Go bus workers plan to strike starting Monday, Nov. 7 if they do not reach an agreement with Metrolinx
McMaster University commuters could find themselves forced to hop on a Go train or carpool to campus if a new offer is not presented by Metrolinx by Monday Nov. 7. A vote held by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587, which encompasses all Go bus drivers, revealed that 93% of workers were in favour of going on strike.
Go Transit is a division of Metrolinx, and the two parties had been in negotiations since Apr. 2022. Union workers had been working without a contract since Jun. 1.
The strike was initially set to start at midnight on Oct. 31 if an agreement was not reached by that time, applying pressure on Metrolinx to come to an agreement. The strike was averted when Metrolinx presented an offer, which union workers took to a vote on Nov. 2 and 3. ATU Local 1587 said they wouldn’t encourage their members to either accept or reject.
On Nov. 4, it was announced that the union declined the offer in an 81% vote in favour of rejection. Bargaining has continued over the weekend of Nov. 5 and 6.
ATU Local 1587 has set the new strike date for Nov. 7. If Metrolinx has not presented a counteroffer by midnight Nov. 6, all Go bus drivers and attendants will be walking off the job, leaving many commuters stranded or forced to commute via Go train.
ATU Local 1587 has set the new strike date for Nov. 7. If Metrolinx has not presented a counteroffer by midnight Nov. 6, all Go bus drivers and attendants will be walking off the job, leaving many commuters stranded or forced to commute via Go train.
This strike would call for cancellation of all Go bus services, due to a walk off of bus drivers, station attendants, office workers, maintenance workers and safety officers. The strike would be indefinite, until Metrolinx presents an offer that workers vote in majority to accept.
McMaster students that commute may need to prepare an alternate route to school, due to the cancellation of Go buses that could start Monday Nov. 7. Updates on the strike can be found on ATU Local 1587’s page where they post vote outcomes and strike mandates.
This is an ongoing story.
The former leader of Ontario’s NDP, Horwath is running for mayor of Hamilton with an action plan to address long-standing issues in the city
The Silhouette sat down with mayoral candidate Andrea Horwath to discuss her current campaign and the most pressing issues for the 2022 Hamilton municipal election.
Horwath has a long political resume that starts with her position as Hamilton’s Ward 2 city councillor from 1997 to 2004. Then, in 2009 she was elected as leader of Ontario’s New Democratic Party, a position she held until 2022 when she stepped down and declared her intention to run for mayor of Hamilton.
“I had been the leader [of the Ontario NDP] for 13 years and I felt like it was time to pass the torch. I had done a lot of hard work. I was very proud of the work that I had done but there comes a time that you know that your leadership needs to be passed onto somebody else,” said Horwath.
Horwath’s platform addresses the issues Hamilton faces at length with her action plan that looks at making Hamilton a great place to live, work and raise a family. Horwath’s action plan includes increasing the affordability of Hamilton by working on the “missing middle” housing needed in Hamilton and creating a diverse economy by fostering film and agricultural sectors while collaborating with McMaster University and Mohawk College.
“We have to make sure people coming out of university can not only afford to live in our city, but there are opportunities for them. And that’s one of the other pieces that I speak to in my action plan. Let’s make sure that we are creating a vibrant economy that prioritizes people’s ability to make Hamilton their home,” said Horwath.
We have to make sure people coming out of university can not only afford to live in our city, but there are opportunities for them. And that’s one of the other pieces that I speak to in my action plan. Let’s make sure that we are creating a vibrant economy that prioritizes people’s ability to make Hamilton their home.
Andrea Horwath, Hamilton Mayoral Candidate
Horwath’s platform also pushes for better transportation by addressing the $2.3 billion infrastructure backlog of roads and sewers, as well as increasing HSR services in frequency and neighbourhoods public transit reaches. She spoke about denser development in Hamilton’s existing wards in order to halt urban sprawl and the expansion of Hamilton’s urban boundary. A large expansion of Hamilton’s urban boundary was voted against in a city council vote last November.
“We have some parts of our city that have no service whatsoever. People have no choice but to jump into a car and we need to turn that around,” said Horwath.
In addition to pushing for public transportation, Horwath’s platform focuses on how green livable neighbourhoods will be promoted using multiple strategies. Her action plan pledges to follow Hamilton’s Urban Forest Strategy for better urban forests and continue Hamilton’s Urban Indigenous Strategy under Indigenous leadership. Horwath also emphasized the importance of being transparent in progress made in the Climate Change Action Plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Following the pollution of Chedoke Creek, Horwath says that the city needs to rebuild trust with the public.
“I think that one of the really disappointing, not even disappointing, outrageous things that we've all been dealing with was the sewage leak into Cootes Paradise and that's unacceptable. Not only the fact that it happened, that it was going on for so many years, but the lack of transparency around how people found out about it. It's really about trust,” said Horwath.
Horwath spoke optimistically about the future of Hamilton and how she hoped to bring her experience to the position of mayor of Hamilton.
“I think Hamilton’s poised for a really great future. There’s so many amazing things happening. I just want to be able to use the experience, the knowledge, the networks, the capacity that I’ve built to help our city realize its potential,” said Horwath.
I think Hamilton’s poised for a really great future. There’s so many amazing things happening. I just want to be able to use the experience, the knowledge, the networks, the capacity that I’ve built to help our city realize its potential.
Andrea Horwath, Hamilton Mayoral Candidate
Horwath reminisced on her time at McMaster as a labour studies student and explained why she believes McMaster students should vote in Hamilton’s municipal election.
“What I would hope is that by engaging in what's happening at the municipal level, people who are attending McMaster University can learn more about what a great city this is,” said Horwath.
Andrea Horwath is running for mayor in the Oct. 2022 municipal election. His candidate profile has be posted as part of a series the Silhouette is running to build student awareness about the municipal election. Candidate profiles will continue to be posted in alphabetical order over the next few weeks. Election Day is Oct. 24 and more details on how to vote can be found here.
Graphic by Elisabetta Paiano/ Production Editor
The threat of climate change was made clear by the fires that spread across Australia earlier this year. Heat waves and drought caused bush fires that permanently altered the country’s landscape, which were made at least 30 per cent worse by the impacts of climate change.
Australia’s devastating fires are only an early example of the consequences of the climate crisis. Although, across the world, Hamilton has its own possibilities for disaster. In November it came to light that 24 billion litres of sewage spilled into Chedoke Creek from 2014 to 2018, which the city kept hidden despite possible impacts on the local environment and residents.
In addition to the Chedoke Creek contamination, the city was charged in late 2019 to clean up toxic chemicals that had been seeping into local waterways. The city-owned John C. Munro International Airport had years-old chemicals in surrounding soil which leached into nearby water during wet weather. The spills make it clear that Hamilton needs to be prepared for the environmental impacts of climate change, especially flooding, which will become the city’s main concern along with extreme heat.
Rising temperatures bring the possibility for droughts. Conversely, increased precipitation could lead to flooding, rising lake levels and could negatively impact shoreline erosion.
Hamilton also has to worry about greenhouse gases, which are largely produced in the city by burning fossil fuels, transportation and industry. In 2018 the city committed to five points of action which include creating a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and an emissions reduction target.
In March 2019 Hamilton declared a climate emergency along with hundreds of other municipalities across Canada. Along with the declaration, the city committed to a climate vulnerability and risk assessment, which has yet to be completed. In December 2019 city councillors approved a climate action plan, but they have yet to include any deadlines or costs associated with the project.
One important change is that the city will try to apply a climate lens to future actions. According to Kate Flynn, the acting director at the centre for climate change management at Mohawk College, the city is using a climate lens to prevent some of the worst effects of climate change and adapt to impacts we can’t avoid. For example, when the city makes an infrastructure improvement, they must consider the future environmental impact of chosen supplies and processes.
Flynn also pointed out that infrastructure changes are necessary to prepare for climate change, specifically in transportation and public works. She noted that over time Hamilton will be at risk for increased precipitation which would lead to flooding and harm water quality, so updates to city infrastructure and residential homes are necessary to avoid damages.
“I think one of the things that's really important to dispel is this myth that Canadians are going to be okay,” said Flynn, “the thing about climate change is that it's a global issue, but the effects of it are going to be hyperlocalized.”
“I think one of the things that's really important to dispel is this myth that Canadians are going to be okay [. . .] the thing about climate change is that it's a global issue, but the effects of it are going to be hyperlocalized.”
While the economic and physical effects of climate change are becoming more of a concern for the city, the social impacts are still largely overlooked. Caitlin Thompson and Joann Varickanickal, volunteers with Climate Ready Hamilton, a community organization, stressed the importance of social cohesion for disaster preparedness.
Thompson and Varickanickal suggested that students get to know their fellow community members and think about how vulnerable populations, like elderly, homeless and low-income community members, will be disproportionately impacted in times of climate crisis. One project CRH worked on sought to map out spaces open to the public for food and shelter in times of disaster. If a heat wave occurred, vulnerable residents without air conditioning could find a place to cool down through the community-sourced resource hub.
Beyond cases of climate disaster, CRH also works to help communities improve the environmental conditions brought on by local pollution.
“Look at communities that are in the industrial core . . . we know that they have poor air quality, but a lot of people in those neighborhoods don't know that they can work together and you can report those things to the government . . . part of this project now can be going into neighborhoods and supporting neighborhoods and understanding their rights,” said Thompson.
Thompson and Varickanickal also noted the importance of preparing a 72 hour kit.
“If there's a massive emergency . . . aid will begin [about] 72 hours after,” said Thompson. “Basically you need to be able to be prepared and stay okay by yourself for 72 hours because you may not get help.”
According to the city of Hamilton website, residents should prepare a 72 hour supply of food and water, along with a “go bag” with items like a first aid kit, blankets and more.
Preparing for 72 hours only works in case of an emergency, but we have to prepare for a future where climate disaster is a regular part of our lives. According to the Centre for Climate and Emergency Solutions, climate resilience is a framework for thinking about climate change and our ability to prepare for, and bounce back from, climate-related disaster. Climate resilience accounts for the irreversible damage already done to our climate, along with possibilities for mitigating some of the worst effects we could see in the future. Flynn noted that climate resilience isn’t only about infrastructure, but also how we can improve our social systems to better support one another through the impacts of climate change.
“If you're talking about climate resilience, well we should be talking about resilience in other ways too? Like making sure . . . everyone has access to good food no matter what happens, right? So it's kind of a framework for thinking through solutions through the lens of equity,” said Flynn.
Despite possibilities for climate resilience, the state of climate change is dire and sometimes frightening. Flynn reflected on how she continues to work in climate change management despite the cataclysmic effects on the climate.
“I think why people are like, how do you get out of bed every day and think about climate change? And I'm like, because believe it or not, there's so many opportunities within climate change to just like do all the things that we've always thought about doing, but never really prioritized. There's no more excuses,” said Flynn.
"There's so many opportunities within climate change to just like do all the things that we've always thought about doing, but never really prioritized. There's no more excuses."
Hamilton will face unique challenges from climate change that the city will have to manage. To create a climate resilient city, community members will have to come together to care for one another. Whether it’s creating a 72 hour kit or a map of resources, knowing who needs help in your community and how will be integral.
In last week’s referendum, full-time undergraduate students voted to uphold the current agreement between Hamilton Street Railway and the McMaster Students Union, which gives students bus passes for 12 months with expanded service on the 51-University bus line.
Out of five options, 43 per cent of students that voted chose the 12 month expanded bus pass as their top choice on the ranked ballot.
Students also had the option to decide between a 12 month pass without expanded service, an eight month pass with or without expanded service and no bus pass at all.
Prior to 2014, the MSU provided a subsidized HSR bus pass that lasted from September to April. In a 2014 referendum, students voted overwhelmingly in support of a year-round bus pass with expanded 51-University service.
The MSU renews their contract with the HSR every three years. Students voted to uphold the agreement in 2017, and did the same this year.
To establish the agreement for the base fee of the bus pass, the MSU engaged in a negotiation process with the HSR alongside the university, Redeemer college and Mohawk college.
In September 2019, students paid $225.55 for their bus passes. Next year, under the renewed agreement, they will cost $223.92, climbing to $229.62 in 2022. In comparison, an unsubsidized monthly HSR bus pass costs $110 per month, or $1,320 for a full year.
According to a 2017 briefing from the McMaster Graduate Student Association, the city of Hamilton has a vested interest in offering a reduced bus fare. A subsidized bus pass encourages students to explore the city, which can in turn lead to greater population retention.
The HSR stands to benefit from this deal as well. Approximately 12 per cent of the revenue collected by the HSR comes from the McMaster U-pass.
McMaster is one of many post-secondary institutions across southwestern Ontario to provide some sort of subsidized bus pass for undergraduate students. Within Hamilton, Mohawk college and Redeemer college also offer subsidized bus passes for students. Students at Queen’s University, the University of Western Ontario and the University of Guelph also decide via referenda to provide compulsory passes for undergraduate students. The costs vary depending on the university, ranging from $90 to $240.
Now that the McMaster bus pass has been voted on via referendum, students cannot opt out of the fee. This is because, when HSR knows how many students will pay the fee, they can project service levels and secure revenue. In turn, they agree to provide a bus pass at a substantially reduced cost.
After the student choice initiative was announced in January 2019, there was some concern that the bus passes would be designated as non-essential, which would have prevented the MSU from making an agreement with the HSR for subsidized bus passes.
In February of last year, Merrilee Fullerton, then the minister of training, colleges and universities, announced that the bus passes would remain mandatory.
The agreement with the HSR will be renegotiated in 2023.
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Cycling zealots are once again calling for an upheaval of the streets — or, at least that’s what anti-bike lane proponents say. McMaster cycling advocates and experts tell a different story.
Despite claims of a “war on cars” and swarms of cyclists taking over the street, cities across Ontario largely rely on road sharing instead of developing robust cycling infrastructure. Yet Kate Whalen, senior manager of McMaster’s academic sustainability programs, says that cycling is sustainable and promotes individual and community health. Unless the city prioritizes the development of cycling infrastructure, potential cyclists will continue to be deterred by dangerous roads that aren’t built with alternative modes of transport in mind.
Cycling in Hamilton is growing fast but the city isn’t keeping up. The Cannon Street bike lanes are the city’s largest endeavor into creating infrastructure for cyclists. According to a 2018 CBC news article, the bike lanes attracted significant ridership. In 2015, the Cannon lanes had 75 daily trips, which grew to 396 in 2017.
While ridership is up, the Cannon lanes have some glaring faults. What is perhaps the most advanced network of bike lanes in the city, outside of multi-use trails, has lanes that are still not up to par. Cannon is a highly used road for cars, especially during rush hour. Cyclists have reported obstructed cycling lanes, pointing out an infamous corner often blocked by transport trucks. Construction projects often close the bike lanes, meaning that frequent road repair interferes with the free flow of bike traffic.
Fundamentally, the Cannon lanes are built around a road made for cars. The lanes were placed on the street as a quick solution for a mutli-faceted problem.
David Zaslavsky, director of MSU Macycle said, “I think that I’m not alone in saying that most infrastructure is built without cyclists in mind, it’s kind of an afterthought. There’s no real actually effective bike protection and bike lanes short of completely separated paths like the rail trail.”
“I think that I’m not alone in saying that most infrastructure is built without cyclists in mind, it’s kind of an afterthought."
https://twitter.com/RyanMcGreal/status/1176591645212585991?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The lack of consistency in bike lanes is also a problem. While the Cannon lanes offer a direct route from East to West, other routes are lacking. Islands of bike networks are created within the city without much interconnection. For example, while the Cootes bike path is likely the best in the city, it connects to Main Street — every cyclists nightmare.
Main Street is the most direct link between the East and West quarters of the city. But only cars can feel confident on the Main street highway. This street is just another example of the difficulties that bike commuters face in the city. There are bike lanes in some areas but not others, poorly integrated lanes that make turns difficult and, not to mention, high speed traffic which poses a real threat to cyclists without a protective lane barrier.
Still, infrastructure is only one part of the problem. Sharing the road can only go so far in a culture built around cars. Robust infrastructure changes need to come with a culture shift that encourages alternative transportation, especially active transportation like biking and walking.
As advocates encourage the city to improve conditions for cyclists, some have seen changes, especially for students. Ward 1, the ward in which McMaster university is located, has the potential to lead the city towards multi-modal and active transport. Maureen Wilson, the ward 1 city councillor, met with bike advocates in September 2019 to discuss York Boulevard and Queen Street. The latter street has had multiple accidents, prompting city officials to convert the popular street from a one-way street to a two-way street. This change will make room for improvements for pedestrians and cyclists as the city builds new infrastructure.
Cycle Hamilton & Ward 1 meeting to discuss: a) Queen Street conversion & cycle crossings. b) York Blvd pic.twitter.com/y7friVhmNw
— Maureen Wilson (She / Her) (@ward1wilson) September 30, 2019
Elise Desjardins, a McMaster graduate student and cycling advocate, said, “The city has been very engaged with the community around cycling infrastructure by providing opportunities for people to weigh in.”
Even with the city’s proposed improvements, Desjardins and Zaslavsky agree: Hamilton needs to look Eastward. European cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen offer a guide for what bike infrastructure could be. Desjardins wants to see the city work towards bike lanes that are fully separated and that leave room for cyclists to engage with their community and feel safe.
“I always like when bike lanes have a lot of trees beside them. I think that extra buffer — that general sense of friendliness on a street — is always really wonderful,” said Desjardins.
Zaslavsky agrees that fully separated lanes can make new and experienced cyclists alike feel more safe commuting.
“A lot of research has shown that the main reason people don’t bike is that, aside from accessibility to a bike — which is a lot better in Hamilton than other places — is that they don’t feel safe.”
Hamilton, a mild-winter city with the same metro-area population as Winnipeg, currently has zero (0) physically protected bike lanes. https://t.co/66GboO6OpT
— McMaster Librarians (@MUALA_CA) September 19, 2019
Whalen describes the difference between real and perceived safety and why they both matter. Feelings of safety and actual risk management measures both impact cyclists’ experience. A painted line on the road doesn’t do much to make cyclists feel safe.
As Whalen said, “When you put a concrete barrier with a little patch of grass between the 1000 pound fast moving vehicles and the vulnerable user of transportation, that changes the game.”
“When you put a concrete barrier with a little patch of grass between the 1000 pound fast moving vehicles and the vulnerable user of transportation, that changes the game.”
It changes the game for specific groups of people too. Women, elderly and low-income community members rely on alternative modes of transportation. Transit, especially active transit, has real implications for these groups. It may not seem like it, but a concrete barrier is about equity.
“We can’t be building transportation systems that prioritize the ability for one type of person to get around more than others,” said Whalen.
“We can’t be building transportation systems that prioritize the ability for one type of person to get around more than others,”
Transportation justice is often left out of the discussion. Transportation justice highlights that we don’t just use transportation to get around. We also use it as a way to access resources. Transportation is necessary for community members to access basic needs, social interaction, health care and more.
“We have demographics that are to a certain extent socially isolated because there are certain seasons where they just cannot get around. We know that about 30% of any one community doesn’t drive due to age, financial ability, or physical ability. How are they getting around if they can’t drive? And sometimes as bus isn’t an option either,” Whalen said.
