Hamilton Spectator – Letters to the Editor
RE: ‘Red Hill expressway would add to traffic woes’ (Jan. 6).
I am afraid that the observations and conclusions by writer Dorothy Turcotte are in contradiction.
This fiasco about the Red Hill Creek Expressway has been going on for a long while. If a public opinion poll were taken, it would find that a large percentage of the populace would agree about the need for an expressway. As for the location, that is still fodder for debate.
How much of the economical downturn on Hamilton’s Bayfront is attributable to its poor access to other markets? Has this question ever been honestly addressed?
Unfortunately, Hamilton is a favourite football for political ambitions. But, in this game, the participants are forgotten and leaders’ personal political views are forced upon the citizens.
As heavy traffic bypasses the Hamilton industrial core, the peripheral edges of “Metro” Hamilton are forced to bear the brunt of the traffic.
We cannot put up barricades around our communities and exist in isolation. The tax base would erode even more by the loss of existing and future industries. In turn, so would the job markets.
The proposed “mid-peninsula” highway connecting Buffalo/Fort Erie with Highway 403 is not an answer to Hamilton’s industrial needs. I concede that it is a far less volatile environmental choice than the north-south expressway and would remove excess trans-traffic from our area. But what about the industrial needs of the Hamilton area?
The only real solution is to have a scenario whereby we eat our cake and have it, too.
This year, 2000, we must find a compromise for the continuation of the “Linc” down to the QEW without endangering the environment of the Red Hill Valley.
At the same time, an adequate access must be created for heavy traffic to reach the Bayfront industries.
Dez Miklós, Hamilton