The short, tumultuous life of Hamilton's Bay Street LRT stop
A staff report said the stop would cost about $2.6 million
First it lived. Then it died. Then it lived again.
But in the end, the idea of a Bay Street stop for Hamilton's light rail transit (LRT) system just couldn't make it past another round of scrutiny, and Hamilton city councillors narrowly voted Tuesday to kill the idea again.
Hamilton's $1 billion LRT system runs from McMaster University to the Queenston traffic circle, stopping 14 times along the way. But it bypasses Bay and King, the quickest access point to the southwest corner of Jackson Square, and McMaster's new David Braley Health Sciences Centre, and FirstOntario Centre.
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The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce first asked for a Bay Street stop. The city's LRT subcommittee voted to ask Metrolinx to look at the idea. But when the issue came to all councillors at city council's general issues committee, that group voted 9-6 to kill it.
Jason Farr, Ward 2 councillor, wasn't ready to give up. City council has to ratify any decisions made at the committee level. So when the Bay Street stop decision came to city council, he urged his fellow councillors to table it. They agreed.
The stop made it to Tuesday, a marathon general issues committee meeting that lasted about 13 hours. Twelve hours into it, the exhausted councillors got to the Bay Street item.
A staff report laid out the information. The stop would cost about $2.6 million, it said. It would mean acquiring four properties totaling 0.13 acres, as well as one full property of 0.24 acres. Overall, it would add about 50 seconds of additional travel time on the B line LRT system.
But the city and Metrolinx could talk about it, the report said. It could happen.
Perhaps sensing it wouldn't pass, Farr tried to table it again. April 19, he suggested, would be a better day to talk about this.
"You want another kick at the can to sell it to us," Coun. Donna Skelly told him.
Lloyd Ferguson, Ancaster councillor, proposed pitching the stop to Metrolinx with the provision that it would be the first element cut if LRT went over-budget. Councillors voted 8-7 against that. And the Bay Street stop died again.
There's one more chance. City council will ratify Tuesday's decision, likely early next month. Council could overturn the decision then, but it seems unlikely.
On Tuesday, several people presented in favour of the stop. That includes Paul O'Byrne, dean and vice president of McMaster's faculty of health sciences, as well as representatives from the chamber of commerce and the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Who voted in favour of a Bay Street stop
Aidan Johnson (Ward 1), Farr, Matthew Green (3), Sam Merulla (4), Terry Whitehead (8), Mayor Fred Eisenberger, Lloyd Ferguson (12).
Who was opposed
Chad Collins (5), Tom Jackson (6), Donna Skelly (7), Arlene VanderBeek (13), Judi Partridge (15), Brenda Johnson (11), Maria Pearson (10), Doug Conley (9).