STUDENT

We have both read and abide by the fieldwork guidelines.

GEOG 1HB3
Human Geographies: City and Economy

Assignment 2
Proposal for Light Rail Transit in North-Central Hamilton

Instructor’s Name: Dr. Michael Mercier

Source: Gleave, 2016

Over the past few years, there has been talk of a huge advancement coming to

Hamilton’s public transit system. This multibillion dollar project, that is to be paid by the

Ontario Government, is not only going to improve the lives of many who currently use

public transit but also some that drive around who wish to save money along with the

environment. An LRT transportation system or Light Rail Transit is a means of fast and

clean transportation, powered electrically, that is safe comfortable and reliable (City of

Hamilton). This projects hopes to increase job opportunities since LRT’s provide a quick

mode of transportation that connects to GO transits stations like Hamilton GO Station

and the West Harbour GO Station. This is convenient for employees that need to travel

to a different city, whether that it be someone leaving or coming to Hamilton. Based on

our fieldwork, we will be providing our greatest opinion of where the LRT route should

run through North-Central Hamilton. We will be exhibiting to you our chosen stops along

the route, with justification provided, and reasons for a rejected route and stops.

• Background Information on the Hamilton Light Rail Transit System

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) is a transportation system that plans to run from

McMaster to Eastgate Square and Waterfront to the Hamilton Airport located on the

mountain. What makes the transit so fast and convenient is that it will not stop at local

traffic stops for cars. Its tracks will be placed either curb side with a barrier or in a

median separating traffic locating in the middle of streets (City of Hamilton). It allows for

predictable journey times so you can appropriately plan your trips and never be late

again. With the LRT’s east-west route, you can get to any major commercial places in
downtown Hamilton efficiently. One of the greatest benefits of the LRT is its integration

with GO Transit, making it quick, easy and cheap to get large groups of people from the

Greater Hamilton Area to the Greater Toronto Area and back whether it be for work,

shopping or an entertainment event. Hamiltons LRT’s would have a clean and

innovative look that will stimulate economic growth and help contribute to the ongoing

revitalization in Hamilton. This has already proven to be successful in various different

cities across Canada (City of Hamilton). This will attract new investors and bring more

jobs to Hamilton. The planning and construction of tracks and multiple stops around the

city would create many jobs itself not the mention jobs needed for maintaining of all this.

With the addition of LRT’s to Hamilton’s streets, there would be less cars on the road

and less emissions since LRT’s will run on electricity, improving the quality of our

atmosphere vastly (City of Hamilton). The LRT is a solution to many different problems

that come from driving cars. If more people can switch to the LRT system, they would

benefit themselves by saving money from car payments, parking, and insurance. But

there would also be less problems like car accidents, drivers under the influence, or

even just car trouble in the winter with harsh weather conditions. “LRT’s proven

technology is used around the world. The guideway for the trains is maintained to permit

safe and reliable operation in adverse weather conditions” (City of Hamilton). With that

being said, the system is clearly tough enough to be withstand the downsides of

Canadian winters. The LRT system is a great and promising change to the city of

Hamilton that will effect the lives of many, leaving this city better off and in contention

with cities like Toronto for one of the greatest places to live in Canada.
• Suggested Route (North-South)

After much thought of various different routes, we have come up with one that we

believe to best suit citizens and tourists of Hamilton now and for the future. Our route

begins traveling south on James street, west on King street, south on Queen street, and

then east on Main street. For many reasons we believe that this route best

accommodates people that will be utilizing this system in there everyday lives.

Our route starts on James street in an area that is highly condensed with townhouse

residents. The West Harbour GO station is walking distance from the start of this route

so people coming from other cities will look to take advantage of this. Along James

street there are many restaurants, banks, art galleries, and places to shop. Next the

route goes west onto King street. On it you can find Jackson Square with First Ontario

Centre just around the corner which are two major attractions. The route proceeds

south on Queen street with a variety of bars and restaurants. Followed up by going east

on Main street where you have quite historic places like City Hall, the Canadian Football

Hall of Fame and the Superior Court of Justice.

