Metrolinx to continue demolitions along LRT route this week
Purchases and demolitions of buildings in the way of Hamilton's resurrected LRT are restarting this month, said provincial transit agency Metrolinx.
Hopefully, that means the agency will get serious" about finding new housing for people still living in doomed buildings along the route, said tenant Sharon Miller.
Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney, Metrolinx and city officials gathered in Hamilton last week to officially sign an agreement outlining how the partners will work together on the long-planned light rail transit line.
The 14-kilometre transit line was infamously cancelled by the province in the middle of project bidding in late 2019, but is now back on track thanks to joint capital funding of $3.4-billion from the federal and provincial governments and an agreement by the city to cover operating costs.
Most of the early work on LRT 2.0 will be behind the scenes - but residents will notice two vacant commercial properties on Main Street East near Kenilworth Avenue being bulldozed as soon as this week, said Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins.
Another 15 empty buildings could come down later this fall.
The agency has already knocked down 23 buildings since last fall - including most of those surrounding Miller in her King Street East rental home near the CP rail spur.
Miller, a vocal advocate for better treatment of residents losing their homes to LRT, was featured in a recent documentary by Taras Hemon about the project called Thanks for Nothing." She said Metrolinx has sent her a new letter telling her she will have to relocate - but with no deadline so far.
At this point, I want to go - but they have to help find (a new place) that is acceptable for me," said the 66-year-old, who is seeking a ground-level, accessible unit that has two bedrooms. Acceptable for me, not for them. I'm the one who has to live in it."
Aikins said the agency is committed to providing an individualized plan" for each tenant in need of relocation.
But she couldn't immediately say how many tenants Metrolinx still needs to move out of the way of the train. The agency spent $80 million buying 60 buildings along the King-Main transit corridor even before the original LRT project was cancelled - but up to 30 more properties may still be needed.
Aikins said Metrolinx is still nailing down exactly how many and which buildings are needed - as well as how many people might be living or working in them.
Some buildings may be easier to buy than others.
The largest union representing City of Hamilton workers, CUPE Local 5167, filed a $2.5-million lawsuit against Metrolinx after a proposed purchase of a union hall on the LRT route went bad.
It's not clear if Metrolinx still wants to buy the union hall or how the legal dispute will affect future negotiations.
Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com