Critical Hamilton LRT design details coming on Wednesday

Will King Street be two way with Hamilton's new light-rail transit system (LRT)? What will happen at International Village, where the street whittles down to two lanes? Will LRT have its own bridge over Highway 403?

These answers and more are expected in a new LRT design report that will be released Wednesday morning.

Part of the expectation is that we want this to be rapid, reliable and safe.- Paul Johnson, director of LRT project co-ordination

The city will post its agenda for the LRT subcommittee meeting on May 2, and included in that, design plans from Steer Davis Gleave for the $1-billion project.

Some details of the plan have already leaked and reported in the Hamilton Spectator. Among them: the rumour that King Street will be two way along the B-line route from Dundurn to the Queenston traffic circle, and that the A-line will run down James Street North to the West Harbour GO station – and possibly the waterfront.

• Read more: Take a ride on Hamilton's proposed LRT route

• Read more: Premier pledges $1 billion for Hamilton LRT and expanded GO

Paul Johnson, director of LRT project co-ordination, wouldn't confirm any of those details on Tuesday.

For example, he wouldn't spell out whether King Street will be two-way. But he did say that the B-line LRT rail line will likely be segregated along King Street, and that segregated lines require two-way traffic.

Movement restrictions

He wouldn't confirm James North as the spur line route either, but acknowledged that detail has "been widely reported."

Johnson also said that there will have to be "movement restrictions," such as no left turns and U-turn restrictions, to make the system run smoothly. But the full details will be released on Wednesday.

"Tomorrow, we'll confirm the running style," he said.

"Part of the expectation is that we want this to be rapid, reliable and safe."

These details are vastly important to Hamilton, particularly people who frequently travel the route of the future LRT line.

Last year, the province pledged $1 billion to build the line. Metrolinx has the lion's share of control over the project. The city will weigh in on major project components.

The report Wednesday will not include making Main Street two way, Johnson said. That decision will come in the fall after Metrolinx and the city have done more traffic modeling work this summer.

"All of the corridors have options," he said.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2019, with the line opening in 2024.

Some councillors worry that between now and 2019, there will be provincial and municipal elections, and decisions by new political bodies could kill the project. Johnson says it's possible preliminary construction could happen in 2018, but major construction will start in 2019.

Meanwhile, Premier Kathleen Wynne spoke about the project during an unrelated stop in Hamilton on Tuesday.

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that people love change," she said to some laughter. "They love it when diggers and shovels come to their neighbourhood to dig up a road or build a new thing. So there will be a certain amount of discomfort as we go through this."

The province will "work with Hamilton city council" to "be doing everything in our power to give people information," she said. But when it's finished, "it will be wonderful."

"People will love it and use it. We've got to keep our eye on that."

The city will release Wednesday's report on its website, and tweet it at @cityofhamilton.