Message from the Chair

Hon. Caroline Mulroney
Minister of Transportation
777 Bay Street, 5th floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1Z8

Dear Minister Mulroney :

On behalf of the Hamilton Transportation Task Force, I am pleased to submit the preliminary list of transit and transportation project recommendations. I would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to help shape the future of transportation in Hamilton.

Throughout this process, we were guided by the mandate to identify projects that provide substantial benefits to the residents and economy of the city of Hamilton. To help us further focus this mandate, we looked at the Province and the City’s current priorities to define three key problems that any recommended project would need to address. That is, any transportation project needs to improve access and inter- and intra-city connectivity of the transportation network, address current and future demand and congestion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Based on industry best practice and expert advice, we developed an assessment framework which allowed us to evaluate a long list of projects in an objective and consistent manner as possible and ensure our recommended list of projects addresses our identified problems.

The long list of projects that we evaluated came from existing sources like the City’s Transportation Master Plan (2018) and Metrolinx’s 2041 Regional Transportation Plan and from ongoing work in the Province and the City of Hamilton.

The Task Force would like to re-iterate that this is just a preliminary list of recommendations based on our initial findings. We trust the Ministry of Transportation will continue to undertake its regular due diligence to ensure the $1 billion in capital funding for transportation in Hamilton is spent effectively.

Lastly, we would like to thank all of the transportation experts and government officials for making time to speak to us to help us better understand all of the work being done to advance transportation planning and infrastructure in Hamilton. I would also like to thank the Secretariat staff in the Ministry of Transportation who have provided us with excellent support throughout this process.

On behalf of the Task Force, I would like to offer our service if you have any further questions about our preliminary recommendations.

Our hope is the report is a helpful step towards building better transportation for the citizens and businesses of Hamilton.

Sincerely,

Hon. Tony Valeri, P.C.
Chair, Hamilton Transportation Task Force
March 16th, 2020

Executive summary

On January 23, 2020, the Province announced the establishment of the Hamilton Transportation Task Force (“Task Force”) composed of four representatives from Hamilton and a representative of the City of Hamilton.

The mandate provided to the Task Force was to prepare a preliminary list of recommendations on how to spend $1 billion the government has committed to build transportation infrastructure in the City of Hamilton.

In order to develop the preliminary list of recommendations, the Task Force developed a methodology, based on industry best practices and expert advice, to establish an assessment framework to ensure projects were evaluated in a manner that was as objective and consistent as possible.

The assessment framework was developed by establishing a problem statement, goals and criteria, in alignment with the City’s identified strategic priorities, to help the Task Force identify projects to best address the problem statement.

As the problem statement, the Task Force found that in order to provide substantial benefits to the residents and economy of the City of Hamilton, the City requires transportation solutions that improve access and inter- and intra-city connectivity of the transportation network, address current and future demand and congestion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Task Force then reviewed existing transportation and transit plans, and other resources to identify a long list of potential projects. The list included but was not limited to projects from the draft Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan, Ministry of Transportation’s Provincial Highways Management plans, City of Hamilton’s Transportation Master Plan (2018), City of Hamilton’s Ten-Year Capital Budget (unfunded projects), Metrolinx’s 2041 Regional Transportation Plan and City Council approved motions.

In order to focus on a short-list of projects, an initial filter was applied to remove projects that did not meet a “Ready to Implement” criteria. There are projects that were highly unlikely to reach contract award or begin construction within two years of the submission of this report, or by March 16, 2022. The Task Force felt that Hamiltonians deserve transportation solutions now and prioritized “Ready to Implement” as a requirement.

The Task Force then identified the need to ensure that any investment would make a significant impact on addressing the problem statement. To achieve this impact, a threshold of $100 million project capital cost was used as a proxy to identify projects of strategic importance. Projects with an estimated project capital cost of less than $100 million were considered as complementary projects that may be recommended to enhance the primary project recommendations.

All of the projects identified as strategically important and complementary, were then evaluated against the full set of criteria established by the Task Force to identify how they might help address the problem statement and achieve transportation goals. 

Based on this evaluation, the Task Force’s general recommendation is to invest the $1 billion in higher-order transit to bring substantial benefits to the current and future residents and businesses of the City of Hamilton.

The Task Force’s preference is for an intra-city higher-order transit project that addresses the City of Hamilton’s transportation needs such as current and future demand and congestion.

This could either be an LRT on the B-Line or BRT on the B- and A-Lines (with additional complementary priority bus projects as part of the BLAST network). The LRT option on the B-Line could include the original project scope (if additional capital funding is identified), or a truncated version of the original project as a first phase provided the benefits meet or exceed the benefits of the original project and exceed the benefits of projects on the preliminary list of recommendations. The Task Force recommends that the Province and Metrolinx consider both of these projects equally and undertake further analysis concurrently to determine which project is the best fit for Hamilton’s transportation needs.

If, after further analysis, intra-city higher-order transit projects are not feasible, then the Task Force further recommends inter-city higher-order transit in the form of 15-minute two-way all-day GO rail service to Hamilton GO Centre station.

The provincial investment of $1 billion in transportation projects in the City of Hamilton represents an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of Hamiltonians. The Task Force asks the Province and the City of Hamilton to work together on the higher-order transit as identified in our preliminary list of recommendations.

Background

Context

On December 16th, 2019, the Province of Ontario announced it would no longer be moving forward with a proposed Hamilton Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project based on estimated capital costs. The Hamilton LRT project entailed 14 km of new dedicated light rail transit from McMaster University to Eastgate Square with 17 stops and connections to the Hamilton bus network.

At the same time, the Province announced its intention to provide up to $1 billion in infrastructure funding towards transportation projects in the City of Hamilton and to establish a Hamilton Transportation Task Force (“Task Force”).

On January 23, 2020, the Province announced the establishment of the Task Force to help the Province shape the future of transportation in Hamilton.

Mandate of the Task Force

The mandate of the Task Force is to prepare a preliminary list of recommendations on how to spend the $1 billion the government has committed to build transportation infrastructure in the City of Hamilton.

As per the Task Force’s Terms of Reference, projects the Task Force could consider :

  • can be either fully funded or supported through the $1 billion in funding committed by the Province;
  • should reflect the interests and needs of the residents and businesses of Hamilton;
  • may include public transit projects (including LRT) or highway projects; and
  • must be of substantial benefit to the residents or economy of Hamilton.

Membership and governance

The Task Force is composed of four representatives from the Hamilton region and a representative of the City of Hamilton. Full bios are included in Appendix 2.

  • Tony Valeri (Chair) - Vice President, Corporate Affairs at ArcelorMittal Dofasco, former federal Minister of Transport and former Member of Parliament.
  • Richard J. Brennan - Award-winning journalist who reported on politics including Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill for most of his 40-plus-year career.
  • Anthony V. Primerano - Director of Government Relations for the Labourers International Union of North America (LiUNA).
  • Saiedeh Razavi - Director of the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics (MITL), Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, and the Chair in Heavy Construction at McMaster University.
  • Janette Smith - City Manager at the City of Hamilton and former Commissioner of Public Works and Commissioner of Health Services at the Region of Peel.

Members of the Task Force brought a breadth and depth of expertise to the initiative beyond the existing expertise in the provincial government, including experience in transportation policy and programs, the transportation needs of the City of Hamilton, and user perspectives.

With the exception of the city manager who is representing the City of Hamilton, members of task force participated in an independent capacity providing advice to the Minister of Transportation (“the Minister”) on transportation priorities in Hamilton, and do not represent the interests of any organization or entity. The City Manager’s role on the Task Force is to provide the City’s perspective, including sharing City Council approved plans, projects and motions.

The Task Force members were not remunerated for their participation on the task force or their advice to the Minister. Reasonable work-related expenses were eligible for reimbursement in accordance with the province’s Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive.

As with all short-term advisory bodies in Ontario, Task Force members were bound by confidentiality requirements such as not disclosing confidential information obtained as a result of their appointment. Certain information such as the Terms of Reference, meeting agendas, frequency and duration of meetings and the type and number of projects under discussion were determined to not be confidential and are publicly available.

