Raise the Hammer

Sorry agout that. Too nearsighted to see the keyboard.

Close to the core AND public transportation is the intersection of Hamilton's main east-west arteries, the public transit that is planned to run along one or the other of them, along the GO line and (sorry Mr. Florida but at the moment highways are still major transportation routes and potential rail routes as well) and local expressways. That is, the west side of Dundurn St. between King and Main, just off the 403 and the CP rail line. Tens of thousands could visit this location at a time and cause much less disruption to nearby residents than 15,000 would cause marching to the west waterfront. Tens of thousands would see the name of the new stadium even if they did not visit it, significantly increasing the value of naming rights. Visibility and easy access would make it a more attractive destination not only for visitors from Hamilton, but also from KW, Toronto, London, Niagara and Buffalo, whether attending sports spectacles, conventions or tradeshows.

Considering the future stadium as a place for neighbourhood football games is not a reasonable definition of multi-use for this type of development, and paving the sidewalks with brick to a Stuart Street GO station does not reduce the disruption that might be cause to residents after a Mega Death rock concert. Dundurn Street provides vastly better commercial potential than should ever reasonably be visited upon a residential neighbourhood.

Which of course makes the location more expensive to develop, but at the same time, worth it. Similarly it puts the expense of remediating the west harbour for residential development onto the city, but this is also already such a desireable place to live, thanks in part to the more suitable development of the bay parks (drawing many people but not necessarily so many at one time) and is increasingly recognized as being so. We could expect area residential real estate prices to increase along with dependent municipal tax takes, to help pay for this too. Unless we screw up this potential with the wrong type of development.

It may cost more to do things right, but the current plan is just political expediency, leaving the city with a legacy of more of the same: a stadium that's commercial potential has been land-locked away from major transportation routes.