Skewed Priorities

Now that the Doug Ford government has decided to give Mayor Fred Eisenberger an early Christmas present, in the form of a truncated light rail transit line, that will cost a whopping $600 million per kilometer to build, I’m left wondering how many more times downtown councilors can be fooled into thinking this project won’t cost local taxpayers anything. We all know from past experience that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Mark-Alan Whittle,

Hamilton Mountain

LRT will be empty due to price

RE: Higher parking rates are not the answer (April 20)

As an avid reader and lifelong subscriber to The Spectator, I always look forward to reading columnist Andrew Dreschel, a master at his craft. Having lived on the central Mountain for most of my adult life, I rarely go downtown. The main reason is the lack of convenient parking and the high cost of that, compared to mostly free parking on the Mountain, except some business areas with parking meters along Concession Street, where meter rates are frozen. Everything I could possibly need is above the escarpment. That's why I'm glad Metrolinx has the contract with the city to design, build, maintain and operate. It will be like the UP Express — empty due to price. Are downtown LRT enthusiasts willing to pay the break-even costs of light rail transit? A hint might be the fact that our local bike-share is not revenue neutral. That's Hamilton, get used to it.                       

Mark-Alan Whittle, Hamilton