Where city council requested updates on the task force from the city manager, those discussions were held in-camera pursuant to section 239(2)(h) of the Municipal Act and would not be disclosed under section 9(1)(b) of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Additionally, public facing activities of the Task Force were governed by a Communications Protocol. In line with this Protocol, any press releases, statements and communications by the Task Force were made through the Ministry of Transportation.

Recommendations made by the Task Force to the Minister were made with the consensus of all Task Force members with one exception. Recommendations that the City Manager identified as inconsistent with Council approved motions or plans were not supported by the City Manager. Specifically, this was the recommendation to use the $1 billion to pay for provincial transportation projects including 15-minute, two-way, all-day GO service to Hamilton GO Centre.

Process

Between January and March 2020, the Task Force met a total of eleven times in the City of Hamilton, in addition to holding teleconference calls.

The Task Force was supported by Secretariat staff from the Ministry of Transportation which provided advice, planning, coordination and other administrative support, as required. In addition, the Task Force received technical presentations from external experts, and City, Ministry and provincial agency staff.

According to the Terms of Reference, the Task Force was mandated to recommend a preliminary list of transit and transportation projects in Hamilton that can be either fully funded or supported through the $1 billion in capital funding committed by the Province.

Based on industry best practices and expert advice, the Task Force developed a methodology to establish an assessment framework to ensure projects were evaluated in a manner as objective and consistent as possible. Metrolinx Business Case Guidance was a key guide in the development of this methodology. The assessment framework was developed by establishing a concise problem statement for the Task Force to solve and then identifying goals and criteria, in alignment with the City Council’s 2018-2022 Term of Council Priorities, that would help the Task Force identify projects that best address the problem statement.

Once the assessment framework was established, the Task Force leveraged existing plans and ongoing work by the City, the Province, and other technical experts to develop a long list of potential transportation projects. This work reflects extensive consultations with the residents and businesses of Hamilton and a wealth of expert analysis over many years. It is important to note that despite Task Force’s efforts to be comprehensive in terms of evidence considered, the long list of projects could not be exhaustive.

The Task Force relied on staff from the Province, City and Metrolinx to provide technical analysis to help evaluate projects against the established assessment framework. The information on certain projects related to potential project impacts was more advanced than others. For this reason, the Task Force often relied on the use of qualitative judgment for criteria in the absence of quantitative modeling. For example, to evaluate the Reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions criterion, projects were scored from 0-5 based on a judgment of their relative potential for greenhouse gas emissions reduction (based on existing resources and analysis provided by the Ministry of Transportation and Metrolinx) as opposed to estimating the amount of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions reduced for each project. This quantitative analysis can occur as projects are further investigated.

The Task Force acknowledged further work is needed to understand the operating and maintenance responsibilities and associated costs, as well as potential financial, tax and policy impacts of each project. The Task Force also noted that the City and the Province should work together to ensure transportation investments in recommended projects and existing and future land use planning are aligned.

It should be noted the Task Force’s work to prepare a preliminary list of recommendations to the Minister is not a replacement for the regular due diligence and analysis the Province undertakes for major transportation projects. It is expected this work will continue after the Task Force submits its preliminary list of recommendations to the Minister.

Development of assessment framework

To support the development of an assessment framework and identification and evaluation of potential projects, the Task Force leveraged existing work done by the City of Hamilton, the Province of Ontario and Metrolinx.

The Task Force used the Council-approved documents from the City such as the Ten-Year (2016-2025) Strategic Plan, the 2018-2022 Term of Council Priorities, the City of Hamilton Transportation Master Plan, and the Ten-Year (2015-2024) Local Transit Strategy to identify desired goals and criteria that align with the City’s strategic priorities.

In addition, the planning work underway as part of the Ministry’s Greater Golden Horseshoe Plan development helped identify a long list of transportation projects in Hamilton for consideration. The long list of projects was further informed by other existing documents such as the City’s Transportation Master Plan (2018) and Metrolinx’s 2041 Regional Transportation Plan.

More detailed information on these resources can be found in Appendix 3.

Overview of assessment framework

Based on industry best practices and advice from MTO and Metrolinx, the Task Force developed a methodology to establish its own assessment framework to ensure all projects were considered in a manner as objective and consistent as possible.

The methodology included defining a problem statement, identifying desired goals for the recommended projects and establishing criteria to help prioritize and evaluate potential projects.

Problem statement

The Task Force developed a problem statement to provide a concise definition of a problem and/or opportunity to address a potential investment in the transportation network in Hamilton. Establishing a problem statement helped focus the Task Force on the key problems needed to be addressed and led to the development of goals and criteria against which potential projects would be evaluated.

The Task Force looked at the City’s Ten-Year (2016-2025) Strategic Plan, 2018-2022 Term of Council Priorities, Transportation Master Plan (2018) desired outcomes and other materials on the state of Hamilton’s transportation network to help identify potential problems to be addressed.

Broad themes of transportation issues discussed included making the movement of people and goods more efficient, increasing connections between different parts of the city and inter-city, climate change mitigation and adaptation and being able to adapt to the city’s future needs such as a growing and aging population.

Improved access and connectivity of the transportation network

One of the areas of focus in the City of Hamilton’s Transportation Master Plan (2018) is connectivity and improving access between different areas of the City, including between Upper and Lower Hamilton. The planned urban structure in Hamilton coupled with provincial objectives to increase intensification further drive the need for increased transportation connectivity between all parts of the city and with regional transportation options.

Furthermore, increasing access and connectivity is especially important to address anticipated demographic changes such as an aging population. Projections suggest that 25% of Ontario’s population will be aged 65 or older by 2041 which will double the current number of seniors to 4.6 million.footnote 1This growth will be even more dramatic among those aged 80+. Within the Greater Golden Horseshoe Region (GGHR), the population aged 80+ will triple, to over 1 million by 2041. According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, the numbers of older adults in the City of Hamilton is projected to increase. By 2041, it is projected there will be close to 260,000 people age 55 years and older living in the City of Hamilton, up from 167,000 in 2016.footnote 2

In 2016, areas with a higher proportion of adults age 55 years and older were located outside the lower central areas of the City in places such as Mount Hope, Dundas and surrounding areas, lower-Eastern areas of Stoney Creek, central areas in the community of Flamborough (north of Highway 8), as well as a few pockets on the central mountain. footnote 3

Ensuring vulnerable populations, such as senior citizens, that do not drive have access to friends and family as well as important health and social services is vital to their overall well-being and quality of life.

In addition, in 2019, the City of Hamilton reported a total of 223,490 jobs in their annual employment survey. footnote 4 This illustrates a growth rate of 4%, or an additional 8,060 jobs added from the 2018 employment survey. With the growing economy within the city, it is critical the movement of people and goods is better integrated within the broader regional network. Furthermore, as more jobs are created within the city limits, more transit and transportation options will be needed to provide access to residents seeking employment and enable employees to travel to and from work efficiently.

Addresses current and future demand and congestion

According to the City’s Transportation Master Plan (2018), the City’s population is anticipated to grow by approximately 22.9% between 2016 and 2031 and employment is expected to increase by approximately 23.4% between 2011 and 2031footnote 5.  The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) projects population and employment levels in the City of Hamilton to be 780,000 persons and 350,000 jobs respectively by 2041footnote 6. The Growth Plan also identifies Downtown Hamilton as an urban growth centre with a minimum density target of 200 residents and jobs combined per hectare by 2031.

Based on a survey of organizations in the Niagara-Hamilton area, the McMaster Institute for Transportation & Logistics identified the Queen Elizabeth Way, Highway 6, Highway 403 at the Lincoln Alexander Parkway and the Red Hill Parkway at the QEW as key areas of congestionfootnote 7 . Furthermore, the McMaster Institute for Transportation & Logistics points out the rise of e-commerce is having an increasing impact on congestion, especially within urban centres, as more goods are being delivered directly to consumers and householdsfootnote 8

In order to accommodate this growth, the City of Hamilton will require a more efficient transportation network that can connect residents to jobs, healthcare, and social services and facilitate the efficient movement of goods.

