Hamilton LRT will cost the city millions more for snow removal, other maintenance

It will cost the city as much as $13.7 million more a year once Hamilton has light rail transit (LRT), and that's with another company operating and maintaining the system.

New city estimates show municipal services such as snow removal, road maintenance and waste collection will run the city between $2 million and $9.8 million a year once LRT is operating.

The city will also incur between $3.2 million and $3.9 million in unspecified transit costs. That's an estimated impact of between $5.2 million and $13.7 million on the tax levy.

These new numbers are part of a staff report coming to city councillors Thursday, when Metrolinx will update them on the status of LRT. Coun. Lloyd Ferguson of Ancaster says he'll have some questions about that.

• Read the reports.

He also wants to see hard numbers in terms of what it'll cost the company building LRT if it falls behind schedule. The report does mention withholding about half of the construction cost until LRT is complete, and "monetary deductions that escalate over time." But Ferguson says that's not enough.

"I want to see a hard number — $50,000 a day for every day they're late," said Ferguson, a construction industry veteran. "I'm going to be pushing hard for that, period."

"That'll be a very significant issue for me on Thursday."

The report says once LRT is in place, the city will need 11 new employees to remove snow, repair potholes, manage traffic signals, and other city functions. It will also mean removing 522 parking metres and the revenue that comes with them.

The estimates will garner interesting discussion around the council table. Last April, five of 16 councillors voted against submitting an updated environmental assessment, which was a crucial hurdle.

Hamilton's mayor predicts support could soften even more with the June 7 provincial election.

Polls show the ruling Liberals, which granted Hamilton the $1 billion project, are unlikely to be reelected. Both Ontario PC leader Doug Ford and NDP leader Andrea Horwath have said they support LRT, but also support $1 billion in transit projects if council turns down LRT.

Council still has one major off ramp — signing an operations and maintenance agreement due later this year.

Here are some other key points in the staff report Thursday:

• During LRT construction, a section of road can only be closed once, and for no longer than year.
• Even when a section of road is closed, emergency vehicles and pedestrians will still have access to it.
• The building contract will require laying out a schedule with a "substantial completion" date. Whoever builds it (Metrolinx has shortlisted three consortiums) will give regular updates and "remedy potential delays. Failure to correct schedule deficiencies in a timely manner will result in monetary deductions that will escalate over time."
• Metrolinx is buying about 90 properties for LRT, and part of about 300 properties. So far, it's bought 22 full properties. It will start acquiring smaller parcels this year.
• The goal is to start construction next year, with LRT running by 2024.
• LRT will require removing about 90 per cent of the curbside trees along the route, the report says.
• The report includes some design changes, like reducing the number of traffic lanes on Queenston Road from Parkdale to Strathearne from two to one.