Hamilton This Week

One reason why Hamilton is Not the "Best Place to Raise a Child"

On the back of every business card for every City of Hamilton employee and Councillor you will find the City`s mission statement. Priority One reads: To be the best place to raise a child. The gap between the mission statement and the reality of life in the North End is very clear when you live on or near Burlington Street East.

Burlington Street East between James and Wellington has over 10,000 vehicles per day. Children cross Burlington Street to go to school, visit friends, go to the park and the recreational centre. The traffic is a constant danger. Here, residents of Burlington Street talk about the experience.

 

My car is my friend. My car is your enemy.

What if we could reduce child pedestrian casualties in our downtown neighbourhoods by 70%? 

After the Ontario Legislature changed the law to allow cities to lower speed limits to 30K, a group of residents in Hamilton's North End started to look at what other cities were doing about speed limits. They found a huge body of research on what speed does to people and to neighbourhoods. 

One such UK research report put it very simply:

"A recent study of the Government's trial 20 mph zones provides overwhelming evidence of their benefits. Average speeds fell by 9.3 mph and casualties fell 60%. Child pedestrian casualties fell 70%."