Minutes for the June 17, 2008 Meeting

Summary of the discussion and action items from the June 17, 2008 meeting.

1. Overview of public works committee decision to proceed to phase 2 of rapid transit initiative with a focus on light rail

• Now going to full council and is expected to pass with ease. Update: the recommendation was passed by council).

• Nicholas outlined his presentation on behalf of HLR to the committee

  • one question from a councillor after presentation to clarify costs (investment vs. ROI)

• Public works (PW) staff were in attendence and talked about:

  • Public works was asked by councillors to get more public feedback

  • PW will hold more consultations and have new ideas to get this feedback

  • PW will look at Clairmount Access as an alternative to a tunnel up the mountain, in order to meet a tight September deadline they will not look at the Jolly cut

  • PW tried to get a light rail car to display in Gore park but two major companies said the car(s) they use for such displays were not in North America

  • PW will contact Alstrom as well

  • Whether two ways on Main or on both King and Main is not a current priority so will be left for a latter stage

  • Need to do an environmental assessment

  • Examining possible staging of construction, ie if it is possible to build in sections and if so which ones

  • PW sees HLR's role to continue to promote LRT in the community and with the media, a role PW as part of the city has limited ability to do

2. Nicholas' trip to Bordeaux, France

• Spoke to head of economic development in Bordeaux:

  • Two year construction period, extremely disruptive, chose to do it all at once

  • Merchant subsidy was created

  • At the same time completely rebuild the streets (one way to two ways, cycling lanes, sidewalks…)

  • Added waterfront park

  • Required all property owners on the lines to renovate building façades at their own expense

  • In retrospect it worked but in the short term was disruptive

  • Created 10-15 km at once including in the centre of the city

  • Should have made longer platforms as was more popular than anticipated and don't have the ability to use longer trains

  • Increased city pride

3. Updates on LRT endorsements

• New letters of support: Realtors Association, Chamber of Commerce, President of McMaster (Peter George)

• Other letters: Ward 2 neighbourhood association (need to get a hold of it), homebuilders (expected soon), Downtown BIA (unsure), International BIA (unsure)

4. Glossy one-page handout created by Simon

• Cost $1.10 each (with colour right to edge)

• Idea to put handout on the site as a PDF

• Give to council members who did not get a copy as they are not part of the public works committee

• Best to hand out individually or personally to small groups into order to attain maximum impact taking into account cost

• Possibly sent copy to those in support

5. Next outreach steps

• Mac staff not only profs but all other staff, possibly via union
• Staff at Mac hospital, Mohawk, airport, malls (ie large employers)
• Nicholas talked to student union, use connection with current transit pass, highlight access to GO and bus overcrowding issues
• Link with McMaster Innovation Park
• Need to create an overall political and media strategy, most notably understanding the views of each councillor
• Parking issues need to be taken into account, especially at the end of the lines

Next Meeting

The next HLR/TUG meeting will be on Tuesday, July 15, 7:30 PM, at the FRWY Cafe, 333 King Street East (at Wellington St. N.) Hamilton, ON L8N 1C1.