City Council Committee Reviews Transportation, Transit, and Major Infrastructure Program

The committee reviewed transportation, transit, water infrastructure and major-project delivery. It approved plans for two rural roundabouts, a traffic signal at Dundas Street and Kerns Road, an independent facilitator for the stalled Waterdown Bypass, and a Major Projects Delivery Team for a $572-million infrastructure program. Members also questioned inaccurate transit-app information, bus cancellations, rising construction costs and the future staffing and tax impacts of the infrastructure program.

Topics Discussed

Infrastructure safety projects

The committee approved improvements at the Binbrook Road, Trinity Church Road and White Church Road intersections in Ward 11. The design includes two roundabouts and a multi-use path on the north side. The project is estimated to cost approximately $5.7 million, with design potentially beginning in 2027 and construction tentatively scheduled for 2030.

Engineering staff said the design accounts for residents' access needs, truck and agricultural-vehicle turning radii, and pedestrian and cyclist access. Staff also identified poor sight lines, sharp angles and rising traffic volumes at the intersections.

The committee also approved an agreement with Burlington to install a traffic signal at Dundas Street and Kerns Road. Councillor Ted McMeekin said fatalities had occurred at the intersection and that the signal "will hopefully go a long way to solving those problems."

Transit reliability and public information

Transit officials said a technical problem with the Google Transit Feed Specification has produced inaccurate information in public transit apps, including incorrect arrival times, ghost buses and inaccurate cancellation information. Staff estimated that correcting the issue would take about two weeks. A consolidated report is expected by January 2027, with interim updates through corporate communications.

Councillor Maureen Wilson identified "a disconnect between what's available internally to you and then what the public is seeing." She noted that "if we don't have synchronicity between what we're doing as a public institution and the most public way of getting access to the information, then we can't build confidence in that system." Members also questioned whether the reported 99% service delivery reflected riders' experiences when cancellations were concentrated on busy routes, including Barton, Route 51 and the B-Line.

Officials said a parts shortage affecting the HSR fleet ended on September 24. They reported an average of 45 cancelled service hours out of approximately 3,500 per day.

Traffic calming after speed-camera cancellation

Staff outlined how provincial Road Safety Initiative funding will be used at 89 locations where automated speed-enforcement cameras were operating or planned. The funding can support traffic-calming measures and targeted police enforcement.

Transportation Operations Manager Mike Field said the funding cannot be used for lane reductions or "road diets." The city could pursue those changes separately, but the province would not reimburse them through this program.

Councillor Tammy Hwang said that nearly every street where she canvassed in Ward 4 had residents asking for speed bumps. She cautioned that "that's not always the best sort of mitigation strategy" and asked staff to identify other traffic-calming options.

Water, wastewater and project costs

Hamilton Water presented an Interim Master Servicing Strategy covering growth projections to 2051. The plan identifies approximately 181 water, wastewater and stormwater projects with a combined estimated cost of $3.23 billion. Staff said the strategy is a planning framework for future growth and for the "capacity, reliability, and resiliency" of existing systems, rather than an immediate funding request.

Bids for upgrades to the Primary Clarifiers and Scum Building at the Woodward Wastewater Treatment Plant came in approximately $5 million to $6 million above initial estimates. Staff attributed the higher costs to economic conditions, trade disputes and supply-chain pressures.

The committee also received an update confirming completion of remediation work on the Kenilworth drainage channel. Staff said the city became responsible for the asset after a court ruling and that the work was completed through a joint contract with ArcelorMittal Dofasco.

Major-project delivery and Waterdown Bypass

The committee approved a Major Projects Delivery Team to oversee approximately $572 million in infrastructure funded through federal and provincial Development Charge Reduction Programs. The team will focus on major right-of-way projects, assess delivery models such as progressive design-build and report delays exceeding 90 days to the Public Works Committee, including reasons and mitigation plans.

A staffing report is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, while ongoing staffing costs will be referred to the 2027 tax operating budget. Staff may also use external procurement and project advisers when internal resources are unavailable.

Councillor Mike Spadafora said the city's project-completion record required improvement, noting that "our completion rate in the city of Hamilton is not something that we can sit here and put our stake in the ground to say we got this." He said the infrastructure program required dedicated attention.

The committee also approved an independent facilitator for discussions between the city, its Indigenous offices and local First Nations regarding the East-West Road Corridor, commonly called the Waterdown Bypass. Councillor Ted McMeekin said the motion acknowledged "difficulties moving forward with the project," which he described as essential to the community's health and welfare. The approximately $59-million project began in 2012, has acquired land and completed about one-third of its paving, but remains stalled.

Motions

• Binbrook Road, Trinity Church Road and White Church Road Intersection Improvements — PW26063: Approved moving forward with two roundabouts and a north-side multi-use path.
• New Signal Installation Agreement at Dundas Street and Kerns Road — PW26080: Approved unanimously.
• Major Infrastructure Project Delivery Team — Motion 10.1: Approved, including 90-day delay reporting, project-priority designation, alternative delivery-method reviews and a future staffing report.
• Facilitator for the East-West Road Corridor and Waterdown Bypass — Item 10.2: Approved.
• Citywide information update — Item 7.2: Received without discussion.
• Rapid remediation of illegal dumping on former encampment-site debris — Item 7.4: Received without discussion.

No rejected or deferred motions were identified in the supplied meeting notes.

Attendees

The supplied list identifies the following councillors:

• Tom Jackson
• Andrea Horwath
• Mark Tadeson
• Esther Pauls
• Rob Cooper
• Alex Wilson
• Jeff Beattie
• Mike Spadafora
• Cameron Kroetsch
• Ted McMeekin
• Brad Clark
• Craig Cassar
• Tammy Hwang
• Maureen Wilson
• Matt Francis
• Nrinder Nann