Groups push city for cycling improvements
September 28, 2006

The city is being asked to live up to its promises to support cycling. The long-simmering issue of bike racks on buses and the unannounced disappearance of the city's cycling coordinator have groups calling for improvements, and pointing to a disconnect between policy and reality.

The Hamilton Cycling Committee, a council advisory group, is again pressing the HSR to finally install bike racks purchased five years ago for city buses.

The citizen group Transportation for Liveable Communities would just like to know who's in charge of cycling initiatives at the city. The previous part-time coordinator left in early August and the group says they haven't been told who's replacing him (if anyone).

“The failure to keep us informed sends a negative signal about the city's commitment to its cycling plan, and shows a lack of consideration towards an organization that has provided valuable information and support for the implementation of the city's cycling policies,” said Randy Kay in a recent email. “This breakdown in communication around the change in cycling staff is emblematic of the need to develop our relationship on a new footing.”

TLC points to a recently approved transportation master plan that says the city should “create a senior staff level pedestrian and cycling coordinator position to monitor and assist in the implementation of the policies until such time that the policies are integrated into the everyday practices of the City administration."

In a separate initiative, the Hamilton Cycling Committee, a council advisory group, is again pressing the HSR to finally install bike racks purchased five years ago for city buses. The issue has been re-ignited by Burlington's recent installation of racks on its full transit fleet.

In a letter to the transit master plan steering committee, the group asks the HSR to come up with a definite timetable for installing the racks that were originally purchased in 2001.

“Hamilton 's geography makes these racks a necessity,” says the group. “As cyclists we know that the Mountain can be a formidable barrier.” But HSR planning and marketing supervisor Andy McLaughlin says the mountain transit garage is too crowded to accommodate the increased length of buses that would result from the racks.

“Until we get that item resolved, staff's position is that we do not go ahead with bike racks on the front of buses,” McLaughlin told the transit committee, stressing staff's wish to “keep the buses indoors in the wintertime.”

The city's 202 buses and 70 DARTS are stored overnight at the garage. “When the garage was built, it wasn't intended to hold the DARTS vehicles,” explained McLaughlin, but he rejected suggestions from the committee that they now be relocated.

“It becomes problematic logistically to have buses at remote locations,” he said. “There are additional costs associated with running two or more facilities.”

Committee members then suggested racks be at least added to buses crossing the escarpment, but McLaughlin said it would be difficult to get those particular buses stored together and assigned to routes crossing the escarpment.

“We prefer to go the all or nothing approach,” he said. “When we're ready [we'll] put a bike rack in the front of every bus.”

Nevertheless the transit committee adopted a motion asking HSR to start installing the racks on at least some buses in 2007. One citizen member noted that an all or nothing approach to accommodating wheelchairs would mean they still wouldn't be allowed on the HSR buses. The committee decision still needs to be ratified by the public works committee and city council.

The email from TLC and the letter from the Cycling Committee are posted on the CATCH website along with a transcript of the discussion that took place on the latter at this month's transit steering committee.