Beyond safety and equity, Whalen also wants people to enjoy how they get around. When infrastructure supports it, walking and cycling can bring a sense of community, safety and joy. While cars do have a certain amount of joy for commuters, public transit doesn’t keep up. When Whalen switched from a car to a bike, she realized that she was able to be a more engaged member of her community. Biking increased her social interaction which led her to research the topic. And the numbers back it up: cycling can be an enjoyable experience with opportunities for community engagement.
Desjardins agrees, noting that there isn’t actually much of a negative impact of bike lanes. Arguments against additional infrastructure often cite road congestion or a lack of rule enforcement for cyclists. These concerns don’t quite check out, though. While protected lanes might impact how quickly cars can get through an intersection, roads only show a limited picture. Road safety and cars’ impact on the environment also needs to be taken into consideration, not to mention the traffic that cyclists bring to local businesses.
“People care about the environmental impact of traffic and single-occupancy vehicles,” says Desjardins. “They care about their health, their care about their kids getting out to their neighbourhood and not being confined to a car. Cyclists care a lot about their community. And they show up to things where they have an opportunity to weigh in and make it better.”
With rising cycling numbers the city needs to do better to make room for bikes on the road. Car-focused streets negatively impact the Hamilton community, while bikes open up possibilities for community members to connect with the people and businesses around them. Looking forward, advocates agree: move over cars, pedal powered transportation is taking the lane.
By Maanvi Dhillon
On Oct. 22, Ontarians will be heading to the polls for the second time this year to cast their ballots in an election. Hamilton’s municipal election will decide the mayor and ward councillors for the next four years, and the McMaster Students Union has been working hard on a campaign aimed at increasing student voter turnout.
In particular, the MSU Education team will be rolling out another #MacVotes campaign to keep students informed about the upcoming election and to motivate them to cast a vote. An important initiative will be the Ward 1 candidates’ debate, which will be happening in the MUSC atrium on Oct. 16.
As Shemar Hackett, associate vice president (Municipal Affairs), explains, it is crucial that voters are informed when they cast their ballot.
“The candidate who wins this election will represent Ward 1 for the next four years, which is why it is imperative that students are critical and research all the candidates before going to the polls on Oct. 22,” said Hackett.
The Municipal Election is Monday, October 22 - in addition, there are 5 ADVANCE poll dates available for voters. Full Election details: https://t.co/tt4eeHHe9x. #HamOnt #HamiltonVotes18 pic.twitter.com/4rcLntjLa1
— City of Hamilton (@cityofhamilton) September 20, 2018
The rest of the #MacVotes campaign will involve extensive promotion, both online and in-person. An official website will highlight advanced polling locations, platforms summaries and identification needed to vote.
In addition, the MSU will advocate for issues that have been selected as priorities under the umbrellas of transportation and housing.
One transit priority entails eliminating area rating, a controversial system that allows wards to pay different tax rates for municipal services. This initiative allows suburban and rural communities to pay less than older Hamilton wards to compensate for their purported decreased access to certain services.
With respect to housing, the MSU will be pushing for Hamilton to toughen up housing regulation by moving forward with a bylaw that requires landlords to be formally licensed. This would help protect off-campus students who often encounter unsafe living conditions in their rental homes but are left vulnerable by the lack of proactive enforcement of safety standards and bylaws.
In the wake of a string of break-ins in Westdale, safety has also become a growing concern for off-campus students. Questions are being raised about the effectivity of police responses to these incidents and to student safety at large. This may also become a deciding issue for student voters.
Overall, students make up a large and influential portion of the electorate in Ward 1. According to a profile of the Ward, the fastest growing demographic are those between twenty and twenty-four. This means McMaster students can have a significant sway in the election results should they turn out in large numbers.
However, it remains unclear whether many students will actually vote. The most recent MSU presidential election had an unusually low turnout rate of 28 per cent. Despite this, Ward 1 has historically has had some of the highest turnout rates in the city.
Stephanie Bertolo, MSU vice president (Education), understands the potential power of student voters.