The route is primarily designed for the advantage people who are coming to

Hamilton from the West Harbour GO station and residents who live downtown. It allows

them to get to a variety of places, whether that be for work or pleasure, quickly and

safe. The disadvantage to this route is the amount of turns since it could slow down the

speed of the LRT. We are willing to sacrifice that in order to give passengers a larger

radius of places to go to . To fix this problem we stuck to only 3 stations since that

means less time wasted when large groups of people get on or off at stations.
• Suggested Station 1

The location of stations that were chosen have been carefully selected to provide

passengers with the opportunity to travel to a variety of different places and see what

Hamilton has to offer. The first suggested station is located at the northwest corner of

James street north and Strachan street east. This station is perfect for the large number

of people that will come from the West Harbour GO station as well as Liuna Station.

This station is also surrounded by a large and condensed residential area with many

people that will need to get to the centre on downtown for reasons like shopping, eating,

or entertainment. There are schools in the area that will have many students and

teacher having places to go after school. Near this station there is also a parking lot for

those who need to park their car before getting to there desired location via the LRT

system. The suggested station located at the northwest corner will be replacing the
space provided by the existing bus stop, making for a quick and cost friendly transition.

The advantage to the stop is the high number of residents in the area. The

disadvantage of having this stop is that there are sidewalks down James street will need

to be taken in to make room for the railway. Another disadvantage is that our next stop

is considerably far away with many businesses being passed along James street. A

solution to this would be placing another station at the northwest corner on James street

north and Cannon street east. The area also has a couple of apartment complexes

which made benefit many.

The second suggested station is located at the southeast corner of King street

west and Bay street south. This means that when the LRT turns right onto King street, it

switches from travelling on the right side of the road to the left side of the road in

preparation for the next two left turns. While doing so, caution must be used not to

intersect the LRT along the east-west route. Because King street is one way travelling

west, this LRT can move with the flow of traffic. There is also enough sidewalk space to

make room for an LRT station. This station is expected to be our most popular one

since it is located across the street from Jackson square. This is a large mall that

attracts many people interested in shopping. It also has restaurants, the Sheraton

Hamilton Hotel and has provided many jobs for people. The Art Gallery of Hamilton is

down the street for anybody with some taste in art. Just up Bay street is First Ontario
Centre where you can watch a variety of concerts and hockey games for our Hamilton

Bulldogs. Other everyday places people may wish to travel to in the area is the Hamilton

Public Library, Goodlife Fitness, and nearby banks. King and Bay is a very busy

intersection so with the LRT station located right on it, traffic congestion should be

reduced with the increase in users of this transit, overall improving travel time of those.

An advantage to this station is the amount of lights that will be on at night,

provided by business signs and the large number of light posts. This provides safety for

passengers who would be waiting to use the transit late at night. A disadvantage to this

station is that there are not a lot of residential areas nearby.

• Suggested Station 3

The third station is located at the northwest corner of Main street west and Hess

street south. The route will on the left side of the road so that it continues with the flow

of traffic and so that the return route can be easily accessed on James street. The

advantage to this station is that there are currently five lanes along that part of Main

street, one of them being a left turn lane onto Hess. With so many lanes on Main street,

it would be easy to fit the track onto the far left lane for the LRT route. This station is

also closely located to a variety of important places like City Hall, the Superior court of

justice and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame & Museum. Main street is a very

congested street filled with both cars and pedestrians. The LRT would reduce both of

these issues allowing for a faster travel to destinations.

The advantage to this station is the width of the street which can fit a station on

both sides of the street making it useful as an interchange station. The disadvantage to
this station that it is located on the left side of traffic. This means that cars will need to

yield the LRT when turning left which could cause some congestion at times when an

LRT is on this street.

• The Return Route (South-North)

This route will also be traveling north back to the waterfront area. This is perfect

for the many people that live in those residential areas as well as people seeking the

use of the West Harbour GO station. The proposed return route would continue

travelling west long Main street until John street. The LRT will turn left and continue on

the left side of the road with the flow of traffic making multiple stops along the way. The

route will go as far as Burlington street and then precede to make its way back to the

original station at James street and Strachan street.

