transportation – mackaycartoons

Wednesday January 18, 2017

January 17, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 18, 2017

Funds must double to keep Hamilton roads at ‘C’ level: report

The city needs to double asphalt repair spending over the next decade just to keep increasingly rutted roads in fair shape, a new analysis shows.

As it is, municipal road conditions — particularly neighbourhood streets and urban collectors — are deteriorating steadily because the city budget isn’t keeping up with needed repairs, says public works head Dan McKinnon.

“We’re not sustainable … We know the overall condition rating is going to decline,” McKinnon said during a presentation to councillors on the city’s latest road condition analysis.

That report suggests Hamilton must spend about $521 million on repairs and reconstruction over the next 10 years just to hold the line on existing road conditions. We’re on track to spend only half that amount, with about $25.5-million slated to be directed to such repairs in 2017.

The city actually spends closer to $80 million a year on all things roads-related — but that includes bridges, sidewalks and street lights, traffic engineering, technical studies and construction related to new development.

The city bases its latest dire prediction on a roads condition index calculated with the help of a consultant who used ground-penetrating laser technology and visual inspections to evaluate all municipal roads block by block.

Based on the latest study, the city has awarded itself a “C” grade for roads — defined as “fair with some deterioration or defects evident” — or an average condition index of 62.

The “optimum” target condition index for roads is 81. While the city’s two parkways are close to that target level of driveability, residential streets and urban collectors have an average condition index closer to 58.

The latest public report doesn’t finger particularly bad roads or neighbourhoods, but a photo presentation to councillors used a spiderweb-cracked section of Chapple Street in Stoney Creek to illustrate a road in need of a rebuild. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Doubled Published – Oopsie.

Published in the Western Star, Corner Brook, Newfoundland – January

Published in the Western Star, Corner Brook, Newfoundland – January 20, 2017

Tuesday December 6, 2016

December 5, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 6, 2016

New push to add LRT stop at Bay Street

A late plea for a Bay Street LRT stop is one of several requested route changes project planners will chew on before spitting out a final design next spring.

The city’s light rail transit stakeholder committee will formally receive a letter from the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Nov. 29 asking for a Bay Street stop on the east-west leg of the planned $1-billion LRT line.

“It is not a stretch to assume that the Bay Street Station would immediately become the second-busiest station between the two end nodes of the B-line,” reads the letter signed by representatives from large downtown players such as McMaster University, the art gallery, Carmen’s Group and Vrancor.

The city and project lead Metrolinx need to submit an updated environmental assessment — including a finalized route — to the province for approval next spring. But there is still time to consider “reasonable” change requests based on public feedback, said city LRT point person Paul Johnson.

“We are looking at a number of requests now, things like pedestrian crossings, intersection changes and yes, stop locations,” he said. “Just don’t ask us to move the whole thing to Main Street. No, we are not going to look at that.”

Johnson said public suggestions to date have already resulted in a relocated stop to the border of the International Village. Planners are also revisiting the possibility of a Gage Avenue stop based on a “surprisingly strong” reaction from the public.

Similarly, businesses in the International Village have convinced planners to scope out an additional pedestrian crossing along that section of the King Street line. Other merchants have helped tweak partial intersection and street closures.

Johnson wouldn’t comment on the likelihood of Bay Street being adopted as a new stop, but noted there are some challenges to adding any new stop.

It costs “a few million dollars” to add a platform and amenities along a typical LRT line, he said. But he added potential intersection changes and land purchases can inflate the “real cost” dramatically.

The light rail transit line is also meant to be an express service, with an average distance between stops of about 800 metres. Project planners are aiming for peak period wait times of six minutes.

Stops at Queen Street, Bay and James would represent some of the shortest distances between platforms along the route, Johnson said, in some cases under 400 metres.(Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Tuesday January 5, 2016

January 4, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday January 5, 2016

New pedestrian crossover, student crossing rules require drivers to wait

New provincial legislation is now in place that will impact you on the road — and on foot.

It’s now mandatory for drivers and cyclists to stop for the entire time it takes a pedestrian to navigate a crossover or a school crossing with a guard.

