The feds and province have put $3.4 billion on the table for LRT. Does Hamilton still want the project?
The federal and provincial governments are offering $3.4 billion to build Hamilton's off-again, on-again LRT line just 16 months after the original project was cancelled, The Spectator has learned.
But it remains unclear whether a divided city council will agree to cover the still-unknown costs of running and maintaining the contentious 14-kilometre light rail transit line.
A formal LRT announcement won't land until Thursday - but Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referenced major support" for a Hamilton line during a Tuesday announcement of $12 billion for five rapid transit projects in and around the GTA in partnership with Ontario's Progressive Conservative government.
The two levels of government have negotiated for months over funding for a possible resurrection of the LRT line that was controversially cancelled over a ballooning budget in December 2019.
Sources close to the negotiations told The Spectator the Tory provincial government has agreed to increase its $1 billion capital commitment to $1.7 billion - a number the federal Liberals have now agreed to match.
Earlier this year, the province also suggested a shorter LRT line could be built more affordably. But Trudeau said Tuesday the federal funding is for the original 14-kilometre line stretching from McMaster University in the west to Eastgate Square on the edge of Stoney Creek.
Sources also told The Spectator that Hamilton will be asked to cover operating and maintenance costs - a major sticking point for LRT opponents on council who argue pandemic-battered taxpayers just can't afford it.
Several councillors have expressed concerns about affordability or indicated they want to explore cheaper bus rapid transit as an alternative.
Past LRT supporter Coun. Lloyd Ferguson said the biggest question now is how much light rail will cost the city.
It's going to be hard to turn down $3.4 billion being invested in the city, and the jobs that it creates, but I'd like to know what the public thinks," said the Ancaster councillor, who added he is leaning toward adding a specific LRT referendum question to the ballot in the 2022 municipal election.
Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna acknowledged some challenges on the project" Tuesday when asked about the lack of local political consensus around LRT. But she argued light rail is Hamilton's only ready-to-fund project with widespread support and the ability to create jobs and markedly improve transit.
We respect local decision-making and local priorities, but there's only one shovel-ready project," she said.
If the resurrected project goes ahead without local oposition, shovels would likely hit the ground by 2023.
The province cancelled Hamilton's original LRT before seeing operating estimates from project bidders, so the exact cost to run and upkeep trains remains a mystery. A lot of different numbers have been thrown around, however.
The provincial estimate used to help justify LRT cancellation in 2019 was an annual average of $30 million to run and maintain the line over 30 years. Construction union LIUNA included a $24-million annual estimate in a LRT cost study last year.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger said the city's official position" has always been that it would only cover day-to-day operating costs for LRT, which past city estimates pegged at between $6 million and $8 million annually.
I hope and I anticipate that same foundational agreement... is something they're going to announce Thursday," said the mayor, who had yet to see details of the funding agreement Tuesday.
But Coun. Judi Partridge, a longtime LRT opponent, said the proposal's operating costs, as well as what will happen to HSR fare box revenues, loom as unanswered questions.
Quite frankly, whether or not our taxpayers are on the hook for anything is a decision of council; it's not a decision of the federal or provincial government," she said.
The Waterdown councillor said she will not support a renewed LRT but added she is also interested in turning the project into a ballot box question.
The province is still working to update a light rail business case to provide clarity on costs, so it could be a few months before council is formally asked to say yea or nay to LRT 2.0. A new request for proposals to build the transit line cannot go ahead unless the city is on board.
Eisenberger said he still believes LRT should go ahead.
I can't imagine why we would want to throw that away, even though we've been saying on many, many occasions, we're not getting our fair share, and here we are getting our fair share, more than our fair share in my view."
Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com
Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based city hall reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com