Studies into Red Hill widening suspended to bring Indigenous delegates into the fold
The city is suspending studies into the widening of the Red Hill Valley Parkway to bring a joint stewardship board made up of Hamilton councillors and Haudenosaunee delegates into the loop.
Any proposal to widen the eight-kilometre parkway must be presented to the six-member board for consideration, according to its foundational agreement.
And relations are frayed because the board was left on the sidelines when the city started studying the potential expansion.
To address that, council has told staff to pause engineering and other work into the proposed widening to allow for board deliberations.
I'm pleased where we are now," Coun. Brad Clark, who sits on the board, told The Spectator about the path forward.
The change in direction is positive," said Aaron Detlor, a Haudenosaunee board member, calling it a very small first step in a process advancing reconciliation."
There have been other points of contention.
Detlor has raised other issues - including a development plan to direct stormwater into the Red Hill Creek and city land up for sale - that should have been before the board.
In April, the lawyer called the parkway snub a further attempt to make an end run around binding agreements that some would see as sacred and solemn in nature."
In 2015, council asked city staff to look at the costs of the potential widening of the Red Hill and Lincoln M. Alexander parkways to six lanes from four to alleviate congestion.
A year later, a report estimated the cost to expand the connected parkways would range from $41 million to $61 million as well as an operating expense of $597,000.
A subsequent review found both highways would need additional capacity" by 2031, but any gains from an expansion would be negated without improvements" to Highway 403 and QEW connection points.
The initiative involves an overarching environmental assessment (EA) that explores potential features such as lanes for high-occupancy vehicles and buses.
Public consultation, which is a major component" of the EA, couldn't proceed until the city is in alignment" with the joint stewardship board, Brian Hollingworth, transportation planning director, told council Wednesday.
The Red Hill agreements are the product of talks that started in 2002 amid protests over the parkway's construction.
The joint stewardship board is tasked with looking out for the environmental welfare of the natural area while abiding by Indigenous rights.
The pact stipulates that proposals to add to the paved portion" of the roadway or any substantial change" to it must be presented to the board.
The board, which operates on a consensus basis, can make recommendations and pursue additional studies on the city's dime.
Not all city politicians want to widen the parkway, which was completed in 2007.
Coun. Maureen Wilson, for instance, reminded her colleagues of her opposition to such an expansion.
But amid the proposal's studies, the city has a nation-to-nation duty and obligation" to the Haudenosaunee under the joint stewardship board.
In an interview, Clark, who sits on the board with councillors Maria Pearson and Russ Powers, called the overture really a beginning step ... all over again" to start addressing a number of outstanding board matters.
Detlor said he - as well as colleagues Raechelle Williams and Todd Williams - would certainly take an impartial view" of the full proposal. Because now we have an appropriate process."