Liveblog ReplayLive Coverage: Hamilton City Council Public Works Committee

1:49 PM:

The meeting begins with two delegations in opposition to the closure of a public alleyway on Overfield Street.
Delegate Nancy Greenspoon focused her delegation on a privately-acquired arborist report that states there is a Black Walnut tree on the boundary of the land in question which would likely require removal for future development if the City approves the sell of the alleyway.

Delegate Susanna Duft states selling the alleyway would be an act of “colonialism” by replacing open public space with “capitalist” focused private development and furthers the idea of the Doctine of Discovery by the Crown (the municipality) claiming ownership of the land and selling it.

Duft has submitted a petition with over 30 signatures.

2:00 PM:

Delegations are complete. The motion on the floor for today’s meeting is to retain the alleyway pending further staff review. (Which is going to result in keeping the alleyway, because every Ward 13 candidate has committed to doing so.)

Now onto the staff presentation regarding the City’s extension of Vision Zero for another six years.

The new Vision Zero Plan maintains the current policy of allowing HSR public transit managers to veto safety measures. The HSR vetoes right turn on red restrictions at any intersection that buses make right turns.

2:11 PM:

==Councillor questions to staff==

2:19 PM:

First questions will be from Ward 2 Councillor Cameron Kroetsch: what analysis are staff using to determine where pedestrian safety improvements are implemented. Kroetsch notes the large number of pedestrians in the Downtown area.

Response from Vincent Sferrazza, Director of Transportation Operations & Maintenance, provided a generic answers without any specifics.

Second question is regarding the “tension” between the “movement of vehicles and pedestrians”
How is the City dealing with that and being proactive about pedestrian safety, noting he sees a lot of discussion of actions after fatalities occur in the report.

Response from Vincent Sferrazza,was generate: engagement, public feedback, and statistics.

Asks for Mike Field, Manager of Transportation Operations, to provide more details. Field says that staff review a lot of data, and also the dynamics of an area. For example, the City is proactively implementing leading pedestrian intervals in downtown areas, “not waiting for a collision to happen, not waiting for a fatality to happen.”
He says the City will be implementing no right-turn on red in more areas of the City as part of the new Vision Zero Plan.

Third question from Kroetsch: Is the City going to do randomized spot checks of intersections or other measures to have staff observe areas first-time, and to address “gaps” in data and information.

Mike Field: says he likes the question, says staff do “a lot of work behind the scenes” to go beyond statistics and are “out there” getting more data that may “not be visible.” They are “out there” replacing traffic signal controllers, they replaced over 200 controllers in a year to be able to implement leading pedestrian intervals and other traffic timing controls for road safety.
“We need to do a better job in telling the community what we are doing” saying they need to be more proactive with comms instead of reactive.

2:29 PM:

Now asking questions is Ward 4 Councillor Tammy Hwang:

In Ward 4, there are are several “problematic” intersections where cars are leaving the roadway and colliding into buildings. Cites Ottawa Street and Cannon Street, Graham Avenue and King Street.

Asks staff to share who they prioritize their work.

Mike Field, Manager of Transportation Operations, responds that staff collect a great deal of data, and uses a ranking methods to determine where they are responding to.

There were a discussion back and forth between Hwang and staff regarding the range of available measures.

2:36 PM:

Ward 12 Councillor Craig Cassar opens his remarks/questions by noting the “number one” issue his office hears about from the community is road safety.
He says there have been six road fatalities in Ward 12 during this Council term [since Nov. 15 2022], pauses.
Cassar than lists statistics about the societal and economic costs resulting from road injuries.
Cites some of the work other municipalities, such as Winnipeg’s temporary narrowing of street widths to collect data to determine effectiveness/impacts of measures.

Response from Vincent Sferrazza, Director of Transportation Operations & Maintenance, begins by noting that staff could do more if they had more resources. Then discusses how staff are working, the efforts to design better streets before construction and re-construction projects.

Mike Field, Manager of Transportation Operations, says one of the challenges is that many of Hamilton’s intersections were designed with the car in mind, and focused on traffic flow. The City is working to redesign intersections when reconstruction and significant capital works. The City does its best to implement measures to address safety within existing intersections.

2:40 PM:

Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson opens by stating it is a “pity” that not all members of Council are present for this meeting.

Continues by citing the average number of gun deaths in Hamilton, 5 per year, and the number of road deaths, 13 per year, and yet measures to implement road safety measures are criticized as a “war on cars.” Say the City has a responsible to save lives, both for people walking and people in vehicles.

Question is how much is the City spending on roadway safety?

Response from Vincent Sferrazza, Director of Transportation Operations & Maintenance, says the Vision Zero plan is $2.3-billion. Says city staff are always looking for provincial and federal funding opportunities.

2:47 PM:

Note: liveblog notes on this topic will now focus on new information in staff responses.

Ward 11 Councillor Mark Tadeson is now providing this comments/questions. He focuses on the implement of “rural community safety zones” to address speeding and other unsafe behaviours in areas with rural populations.

2:53 PM:

Ward 3 Councillor Nrinder Nann begins her remarks by thanking staff. Requests more information regarding how Public Works staff work with Hamilton Public Health.

Then asks staff if they envision Council members on the new Vision Zero sub-committee. Staff state it can be a Council sub-committee.

3:06 PM:

Now on Item 7.1 “Strengthening Pedestrian and Roadway Safety” which is an information report.

Within the report: the Hamilton Police Service’s submission states speeding charges falling sharply, from about 32,800 in 2021 to about 8,000 in 2025 during the years Automated Speed Enforcement cameras were active. The Ontario Conservative government banned ASE cameras last year.

The staff report notes that roadway safety outcomes aren’t shared equally across Hamilton: public health data shows higher pedestrian and cyclist injury rates in areas facing greater socioeconomic marginalization. In verbal comments, staff emphasis they are making “equity-based decisions” in all matters.

3:38 PM:

Council is now on the 2025 annual Waterwater Bypass report.

There were 20 overflow events at the Woodward treatment plant. There were 0 events at the Dundas treatment plant.

Woodward’s 2025 bypass volume of 2,852 megalitres is about 37 per cent above its five-year average, but staff describe this as more typical of historical averages.

3:42 PM:

Council is now on the issue of the Dundas alleyway at Overfield Street. The motion is for further staff review of the alleyway with a report back from staff within 24 months.

3:45 PM:

Now on Item 8.2, the closure of a portion of the alleyway beside 154 Mountville Avenue. The owner of 154 wants to close and buy a strip of unassumed alleyway, to widen their driveway.

This is a public hearing. There are two pre-registered delegates:

Bill King and Mark Harrington.

4:10 PM:

Two of the three alleyway closures and sales are approved. The Overfield Drive one is not approved, the formal motion for further staff study is approved.

4:13 PM:

Housekeeping approvals, approved:

Item 9.2 to move ahead on a new water pumping station to replace the aging Main Avenue and Whitney Road station, built in 1968 and rated fair to poor condition. Project budget is between $8.8-million and $10.64-million.

Item 9.3, the new Vision Zero plan is approved.

Now onto Councillor motions.

4:15 PM:

Ward 5 Councillor Matt Francis moves to fund 31 trees along Glendale Golf Course bordering Mount Albion Drive. The trees are to be a buffer to limit golf balls entering onto Mount Albion Road. The trees will be on the golf course property, not on the City right-of-way due to limited public right-of-way space and the terrain.

Approved

4:17 PM:

Item 10.2 is the removal of two of four speed cushions on Moxley Drive, citing a resident’s disability-related concerns.

Ward 6 Councillor Tom Jackson moves to remove cushions he had installed in 2021, even though staff’s technical review found they weren’t warranted at the time.

Jackson says it is a “unique set of circumstances” have occurred, and say there is strong support among the neighbours to support the person by removing the cushions.

4:33 PM:

All were passed unanimously:

Item 10.3, moved by Tom Jackson to install speed cushions up to two speed cushions on East 45th Street. Staff state the cushions are not technically required.

Item 10.4, moved by Kroetsch to allocate up to $21,000 to fund lighting improvements for the Gore Park fountain.

Item 10.5, moved by Kroetsch to fund a fence in an alleyway behind 253 Wellington Street North, up to $19,500, to address ongoing trespassing, dumping and vandalism

Item 10.6, Strachan Linear Park Fencing, moved by Kroetsch to fund phase one of a decorative fence replacement along Strachan Linear Park’s rail-adjacent boundary, up to $350,000, with work expected to run 12-24 months starting this year.

Item 10.7, Bump-out at Augusta and James Street South, moved by Kroetsch to install a curb bump-out at Augusta and James Street South, adding bike and scooter parking and shortening pedestrian crossing distances. Ward funding covers up to $60,000 of the work, with the corner itself covered separately by Transportation budget.

Item 10.8, Water Service for Sunset Cultural Garden, moved by Kroetsch, install a water service connection at a cost of up to $65,000.

Item 10.9, Waste Receptacle Pilot in Beasley Park, moved by Kroetsch to swap Beasley Park’s steel-barrel waste bins for a more secure, standardized style, aimed at cutting illegal dumping. The new bins hold less than the old steel barrels, meaning staff will need to empty them more often.

Item 10.10, Ward 4 Active School Travel Review, moved by Hwang to fund a $100,000 budget to Daily School Route, a group that works with schools and families on safer walking and biking routes, for a ward-wide review across Ward 4.

Item 10.11 Road Rehabilitation on Grosvenor Avenue North, to extend an existing paving contract to cover Grosvenor Avenue North, rated in “very poor” and “poor” condition, up to $700,000 — funded by a surplus from that same contract.

4:41 PM:

Now onto walk-on and Notice of Motion

Item 11.1, Victoria Park Decorative Crosswalks. Council waives rules and permits the allocation of four decorative crosswalks around the Park designed by an artist.

Item 11.2 Connection to Municipal Services, 4 Vienna Street, to approve a shared sanitary sewer lateral between 4 and 8 Vienna Street, resolving a decades-old service misalignment dating to 1984. Remains a notice

Item 11.3 Speed Cushions on Wavell Avenue, Council waves the rules and approves one speed cushion on Wavell Avenue.

Item 11.4, Various Ward 8 Park Improvements, Council waives the rules and approves redirecting over $2-million in previously approved but unspent Ward 8 funds toward new play structure and accessibility work at Buchanan, Bruce, Norwood and Kennedy East Park.

Item 11.5 Digital Speed Signs on Patterson Road, Council waives the rules to permit two permanent digital speed signs on Patterson Road in Ward 13.