Elections, LRT, housing and more: The events and issues that will shape Hamilton in 2022

While it's hard to predict even a month or two ahead these days, 2022 will bring possibilities, including the Red Hill Valley Parkway inquiry, the long-awaited start of light rail transit construction, and two elections — one guaranteed to bring new members of council. 

There may also be a Supercrawl, the Music Cities Forum and an Iron Maiden concert – but we know by now that such luxuries are at the whim of COVID-19, which could just as likely continue to dominate the agenda.

Pandemic aside, here are seven issues and events we expect to shape this city this year:

Construction for the 14-kilometre light-rail line between McMaster University and Eastgate Square is set to start "sometime in 2022," beginning with the relocation of utility lines, says Metrolinx spokesperson Matt Llewellyn. 

The request for qualifications from bidders for the main contract will start in the spring. Metrolinx is coordinating the project alongside the City of Hamilton. 

Metrolinx has said it also plans to continue buying properties to clear the way for the LRT this year. Llewellyn said in December that demolitions along the corridor will continue over the winter.

With the project finally imminent, Coun. Nrinder Nann (Ward 3) says 2022 will also be a time of finalizing the community benefits Hamilton would like to see in relation to the construction project. She'd like to see changes to zoning along the LRT route to require a certain percentage of new units in a building to be designated affordable housing. She says council has the ability to define what "affordable" will mean in this case. 

"It has the ability to make a profound impact instead of gentrification taking over the LRT line," she said. "It would be a tremendous shame to have billions of dollars of investment into transit and then essentially say only folks who can afford to live there can access it."

This year will also surely see the Hamilton Street Railway work to entice riders back onto the bus, after it lost $24 million in expected revenue from reduced ridership in 2020 alone. 

Numerous people who spoke with CBC Hamilton for this article said housing affordability will continue to dominate the agenda this year.

"One of the most pressing issues that will continue to face our city is the need for safe, affordable, reliable housing for all Hamiltonians," says YWCA Hamilton CEO Denise Christopherson.

"[In 2021], Hamilton was named as the third least affordable housing market in North America, and the wait list for affordable housing currently sits at over 6,000 families."

The YWCA says it plans to move more families into its new Putman Family YWCA, on Ottawa Street North, in the new year. As of mid-December, 23 of the 50 units were occupied in the affordable housing building specifically dedicated to women and women-led families. The organization will also begin fundraising in the spring to finish the building's shared spaces and final touches.

There is also the issue of how to respond to encampments that continue to exist around the city. Nann plans to introduce a motion to the emergency and community services committee in January aimed at coming up with a quick but permanent solution to house the approximately 80 to 140 people that were living in encampments in December.