Bus lane advocacy

The Feb. 22 Student Representative Assembly meeting vote to condemn the discontinuation of the King Street corridor bus lane was raised to Hamilton City Council during their Feb. 24 public delegation on the city’s 2015 budget.

In their presentation to Council, VP (Administration) Jacob Brodka, and VP (Education) Rodrigo Narro-Perez presented the MSU’s position on the bus lane closure, emphasizing the lane’s importance in helping McMaster students commute and connect to the city, especially to the downtown core and its businesses. In addition, the MSU advocated for the inclusion of Light-Rail Transit in the city’s 2015 budget to further improve the city’s transit, and as a means to encourage more students to stay in the city.

“Every single full-time undergraduate student has a full 12-month bus pass, and we contribute about 6.5 percent of the HSR’s annual revenue, so that’s millions of dollars,” explained Brodka. “So, while the city shouldn’t necessarily bend to the university’s needs, its certainly nice to know that council listens to what students have to say and take that into consideration.”

Currently the MSU is conducting the “Your City” survey, which is collecting student perceptions of Hamilton. Three years ago, the 2011-2012 poll revealed that a quarter of students surveyed had no interest in remaining in the city. The MSU strongly feels that better transit and connectivity in the city can attract young professionals to begin their careers in Hamilton. The current poll will be made available to City Council and the public within the next month.

Ward 8 Councilor Terry Whitehead responded to the MSU’s presentation by noting the different views other communities have, such as Mohawk College, on the transit issue.

“It just shows you that there are special interests in regards to who they serve, where they live and so forth… Our challenge as a council is to ensure that we have a comprehensive system for all.”

Brodka noted that the MSU is looking forward to working with the city council more closely, and to have the voices of students present during the discussions of student issues.

“I think in the future, there will be more discussion about transit in Hamilton, and whoever is a part of the SRA next year and whoever is on next year’s Board of Directors should definitely continue to engage council on those discussions.”

The Hamilton City Council voted 9-7 in favour of closing the pilot bus lane on Jan. 21. The bus lane used around $180,000 of their Metrolinx grant to install the lane, and its closure will cost an additional $100,000.