Hamilton City Council’s Public Works Committee will vote on a plan to conduct focused studies and public consultation to review options to alleviate traffic congestion on the Lincoln Alexander Parkway
The discussion is on the agenda, with a consultant’s report outlining the costs of expanding the highway and a recommendation to review short-term options for the Linc.
In 2019, City Council approved spending $600,000 to conduct the environmental assessments and feasibility studies necessary to expand the roadways from two lanes in each direction to three.
Changes to the Red Hill Valley Parkway are not on the agenda because agreements with Indigenous nations govern any roadway changes due to the area’s environmental sensitivity. The Red Hill Valley Stewartship Board is presently not meeting following deadlocks that prompted the resignations of two of the three council members who sat on the Board.
The report estimates that adding a lane in each direction on the Linc will cost $81.5 million and $56.2 million on the RHVP.
The expansions would be into the roadways’ centre medians. The costs do not include changes to the provincial highway interchanges connecting Highway 403 and the QEW.
The report focuses on the Linc and recommends spending the remaining $111,500 of the original consulting budget for “focused public and stakeholder engagement” to explore “potential improvement alternatives.”
The report lists alternatives that include high-occupancy vehicle lanes, improving active transportation facilities, localized widening, and improving transit.
“However, initial evaluations suggest that even with improvements to transit and active transportation, the demand on the Red Hill Valley Parkway and Lincoln Alexander Parkway will still exceed capacity,” the report states.
It also says a HOV lane is “difficult to justify” because only eight to fourteen percent of trips on the Linc include a second person in the vehicle.
Two delegations have registered to speak to the report: Gabriella Kalapos of the Clean Air Partnership, and Ian Borsuk of Environment Hamilton.
The Public Works Committee will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, April 7, and will be live-streamed on YouTube.
The committee includes all council members except Ward 9’s Brad Clark and Mayor Andrea Horwath.
Production Details
v. 1.0.1
Published: April 6, 2025
Last updated: April 6, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
v. 1.0.1 re-phrased the opening paragraph.