Indecision saves King bus lane --- for now Councillors vote on three options --- and turn all of them down MATTHEW VAN DONGEN The Hamilton Spectator City councillors argued passionately for hours Wednesday about whether to kill, suspend or improve the bus-only lane experiment --- and then somehow narrowly voted down every option. Even a pitch to defer the issue until February --- after a meeting with Metrolinx and in time for a discussion on the citys 10-year transit plan --- failed on a 7-7 tie vote at committee. That orgy of indecision --- which spurred both outrage and jokes online --- means the one-year priority lane experiment remains in force by default. But Coun. Chad Collins vowed to resurrect his motion to kill the bus-only lane at Wednesdays council meeting, when two additional councillors would be in attendance. Im not changing my position and Im not making any phone calls (to lobby). Well see what happens, he said after the heated debate, which included an 8-6 vote against ending the pilot. He argued the city has nowhere near the ridership to justify a bus-only lane on King Street and added it had created artificial congestion and problems for business. A majority of councillors spoke against the contentious lane in debate, but things got murky when some pushed instead to suspend the lane. Coun. Terry Whitehead, who commissioned a last-minute telephone poll of 2,056 residents on the bus-only lane, argued suspending the lane would allow it to be resurrected, if warranted, through the citys ongoing master transportation plan study. Im not for killing it absolutely, he said, but added he thought the priority lane had created more problems than it solved. Coun. Sam Merulla, in turn, suggested the debate should really be about expanding the priority lane farther along the King corridor, and warned that council risks losing provincial transit cash for projects like LRT if it gives up on the experiment. He called the idea of suspending the lane nonsensical because it still required removal of all signage, road paint and bylaw references, effectively ending the project. The confusion resulted in the failure of both motions, by identical 8-6 votes. That allowed new Ward 1 Coun. Aidan Johnson to pitch a reconfiguration of the much-maligned transit lane to return some street parking, as well as other traffic control tweaks. Supporters of the lane, including new transit director Dave Dixon, argued the pilot was flawed, but fixable. Dixon said the lane provides more reliable bus scheduling on King and suggested the need for an expanded version was inevitable. Dixon said the lane provides more reliable bus scheduling on King and suggested the need for an expanded version was inevitable. Opponents, however, seized on his later admission that it is not technically required given current ridership levels. Downtown Coun. Jason Farr admitted the problem-plagued introduction of the bus-only lane was an unmitigated disaster, but suggested its not a lost cause. We should keep it, we should improve it. I think we can, he said. Mayor Fred Eisenberger said some opposition to transit changes is inevitable, but noted people dont like paying taxes, either. Sometimes, you have to bite your tongue and do what people are not particularly keen on, he said, urging councillors to show leadership and vision. At the same time, the mayor stressed he didnt think the project would make or break the citys eligibility for provincial rapid transit cash. The city might get a firmer answer on that Friday in a hotly anticipated meeting with officials from Metrolinx, the provinces rapid transit planning agency for the GTA and Hamilton. The city has formally asked for $811 million for an LRT from McMaster University to Eastgate Square, but Metrolinx has said the city must further clarify its rapid transit priorities. mvandongen@thespec 905-526-3241 | @Mattatthespec
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 11:24:05 +0000
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