Hamilton needs LRT not simply to transport people more quickly from point A to point B. Here, LRT would be a community builder.
By Lee Prokaska
Published as an editorial in the Hamilton Spectator on Feb 11, 2010
Memo to Metrolinx:
A fancier bus system is not what we need in Hamilton. We need light rail transit. Please.
Thank you for your attention.
Yours truly,
Hamilton
Hamilton needs LRT not simply to transport people more quickly from point A to point B. Our city needs it because we know the impact of building LRT in Hamilton would be far greater than improved public transit. Here, LRT would be a community builder.
We believe Hamilton is a special case when it comes to consideration of LRT or no LRT. Certainly, other communities would benefit from an improved transit system. But for our city, LRT would be the catalyst for long-overdue rejuvenation.
Metrolinx, the provincial agency charged with transportation planning in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, is expected to report by next Friday on the relative merits of LRT or bus rapid transit for Hamilton and a range of other municipalities in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton corridor. There is huge competition among urban centres to be at the top of the Metrolinx list for important transit projects. Hamilton should be one of the municipalities that wins.
This is a city of hard-working people who watch out for each other, people who dig deep to help those less fortunate, locally and far away. But the recession has deepened the poverty, heightened the pressures and made it more difficult to achieve some of the things that would make our city better.
LRT would have a transformational effect in Hamilton. It would dramatically change our perceptions of ourselves -- and our physical environment, with spin-off commercial and residential development opportunities. Our city is the perfect location to make LRT a true community builder.
Next week, we look to Metrolinx to unequivocally recommend LRT for Hamilton. Then the province must provide the funding we need to build our future. Hamilton Mountain MPP Sophia Aggelonitis, our representative in cabinet, has a huge role to play in ensuring the funds are there for this community. It may be a baptism by fire for Aggelonitis; it also may be the most important advocacy she'll be called upon to perform for our -- and her -- city.
Almost three years ago, Premier Dalton McGuinty spoke to The Spectator's editorial board shortly after the 2007 provincial election campaign began.
"Where should we go, because we want to help?" McGuinty asked us in an hour-long meeting. "Let's get energized and excited. What would make Hamilton the best place to live? What will make you feel better about your city?"
At this point, the best answer to that question, Mr. Premier, is a simple one: LRT.