Drivers could be fined up to $500 for disobeying the new rules, and they could also lose three demerit points.

Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant Carolle Dionne said enforcement will be stepped up to make sure the laws are being followed.

“We are committed to using the new laws as an enhanced deterrent in reducing pedestrian-related injuries and fatalities,” she told CBC News.

“We investigate so many of these each year and it’s important that we keep our pedestrians safer.”

Dionne said road safety is a shared responsibility — and pedestrians, drivers and cyclists need to be courteous to each other, and share the road.

Pedestrians have a role in making sure the new laws are enforced properly. Dionne said they need to make sure “that, when they do decide to start crossing, they don’t start crossing when the lights are flashing, [and] don’t walk or cross at a red light. They have a big role to play in their personal safety as well.”

The new law applies to crossovers and school crossings where there is a guard.

Crossovers are not the same as a crosswalks. They are marked by specific signs, overhead lights, and push buttons. (Source: CBC News)

Friday May 1, 2015

April 30, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 1, 2015

Ontario’s winter roads ‘less safe’ since privatization: auditor

Ontario saved millions but put lives in jeopardy by contracting out highway snow clearing and other winter road maintenance with poor oversight, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk says in a damning new report.

“In the past, highways were cleared much faster,” the auditor told reporters Wednesday, noting that “preliminary results show an increase in the number of deaths on Ontario highways in 2013 where snow, slush or ice was a factor.”

It’s taking twice as long to clear highways to bare pavement after storms than it did five years ago under a new system of “performance-based” contracts with specified service levels and no more on-the-road supervision by Ministry of Transportation staff.

Lysyk said she was stunned to find the Liberal government kept awarding the contracts despite warnings from Ministry of Transportation engineers that many low bidders didn’t have enough equipment to do the job properly.

In one startling case a year ago, an unnamed northern Ontario contractor refused to clear winter roads at one point and was fined for poor performance following an audit prompted by a pileup of 14 tractor trailers that forced an extensive highway closure.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca refused to apologize for the problems but said that “there’s no doubt there needs to be improvements. I will get this right.”

Del Duca said 105 pieces of snow removal, de-icing, salting and sanding equipment have been added in the past year and 20 inspectors added to keep better track of contractors, with whom he will meet in the coming weeks. (Source: Toronto Star)

Thursday March 26, 2014

March 25, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 26, 2014

Hamilton’s heavy truck fleet gets a failing safety grade

A troubling spike in collisions by municipal garbage trucks and plows has downgraded the city’s provincial safety rating — and even threatens its legal ability to put those vehicles on the road.

Hamilton’s roughly 400 “commercial” vehicles — those weighing more than 4,500 kilograms, but excluding transit and emergency services — were involved in 120 collisions and 29 convictions over the past two years, according to Ministry of Transportation data.

That’s left the city with a “conditional” provincial safety rating and a violation rate of 87.4 per cent — one of the highest rates among Ontario municipalities. The problems have spurred a warning letter, safety rating downgrade and Feb. 11 meeting with the ministry.

The province considers 35 per cent or less to be “satisfactory,” while violation rates approaching 100 per cent can spur sanctions as severe as forcing an operator to park its fleet.

“It’s a high violation rate,” acknowledged Geoff Lupton, director of energy, fleet and traffic, who said the majority of collisions come from garbage trucks and plows. “I wouldn’t say we’re unsafe; I’d say we’ve had too many incidents and we’re working to address that.”

Public works chair Coun. Sam Merulla called the city’s record “unacceptable,” but added he’s confident in the city’s new plan to tackle the troubling trend.

The plan started last fall when the city formed a committee to tackle the issue and now includes a revamp of Hamilton’s driver safety manual. Lupton said a driving trainer has been working with waste collectors since January and three yet-to-be hired trainers will soon be “embedded” in the roads department. Meetings with drivers are also being held at various public works yards.

Lupton also noted many city vehicle collisions are weather-related — for example, plows clipping cars in storms, or garbage trucks reversing in snow-choked side streets. “A lot of our (staff) are out there in the absolute worst conditions,” he said. “We’ll always have accidents, but we definitely need to make sure there are as few as possible.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator)