Places to Grow Luncheon Speech
Places to Grow Luncheon Address - Introducing the NEXT Hamilton
Mayor Fred Eisenberger - June 19, 2007
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Good afternoon and thank you for joining me today for the first of the Mayor's Speakers series. These gatherings will present discussion on timely issues important to the future of the Greater Hamilton Area.
I would like to welcome The Honourable, David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal to this inaugural event. It's an honour to have you with us this afternoon.
Also, we have two extremely talented young people with us. 16-year old Danielle Blankstein and 17-year old Cassandra Gaudet are here today.
The grade 11 and 12 students - together with Thomas Fitzmaurice and Miranda Miller - recently participated in a youth workshop challenging young people from across the province to design models of their respective downtown areas.
The model of downtown Hamilton is on display here, so please have a look at it before you leave. It's really something to marvel. Thank you Danielle and Cassandra and congratulations to you and your team for your innovative creation.
Now, for those of you who don't get to this part of Hamilton very often, I'm pleased and very proud to show off one of our great city's most famous tourist attractions - Dundurn Castle.
If you have a chance to walk the grounds today, I'd encourage you to take in the wonderful scenery that surrounds this beautiful landmark.
Today is all about Ontario's Places to Grow Strategy. I congratulate Minister Caplan on this growth plan, which represents a landmark achievement in Ontario.
Places to Grow sets out a vision to help the Greater Hamilton Area grow in a way that promotes a higher quality of living, and pushes economic prosperity to new heights in our community.
The province's growth strategy has helped to set the framework for Hamilton's success.
It favours more traditional urban form, protects prime agricultural land, and by promoting growth along the western end of Lake Ontario.
When this plan was developed Minister, you must have had Hamilton in mind, because Hamilton is the Heart of the Golden Horseshoe, and one of the only remaining jewels for growth along the Western corridor of Lake Ontario.
I am proud to live in one of the most diverse communities in Canada - rich with people from all parts of the world and from all walks of life.
Together, we live in an unparalleled, natural setting with a unique mixture of both rural and urban communities within the larger community of Hamilton.
Where else can you find a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, the Niagara Escarpment, running right through the centre of the city which is flanked by one of the busiest of the Great Lakes?
Hamilton is unique from other communities within the Greater Golden Horseshoe. We are more than just a blueprint for sustainable urban development.
We are a living example of the type of community that Places to Grow seeks to create. Next to Toronto, Hamilton is the single, largest traditional urban centre with significant growth potential situated within the Greenbelt and along the major transit corridor of the GTAH.
Hamilton has the established foundations in place, including an existing downtown office cluster and a vast tract of centrally located Brownfield land, which will immediately play an effective role in achieving regional growth goals. Hamilton's potential relies on its ability to establish modern infrastructure to absorb projected population and employment growth.
Achieving our potential is about setting a vision and course that runs parallel with - not contrary to - what makes this city great. I believe Hamilton's time is right now.
It's time to come together - the municipality, the province, our talented planners and developers, visionaries, investors, and community and environmental thinkers.
We can step forward together and begin the transformation of this great City.
Part of my vision of the emerging Hamilton, or the NEXT Hamilton as I call it, is based on a three-pillar approach:
- The New Hamilton Economy
- The Urban Renaissance as exemplified by the transformation of our downtown-waterfront district
- And the modernization of our transportation infrastructure.
It's no secret that I'm a big supporter of public transit. As Mayor of Hamilton, I've worked hard to make transit a priority.
Thanks to last week's transportation announcement by the province, the modernization of our transportation infrastructure is closer to reality than ever before.
Hamilton has traditionally been viewed as an industrial city on the decline, but the reality is quite the opposite.
Places to Grow Luncheon Address - Mayor Fred Eisenberger - June 19, 2007
Our largest employer now is the new-economy health sciences sector, and this economic transition is having a physical impact on the landscape.
The development of McMaster Innovation Park is a perfect example of how a reinvention of our once derelict Brown fields can act as a bridge from our industrial past to the future.
The commercialization of the tremendous research conducted at McMaster is a key indicator of where our economy is heading.
No-where is our potential as a city more evident than in the downtown-waterfront district. This area is at the nexus of creativity, entrepreneurship, and diversity.
It includes the shoreline parks and trails, loft condo infill projects; the exciting artistic / cultural scene; and the arrival of many knowledge-based businesses.
A great example is Bob Young's decision to move the head office of the Tiger Cats downtown. Bob is also moving the Canadian head office of LULU-dot-com and MRX Associates to downtown Hamilton.
LULU is a cutting-edge, new-economy company - the type of knowledge-based business that will define the NEXT Hamilton.
Another major piece of the puzzle is modernizing our transportation infrastructure to make Hamilton a convenient place to live and work.
The Red Hill Creek Expressway is now almost complete - and we are now turning our attention to the establishment of necessary commuter transit.
Newer transit initiatives will make Hamilton's downtown central business district an attractive location for companies trying to access the labour supply in the Greater Toronto Area.
This includes moving ahead with plans for a local Rapid Transit Network and increasing GO Train service into the downtown core. Downtown Hamilton now has a prime opportunity to fulfill its role as an urban growth node as defined in Places to Grow.
We need provincial co-operation to establish the required commuter infrastructure to make Hamilton a place to commute to, not just commute from.
The good news for Hamilton is - we already have a foundation upon which to build.
As the 2001 Transportation Tomorrow Survey shows, more people from within the GTA are commuting in the morning to Hamilton than they are to Burlington.
So it's ironic that our neighbour to the East has the benefit of all-day GO Train service into its community, while commuters interested in greater transit convenience are not provided with any GO Train options for commuting into Downtown Hamilton.
From a municipal perspective, Hamilton is already doing its part. Since taking office, I have made transit investment a top priority.
Through the City's recent budget process, the Hamilton Street Railway has had one of the greatest injections of investment in its 130-year history.
This includes laying the groundwork for a suitable rapid transit system worthy of our city.
The capital asset of the knowledge-based economy is people, and I see efficient and effective rapid transit as a key piece of modern economic infrastructure, which is integral to Hamilton's economic future.
The Places to Growth Strategy is an excellent start, but there is far more work to be done by all players who have an interest in creating a community that is more vibrant and focused on building a prosperous and sustainable future for all Hamiltonians.
I am very excited about the possibilities for the City of Hamilton.
It's my hope that everyone here will join together to revitalize and renew our City - this shining diamond in the rough - and allow this jewel to transform into the newest World Class City on the Canadian landscape.
To Minister Caplan, thank you for being here today to further outline the Places to Grow Strategy. I personally invite you, your Cabinet colleagues, and the Province of Ontario to continue to partner with us as we move toward making the NEXT Hamilton a living reality.
Thanks to each and every one of you for joining us today...
And now, I would like to introduce you to our guest speaker, the Honourable David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal.
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