Reduces greenhouse gases

Hamilton City Council has identified Climate Change as one of its eight 2018-2022 Term of Council Priorities with a goal to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions to equal net zero emissions before 2050footnote 9 . Transportation is an important factor in climate change mitigation as the City estimates more than 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions are generated by the transportation sector. footnote 10 According to the City, after the industrial and steel sector, the transportation sector is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, although the industrial and steel sector still represent the largest source of emissions, both steel and industrial emissions have reduced their emissions since 2006 by 33.5% and 47.8% respectively, whereas transportation has increased their emissions by 20.7% from 2006 baseline emissions.footnote 11 .

Investing in transit and transportation infrastructure within Hamilton can help travelers to access more sustainable travel choices. Providing such access can support collective efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation. Investing in transportation choices within Hamilton, while helping in the fight against climate change, can also have more immediate benefits to residents’ health and wellbeing, including lower levels of pollution and cleaner air.

Goals

To address the problem statement and align with the City’s Ten-Year Strategic Plan, 2018-2022 Term of Council Priorities and Transportation Master Plan (2018) desired outcomes, the Task Force has identified the following goals for potential transportation projects in the City of Hamilton (Figure 1). Table 1 presents the alignment of these goals with the City of Hamilton’s priorities.

Figure 1 : goals identified by the task force

Connected
  • Offers fast, frequent and reliable options to move people and goods across all transportation modes.
Economic prosperity
  • Supports economic growth and the efficient movement of people and goods.
Environmentally sustainable
  • Protects our environment and minimizes adverse environmental impact.
Future ready / adaptability
  • Considers and supports future transportation technologies and business models.
Ready to implement
  • Can be implemented within a specified timeframe.
Safe and healthy
  • Supports active, safe and healthy living.
Table 1 : alignment between task force goals and city of hamilton’s priorities
Task force goalsTransportation master plan desired outcomes2018-2022 Term of council priorities
Connected
  • Economic prosperity and growth
  • Healthy and safe communities
  • Sustainable and balanced transportation system
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
  • Integrated Growth and Development
  • Multi-Modal Transportation
Economic prosperity
  • Economic prosperity and growth
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
  • Integrated Growth and Development
Environmentally sustainable
  • Healthy and safe communities
  • Sustainable and balanced transportation system
  • Climate Change
  • Integrated Growth and Development
Future ready / adaptability
  • Economic prosperity and growth
  • Sustainable and balanced transportation system
  • Climate Change
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
  • Integrated Growth and Development
  • Multi-Modal Transportation
Ready to implement
  • Sustainable and Balanced Transportation System
  • Climate Change
  • Multi-Modal Transportation
Safe and healthy
  • Healthy and Safe Communities
  • Climate Change
  • Multi-Modal Transportation

Evaluation criteria

Based on these goals, the Task Force identified a set of criteria against which potential transportation projects could be evaluated.

  • Ready to implement : projects should be able to reach contract award or begin construction within two years of the submission of this report, or March 16, 2022.
  • Strategic importance : projects should have a tangible impact by providing substantial benefits to the residents and businesses of Hamilton. As a proxy, a threshold of $100 million in project capital cost was used to identify projects of significance.
  • Reduces greenhouse gas emissions : projects should reduce greenhouse gas emissions to align with the City’s strategic priorities and Ontario’s Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan.
  • Reduces travel time : projects should reduce travel time for transportation users. According to Metrolinx, travel time reductions typically generate the largest benefits within business cases for transportation projects.footnote 12 .
  • Improves connections within transportation network : projects should improve connections in a transportation network between and within all transportation modes.
  • Increases economic development potential : projects should generate increased investment in the City of Hamilton such as attracting new businesses and increasing land values.
  • Increases access to employment centres : projects should improve transportation connections to Hamilton’s major employment centres including Downtown Hamilton, Bayfront Industrial Area, Stoney Creek, Red Hill Business Park, Ancaster Business Park, West Hamilton Innovation District and Airport Employment Growth District.
  • Increases transit mode share : projects should support progress towards the City’s Transportation Master Plan (2018) target of 12% for transit mode share by 2031.
  • Increases inter-modality or synchro-modality : projects should support improved connections between different transportation modes or the ability to switch in real time between transportation modes.
  • Improves connection to key anchor institutions : projects should improve connections to Hamilton’s key anchor institutions including Hamilton City Hall, municipal service centres, hospitals, McMaster University and Mohawk College.
  • Responds to anticipated demographic changes : projects should address Hamilton’s anticipated demographic changes such as its growing population and aging population.
  • Adaptive to future transportation trends : projects should be adaptive to future transportation trends and potentially disruptive technologies such as autonomous vehicles, ride-sharing, on-demand transit and mobility-as-a-service.
  • Demonstrates improved safety of the transportation network : projects should demonstrate improved safety of the transportation network in support of the City’s commitment to Vision Zero.

Projects considered and evaluation

The Task Force consulted several existing resources to develop a long list of potential transportation projects. The resources consulted included :

  • Ongoing work to support the development of the Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
  • Ministry of Transportation’s Provincial Highways Management plans
  • City of Hamilton’s Transportation Master Plan (2018)
  • City of Hamilton’s Ten-Year Capital Budget (unfunded projects)
  • Metrolinx’s 2041 Regional Transportation Plan
  • City Council approved motions

The Province has confirmed to the City of Hamilton the Province’s $1 billion capital funding commitment is separate from any dollars allocated under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). As such, any projects that have been submitted by the City of Hamilton to the Province for ICIP funding consideration were not considered by the Task Force. See Appendix 4 for a list of projects the City of Hamilton submitted for ICIP funding.

In addition, the Task Force received numerous project proposals from residents and organizations in the City of Hamilton and transit experts. Given the timelines the Task Force was given to complete its work, these additional proposals were referred to the MTO for further analysis.

The projects reviewed included local roads, provincial highways, transit, active transportation projects (e.g., cycling and walking) and others (e.g., electric vehicles infrastructure, etc.). See Appendix 5 for the complete list of projects considered.

In order to focus discussions and detailed analysis on a short-list of projects, an initial filter was applied to remove projects that did not meet the “Ready to Implement” criteria. That is, projects that, based on expert analysis, were likely not able to reach contract award or begin construction within two years of the submission of this report, or by March 16, 2022. Hamiltonians deserve better transportation solutions now, which is why the Task Force prioritized “Ready to Implement” as a requirement.

The Task Force then identified the need to ensure that any investment would make a tangible impact on addressing the problem statement. To achieve this impact, a threshold of $100 million project capital cost was used as a proxy to identify projects of “strategic importance”, which would be considered as potential primary projects for recommendations. Projects with an estimated project capital cost of less than $100 million were considered as complementary projects that may be recommended to enhance the primary recommendations, where appropriate.

All of the projects identified as strategically important and complementary were then evaluated against the full set of criteria established by the Task Force to identify how they might help address the problem statement and achieve transportation goals (see Figure 2 and Table 2). 

Figure 2: Two-Phase Process for Evaluation

  • Long list of projects
    • Contract award or construction begin within two years?
      • No : No further consideration (Red category)
      • Yes : Short list for consideration
        • Project capital cost over $100M?
          • No : Consider as supplementary project (Yellow category)
            • Evaluate against all criteria
          • Yes : Consider as primary project (Green category)
            • Evaluate against all criteria
Table 2 : Project Categorization based on the Two-Phase Evaluation Process
CategoryContract award or construction begin within two years?Project cost over $100M?Project
Red (No further consideration)NoN/A
  • Various Provincial Highway Projects
Yellow (Complementary)YesNo
  • EV Charging Stations
  • L-Line Priority Bus
  • Highway 403 Mohawk Road On-Ramp
  • On-Demand Transit Service
  • Various City Cycling Projects
  • Various City Road Projects
  • Various City Transit Projects
Green (Primary)YesYes
  • A-Line BRT
  • B-Line BRT
  • Hamilton GO Centre 15-Minute Two-Way All-Day Service
  • LRT (original scope or phased approach)
  • S-Line Priority Bus
  • T-Line Priority Bus

Preliminary recommendations

Preliminary recommendations for potential transportation projects

Recommendation 1

The Task Force’s general recommendation is to invest the $1 billion in higher-order transit, because these projects are expected to bring substantial benefits to the residents and businesses of the City of Hamilton.

