Developers changed Hamilton road to make it safer for cars — at expense of pedestrians, resident says

Vehicles and transport trucks whiz by as Cheryl Brightman makes the trek on foot along Fifty Road, first on a narrow gravel shoulder and, when that ends, onto the road itself. 

"It's really dangerous," Brightman says as a large black pick up truck drives by close enough to touch. 

Brightman lives near Barton Street and Fifty Road in Winona, in far east Hamilton — an area in transition with a mix of subdivisions and stores interspersed with large rural properties, some of which were removed from the Greenbelt by the province and are in the process of being added back in.

In theory it's a walkable community, with a school and a grocery store also nearby, but Brightman says changes have been made to Fifty Road between Barton Street and the CN rail tracks to accommodate increased car traffic from a nearby development at the expense of pedestrian safety. 

In 2021, a lane was added to Fifty Road for vehicles turning left onto a new street connecting a subdivision and a high school. A high curb and jagged, uneven stones replaced the dirt shoulder previously used by pedestrians. 

The work was paid for by the subdivision developers — Anthony DiCenzo and Sergio Manchia — at the request of the city, as part of the subdivison development agreement, staff say.

What wasn't added were sidewalks, bike lanes or traffic signals.

Pedestrians have to walk on the road except in some parts where there's a narrow shoulder. Brightman has mobility limitations and said walking on Fifty Road in the winter with ice and snow is almost impossible. 

"They put the curbs up so the cars wouldn't go into the ditch but what about the people?" Brightman asked.   

Coun. Jeff Beattie lives nearby and told CBC Hamilton when the road changes were made in 2021, it surprised a lot of residents because it "really impeded" pedestrians from walking.

A year later when he was elected, Beattie said he learned from the city it had no immediate plan for Fifty Road improvements, but were planning to begin reconstruction in 2026. The city is currently conducting an environmental assessment of the area, which was funded through development charges.

Since then, Beattie said he's been pushing staff to add temporary measures like an asphalt sidewalk — but he's still waiting.

"My priority is to get people off the road," he said. 

The reason for the hold up was in part revealed at a city planning committee meeting last week.