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THETHURSDAY

MARCH 30, 2017

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BREXIT: British prime minister pens letter to EU Council tostart two years of divorce talks with the European Union A14

LOGAN WYREBEK, 7, from Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Elementary School, works with McMasterstudent Hector Orozco Perez at the university’s Live Lab. The Yamaha Disklavier piano records andplays back with all of the expression and nuance of the original performance.

PHOTO BY CATHIE COWARD, HAMILTON SPECTATOR

SOUNDS LIKE LOGAN

Hamilton’s LRT is years away but it’s already spur-ring political clashes over the ability of lower citystreets such as Aberdeen Avenue to soak up extratraffic.

The $1-billion light rail line was thrust into a traf-fic-calming debate about Aberdeen Avenue at citycouncil Wednesday — even though LRT is still sev-en years and two crucial council votes away fromreality.

After a sometimes loud and acrimonious debate,council approved a motion from Ward 1 Coun. Ai-dan Johnson to test a series of traffic-calming mea-sures on the east-west artery, including adding astretch of street parking west of Dundurn Street.

Johnson called the measures necessary for neigh-bourhood safety and a “good compromise” betweendoing nothing and implementing a permanent, nar-rowing “road diet” requested by local residentsworried about speeding motorists.

“As an LRT advocate, I know at this point I can’thave my cake and eat it too,” Johnson said later,pointing to a staff revelation the previous eveningthat LRT could result in a 60 per cent spike in after-noon rush-hour vehicle traffic on Aberdeen.

“That means until the experts tell me otherwise, Iknow I can’t have … a road diet.”

That predicted traffic spike on Aberdeen —roughly 600 extra cars per “peak hour” in the after-

LRT SPARKS CLASHES

MATTHEW VAN DONGEN The Hamilton Spectator

Can it soak up extra vehicles?Test may provide answers

Aberdeen continues // A6

Traffic jam of acrimonyat council overAberdeen Ave.

From licensing cats to changing ward boundaries,city council has an inglorious track record of need-lessly delaying or punting issues down the field.

But the vote to postpone sending the updatedLRT environmental assessment report to the prov-ince doesn’t fit that bill.

The delay makes good sense. Consider: Traffic di-versions caused by LRT will see afternoon peakhour traffic on Aberdeen Avenue swell by 60 percent — 1,500 cars from 900.

Meanwhile, the estimated cost of buying or ex-propriating properties along the LRT route hasdoubled to about $70-$80 million. That’s involvesdemolishing 86 properties and displacing a yet un-known number of people.

Some of that info was buried in the EA reportwhich, with appendices, totals a monumental 5,183pages — the equivalent of reading “War and Peace”

Project continues // A13

LRT vote delaymakes sense: afew weeks won’tderail history

ANDREW DRESCHEL

The Hamilton Spectator

SPORTSMILTON

Dundas rider one to catch at track nationals S1

GORENWALD

Artist Paul Elia is making grime shine G1

CALEDONIA — Three people werekilled after a head-on collision be-tween a van and another vehicle onHighway 6 Wednesday night.

“It’s definitely a sad night in ourcommunity,” OPP Const. Ed Sanchuksaid.

The highway was closed between4th Line and 5th Line just south of Cal-edonia as emergency crews respondedto the crash shortly after 9 p.m.

One vehicle was heading north onHighway 6 and the other was drivingsouth when they collided, Sanchuksaid.

Three people were killed in the crashand several were transported to hospi-tal, he said.

Three dead, others sent to hospital afterhead-on crash on Highway 6 near CaledoniaNATALIE PADDONThe Hamilton Spectator

Crash continues // A2

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