Connection between Hamilton and Burlington gets stronger

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By Kevin Werner, News Staff

Stoney Creek News
Sep 11, 2009
The link between Burlington and Hamilton became a little stronger last week after their MP confirmed public meetings will be held to determine how to improve cycling and pedestrian access across the Burlington Canal.
Conservative MP Mike Wallace said he is looking at holding a roundtable meeting with Hamilton and Burlington area cyclists within the next three weeks if a federal election isn't called. If the Conservative government is brought down, the proposed meetings would be cancelled, he said.

Mr. Wallace said the idea is to review a number of options suggested by local officials to connect the Burlington trail to the Hamilton waterfront trail over the Burlington Canal without forcing pedestrians and cyclists to cross Eastport Drive.

"I don't want to force an idea onto people," he said. "I want people to discuss it."

Since the construction of the Hamilton Beach Trail, more residents from both municipalities have been using the area's many trails and have been calling on both local governments to solve the connection problem over the canal. Pedestrians and cyclists are forced to cross from Hamilton's Beach Trail over Eastport Drive, then pass on the left side of the lift bridge before continuing their walking or riding on the Burlington side.

He said there have been a range of ideas to connect the two municipalities, including building a swing bridge and better paths. The costs range from almost nothing - the status quo option -to $20 million.

Mr. Wallace favours improving the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge pathway to allow both cyclists and pedestrians as the primary connection point between the two municipalities' trails.

"I am making this a priority," said Mr. Wallace. "But it is going to take a few years to finalize."

 

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Ottawa giving bridge a facelift

By Jason Misner, Burlington Post Staff

News
Sep 10, 2009
Local cycling advocates are encouraged by Conservative MP Mike Wallace’s promise the federal government will look at ways to make it safer for cyclists to cross the busy Burlington Canal lift bridge at Eastport Drive.
They are also looking forward to participating in a roundtable, led by Wallace, to vet the many options Ottawa is considering in order to improve an existing pathway that cycling supporters feel is inadequate for bikers and walkers to share.

Wallace announced last Thursday at the canal’s Beach Road building that the 1,996- tonne lift bridge is getting a major facelift as part of the federal government’s $12-billion infrastructure spending program, intended to stimulate a recessed economy. Specifically, $42 million has been set aside for four federally- owned bridges.

A $4.1-million lift bridge contract was awarded to Hamilton’s Dayson Industrial Services Inc.

The work includes rust removal and painting of the historic bridge, which rises to allow ships from Lake Ontario to enter the bay. The lift bridge is considered a key cog in commercial trade for Burlington, Hamilton and much of southern Ontario.

Marine traffic in the canal averages 6,000 commercial vessels and pleasure crafts per year, and the average daily traffic over the bridge is 10,000 vehicles.

The work is expected to take two years and be completed during off-season shipping months.

Wallace said he was proud to see the work was awarded to a “local company.”

A beaming Jeffrey Butcher of Dayson accepted the contract from Wallace at the same press conference last week and stressed the job will get done properly.

He said the contract would employ at least 40 people, providing all a “good salary”, with the possibility that spin-off jobs could bring the total employment up to 70.

“I’m going to do my best and I know we’ll get it done in time,” Dayson told the crowd, adding the work will be completed with environmental sensitivity given the body of water below the bridge.

Mayor Cam Jackson said the announcement provides local jobs and is especially encouraged by the bridge work given Hamilton and Burlington are “connected by this (Lake Ontario) magnificent body of water.”

While the bridge undergoes repair, Wallace said his government wants to make the structure safer for cyclists to cross. There is a pathway extending across the bridge.

Noting there has been a fatality at the bridge, he wants to make sure bikers are kept safe.

“My ultimate goal is to find a solution one way or the other,” Wallace said.

The MP told the Post there are at least nine options that range in price and practicality. They include proposals like a separate platform for bikes; one of the options costs around $20 million, he noted.

Wallace plans to hold a roundtable discussion to analyze the options to determine which one works best for the lift bridge.

“They’re (Transportation Canada) fully committed to trying to find a solution; they don’t want to impose something,” he said, adding new funding would have to be provided for possible improved biking lanes.

Gene Wasik, of the Burlington Cycling Committee, was told about Wallace’s comments regarding cycling safety and the lift bridge. He said he looks forward to being a part of the roundtable discussion since the group has been lobbying, for some time now, changes to make the bridge better for cyclists and pedestrians.

“That’s great news; it’s the first I’ve ever heard of it,” he said. “Nobody has contacted us and said they’re doing anything whatsoever.”

Earlier this year, Wasik said a new pathway is needed because the current set up is inconvenient and potentially dangerous.

He took a reporter on a quick tour of the bridge, which has a crossing on the bay side for pedestrian and cyclists to use. It is narrow and busy, Wasik said. The grate design of the bridge floor is too dangerous for some with skinnier bike tires to cycle on, he said.

Wasik would like to see a smooth pathway built that is attached to the bridge, on the lakeside, and designed to take bikers directly to the beach path below. He believes such a path would cost around $2 million.

Jackson said ensuring a safe crossing for cyclists is very important to the city.

The Burlington Canal Lift Bridge opened in 1826. There have been five successive moveable bridges located on this site since 1830. The present bridge was opened in 1962 and carried two lanes of vehicular traffic across the canal and tracks for the former Hamilton-Northwestern railway.