Hamilton councillors want answers from Metrolinx and MTO on new LRT plan

Hamilton city councillors say they've been left in the dark on the city's planned light-rail transit (LRT) system, and they're asking Metrolinx and the province to come answer some questions.

City council's general issues committee voted unanimously Wednesday to invite Metrolinx and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to discuss the latest iteration of the multi-billion-dollar LRT system.

It's taken several turns in recent months — most notably, the province saying in February that it was reviving the project if the federal government would chip in money too. If Ottawa spends $1.5 billion to the province's $1 billion, the province said, the system could run from McMaster University to Gage Park. The Labourers' International Union of North America (LiUNA) is also involved.

That's a shorter route than previously planned, and councillors only know what's going on through media articles, says Coun. Chad Collins (Ward 5, Centennial). 

"They've unilaterally changed it," said Collins, who moved sending the invitation. "They've unilaterally sent the proposal to the federal government."

"I'm not certain there's support on council, or in the community, for a revised project."

Coun. Brad Clark (Ward 9, upper Stoney Creek) agreed.

"This is just happening out there without our involvement," he said.

Coun. Judi Partridge (Ward 15, Flamborough), an LRT opponent, says council has always been assured there'd be "off ramps" if it wanted to pull out of the project. She wants assurance that they're still there. The city, she says, still hasn't even seen the operating costs. 

"This is really important for us, as a council, to have a vote on something."

Mayor Fred Eisenberger, a staunch LRT supporter, said he's already written a letter inviting Metrolinx and MTO to speak to council. In fact, "I believe [the letter is] already gone."

Council's feelings on the LRT project have always been mixed. The project dates back to 2007, when the city used a Metrolinx grant for an environmental assessment of a 14-kilometre project that ran alternately down Main and King Streets, from McMaster to Eastgate Square. 

In 2015, the Liberal provincial government announced $1 billion, calling it "the full capital cost" of building the LRT. That plan included a spur line that ran down James Street North to the waterfront. 

Metrolinx spent $162 million on the project, buying several properties to make way for the line. In December 2019, Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney cancelled the project, saying it had gone over budget and Hamilton couldn't afford it.

A new estimate shows it would cost between $2.2 and $2.5 billion to build a line from McMaster to Gage Park.