According to MTO, higher-order transit generally operates in its own dedicated right-of-way, outside of mixed traffic, which allows it to achieve a frequency of service greater than mixed-traffic transit. Examples of higher-order transit include heavy rail (such as subways), light rail (such as streetcars) and buses in dedicated rights-of-way. Investments in higher order transit are associated with increased population densities over time and especially along major transit corridors, footnote 13 significant reductions in greenhouse gases,footnote 14 and potential increases to active transportation.footnote 15 For more details on higher-order transit, please see Appendix 6.

Three higher-order transit projects (Light-Rail Transit, Bus-Rapid Transit and Commuter GO Rail) are being recommended because they are expected to bring substantial benefits to the residents and businesses of the City of Hamilton and because they are expected to be able to reach contract award or begin construction within 2 years (for significant early work infrastructure at a minimum). The Task Force is recommending further analysis for these three projects because they each have their own unique challenges and questions to answer before a funding commitment can be made.

Although further analysis is needed for all three projects, the Task Force’s initial preference among the three projects can be categorized into two tiers (see Figure 3).

A graphic illustrating the order of preference for the task force's preliminary recommendations

Figure 3: Order of Preference for the Task Force’s Preliminary Recommendations

 

Recommendation 2

The Task Force’s initial preference is for an intra-city higher-order transit project that addresses the City of Hamilton’s transportation needs such as current and future demand and congestion. This could either be an LRT on the B-Line or BRTs on the B- and A-Lines (with additional complementary priority bus projects as part of the BLAST network). The LRT option on the B-Line could include the original project scope (if additional capital funding is identified), or a truncated version of the original project as a first phase provided the benefits meet or exceed the benefits of projects on the preliminary list of recommendations. The Task Force recommends that the Province and Metrolinx consider both of these projects equally and undertake further analysis concurrently to determine which project is the best fit for Hamilton’s transportation needs.

Recommendation 3

The Task Force recommends that contract award or project construction (for significant early work infrastructure at a minimum) begins within two years of the submission of this report, or March 16, 2022, in order to provide substantial benefits to the City of Hamilton in a timely manner. In order to meet this two-year timeline, the Task Force recommends the Province proceed with work to address the challenges for all three projects simultaneously as well as explore potential tools for accelerating delivery of its chosen transportation project(s) in Hamilton, in consultation with the City.

Recommendation 4

If after further analysis, both intra-city higher-order transit projects are not feasible, then the Task Force recommends inter-city higher-order transit in the form of 15-minute two-way all-day GO rail service to Hamilton GO Centre station.

Recommendation 5

The Province should also confirm a contract can be awarded, or work can begin (for significant early work infrastructure at a minimum) within two years on the delivery of two-way, all-day 15-minute service to Hamilton GO Centre Station.

Further details on each of the three recommended projects and their outstanding challenges to be addressed are provided below.

Light Rail Transit (LRT)

Description

The Hamilton King-Main LRT (“original scope”) was planned to be 14 km of light rail with 17 stops from McMaster University to Eastgate Square (Figure 4). If there is insufficient capital funding for the original project scope, a truncated LRT project as a first phase could be explored (“phased approach”). Light rail transit consists of electric light rail vehicles that operate on a track in a grade-separated rights-of-way. For more details on LRT please see Appendix 6.

Context

The LRT project is a key part of Metrolinx’s 2041 Regional Transportation Plan and the City’s Transportation Master Plan (2018) and Ten-Year (2015-2024) Local Transit Strategy. In December 2019, the Province announced it was not moving forward with the Hamilton King-Main LRT project (“the LRT project”). The Province had committed up to $1 billion to fully fund the capital costs for the LRT project; however, third-party reports suggested that capital costs are likely to be higher than previously expected.

Map of Hamilton`s light rail transit.

Figure 4 : Hamilton Light Rail Transit map (Source : City of Hamilton websitefootnote 16)
Key benefits
  • Travel time savings for transit users from McMaster to Eastgate compared to the business as usual scenario;
  • LRT, which typically has more capacity than BRT, may be may be better able to meet long-term ridership demand;
  • Potential rider preference of LRT over BRT may lead to greater mode shifts from auto vehicles to public transit, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help the City’s meet its 12% transit mode share target by 2031;
  • Increases connections to key anchor institutions and transit hubs including McMaster University, City Hall, Tim Hortons Field, Eastgate Square;
  • Increases access to employment centres such as Downtown Hamilton, with ~20,000 jobs within 800m of Hamilton GO Centre Station, which is a short walk from the B-Line;
  • Potential for increased investment, development and land values along the King-Main corridor.
Challenges
  • Funding Sources : Availability of capital funding from federal and/or municipal sources has not been committed. Potential federal and municipal capital contributions may not be enough to fund the original LRT project scope;
  • Cost-Benefit Assessment : If there is not enough capital funding for the original LRT project scope, the province could explore a truncated LRT project as a first phase that can be funded within available capital funding. Further analysis would be needed on a business case for this truncated route as a standalone project to ensure benefits meet or exceed the benefits of the original project for residents of Hamilton;
    • Metrolinx’s 2015 Hamilton King-Main Benefits Case projected AM peak hour, peak direction ridership of 1,900 by 2031. Further analysis is needed to provide updated projected ridership numbers and over a longer term.
  • Future Funding : If a phased approach is chosen, further discussions will be needed with Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario and all levels of government on timelines and budget for potential future phases;
  • Procurement : If a phased approach is chosen, MTO, Metrolinx and IO will need to understand how much of the cancelled procurement can be leveraged and what this means for past potential bidders;
  • Given the procurement of an LRT option would potentially entail a 30-year concession period the Province and Metrolinx should confirm an LRT is a feasible option to address the city’s transportation needs over this period.

Task Force preliminary recommendations

Recommendation 6

The Province should engage other levels of government to identify all potential capital funding contributions for a potential LRT project.

Recommendation 7

The Province should explore opportunities to reduce the cost of the potential LRT project including alternative delivery models and alternative financing structures and sources (e.g., Canada Infrastructure Bank).

Recommendation 8

If there is insufficient funding for the original LRT project scope, MTO should work with Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario to explore options to construct a segment of the LRT as a first phase. MTO should ensure the Phase 1 project can support a potential future LRT expansion through an updated business case. In the event that future phases do not materialize the shorter potential LRT route must illustrate greater transit benefits to the citizens of Hamilton when compared to the BRT/Commuter GO Rail projects also recommended for investment by this Task Force.

BRTs and priority bus projects

Description

The B-line BRT would include a 13.5-kilometer, fully-separated median BRT with level boarding along the B-line in the BLAST network (see Figure 5 below for BLAST map). It would run on the same route as the LRT, from McMaster to Eastgate stations via Downtown Hamilton.

The A-line BRT would include an 8-killometer fully-separated median BRT with level boarding along the A-line in the BLAST network. It would run from Hamilton Waterfront/West Harbour GO Station to Rymal Road via James Street.

A B-line BRT and A-line BRT would serve as the spine to Hamilton’s transit network. In addition to these BRTs, the Task Force noted the following priority bus projects that are part of the BLAST network, should be explored as complements to the primary recommendations :

  • L-Line Priority Bus (Downtown Hamilton to Waterdown);
  • S-line Priority Bus (Confederation GO to Ancaster Business Park);
  • T-Line Priority Bus (The Centre on Barton to Meadowlands/Ancaster).

A map illustrating the Hamilton Long Term Rapid Transit System.

Figure 5 : Hamilton Long Term Rapid Transit System “B.L.A.S.T.”, (Source : City of Hamilton, Ten-Year (2015-2024) Local Transit Strategyfootnote 17)

All three priority bus projects advanced through the evaluation framework with S- and T-Line Priority Buses in the green (primary) category while L-Line remained in yellow (complimentary) category given estimated cost of less than $100 million.

