Hamilton’s public transit agency is rolling into a major milestone this week— its 150th anniversary. But the celebrations arrive against a backdrop of tensions between workers and the city over the future LRT system.
Transit unions and advocates are still urging the city to hit the brakes on its decision to allow a private third party to launch Hamilton’s LRT, sidelining the HSR.
Across Hamilton on Tuesday, buses are sharing streets with their vintage counterparts.
With its wooden seats and leather straps, the HSR bus looks a little different than what many Hamiltonians might recognize. It’s a reimagining of a generic streetcar from the early 20th century.
Inside the city’s Visitor Experience Centre on Tuesday morning, Pasquale Almonte remembers his first day getting behind the wheel of an HSR bus.
“I had bad times, and sometimes I felt like I was going to quit, but that’s only temporary,” he said. “Actually, some of the drivers now say, ‘Gee, I used to get on your bus when I went to high school,’ and now they are drivers.”
“When we’re talking about the LRT, we’re a little disappointed with the decision that council made, and we’re hoping to change that decision somewhere down the road before it actually gets built,” said Local 107 President Eric Tuck.
Mayor Andrea Horwath said “tension is inevitable” when change is on the way.
“Yes, it was a controversial decision, but what we want to see is the HSR operating in-house for the vast majority of the future with a little bit of transition time in between,” said Horwath.
Hamilton’s Light Rail project has seen setback after setback, and now it faces further delays.
“A project of that magnitude is a massive infrastructure undertaking, and these things do take a long time,” said the city’s transit director, Maureen Cosyn Heath.
Metrolinx still needs to buy more land from at least 122 properties to expand pedestrian zones.
On Thursday, city councillors will discuss a report about the extra space needed for wider pedestrian zones along the LRT route. In some areas, the 4.75-meter goal will be a challenge or not possible at all.
