Hamilton will ban the largest trucks from ‘shortcutting’ through downtown

Hamilton is gearing up to ban the biggest trucks from shortcutting" through the downtown by the end of the year.

The city has studied changes to the map of legal road routes for large trucks since 2019, with lower-city residents pleading for safer, truck-free streets and bayfront industries lobbying to keep shorter routes through the core to Highway 403.

After months of debate, councillors voted unanimously at a Monday public works meeting to endorse a ring road" alternative that bans the biggest trucks - those with five or more axles - from travelling on downtown streets between the bayfront port industrial area and Highway 403.

Instead, large transport trucks must use Burlington Street, the Red Hill Valley Parkway and the QEW. (The ban does not prevent large trucks from doing local deliveries in the core.)

Council is expected to ratify what Mountain councillor Tom Jackson called a major shift" at a meeting next week, with work then starting on a formal bylaw, education and monitoring plan for truckers, and a police enforcement strategy.

There's still a lot of work to do - months, not weeks," said transportation planning director Brian Hollingworth. But he expressed hope $350,000 worth of new route and guidance signs, as well as a formal bylaw, will be ready to roll before the end of the year.

Ward 3 councillor Nrinder Nann welcomed the literal new direction" for the city and praised dedicated residents for advocating successfully for safer streets.

Hundreds of city residents weighed in on the truck route plan, with the vocal Truck Route Reboot group pushing for an outright truck ban in the downtown. The group celebrated the decision as a victory for people power" on Facebook.

Members organized truck counts at busy pedestrian intersections, collecting alarming video of large trucks pushing cyclists out of protected bike lanes and drew attention to the number of truck routes that passed schools and Hamilton General Hospital.

Industrial businesses on the bayfront, as well as the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority, warned removing direct access from the western Highway 403 would add kilometres and costs to doing business in the city.

Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at for The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com