Hamilton councillors to vote Wednesday on fate of bus-only lane

The city wont have empirical evidence until next year on whether Hamiltons downtown transit lane was a success. But at least one councillor says he doesnt needto wait until then to find out. He wants to make it legal to drive onnow.

Coun. Chad Collins plans to push a vote on Wednesday in favour of stopping enforcement on the lane which would effectively end the experiment. Normally, motoristsare ticketed $65 for driving in the lane.

The dedicated bus-only lane was a pilot project that should have stopped in October, he said. He doesnt need to see a report to know that the project failed.

The rush is to try to get things back to normal, if there is a normal.- Coun. Chad Collins

Ive heard through the election and prior that the bus lane was a business killer and a budgetary issue, said Collins, who'll introduce a motion at the general issues committee on Wednesday. It was a really poor use of resources.

The city launched the transit lane, which runs from Mary to Dundurn Streets, in October 2013. The project was meant to stop two months ago, but the Oct. 27 municipal election waylaid that.

The project, which city council narrowly passed, was cited as a precursor to rapid transit.

Staff are due to come back with a report in January on the success of the project, including community feedback and how much it cost. In the meantime, Collins said, the city should stop maintaining it and let motorists drive on it again.

The rush is to try to get things back to normal, if there is a normal, the Ward 5 councillor said.

Coun. Terry Whitehead agrees. Hed vote to scrap it even without the report, he said.

Ive heard enough, he said.

Ive heard enough from people who work downtown and are inconvenienced by the process. Ive heard from some of the businesses. Its pretty clear to me that its not worth it at this point in time.

'It's just inconveniencing too many people'

Coun. Lloyd Ferguson of Ancaster still wants to see the report, although hes no fan of the transit lane either.

If its coming in January, lets do it the right way and get it done, he said.

As for the lane, its just inconveniencing too many people, he said. It was a pilot and weve learned from the pilot.

A staff report on Monday says the transit lane has cost $300,000, which is in line with the project budget. Collins says he has information from finance staff that its cost more than $400,000.

Gerry Davis, general manager of public works, disputes the notion that its over budget.

Theres no way itll be over $300,000, he said.

Lane was 'set up to fail'

The staff report will look at the impact of the lane on travel times, particularly at peak periods, Davis said. It will also look at community feedback.

Local transit advocate Ryan McGreal wants councillors to at least wait for the staff report. The point of a pilot project, he said, is to gather information.

Making a decision on the bus lane without that information, he said, would be bad governance."It would set a pretty bad precedent for this new council to make evidence-free policy decision."

The city had options to make the lane run smoother, McGreal said. That includes left-turn lanes to alleviate congestion and adjusting the timing of traffic lights. Instead, he said, the city set up the transit lane and "just left it.

"It almost seems to me as if this project has been set up to fail."

Coun. Jason Farr of Ward 2, whose area is most impacted by the transit lane, said hewouldn't vote on anything without a staff report. He wants to see numbers related to buses and riders, parking, traffic and effects on business. A Business Improvement Area association is working with the city on the report, he said.