Bike-friendly stairs in West Campus

Presentation to Hamilton Conservation Authority BoardVIDEO - Click here to watch University Gardens resident Angela Zheng present to the Hamilton Conservation Authority Board of Directors, Thursday, July 7, 2022 (15 minutes for presentation, questions and vote)As a result of the presentation, HCA's Board voted to have staff report back in September with an overview of the situation including jurisdiction, costs, and history.The HCA Board meets once a month on the first Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM. The staff report should be brought back on Thursday, September 1, 2022.

Request for Staircase on Path from University Gardens to McMaster

Request to the HCA:

Residents of the University Gardens neighbourhood are requesting a steel metal staircase with a bike runnel to be built on the path connecting Grant Boulevard in University Gardens to McMaster University (see Figure 1 for the location of the path and Figure 2 for a close-up view).

Background:

The path from Grant Boulevard to McMaster University is part of a commuter trail that many residents use to get from University Gardens to McMaster, Westdale, and Ainslie Wood. There used to be two routes connecting Grant Blvd to the bridge over Coldwater Creek:

i) a path that descends down a steep slope (Item 1 in Figure 2) which can become slippery and unsafe during the months of November to April due to ice buildup, and

ii) a staircase that was in poor shape (Item 3 in Figure 2) which was recently removed by the HCA. The staircase was easier to use than the path during much of the winter. University Gardens residents are asking for a replacement metal staircase.

Reasons for Request:

The recent removal of the staircase by the HCA has negatively affected University Garden residents (see Additional Comments 1a and 1d on page 4). The evidence presented below shows that the path is used by many residents for commuting. With no staircase, the commute becomes difficult and potentially unsafe from November to April due to icy conditions (see Additional Comments 1b, 1c, 1d on page 4). In addition, residents of University Gardens do not have access to the new cycling paths built by the city. A staircase with a bike runnel would allow cyclists to connect to the bike trails on Cootes Drive and throughout Hamilton.DOWNLOAD ANGELA'S FULL PRESENTATION AS WORD DOCUMENT: https://www.opirgmcmaster.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/stairsrequest.docx