“By voting in this municipal election, students are able to have a major impact on the decisions made in the City of Hamilton over the next four years,” Bertolo said. “Each individual vote adds up to better transit, safer housing, and more opportunities for students before and after graduation. It shows the city that we are a major stakeholder and that they must listen to us.”
The stakes are high for students in this municipal election, and the MSU will be pushing to spread that message. Whether that is enough to get students out to vote, however, is a question that can only be answered on Oct. 22.
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On March 20, Hamilton Bike Share hosted a group event called "Three years on two wheels" to celebrate their birthday.
https://www.facebook.com/TheMcMasterSilhouette/videos/10156197677045987/
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By: Benita Van Miltenburg
As both a Hamiltonian and a bicycle user, I was deeply troubled by the recent death of Jay Keddy. Keddy was a well-prepared and thoroughly practiced cyclist, equipped with bicycle lights and a helmet, obeying the rules of the road. Despite his diligent behavior, he was struck by a car and left lifeless on his commute home from work this past December. No one emerged from the horror of Keddy’s death unscathed — his friends, family and acquaintances, not the kindergarten students whom he taught, and not the members of the wider Hamilton community.
Around the same time Keddy was killed, two pedestrians were struck in our city, one killed and the other seriously injured. These realities indicate that we must demand safer transportation infrastructure. Not only have the lives of these individuals and their families been forever affected, but the lives of those responsible have also been irreparably damaged.
These were preventable accidents that mustn’t be forgotten a mere two months later. They were needless accidents with immense consequences. This type of tragedy must not happen again.
I see myself settling in a community I can safely enjoy by way of foot or bicycle, not just by car or bus. As it stands, Hamilton is evidently not the place for me.
Currently, the rules of the road mandate that a bicycle and a three thousand pound vehicle occupy shared road space. When accidents happen, the ones who suffer most are almost always the more vulnerable road users. This is not a system that is safe for people on bikes, and it is likewise not a system that works well for automobiles. Many residents of this city regularly make use of multiple means of transport, and nearly all road users understand the difficulties inherent to this outdated system. We, as citizens of this city, as shared users of the road, must demand more.
We should ask ourselves: what kind of city do we desire? What sort of community are we presently fostering, building for our children, for ourselves and for our seniors? Where do we see this city in five, fifteen and fifty years? I see myself settling in a community I can safely enjoy by way of foot or bicycle, not just by car or bus. As it stands, Hamilton is evidently not the place for me.
In Hamilton, pedestrians have a 42 percent higher risk for injury than the provincial average. Hop on a bike and that figure doubles to 81 percent. This is wholly unacceptable.
Hamilton is blessed with abundant potential. Situated between Lake Ontario and the beautiful Niagara Escarpment, Hamilton is home to several fantastic post-secondary institutions, vibrant art, music and culinary communities, outstanding social programs, and just enough character to keep things interesting. However, the city is currently doing itself a terrible injustice by consistently catering to one road user over others, sometimes at the expense of residents’ lives. As such, we are bypassing the opportunity to create a socially inclusive community in which residents can truly enjoy spending their time.
Transportation modes such as walking and bicycle riding allow the individual to move at a leisurely pace, stop and start with ease and engage with their environment in a way that is simply not possible from the isolated box of the automobile. I say this not to demonize car ownership, but to encourage planning that supports multiple forms of transportation.
This is a call to all residents of our community to work with city planners and legislators to make desperately needed improvements to our active transport infrastructure. Improvements that will in turn put all road users at greater ease, and ensure not one more life is needlessly cut short on account of poor planning or lack of action.
With the city-wide Transportation Master Plan in review and a notice of motion put forth to adopt Vision Zero, Hamiltonians have some crucial decisions to make. Are we to accept this subpar status quo? Are we to remain Ontario’s second most dangerous city to walk in? Can we risk any more unnecessary tragedies?
