Mayor, councillors tour Hamilton wards to explore challenges, opportunities

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath, city councillors and some staff took a ward-by-ward bus tour Wednesday to explore the city.

The bus tour started downtown Hamilton and drove through the streets where each ward councillor gave a brief intro about their ward.

Councillors outlined issues in their wards like traffic safety on Main and King Streets.

“Concerns about the natural environment a lot of concern about safety of roads and walkways and paths for bicycles. Basically all road users. Information about the agricultural areas of our city,” Horwath said.

Ward 11’s new city councillor Mark Tadeson talked about the concerns around the urban boundary expansion in Glanbrook.

“We do understand that the city is going to have to expand at some point. We’re hoping that could be done in a responsible way that makes sense for the people living here now,” Tadeson explained.

The tour also stopped at the Woodward Water Treatment Facility for a brief tour of the plant. Among other things that were discussed in the meeting were the city’s watersheds and conservation areas.

Some councillors said the tour is useful for future meetings.

“Every Ward councillor gives us each an opportunity to understand their community so that when it comes to council deliberations we’re well informed and we have a point of vantage that we can reference based on this tour as we deliberate decisions around the horseshoe,” Ward 3 councillor Nrinder Nann said.