Context

The BLAST network is a rapid transit strategy for Hamilton conceived as part of the City’s 2007 Transportation Master Plan. The commitment to the BLAST network was reiterated in the City’s 2015 Ten-Year (2015-2024) Local Transit Strategy and the Transportation Master Plan (2018), which included a 12% transit mode share target, associated with the development of the rapid transit networkfootnote 18 . Rapid transit along the B-, L-, A-, S-, and T-lines were also identified as priority projects in Metrolinx’s 2041 Regional Transportation Plan.

Key benefits

Based on preliminary analysis by Metrolinx, the project(s) would have the following benefits :

  • Reduce greenhouse gases by enabling a modal shift away from cars.
  • Reduce travel times :
    • B-line BRT : Like the LRT option, the B-line BRT will enable travel time savings for transit users from McMaster to Eastgate Square compared to business as usual scenario. Further, Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) routes would be able to use BRT lanes as trunk, resulting in improved travel times;
    • A-line BRT : Will enable travel time savings for transit users from Rymal Road to West Harbour GO Station compared to business as usual scenario. Additionally, all bus routes that cross escarpment at James Mountain Road would experience fast, free-flow escarpment crossing, easing congestion;
    • Priority Buses (along L-, S-, and T-lines) : Will provide more frequent service, reducing wait times; however, without a dedicated right of way, speeds would be the same as, or slower than cars.
  • Increases connections to key anchor institutions and transit hubs including McMaster University, City Hall, Tim Hortons Field, Eastgate Square and Hamilton GO Centre Station (for B-line BRT) and Mohawk College, St. Joseph’s Hospital, West Harbour GO Station (for A-line BRT), among others.
  • Increases access to employment centres such as the Airport and Downtown Hamilton, with ~20,000 jobs within 800 m of Hamilton GO Centre Station;
  • Potential for increased investment, development, and land values along the respective transit corridors;
  • Potential for realization of wider economic benefits due to localized assembly of supporting infrastructure like ebuses.
Challenges
  • Technical Feasibility :
    • A BRT requires a wider right-of-way than an LRT to allow for more lateral movement of the bus. More analysis is required on the corridor width that will become dedicated for these BRT options and the potential impacts on traffic flow along the King-Main Street route (for the B-line BRT) and the Upper James Street route (for the A-line BRT);
    • Potential opportunities to green the transit fleet (use of electric-buses) as a complementary project to the BRT, the Task Force was advised by experts that additional research may be needed, and a phased approach should be adopted.
  • Project Readiness :
    • B-line BRT : Further investigation is required to determine if the previously approved Environmental Assessment for the LRT along the same route can be used, or if an addendum to the Environmental Assessment would be required. Also, the timeline associated with an amended Environmental Assessment is unknown;
    • A-line BRT : Given an Environmental Assessment has not been commenced for this project, the time associated with an Environmental Assessment for a BRT along the A-line must be determined.
  • Cost Estimates :
    • The full scope of the project costs for B-line and A-line BRTs are best estimates. The Operation and Maintenance costs associated with the BRTs, and how it compares with the Operation and Maintenance costs of the LRT option require further investigation. Further, property impact and utilities relocations required are unknown, which may have significant impact on cost. This information would require funding considerations by the City;
    • The City of Hamilton has submitted a request under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to build a second Maintenance and Storage Facility. According to the City’s Ten-Year (2015-2024) Local Transit Strategy, which entails increased service levels and expanded fleet and assumes an LRT on the B-line, a second facility may not be able to accommodate the buses from BRT along the B-Line and may require a third facility.
  • Cost-Benefit Assessment : Given the procurement of a BRT option would potentially entail a 30-year concession period, further analysis is required to determine when ridership demand would exceed capacity for the BRT, making a switch to a higher order transit (e.g. LRT) necessary. The Province, through Metrolinx and MTO, should confirm that a BRT is a feasible option to address the city’s transportation needs over this period.
    • As noted above, Metrolinx’s 2015 Hamilton King-Main Benefits Case projected AM peak hour, peak direction ridership of 1,900 by 2031. Preliminary estimates, using the ten-year projected population growth for Hamilton, of 14.7% from 2031 to 2041 in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe as a proxy for ridership growth, AM peak-hour, peak-direction ridership would increase to approximately 2,200 by 2041 (within the assumed maximum capacity of 3,000 for buses). Further analysis is needed to provide updated projected ridership numbers over a longer term;
    • Ridership projections for the A-Line are consistently well below the ridership projections for the B-Line and ridership would not exceed the assumed maximum capacity for buses until far into the future.

Task Force preliminary recommendations

Recommendation 9

As a BRT option would be developed within the limitations of the King-Main St. corridor (B-line BRT) and Upper James Street corridor (A-line BRT), an initial priority of any work should focus on determining any additional technical feasibility required to have fully separated bus lanes with platform-level boarding. The Task Force is not convinced any form of transit that runs in mixed traffic will deliver appropriate benefits to the people and businesses of Hamilton.

Recommendation 10

The Province should confirm if the projects can be implemented within the next two years and identify the possibility of project phasing to begin early works (e.g., leveraging the planning work completed for the LRT along the B-line; leveraging lessons learnt from the implementation of other BRTs like the viva BRT).

Recommendation 11

Update and undertake business case(s) for the BRTs and priority bus options to get refined benefits and costs estimates. This business case should also explore the benefits of e-buses and potential extensions (east and west extensions of the B-line BRT to Fifty Road-Queen Elizabeth Way and University Plaza, respectively; extension of A-line BRT from Rymal Road to Hamilton International Airport).

Commuter GO rail

If after further analysis, intra-city higher-order transit projects are not feasible, then the inter-city higher-order transit in the form of 15-minute two-way all-day GO rail service to Hamilton has been identified as the next priority for the provincial investment of the $1-billion capital funding.

Description

The proposed project is a 9.3 km extension of 15-minute, all-day GO service from Aldershot to Hamilton GO Centre Station (Figure 6) with a preliminary estimated cost of $400-million to $1-billion depending on the infrastructure required. The project would include building a new rail corridor in the provincial highway corridor, similar to the GO Subdivision in Durham Region built along Highway 401, to avoid reliance of freight track into downtown Hamilton.

A map of the proposed Lakeshore west two-way all-day system.

Figure 6 : Lakeshore West two-way, all-day to Hamilton GO Centre Station (Source : Metrolinx)
Context

Currently, the Lakeshore West GO Rail line delivers two-way, all-day service from Union Station to Aldershot Station. GO Rail service levels west of Burlington GO Station towards Hamilton are dependent on infrastructure and service agreements with Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, who own the rail corridors.

As of August 2019, rush-hour weekday service at West Harbour GO Station has doubled with four more trips – two Toronto-bound in the morning and two home-bound trips in the afternoon. Currently, 8 train trips depart Hamilton and return in the evening.

In the full business case of the GO Rail Expansion program, planned service levels for West Harbour GO Station include 30-minute peak direction service in morning and afternoon peak and hourly, two-way, service off-peak. Service level depends on agreement with freight rail.

Metrolinx is working to bring incremental rail service increases across the region, including Hamilton. In order to deliver more service to West Harbour GO Station, completion of the third track and associated signalling infrastructure between Aldershot GO Station and West Harbour GO Station is required.

Achieving two-way, all-day service is important to the City of Hamilton. The City’s Transportation Master Plan (2018) included an action item to advocate Metrolinx to accelerate the plans to provide two-way all-day service on Lakeshore West to Hamilton, with extensions to Niagara Region, by 2020.

