Hamilton core transit lane

Some major changes are coming to Hamilton’s downtown on one of the city’s busiest roads; King Street. In a couple of weeks, the city will be introducing a “Transit-only lane.” Lisa Hepfner has the details.

Over the next couple weeks you’ll start to notice signs going up along King Street starting at Mary and going beyond Dundurn. And as of Tuesday, October 22nd, this north side of the street will be transit only, much of the south side of the same stretch will be parking. So that means only one or two lanes for regular vehicles to travel on King Street.

This project will be in effect for one year. It’s supposed to help gauge the efficiency of a rapid transit system in downtown Hamilton. In fact, Metrolinx is funding this project, which will include signage, painting lines on the road, and a new pay and display parking system on the south side. Some parking will be eliminated in some stretches, but parking will be added in other stretches and the city says overall, there will be more parking on King Street than before. But there’s no question this is one of the most congested areas of the city now, and that is bound to get worse once the lanes are reduced for the average driver. I spoke to the city’s project manager about this and also some long-standing business owners in the area.

Christine Lee-Morrison is with Hamilton Public Works: “Isn’t the traffic messed up enough as it is? Certainly, King Street is the busiest corridor for traffic, but also for transit. We’re looking at how to better move people through the city, and this is the ideal place for us to have a dedicated transit lane.”

Louis is the Owner of déjà vu on King Street: “So how are they supposed to stop and do business? And it’s dangerous. I don’t know why they’re moving the bus lane to here. It’s going to cause the slush to splash on our windows. And all the businesses are on this side of the street, they’re not on the south side.”

Louis has had his business there for 30 years. He also told me though, he thinks the LRT is a good idea. He’s just worried that businesses will suffer a lot during the transition period.
There will be a $65 fine if you’re caught driving in a bus only lane; cars are only allowed to enter them if they’re turning into a drive or down another street. All manner of buses and emergency vehicles can use the dedicated lane, and taxis and DART vehicles can stop briefly to pick up or let off passengers.