Or will all road users — pedestrians, cyclists, car drivers and transit goers alike — come together and support positive change? We need change that caters to all forms of transportation equally, change that fully protects all residents from risk of injury and as such, protects all residents from the risk of injuring others. Let’s come together and insist on safer active transportation options in 2016. We all have the right, to enjoy our city out of harms way.
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Students who are familiar with the old bus pass sticker will have to adjust to a two-card system for the 2015-16 academic year.
In the past, the bus pass was designated a section of the validation sticker on the front of every student ID card. This year, in order to take advantage of their $138.65 Hamilton Street Railway bus pass fee, students will be required to have a secondary card with the last three digits of their student number.
Students will have a grace period extending until 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 21 where both the old sticker and the new bus pass will be accepted. Afterwards, students will be required to pick up the secondary bus card from one of the campus bookstores in order to freely board any HSR transit.
“Over time, we’ve looked to becoming more efficient around our processes,” said University Registrar Melissa Pool on the change to a second, physical card.
“I think everyone thought that the sticker equates the bus pass, but it was really a part of broader processes that we’ve moved away from.”
Where the validation sticker once served multiple purposes, the HSR bus pass remains the last vestige of a sticker that was originally intended for other reasons. The majority of those services have since gone electronic, and so the university has been looking for alternatives for several years.
According to MSU VP (Finance) Daniel D’Angela, while the new system is not specifically based on any one system, schools like the University of Western Ontario were examined to understand how the distribution and implementation process would work.
John McGowan, Business Manager with the McMaster Students Union, explained that the change was also an indication of future goals between the MSU, HSR, and various other partners.
“Longer term, there’s been discussions with Presto and the HSR […] about having a solution that’s based on the Presto card,” said McGowan. “I think that’s the ideal solution.”
But some of the changes behind implementing the new bus pass remain unclear. For example, the secondary card does not appear to be more secure than the previous sticker method, since the final three digits on the bus card are simply written in Sharpie.
The largest point of contention is the drastic increase in the replacement cost of lost or stolen bus passes. In the past, a replacement would cost students $30. Now an initial replacement fee will cost $100, with each subsequent replacement running students $150.
Nancy Purser, HSR’s Manager of Transit Support Services, explained how the replacement fee emphasizes the value of the card to each student.
“It’s basically a highly reduced transit pass that’s good for 12 months, and it represents over a thousand dollars in transit fares,” she said.
“We should have done this a long time ago; however, the replacement fee represents that this card has a lot of value.”
Yet D’Angela explained that the MSU recognizes that the cost of replacement is uncomfortable for many students, and remains a point of discussion for the future.
“We’re still looking at ways to bring the price down [...] because I think $100 is very, very cost-prohibitive for students, and I don’t think it’s fair for students to have to pay that $100 if they lose something,” said D’Angela. “Steps should be taken to prevent fraud, but I think when it’s not fair to students, that’s when it’s a problem.”
The replacement fee increase in particular has angered several students, and a group identifying themselves as the Student Mobilization Syndicate has initiated an online petition entitled “Stop the Replacement Fee Hike for Bus Passes.”
Kathleen Quinn, a third year Political Science student and one of the organizers of the petition, explained that the replacement fee increase is not a fair cost to expect students to cover.
“Our position is pretty reasonable: we’re asking that the fee be reduced to either last year’s $30, like when you had your sticker with the student card, or something in line with the cost of making and administering the card,” she explained.
As of Wednesday, Sept. 9, the online petition has reached 853 supporters. Although McGowan explained that the HSR is endeavoring to look at each issue for replacement on a case-by-case basis, Quinn stated that she was against any kind of an exemption-based system.
“When you have an exemption system, it’s two-tiered, and that’s not right, because everyone pays the same amount. And I also think it’s an invasion of privacy if these sorts of guidelines make you prove financial need, make you prove these things,” she said.
Those involved have echoed that the current implementation of the bus passes this year is a pilot project. Both McGowan and D’Angela reiterated that the MSU’s goal is to minimize the replacement cost to students, in a fair and equitable manner.
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