Key benefits

Based on preliminary analysis from Metrolinx, this recommended project would have following benefits :

  • Reduce GHG emissions and congestion by encouraging people shift away from car travel and onto transit – especially for long-distance trips;
  • Reduce travel times with faster trips to / from Toronto and other communities;
  • Improve transit connections within transportation network with connections to local bus routes;
  • More intra-regional trips into Hamilton could increase economic development potential through greater investment and density around Hamilton GO Centre Station as increased regional rail service has been shown to result in economic development;
  • Reduces congestion on Highway 403 which facilitates improved goods movement;
  • Improves connections to key anchor institutions as Hamilton GO Centre Station is within walking distance of City Hall and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (Charlton);
  • Increases access to employment centres such as Downtown Hamilton, with ~20,000 jobs within 800m of Hamilton GO Centre Station.
Challenges

The Task Force identified a number of challenges for this project that need to be resolved including :

  • Project readiness : timelines and certainty a contract can be awarded / construction underway within two years for infrastructure needed for service increases to Hamilton GO Centre Station needs to be confirmed given potentially major uncertainties exist including :
    • Whether agreement(s) are required with freight rail companies who own rail corridors leading into Hamilton;
    • Whether the implications of potential construction within provincial highway corridor can be determined quickly along with any necessary approvals;
    • Whether Union Station and rail corridors can accommodate additional service as is necessary with any increase in service.
  • Cost estimates : current capital cost estimates to deliver two-way, all-day 15-minute GO Rail Service to Hamilton GO Centre Station have a wide range and more work is needed for more certainty in the cost estimate;
  • Cost-benefit assessment : incremental costs and benefits of increasing GO rail service to Hamilton GO Centre Station beyond currently planned service increases to West Harbour GO Station is required to determine whether this project delivers substantial benefits over currently planned service increases to West Harbour GO Station;
  • Relation to other transportation services : potential impact on existing, or increased, congestion within the City without any further intra-city transit upgrades to address movement within the City, and access to GO facilities.

Task Force preliminary recommendations

Recommendation 12

The Province should refine cost estimates of 15-minute, two-way, all-day GO service to Hamilton GO Centre Station given wide range of current estimates.

Recommendation 13

The Task Force recommends the Province explore the potential benefits and impacts of 15-minute, two-way, all-day GO service to Hamilton GO Centre Station, including economic development uplift and effect on current transportation network. The Province should explore these potential benefits to determine if this project delivers substantial benefits over currently planned service increases to Hamilton (e.g. West Harbour GO Station, Confederation GO Station)

Areas of further study

In addition to the challenges that need to be addressed for the three projects above, the Task Force has identified a few other areas that may warrant further study.

While the Task Force identified the need for more efficient goods movement as an important criterion, the recommended higher-order transit projects focused on the benefits of moving people. The McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics has carried out extensive consultations with a wide range of freight stakeholders within Hamilton and the larger metropolitan region since 2017 and there is widespread recognition within this group that investments in higher-order transit are aligned with the interests of freight movement.footnote 19 Well-executed higher-order transit provides a viable alternative to get large numbers of personal vehicles off the highways and roads, supporting metropolitan freight movements, which heavily relies on road infrastructure for first and last mile movements.

Recommendation 14

The Province should conduct further analysis for each of the recommended higher-order transit projects to understand the potential benefits for goods movement.

The Task Force acknowledges that any new infrastructure projects need to be integrated within the existing multi-modal transportation network and with planned improvements to the network. The Task Force reviewed local road, cycling and transit projects identified by the City and recommended these projects to be considered as complementary projects to the recommended higher-order transit projects.

Recommendation 15

For whichever transportation project(s) the Province choose to deliver, the Province should work with the City to identify and fund complementary active transportation and local infrastructure projects that would improve the connectivity of the City’s transportation network.

Summary of preliminary recommendations

  1. The Task Force’s general recommendation is to invest the $1 billion in higher-order transit, because these projects are expected to bring substantial benefits to the residents and businesses of the City of Hamilton.
  2. The Task Force’s initial preference is for an intra-city higher-order transit project that addresses the City of Hamilton’s transportation needs such as current and future demand and congestion. This could either be an LRT on the B-Line or BRTs on the B- and A-Lines (with additional complementary priority bus projects as part of the BLAST network). The LRT option on the B-Line could include the original project scope (if additional capital funding is identified), or a truncated version of the original project as a first phase provided the benefits meet or exceed the benefits of the original project and exceed the benefits of projects on the preliminary list of recommendations. The Task Force recommends that the Province and Metrolinx consider both of these projects equally and undertake further analysis concurrently to determine which project is the best fit for Hamilton’s transportation needs.
  3. The Task Force recommends that contract award or project construction (for significant early work infrastructure at a minimum) begins within two years of the submission of this report, or March 16, 2022, in order to provide substantial benefits to the City of Hamilton in a timely manner. In order to meet this two-year timeline, the Task Force recommends the Province proceed with work to address the challenges for all three projects simultaneously as well as explore potential tools for accelerating delivery of its chosen transportation project(s) in Hamilton, in consultation with the City.
  4. If, after further analysis, intra-city higher-order transit projects are not feasible, then the Task Force further recommends inter-city higher-order transit in the form of 15-minute two-way all-day GO rail service to Hamilton GO Centre station.
  5. The Province should also confirm a contract can be awarded, or work can begin (for significant early work infrastructure at a minimum) within two years on the delivery of two-way, all-day 15-minute service to Hamilton GO Centre Station.
  6. The Province should engage other levels of government to identify all potential capital funding contributions for a potential LRT project.
  7. The Province should explore opportunities to reduce the cost of the potential LRT project including alternative delivery models and alternative financing structures and sources (e.g., Canada Infrastructure Bank).
  8. If there is insufficient funding for the original LRT project scope, MTO should work with Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario to explore options to construct a segment of the LRT as a first phase. MTO should ensure the Phase 1 project can support a potential future LRT expansion. In the event that future phases do not materialize the shorter potential LRT route must illustrate greater transit benefits to the citizens of Hamilton when compared to the BRT/Commuter GO rail projects also recommended for investment by this Task Force.
  9. As a BRT option would be developed within the limitations of the King-Main St. corridor (B-line BRT) and Upper James St. corridor (A-line BRT), an initial priority of any work should focus on determining the technical feasibility of having fully separated bus lanes with platform-level boarding. The Task Force is not convinced any form of transit that runs in mixed traffic will deliver appropriate benefits to the people and businesses of Hamilton.
  10. The Province should confirm if the BRT projects can be implemented within the next two years and identify the possibility of project phasing to begin early works (e.g., leveraging the planning work completed for the LRT along the B-line; leveraging lessons learnt from the implementation of other BRTs like the viva BRT).
  11. Undertake a business case for the BRTs and priority bus options to get refined benefits and costs estimates. This business case should also explore the benefits of e-buses and potential extensions (east and west extensions of the B-line BRT to Fifty Road-Queen Elizabeth Way and University Plaza, respectively; extension of A-line BRT from Rymal Road to Hamilton International Airport).
  12. The Province should refine cost estimates for 15-minute, two-way, all-day GO service to Hamilton GO Centre Station, given wide range of current estimates.
  13. The Task Force recommends the Province explore the potential benefits and impacts of 15-minute, two-way, all-day GO service to Hamilton GO Centre Station, including economic development uplift and effect on current transportation network. The Province should explore these potential benefits to determine if this project delivers substantial benefits over currently planned service increases to West Harbour GO Station.
  14. The Province should conduct further analysis for each of the recommended higher-order transit projects to understand the potential benefits for goods movement.
  15. For whichever transportation project(s) the Province chooses to deliver, the Province should work with the City to identify and fund complementary active transportation and local infrastructure projects that would improve the connectivity of the City’s transportation network.

Concluding remarks

The Task Force would like to conclude this report by reiterating the importance of the task it was given. The people of Hamilton deserve a high-quality transportation network and $1 billion would go a long way towards supporting that outcome.

Even though the Task Force was appointed by and reports to the Minister of Transportation, the Task Force is first and foremost working for the citizens of Hamilton. As fellow citizens, the members of the Task Force want to see the City of Hamilton grow and thrive. The Task Force want to see Downtown Hamilton continue to grow as the economic and cultural heart of the City and want to see improved transportation connections between all parts of the city for all modes of transportation. The Task Force want to see substantial benefits for the residents and economy of Hamilton and believe the recommendations will assist by helping to solve Hamilton’s transportation needs, improving access and inter- and intra-city connectivity of the transportation network, addressing current and future demand and congestion and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Task Force has provided some recommendations for how the $1 billion could best fit Hamilton’s transportation needs. However, more work needs to be done. This report provides direction that is expected to help lay out the pathways the Province should explore to ensure the $1 billion allocated to Hamilton is used in the best way possible. To achieve this vision, the Task Force asks the Province and the City of Hamilton to work together on the higher-order transit as identified in our preliminary list of recommendations and, by doing so, put Hamiltonians first.

