How functional will the James St. GO station be for Pan Am Games?

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Some concerns tonight about how functional the new James Street North GO station will be. Thousands of fans heading to Tim Hortons Field to watch Pan Am soccer are expected to arrive and depart from the new station. Organizers say it will be ready in time for the games. But as Donna Skelly reports, it depends on how you define “ready.”

It’s a busy work site that appears far from complete but according to Metrolinx, in just 12 days it will be ready to accept thousands of passengers heading to the Pan Am Games. The government agency that oversees transportation projects in the GTHA, says Hamilton’s new West Harbour GO station will be up and running by July 9th. They say the new building will be finished and will have washrooms, a ticket booth and an elevator.

Don Bradbury has been watching the progress of the GO station since construction began. Now in his 90’s, the former president of Transport 2000 says he’s doubtful the station will be fully operational in time for the games. “I come down to see how they are getting along…and it’s crazy. It won’t work.”

Will the site be ready to accept trains carrying thousands of passengers for the Pan Am Games? Probably. Will the station be complete with washrooms and ticket booths? That will be tight. Is Metrolinx delivering exactly what it promised so that Hamilton could showcase all that it has to offer? Not even close.

In a document, dated October 2012, Metrolinx outlined plans to have a fully functioning building, two platforms, a kiss and ride, parking for over 400 cars , bike and pedestrian pathways, a bus loop and two tracks – all finished in time for the Pan Am games. But as progress lagged the message changed. Metrolinx now refers to that document as a preliminary plan. It says a revised document, from early 2014 pushed most of that work to phase two of the project.

As for the site, construction will stop during the Pan Am Games and will continue as soon as they are over.