Eisenberger parks citizen transit panel Mayor wants to know how much province will give city before moving ahead with review ANDREW DRESCHEL The Hamilton Spectator Mayor Fred Eisenberger is temporarily parking his campaign promise to form a citizen panel to study Hamiltons rapid transit options. He says he intends to keep the panel on ice until the province clarifies exactly how much money it intends to give the city. My view is we dont start until we get a number from the province. I dont want to lead a community engagement process without knowing what the number is and understanding what were working with. The city has requested $811 million for a light rapid transit line from Eastgate Square to McMaster University. But the province has only committed to, at some point, pay the capital costs for an unspecified rapid transit system, which could be bus rapid transit, pegged at about $265 million. Eisenberger says theres no point in asking a panel to recommend LRT or BRT if the city doesnt know which, or if either, will be funded. I want a number from the province before we start. The province has earmarked $15 billion for transit projects in the Toronto and Hamilton Area over the next 10 years. City manager Chris Murray told councillors last week he expects the Liberal government to make a decision on which municipalities will get a slice of that pie in the spring budget. But Eisenberger is hoping Hamilton will get an indication of where it stands before the budget. My suspicion is theyre prepared to clarify what the number is and then were off on the journey in terms of the (community) engagement process. Eisenberger, who supports LRT, believes timing the citizen panel to funding clarity will allow it to more tightly focus on what options are reasonably available. If the province comes through with full capital funding for LRT, the panel could also study other options such as BRT and conventional transit enhancements. If, however, the province only provides, say, $300 million, the panel can concentrate on studying and educating the public on what BRT and various transit enhancements will do. That said, Eisenberger notes that much will also depend on what latitude the province is prepared to give the city for spending the money it provides. The bigger question, of course, is whether Hamilton will even make the funding cut for the next round of projects. City manager Murray and other top GTHA bureaucrats met in the fall with Bruce McCuaig, chief executive officer of Metrolinx, and Carol Layton, deputy transportation minister, for an update on where theyre at. Murray says nothing was said to suggest whether or not Hamilton would receive the requested 100 per cent of capital funding for LRT. But McCuaig and Layton did reiterate Premier Kathleen Wynnes position that electrification of the GO system is a priority for the province and all other projects, including Hamiltons, would have to be funded from what was leftover. Its not clear how much converting GO service from diesel to electric power will cost, but its almost certain to claim the lions share of the $15 billion. I guess if theres a second impression from the meeting, Murray said, its that we are in competition with the other municipalities, as we always knew, for funding our project. Those other municipalities include Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto. Whether Hamilton finally gets an answer to its funding request in the spring or earlier, Eisenbergers call to hold off the citizen panel until a real dollar figure is known makes perfect tactical sense. Theres no more point in building false expectations than there is in having community volunteers chasing their own tails. Andrew Dreschels commentary appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec 905-526-3495 | @AndrewDreschel
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:42:38 +0000
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