Appendix 1 : references

2041 Regional Transportation Plan. Metrolinx, 2018.

A.Nordlund and J. Garvill, "Effects of values, problem awareness, and personal norm on willingness to reduce personal car use," Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 339-347, 2003.

City of Hamilton. Corporate Goals and Areas of Focus for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. December 4, 2019

City of Hamilton. Epidemiology and Evaluation. A Statistical Profile of Older Adults in Hamilton. March 2019.

City of Hamilton. “Our Commitment to Our Community.”

City of Hamilton. Planning and Economic Development Department. Planning Division. City of Hamilton Annual Employment Survey 2018 and 2019 Tables and Charts. January 6, 2020.

City of Hamilton “Ten Year (2015 to 2024) Local Transit Strategy (PW14015a)” March 2015.

City of Hamilton “Transit : 2020 Operating Budget.” January 24, 2020.

City of Hamilton. Transportation Master Plan. October 2018.

Development Charges Background Study. Watson & Associates Economists Ltd., July 5, 2019.

Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan Draft Goals and Objectives. September 2017.

Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan Environmental Profile. March 2018

Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan Socio-Economic Profile. December 2017.

Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan Transportation Profile. November 2017.

Hamilton King-Main Rapid Transit Business Case Summary Report.

Light Rail Transit.” City of Hamilton.

Ferguson and A. Pilla, “Strategic Supply Chain Knowledge Development in the Hamilton-Niagara Area”. McMaster Institute for Transportation & Logistics. April 2019.

Metrolinx. Business Case Manual Volume 1 : Overview. December 2017. .

Metrolinx. Business Case Manual Volume 2 : Guidance. April 2019.

Preserving and Protecting our Environment for Future Generations : A Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan. Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, November 29, 2018.

Province of Ontario. A Place to Grow : Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. May 2019.

S. Handy, "Smart Growth and the Transportation-Land Use Connection : What does the Research Tell Us?," International Regional Science Review, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 146-167, 2005.

S. Handy, M. Boarnet, R. Ewing and R. Killingsworth, "How the Built Environment Affects Physical Activity," American Journal of Preventative Medicine, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 64-73, 2002.

S. Sears, M. Mohamed, M. Ferguson, S. Razavi and A. Paez, "Perceived Barriers to the Movement of Goods in Canada : A Grounded Theory Investigation," Manuscript submitted for publication, 2019.

Appendix 2 : member bios

Tony Valeri (Chair) - Vice President, Corporate Affairs at ArcelorMittal Dofasco.
Tony joined ArcelorMittal Dofasco in June 2011 from his own firm, Ridge Strategy Group, a public affairs and management consulting company.
He also served as a Member of Parliament for four consecutive terms, beginning in 1993. During his terms in office, Tony served as Minister of Transport and subsequently led the Government’s legislative program as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.
Tony is a graduate of McMaster University and is actively involved in the community. He is a member of the McMaster Board of Governors and a Director on the St. Joseph’s Health System Board.
Richard J. Brennan – Award-winning journalist who reported on politics including Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill for most of his 40-plus-year career.
Now retired, Richard is the only journalist who has been President of both the press galleries at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill.
In addition to working for the Toronto Star, Richard was city editor at The Record in Waterloo Region, served for three years on the Ontario Press Council, and was a director for the Ontario Newspaper Awards. He attended Mohawk College for journalism.
Anthony V. Primerano - Director of Government Relations for the Labourers International Union of North America (LiUNA), the largest trade union in North America with 800,000+ members.
Anthony previously served as Chief of Staff for the federal Ministries of Veteran Affairs, National Defence, Civil Preparedness and Canadian Heritage and advised corporations on corporate affairs, communications and reputation management. He also has extensive volunteer experience with community organizations.
Dr. Saiedeh Razavi - Director of the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics (MITL), Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, and the Chair in Heavy Construction at McMaster University.
Saiedeh’s formal education includes degrees in Computer Engineering (B.Sc.), Artificial Intelligence (M.Sc.) and Civil Engineering (Ph.D.). She has a multidisciplinary background and experience in collaborating and leading research projects for improving safety, mobility, environmental sustainability, and productivity of transportation systems and infrastructure projects.
In her role as Director of MITL, she brings together the private and public sectors with academia for the development of high-quality evidence-based research in mobility, transportation infrastructure, and logistics.
Janette Smith - City Manager at the City of Hamilton.
Janette has extensive public sector experience during her 30-year tenure at the Region of Peel prior to joining the City of Hamilton in May 2019. She served in various senior leadership roles at the Region of Peel including Commissioner of Public Works and Commissioner of Health Services.
Janette has completed leadership programs at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management and Queen’s Executive Development Program, and holds a Master of Health Science, Community Health from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Waterloo.

Appendix 3 : key resources

City of Hamilton Ten-Year (2016 – 2025) Strategic Plan

Approved by Hamilton City Council in June 2016, the City’s Ten-Year (2016 – 2025) Strategic Plan outlines its vision, mission, culture and priorities to help guide the City’s decisions and investments around the services that it delivers. The Strategic Plan was informed by over 54,000 resident conversations and more than 3,200 staff conversations.

The seven high-level priorities of the Strategic Plan are :

  1. Community Engagement and Participation
  2. Economic Prosperity and Growth
  3. Healthy and Safe Communities
  4. Clean and Green
  5. Built Environment and Infrastructure
  6. Culture and Diversity
  7. Our People and Performance

2018 to 2022 term of council priorities

For the 2018 – 2022 term, the City Council prioritized eight key focus areas for their term and was based on the 2016 – 2025 Strategic Plan priorities. The focus areas are : 

  1. Climate change : reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions to equal net zero emissions before 2050.
  2. Multi-modal transportation : achieve a 48% non-single occupant vehicle modal split by 2031 with a target of 15% for walk/cycle, 12% for transit and 21% for auto passenger and shared modes.
  3. Homelessness and affordable housing : transform Hamilton’s housing and homelessness system to ensure 100% of households (25% annually) on the Access to Housing waitlist are assessed to determine the opportunities for meeting their housing needs through alternative housing options by 2023.
  4. Equity, diversity and inclusion : equity-seeking communities will feel safe, supported and have an enhanced sense of belonging through strengthening community capacity, City responsiveness and creating inclusive engagement opportunities.
  5. Integrated growth and development : meet city growth forecasts by 2041 for population and employment in accordance with the Provincial Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
  6. Trust and confidence in city government : provide the public with greater access to City government information and opportunities to become more engaged in decision making processes that impact their community.
  7. Fiscal health and financial management : enhanced ability to fund operations (including capital), both current and future, to support sustainable service delivery.
  8. A healthy, respectful and supportive workplace : ensure a healthy, respectful and supportive workplace.

City in Motion : City of Hamilton Transportation Master Plan (2018) review and update

The City’s Transportation Master Plan (2018) is a strategic policy document developed to provide the framework which guides future transportation-related studies, projects, initiatives and decisions. The Transportation Master Plan was updated in 2018 and looks out to a planning horizon of 2031.

To support the development of the Transportation Master Plan (2018), extensive public engagement activities were undertaken across Hamilton including 14 Public Information Centre (PIC) events, three online surveys and information booths/kiosks at 30 City-wide events. In total, 3,500 people were engaged in person and through online surveys.

The Transportation Master Plan has three desired outcomes that are closely aligned with the City’s Strategic Plan priorities.

  1. Sustainable and balanced transportation system
  2. Healthy and safe communities
  3. Economic prosperity and growth

City of Hamilton Ten-Year (2015-2024) Local Transit Strategy

The Ten-Year (2015-2024) Local Transit Strategy, approved by Council on March 11, 2015, builds upon Rapid Ready (a five-year multi-modal transportation plan approved by City Council on February 27, 2013) and provides short term actions for City Council to continue developing Hamilton’s transit network.

