City staff say 2-way plan for Main Street won't be done until 2028. Councillors are pushing back

Hamilton's efforts to convert what critics call "serial killer" Main from a one-way to two-way street is taking too long, councillors say, with city staff estimating construction won't be complete until 2028. 

That will be about six years after the last term of council voted in favour of the plan, described as "an immediate safety intervention," in a motion by Coun. Maureen Wilson and Nrinder Nann.

The plan was in response to multiple pedestrian deaths and injuries on Main Street in 2022, including a DARTS bus driver who was standing on the sidewalk when she was hit and killed by a vehicle. 

At a public works committee meeting this month, city staff told councillors they've completed a study, and are ready to move ahead with a detailed design in 2024. They estimate the total cost of the project will be around $26 million.

Coun. John-Paul Danko questioned the timeline and budget. "We're not putting a man on the moon here," he said. 

Public works director Jackie Kennedy said the changes are "more complicated" than simply resurfacing and repainting the road, and also require limiting traffic impacts and hiring a consultant.

The city is also trying to coordinate with the timing of the future light rail transit (LRT) construction, which will run for a few kilometres on Main Street West before connecting to King Street.

Staff recommended most of Main Street have two eastbound lanes and one westbound lane, which some councillors said was too similar to the "status quo." 

Coun. Maureen Wilson requested staff look into having the same number of lanes for each direction, as well as cutting the timeline down to two years. Staff will report back in February. 

Since last year, the city has tried other safety measures including reduced lanes and improvements for pedestrians and buses, said Mike Field, transportation manager, adding that "unofficially," collisions have been reduced by about 40 per cent.

Main Street businesses conflicted

Downtown business owners are conflicted about the Main Street plan, said Susie Braithwaite, executive director of the International Village Business Improvement Area (BIA). 

The International Village is a downtown area that includes sections of Main and King streets east.

From what Braithwaite has heard, some owners are concerned that if Main Street is converted around the same time as LRT construction begins, their neighbourhood will be sandwiched between two "massive" infrastructure projects, she said. There's also concern there will no longer be space for on-street truck deliveries or customer parking.

On the other hand, slowing down traffic would likely be a good thing for pedestrian safety and attracting customers, said Braithwaite, whose office is near Main Street East and Ferguson Avenue South.

"Right now we're located on a one-way highway and it's hard to grab people's attention when they're flying through on their way to work," she said. 

Regardless of what happens, she said business owners feel like they're "stuck in purgatory" waiting to see when construction will begin. 

James Street conversion 'a success story'

Hamilton's notorious one-way streets date back to the 1950s in response to traffic congestion, said a staff report in 2013. Business owners were frustrated as they experienced a "steep decline" in customers, but the city didn't back down for another half century.

Since 2001, Hamilton has slowly been reverting streets, or portions of them, back to two way. 

James Street North, for example, had three lanes running southbound at high speeds, said Brian Hollingworth, the city's transportation planning director, in an interview. It was changed to a two-way street, along with John Street in the 2000s. 

"It played a major part in slowing down traffic and putting more eyes on James Street," he said. "I witnessed the change in businesses and people coming back. It's a success story."