Light Rail

Lloyd Likes Light Rail

By Ryan McGreal
Published September 26, 2008

Councillor Lloyd Ferguson of Ancaster was an early skeptic about the city's rapid transit feasibility study, so I was intrigued to learn that he would be joining Public Works and Planning & Economic Development staff and Mayor Eisenberger on a three-city tour of light rail systems in Charlotte NC, Portland OR and Calgary AB.

Yesterday's issue of the Ancaster News included a delightfully upbeat opinion piece by Councillor Ferguson that flatly stated:

I am now convinced that we need to look at some form of light-rail system, among other things, to spur our local economy and get Hamilton into the next millennium.

He was persuaded that light rail's tremendous capacity for economic growth and operating cost savings are just too good to miss.

Light rail is truly win-win-win-win for everyone: good for public transit, good for economic development, good for urban revitalization, good for the environment, good for civic pride, good for municipal finance. Unlike many other issues that have cloven our city along ideological, political or geographic lines, light rail benefits everyone and can appeal to people with vastly different value systems.

But as with many things in life, the best way to discover just how great light rail can be is to experience it firsthand. Indeed, most of the volunteers at Hamilton Light Rail, the citizens advocacy group of which I am a member, support light rail because we've used it ourselves in other cities we have inhabited or visited.

Bravo to Councillor Ferguson for joining the 'light rail tour' with an open mind, studying the issue closely and recognizing the enormous potential light rail has to be transformational in a city that needs it.

Ryan McGreal, the editor of Raise the Hammer, lives in Hamilton with his family and works as a programmer, writer and consultant. Ryan volunteers with Hamilton Light Rail, a citizen group dedicated to bringing light rail transit to Hamilton. Ryan wrote a city affairs column in Hamilton Magazine, and several of his articles have been published in the Hamilton Spectator. His articles have also been published in The Walrus, HuffPost and Behind the Numbers. He maintains a personal website, has been known to share passing thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, and posts the occasional cat photo on Instagram.

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By jason (registered) | Posted September 26, 2008 at 10:12:48

"Bravo Lloyd" is exactly right. It's refreshing to see a politician with an open mind instead of many of them who dogmatically stick to their beliefs even when being slapped across the face with evidence to the contrary. Light rail has the potential to transform Hamilton. And I'm pretty sure that hell won't freeze over if we lose a few traffic lanes on King or Main....or maybe it would.

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