This strategy addresses :

  • Current system deficiencies
  • Updated service standards and the alignment of service to meet them
  • The accommodation of future growth
  • Increases in ridership through the introduction of additional bus service on the B.L.A.S.T. corridors
  • Improvements to the customer experience
  • Methods to help transit run faster and more reliable, known as transit priority measures
  • Funding sustainability including a multi-year fare strategy

Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan Work

The 2019 Fall Economic Statement committed to developing regional transportation plans that look at all modes of travel – road, rail, air and marine – as one integrated transportation system. As part of this commitment, MTO is carrying out a planning study to develop a long-term transportation plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe that will look out to 2051 and beyond.

A number of streams of engagement have been established to get input from partners and stakeholders as the plan is developed including : online surveys, interviews with thought leaders, an Indigenous Partners Forum, direct engagement with First Nations and Metis communities, a Municipal Technical Advisory Committee and an Inter-ministerial Committee.

MTO has developed planning goals and objectives based on extensive stakeholder and public input. The draft goals of the Transportation Plan for the GGH are :

  • Healthy : a transportation system that supports active, safe and healthy living.
  • Equitable : a transportation system that serves all users.
  • Environmentally Sustainable : a transportation system that protects the environment.
  • Economically Responsible : a transportation system that is cost effective and affordable.
  • Resilient : a transportation system that can adapt to future change.
  • Prosperous : a transportation system that supports economic growth and job creation.
  • Integrated : a transportation system that is coordinated with land use and supports communities that provide convenient access to jobs, services, housing and transportation options.
  • Connected : a transportation system that efficiently connects people, places and goods.

Metrolinx 2041 Regional Transportation Plan

The 2041 Regional Transportation Plan (2041 RTP) was developed in 2018 in response to the fact that the GTHA region is growing quickly, and the province must continue the investments in transportation infrastructure to ensure that people can get to where they need to go, today and in the future.

Developed in partnership with municipal partners and others, the 2041 RTP builds on the successes of The Big Move (2008), the first regional transportation plan for the GTHA. It presents a vision for the future, and sets out creating strong connections, complete travel experiences, and sustainable and healthy communities as the 2041 RTP’s three goals. To achieve this vision and these three goals, the 2041 RTP outlines five strategies :

  1. Complete the delivery of current regional transit projects
  2. Connect more of the region with frequent rapid transit
  3. Optimize the transportation system
  4. Integrate transportation and land use
  5. Prepare for an uncertain future

Metrolinx Business Case Guidance

In 2019, Metrolinx released the last of its guidance documents to describe how they develop consistent and comparable business cases for a range of potential transport investments.

These guidance documents are used by Metrolinx, the Ministry, as well as municipalities to guide the development of project business cases and act as a resource to ensure consistent and comparable analysis is applied across projects.

The Task Force received a presentation from Metrolinx on its Business Case and project evaluation process. Metrolinx’s business case process was a valuable resource for the Task Force as it worked to develop a methodology to establish its own assessment framework.

Appendix 4 : Hamilton project(s) submission public transit stream investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP)

The following projects were submitted by the City of Hamilton for consideration under the Public Transit stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) :

 
ProjectDescriptionTotal Cost ($M)Federal Contribution ($M) (40%)Provincial Contribution ($M) (33.33%)Municipal Contribution ($M) (26.67%)
Maintenance and Storage FacilityConstruction of new transit maintenance and storage facility$260.0$104.0$86.7$69.3
Replacement FleetReplacement of existing bus fleet that have reached their serviceable end of life$114.1$45.6$38.0$30.4
Expansion Fleet (10 Year Plan)Expansion of the bus fleet as part of Hamilton’s Local 10-Year Transit Strategy$73.3$29.3$24.4$19.6
A-Line Priority Bus Corridor (10 Year Plan)Construction of infrastructure improvements (e.g., queue jump lanes), transit signal priority and transit stop enhancements along the A-Line corridor$8.5$3.4$2.8$2.3
Birch Avenue Bridge/RoadReplacement of Birch Avenue bridge and associated road works$31.0$12.4$10.3$8.3
PRESTO

 Device Refresh

Replacement of PRESTO devices on current bus fleet and fixed locations$5.0$2.0$1.7$1.3
Computer-Aided Dispatching (CAD) / Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) ReplacementReplacement of hardware and software that connects buses with dispatching and automatic vehicle location system.$9.0$3.6$3.0$2.4
Active Transportation ConnectionsConstruction of strategic active transportation projects (e.g., cycling facilities, pedestrian connections, extension of bike-share system)$10.0$4.0$3.3$2.7
TotalN/A$510.9$204.4$170.3$136.3

Appendix 5: projects considered

  • Metrolinx 2041 Regional Transportation Plan
    • Lakeshore West 15-minute GO Service Extension (Aldershot GO to Hamilton GO)
    • Hamilton B-Line LRT
    • Hamilton B-Line BRT
    • Hamilton A-Line BRT
    • Hamilton A-Line South Priority Bus (Rymal Rd. – Hamilton Munro International Airport)
    • Hamilton L-Line Priority Bus (Downtown Hamilton – Waterdown)
    • Hamilton S-Line Priority Bus (Ancaster Business Park – Confederation GO)
    • Hamilton Mohawk T-Line Priority Bus (Centre Mall – Meadowlands Terminal)
  • Additional transit options
    • Hamilton B-Line East and West Extensions
    • Dundas Connector Priority Bus
    • Plains/Fairview Priority Bus
  • Various provincial highway projects considered through Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan or identified by MTO to be in early planning
  • Unfunded projects from the City of Hamilton Ten-Year Capital Plan (excluding projects requesting ICIP funding or funded through development charges)
    • Four Transit Projects.
    • Over 70 Roads and Bridges Projects
    • Cycling Projects (both urban and rural) from the City of Hamilton’s Transportation Master Plan
  • Other projects
    • Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
    • On-Demand Transit Service for Areas Underserved by Transit
    • Mid-Peninsula Highway

Appendix 6: description of transit types discussed

Higher order transit

Transit that generally operates in its own dedicated right-of-way, outside of mixed traffic, and therefore can achieve a frequency of service greater than mixed-traffic transit. Higher order transit can include heavy rail (such as subways), light rail (such as streetcars), and buses in dedicated rights-of-way. It includes all forms of rapid transit, and both terms are often interchangeable.

Rapid transit service is separated partially or completely from general vehicular traffic and therefore able to maintain higher levels of speed, reliability and vehicle productivity than can be achieved by transit vehicles operating in mixed traffic.

Light Rail Transit (LRT)

Streetcar trains (up to three or four cars per train) operating on protected rights-of-way adjacent to or in the medians of roadways or rail rights-of-way. Generally, at-grade, possibly with some sections operating in mixed-traffic and/or in tunnels. Electric power is normally via an overhead trolley or pantograph.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Similar to light rail transit operating predominantly in protected rights-of-way, separate from other traffic, but using advanced bus technology. Also includes buses operating in mixed traffic on controlled-access expressways that employ congestion management such as tolls, thereby allowing the buses to maintain high average speeds.

Priority bus

Allows buses to run quickly and reliably by providing protection from mixed traffic (e.g., high-occupancy vehicle lanes on arterial roads, turn prohibitions or other traffic restrictions) and using other transit priority measures such as queue jump lanes and signal priority at intersections. Priority Bus routes running in Priority Bus corridors have wider spacing between stops (e.g., every 300 to 800 metres) to improve travel times over longer distances. Features such as all-door boarding and safe, comfortable stations can further improve service and enhance the customer experience. An advantage of Priority Bus corridors is the potential to implement additional priority measures (e.g., new queue jumps, more aggressive signal priority, or new turn prohibitions for mixed traffic) as conditions evolve (e.g., in response to population and employment growth, or an increase in congestion). These corridors can eventually be converted into BRT, LRT or even subway corridors as demand grows.

Sources :

The Big Move. Metrolinx, November 2008.

2041 Regional Transportation Plan. Metrolinx, 2018.