What should Hamilton's 10-year transit plan include?
What are the top three things you hope to see in the 10-year transit strategy?
The city of Hamilton's transit director will be presenting a 10-year transit strategy to city council on Friday. But before that discussion, what should a plan like that include?
For some, addressing where funding comes from across the city might be most important. Others may be hoping to see a plan for growing ridership, fast-tracking light-rail transit or improving suburban service.
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"It's exciting that the City is prepared to think strategically and long-term about transit," said Lindsay Godard, one of the organizers of a transit riders union that has dubbed itself Hamilton for Transit.
CBC Hamilton asked Godard and several people about what they hope to see in the plan, and we want to hear your top three wishes, too. Leave a comment below, tweet at @cbchamilton or send us an email at hamilton@cbc.ca.
Marvin Ryder, McMaster University professor and transit consultant
1. All-day GO service from Hamilton to Toronto return. Maybe a train every 15 minutes.
2. Better north-south transit. The B-Line is effective connecting the lower city east-west. We need a link from the waterfront to the airport.
3. LRT if necessary but not necessarily LRT. A more convenient service that takes people where they want on a frequent basis. LRT might be able to do that. BRT (bus rapid transit) might as well. Focus on the convenience rather than the medium of transportation.
Ryan McGreal, editor, Raise The Hammer
1. Get moving on B-Line LRT. It will supercharge transit on the busiest corridor, attract new riders and boost resources system-wide.
2. End area rating for transit. You can't enact a coherent plan when funding and service levels are balkanized by design.
3. Stop saying we need a strategic transit plan before we can act. Council approved plans in 2001, 2007, 2010 and 2013.
Larry Di Ianni, mayor of Hamilton 2003-2006
A good transit plan:
a) Considers enhancements across the entire community, not just one part of it and phases in improvements over time.
b) Produces a sustainable financing plan where the user and the general levy pay a 'fair' share of the cost
c) Considers modern up-to-date and convenient traffic technology which complements rather than competes with other modes of transportation. (cars, bikes, pedestrians)
Don McLean, coordinator, Citizens at City Hall
1. At least match the 60 per cent ridership growth achieved by Kitchener-Waterloo in the last seven years.
2. End area-rating. Make the richest pay the same tax rate as the poorest instead of the less than one-third they pay now.
3. Require all councillors to ride the HSR at least one week per year or stop voting on transit operations and spending.
Lindsay Godard, co-organizer, Hamilton for Transit (transit riders union)
1. A significant investment into improving service across the system, so that transit can be an easier, more efficient and convenient choice for people across the city.
2. Real engagement with stakeholders such as transit users, potential transit users, neighbourhoods, and community groups help guide these service improvements and get feedback on their experience using transit.
3. Some quick wins that will show us that the City is prepared to commit to improving the rider experience.
Nicholas Kevlahan, spokesman, Hamilton Light Rail Initiative
1. Keep LRT at the centre of our transit strategy, as it was in Rapid Ready. LRT will allow the entire system to be reconfigured more efficiently and Rapid Ready shows that it will actually generate an operating profit that can be reinvested.
2. Increase service levels (service hours, route kilometres) to at least the average of comparable cities (e.g. Ottawa, Quebec, Halifax, Winnipeg, Victoria). The HSR was decimated back in the late 1980s and ridership has never recovered. We need to recover and surpass those ridership figures ... it shouldn't be difficult given population growth!
3. Set annual milestones for achieving our 2001 goal of doubling per capita transit use, and increase resources and make changes if we are not meeting them. We've not improved at all in the last 14 years despite adopting this goal. We need to show we're serious about actually achieving it!
John Best, publisher, Bay Observer
1. That Hamilton Council allow its technical staff to develop a transit plan without preconceptions.
2. That we get a plan that serves the entire city's needs and future city expansion.
3. That instead of a transit CULT we develop a sustainable transit CULTURE in Hamilton
Share your three hopes
CBC Hamilton wants to hear from you about what you hope to see in the plan. Leave a comment below, tweet at @cbchamilton or send us an email at hamilton@cbc.ca.
Kevlahan will participate in a transit discussion Thursday night at Mills Hardware in downtown Hamilton. And Godard's group, Hamilton for Transit, will be organizing an open meeting on Thurs., Feb. 19 for transit users and supporters to discuss the 10-year plan before council decides on its budget on Feb. 24.