Comment 66599

By slodrive (registered) | Posted July 20, 2011 at 14:03:08

Good read. I'll definitely have to send him some kudos.

The only issue I take with Lloyd (as a resident of Lloyd-Ferguson-land) is that this will do nothing for us/ me. Pre-amalgamation, maybe. But, my vision, if you will, for LRT is this.

  1. More robust economy downtown - a cost-effective service/ retail environment that increases the net benefit to the city coffers.
  2. Increasing density of residences in the downtown area. This will benefit public services like LRT/ HSR; making them less dependent on subsidy.
  3. A more attractive/ appealing urban Hamilton would, hopefully, help initiatives to cap urban sprawl (...a rather hypocritical statement, given my location). Any mitigation of development bumps Ancaster home value.
  4. Development of any kind takes downtown property from a net loss to a net gain. The burden of upkeep becomes a tax-positive property for the city.
  5. Currently, I, and my immediate neighbours, embark on a tedious commute to places outside of Hamilton every morning. Ideally, future development means more opportunities for employment in Hamilton. That means my employer pays taxes here, I spend more money here and the carbon footprint of my salary gets smaller.
  6. Personal public transit -- as a suburban Hamiltonian, a focus on better (and even appropriate priced) public transit would benefit me greatly. Trips to Ivor Wynne, Copps Coliseum, Hamilton Place, Hess, etc., are all better enjoyed via decent public transit.

Certainly all of this is very subjective. But to say LRT only stands to inconvenience those living in Ancaster is pretty short-sighted.

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