population Growth
  • Increased 0.59 per cent between 2001 to 2011
• Employment Growth
  • Currently set at 5.9 per cent. 2 per cent lower than the provincial average.

Available Land
Hamilton has a lot of free available land.

• Free Space
  • 500 vacant parcels
    • 243 hectares within 2km radius of the B-Line
    • 115 hectares of unusable Brownfields (unusable, industrialized/polluted land)
    • 128 hectares of land (excluding Brownfields) available for development
  • Parking Lots (within 400 meters)
    • 63 lots owned by the city
    • 23 privately owned

Complementary Government Policy
The McMaster article suggests that preexisting government policies and planning work to bolster the implementation of a rapid transit system.

• Major government policies affecting population, economic, and employment growth
  • Government of Ontario’s Greenbelt
  • Places to Grow Acts

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• downtown
• Issues
• light rail
• lrt
• transit
• Transportation