Hamilton holds on to dream of mid-peninsula highway

Hamilton city staff are refusing to let go of a decades-old concept for a highway connecting Niagara and the GTA, balking at a provincial proposal to put the idea on the back burner.

In September, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation published a development strategy that would hold off on a superhighway until future studies are completed. But a report from Hamiltons public works and planning and economic development departments urges council to fight that delay and keep the idea a priority for the region.

The City proposes that a new corridor from the Niagara area through Hamilton linking to

the GTA West area should be identified as part of the [development] recommendations and not

pushed off to another future study, reads the report, which will come before general issues committee Wednesday.

A new NGTA corridor is a key priority for the economic prosperity of the city, surrounding regions, and the province.

The concept for a Niagara to Toronto corridor often referred to as the Mid-Peninsula Highwaywas first floated by the Mike Harris government but was derailed by environmentalists and the City of Burlington. An MTO study in 2001 concluded there was a need for more transportation infrastructure connecting the Niagara region to the GTA and several reports and studies have been released since emphasizing the need for solutions as the area grows.

Septembers strategy would see additional lanes to key throughwaysincluding widening the QEW to eight lanes between Niagara and Hamilton and building a new highway that would connect the QEW in Fort Erie with Highway 406 in Welland. The strategy is designed to support transportation through 2031, something the citys report called a critical error.

Beyond 2031 the NGTA transportation network will likely be over capacity and experiencing significant congestion, the city report reads, adding city staff believe a plan that follows transportation needs through to 2041 would be more effective.

It also says the City of Hamilton has teamed up with the regions of Niagara, Halton, Peel, and Waterloo to create a Municipal Caucus to represent the needs of the municipalities to the federal and provincial governments.

The report recommends that the general issues committee pass the response on to the MTO and commit to keeping the super highway dream alive.