-
Yes We Cannon!
Join the Movement and Spread the Word
Recent Articles
- The Benefits of Urban Chicken and Bee Pilot Projects at Community Gardensby Joseph Sneep, published May 18, 2013 in Commentary (0 comments)
- Public Works Committee Rejects Bus Lane Pilot Projectby Ryan McGreal, published May 16, 2013 in Special Report: Light Rail (28 comments)
- Focus on Cycling Infrastructure Before Enforcementby Ryan McGreal, published May 16, 2013 in Special Report: Cycling (4 comments)
- Baranga's On the Beach: This Ain't No Beach-Side Hutby Margaret Lindsay Holton, published May 16, 2013 in Reviews (11 comments)
- NYC Redesigns its Streets for Safety, Vitality and Diverse Useby Ryan McGreal, published May 13, 2013 in Special Report: Walkable Streets (19 comments)
- Ghost Crosswalks Haunt Hamilton Intersectionsby Undustrial, published May 12, 2013 in Special Report: Walkable Streets (19 comments)
- Public Meeting with New Horizon Regarding City Square Phase 3by Kelly Foyle and Simon Kiss, published May 12, 2013 in Commentary (9 comments)
- Yes We Cannon - Bike Lanes 2015by Justin Jones, published May 10, 2013 in Special Report: Cycling (29 comments)
- City Crackdown on Tactical Urbanismby Ryan McGreal, published May 09, 2013 in Special Report (118 comments)
- Invigorating Tactical Urbanism Talk Inspires Actionby Ryan McGreal, published May 08, 2013 in Events (17 comments)
- Durand Neighbourhood 'Betrayed' By New Horizon Rezoning Applicationby Nicholas Kevlahan, published May 08, 2013 in Commentary (41 comments)
- No One at City Hall is Responding to LRT Criticismby Nicholas Kevlahan, published May 07, 2013 in Special Report: Light Rail (32 comments)
Article Archives
Site Tools
Feeds
Recent Blog Entries
- 83-Year-Old Pedestrian Struck at Upper Gage and Mohawkby Ryan McGreal, published May 16, 2013 in Transportation (5 comments)
- Still Struggling to Make Sense of City Policy on Crosswalksby Nicholas Kevlahan, published May 14, 2013 in Transportation (13 comments)
- Tactical Urbanism and the Judgment of Hart Solomonby Nicholas Kevlahan, published May 13, 2013 in Transportation (8 comments)
- A Poem in Julyby Shekar Chandrashekar, published May 12, 2013 in Arts (1 comment)
- Tactical Urbanism Crackdown in Spacingby Ryan McGreal, published May 10, 2013 in Activism (1 comment)
- Hamilton Sustainability Professionals Network Launch Eventby Justin Jones, published May 09, 2013 in Sustainability (0 comments)
- 20 Jackson Demolition Rumour is Just a Rumour - For Nowby Ryan McGreal, published May 09, 2013 in Revitalization (11 comments)
- Staircase Minor Variance Application to Waive Parking Requirementby RTH Staff, published May 08, 2013 in Activism (4 comments)
- Merulla Motion Calls for Integrity Commissioner to Investigate Mayor Bratinaby Ryan McGreal, published May 07, 2013 in Politics (8 comments)
- Letter: In Defence of Ontario Port Landsby Letter to the Editor, published May 07, 2013 in Revitalization (0 comments)
- Mayor Bratina Recuses Himself from Mayors' Vote on Big Move Revenue Toolsby Ryan McGreal, published May 07, 2013 in Light Rail (4 comments)
- Councillor Merulla's Notice of Motion Respecting the Police Services Boardby RTH Staff, published May 03, 2013 in Politics (1 comment)
Blog Archives
By Mr. Meister (anonymous)
Posted April 11, 2009 at 03:44:55
Jason, if the streets of Portland are 2 way with as many lights as you claim than I doubt any vehicle gets above
10-15 MPH. I also expect that there are lots of ways to avoid the downtown if you do not want to go there, unlike Hamilton. Portland is the biggest city in Oregon and the major metropolitan area for many miles around. Not quite the same description as Hamilton.
The Blue Line connects Gresham a suburb of 100,000 to Portland and is 15 miles long (24 KM) so it's a lot like the Go train running into Toronto . The Red Line is a little short of your 25 mile claim, it is actually a 5.5 mile (9 KM) line running to the airport which has well over a million people flying in/out of it a month. The Yellow lone is 5.8 miles (9.4 KM) and goes to the Expo Centre a complex well over 300,000 square feet, a lot like the 500,000 Toronto International Centre. The new Green line is 8.3 miles (13.4 KM) and will run to the Clackamas Town Centre via the Portland State University (almost 25,000 students).The town centre is almost 1.5 million square feet of retail, a lot bigger than Eastgate. Klackmas is another suburban area with a population of well over 300,000. The cost? budgeted at $575.7 million. And that's US currency so add the 20-25% conversion on top of that.
So the whole thing is a lot different than you describe it as. The Hamilton downtown does not have enough jobs or residents to warrant the kind of expense 16 km of LRT would cost. Portland is the largest city in Oregon and is the hub of the entire state. Hamilton is half city half suburb. Toronto still dominates all of Southern Ontario.
The best way to re-vitalize Hamilton's downtown, if that is what we are trying to do, is get people to live there. I suspect that will take a lot of money. Perhaps some subsidies for condo projects or office towers?
Portland is a very different city than Hamilton with different challenges. Hamilton's geography is very unique and must be taken into account. Unfortunately a lot of the features force traffic into or at least through the downtown. Maybe we need new mountain accesses to take traffic away from downtown rather than into it.
Reply | Permalink | Context