Pipeline Trail –
under-recognized but not for long

I run into people all the time who have never visited the Pipeline Trail in the east end of our city – or have even heard of it. You can’t blame them because, surprisingly, there are no plaques or signs indicating where this unique bike/pedestrian corridor exists. The trail follows a diagonal north/easterly path over …

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under-recognized but not for long"
Portrait of Laura Keating in front of wall with graffiti. Photo by Gord Moss.

Laura Keating, a working musician

A horn player recently told me about how jazz colleagues are somewhat rusty from not having the gigs or the opportunity to jam during the forced isolation of the pandemic. Folk rocker, singer songwriter, guitar player and Crown Point resident Laura Keating had a different experience during the past two-years. “I turned to new ways …

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Screen capture from AGH website.

Crown Point artist at AGH

There is an unfortunate phenomenon that seems to be part of Hamilton’s DNA: buildings torn down to make way for city-approved projects, only to fail to get off the ground. It happens for all sorts of reasons including uncertain financing. So, we end up with parking lots or other kinds of underutilized and empty spaces …

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Complete Sreet in Grimsby

Can a city be driven to change?

This spring, Hamilton city council is expected to debate and pass a complete streets design manual to make roads friendlier and safer, especially for more vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists. Under the program, walking, cycling, and public transit will have a higher priority. The 2021 city transportation master plan (unanimously adopted by city council) states that …

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Renoviction and the invisible eviction crisis

Ontario has a big problem with evictions. How big? No one knows for sure. While the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is ramping up the assembly-line to pump out evictions, there is no means to measure the depth of the crisis. No government or agency is keeping count. An eviction crisis is occurring behind a …

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Ottawa St looking north from Cannon.

Trucks, roads, and transportation reviews

November was an exciting month for the usually cautious city council in Hamilton. First, the city voted to freeze the urban boundary despite pressure from developers keen to build vast tracts of low-density suburban homes for automobile dependent commuters on agricultural land. A little more than a week later, the city transportation planners were unceremoniously …

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The Road to 108: A Fan’s Journey

For me, being at Tim Horton’s field for the 108th and my first ever Grey Cup, will be a celebration and reflection on all of the above and the part 75 Balsam and our Tabbies have played throughout the story of my First 48.

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Industrial Landscape

Shift Change: A book review

Do artists and their art contribute to the displacement of poor and working-class Hamiltonians? That’s the question explored by Stephen Dale and his book, “SHIFT CHANGE: SCENES FROM POST-INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.” He takes a look back at Hamilton’s rise and decline as an industrial city, but his main focus is Hamilton’s post-industrial re-emergence as a cultural hub for …

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