City’s 2023 Operating Budget boosts transportation options for Hamiltonians

HAMILTON, ON – The City’s 2023 tax operating budget has boosted transit service by 49,000 hours and increased sidewalk snow-clearing efforts by nearly 120 per cent along major arterial roadways such as Main Street and King Street, and all roadways where transit buses operate.

The budget, which sets the City’s priorities for the year, has made several new investments in transportation and mobility in 2023, including investments in the City's transit system, winter snow-clearing efforts for pedestrians, increased cycling infrastructure, and road safety measures.

The 2023 budget will see a number of investments to help Hamiltonians move around the city, including:

• $3.3 million in transit improvements, which include 49,000 hours of additional service.
• $1.4 million to more than double sidewalk snow removal efforts from 397 km to 866 km.
• $308,000 for additional staff to work in an integrated team dedicated to the acceleration of the cycling masterplan.
• $302,400 to support the public bike-sharing program, comprised of over 800 smart bikes across 25 square kilometers across the city, which will continue to operate into 2025.

Hamilton's 10-Year Local Transit Strategy guided investments in the City's transit system and cycling infrastructure through the cycling master plan. The City is currently in year seven of the transit master plan and the 2018 Cycling Master Plan will be updated starting this year. Since the City adopted its transit strategy in 2015, transit service in Hamilton has increased by 218,000 hours. The strategy has been supported by the addition of 68 new buses and 184 new FTE’s to deliver the service.

The Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) is already one of the greenest fleets in Canada, with approximately 65 per cent of the current fleet powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and over 80 per cent by the end of this year (2023). HSR is a leader when compared to other transit agencies, in CNG use vs diesel. HSR had the first CNG bus in Canada in 1985 and now has a RNG (renewable natural gas) bus, which is carbon negative.

The City’s transit division and Light Rail Transit (LRT) office continue to make preparations for the integration of Hamilton LRT into the City’s transit network. Unveiled at the April 3 Public Works committee, the City’s Concept Rail Ready Network is structured around LRT to maximize connections with local transit.

The City’s $1.07 billion tax operating budget includes a 5.8 per cent tax increase, or $85 million, for 2023, which includes a 2.5 per cent increase to accommodate inflation on existing programs and services and a 4.2 per cent increase, in new investments including housing, transportation and mobility, and public safety.