LED lighting is coming to Hamilton’s iconic Skyway Bridge says Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) CEO Ian Hamilton.
“You can just imagine the spectacle all over the harbour, how good it would look with being lit up,” Hamilton said Monday during a City-Port Liaison Committee meeting.
HOPA CEO Hamilton says they are working with local artist Patrick Bermingham.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger says the news is “absolutely fabulous,” adding this is a “very good long term opportunity to highlight the Skyway.”
HOPA states the Skyway Bridge lighting project will occur as part of the redevelopment of Fisherman’s Pier.
The Pier, which runs alongside the canal connecting Hamilton Harbour to Lake Ontario under the bridges, was a popular fishing location as well as a gathering place for observing freighters and large ships traversing the canal. It was closed for various reasons, including the security of shipping.
The redevelopment of the Pier seeks to create a space that is a destination for the public while at the same time ensuring the security of shipping.
HOPA and the City of Hamilton agreed to work together on the project. The Skyway Bridge is owned by the Province of Ontario. The Lift Bridge is owned by the Government of Canada.
Not ONE CENT of any form of Taxpayer money should be spent on this ridiculous idea.
Does the city really need more light pollution? It’s probably going to be ugly and blinding. This city always makes the worst lighting choices. Shouldn’t there be a study about environmental consequences and a survey on whether local residents want this?
I believe anything that will reasonably improve the safety of shipping and hopefully trucks crossing it will be a good thing. If it improves the attractiveness well that’s secondary to its purpose but a plus as well I think
I grew up in Hamilton and remember looking up and seeing the stars and the Milky Way and that is a natural and beautiful spectacle! It is a tragedy that this has been lost to recent generations. We should not be introducing more light pollution into our environment and it is folly to do so. A little research on light pollution can be illuminating. We need to reduce light pollution to protect was is left of our environment and restore our natural heritage.