• Rejected Route

As previously stated, much thought was put into various routes but ultimately we

found this one to be much too complicated. The route starts travelling south on James

street, west on Cannon street, south on Queen street, east on George street, north on

Bay street, east on York boulevard and finally north on John street. The main reason

the route was rejected is its intersection with the west-east LRT route. There would

need to be insurance that no LRT would ever run late nor early or else they would

collide into each other.

The first rejected station was at the corner of James Street north and Cannon

Street east. It originally seemed like a prime location for a station until further analysis

was completed. The corner is located right in the middle of the shops and boutiques that

line James Street. We originally thought it would make these shops very accessible to

those whom live in the residential suburbs, and easy access for shoppers and workers

to return home to the residential housing. Ultimately, we rejected this location because

this stop is only convenient to the shoppers and workers who need quick access to

another nearby LRT Station or residential areas. We believed that we could serve a

larger population and therefore serve more purpose.

• Rejected Station 2

The second rejected station was at the corner of Hess Street south and George

Street. We considered the many bars and restaurants in the area, and the highly dense

nightlife this specific area sees. It would be a convenient option for those who seek a

nightlife, bringing them right in the middle of the nightlife festivities, along with being a

safe reliable option for all intoxicated partiers to arrive home safely. Upon further

analysis, we noticed that Hess Street south is one way through Hess Village and

George Street is a very narrow one-way single-lane road that would be hard to run an

LRT system down. We ultimately decided to move this station from this location one

block down the street to Main Street west in order to still give nightlife attendees easy

access.
• Rejected Station 3

The third rejected station was at the corner of John Street north and Picton Street

east. Located right at the corner of two elementary schools, we thought that an LRT

station this close to two elementary schools would be very convenient to students,

teachers, and even parents. Teachers and students wouldn’t have to worry about

dropping off and picking up their children. We decided against this location because

even though it is very convenient to the school population, it is inconvenient to any rider

not in the school population to have to ride through this high traffic area, along the way

around John Street. We believed there was a similar location we could use which would

be convenient to both the school population and surrounding residential areas.

Especially since most students that attend schools in the area presumably live in the

area around the schools and could easily walk home quicker.

• North-South Route intersects with West-East Route

When the proposed route moving south along James street approaches and

turns west onto King street, the two routes will intersect. However the B-Line transits is

supposed to be in the middle of King street. This means that as long as that right turn is

made on time, the LRT will be able to continue west down King street on the left side of

the road. It is essential to ensure the safety of all passengers and bystanders, which is

why all LRT’s are equipped with GPS, allowing the position and speed of all machinery

to be monitored. As already stated, the LRT system will created many jobs and this is

an example of one.
• Conclusion

In conclusion, Hamilton’s transition into the future, an LRT system, would greatly

benefit our society and the quality of life here. The LRT system is a fast and safe, yet

affordable, means of transportation that will create jobs, help reduce congestion and

emission in our environment, and also attract investors to our city. People that come to

visit our city will be able to easily travel from one attraction to the next, comfortably and

in style! With so much to see in so little time, this transit is a must for a revitalizing city

like Hamilton. It is time for us to jump on the LRT-wagon.

• References

ArcGIS. (2016, November) James Street: Retrieved November 28, 2016, from http://

www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html

City of Hamilton. (2016, November) Light Rail Transit: Retrieved November 28, 2016,

from https://www.hamilton.ca/city-initiatives/priority-projects/light-rail-transit-lrt

Gleave, S. (Photographer). (2015, May). Take a ride on Hamilton’s proposed LRT route:

CBC News. Retrieved November 28, 2016, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/

hamilton/news/take-a-ride-on-hamilton-s-proposed-lrt-route-1.3086616

Google Maps. (2016, November) Downtown Hamilton: Retrieved November 28, 2016,

from https://www.google.ca/maps/place/James+St+N+%26+Strachan+St+W,

+Hamilton,+ON/@43.2669524,-79.8667646,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!

1s0x882c9c79c98a0d3b:0x5708528223f89350!8m2!3d43.2669524!

4d-79.8645759