In May 2013, the Yes We Cannon campaign to “create a bi-directional bike lane, running the full length of Cannon Street, by 2015” in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada was officially launched online. According to Justin Jones, it was created because he and his fellow organizers “wanted to give downtown Hamilton something they could say ‘yes’ to”—and it did. This success was due in large part to the use of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. The awareness created through these platforms brought in over 500 signatures to the online petition within the first 24 hours.
Yes We Cannon petitioned the City of Hamilton, urging council to build a two-way cycle track (a physically separated bike path) on Cannon Street by July 2015, in time for the city to host 32 soccer matches for the Pan Am Games.
Organizers Leshia Knopf, Dave Stevens, and Justin Jones chose Cannon street for their campaign because Hamilton needed an active transportation route between the forthcoming James street GO station and the Pan Am Games stadium (Tim Horton’s Field, formerly Ivor Wynne Stadium). The Cannon Street cycle track will not only prove beneficial to Pan Am spectators (especially given the new bike share program in Hamilton), but it will also benefit commuters when all-day train service starts at the new GO station in 2015.
“The one thing that I think is very distinct, that needs to be highlighted, with the Yes We Cannon movement and campaign is how respectful and thorough they were in the process. I know it gained a lot of momentum because of that.
—Sam Merulla, City of Hamilton councillor, Ward 4
Cannon Street was listed as a priority in the city of Hamilton’s Shifting Gears Bicycle Master Plan and was slated for resurfacing during construction of the Pan Am stadium. Given these facts, and the fact that Cannon is generally recognized as an under-utilized roadway in the city, Yes We Cannon organizers felt it was the ideal roadway to endorse for their campaign.
Three months after the campaign began (August 12, 2013), Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr put forward a motion for council to approve “a bi-directional bike lane [to] be installed as a pilot project on the south side of Cannon Street from Sherman Avenue to Bay Street”. (RTH)
On September 5th, 2013, city council voted on Farr’s motion to install a separated two-way cycle track on Cannon at an estimated cost of $600,000. The motion was passed unanimously.
Council met again on March 19, 2014 to pass the pilot project and install Hamilton’s first complete street. An amendment was put forward by Ward 1 Councillor Brian McHattie to extend the bike lanes past Bay Street to Hess Street. The project budget had also been re-tallied, coming in at a total estimated cost of $1.6 million.
The Cannon bike lane is expected to cost $867,200 to build. Construction includes separating one lane of Cannon with a slender windrow (essentially a small hump in the road) and traffic signals facing both directions. Another $728,970 is allocated to maintain the lane over the three-year pilot. Maintenance includes trash and snow removal (at an estimated cost of $200,000 per year).
Construction costs will be taken from Ward 2 and 3 area rating budgets, with an additional $200,000 from a red light camera reserve. Operating costs will be taken from a 2014 tax stabilization reserve, and later be added as a line item to the city’s budget.
When council voted unanimously to approve the Cannon st cycle track, I thought I had slipped through a tear in the fabric of the space-time and been transported to a parallel universe…
—Ryan McGreal, Editor, Raise The Hammer
Despite the surge in costs and concerns from a minority of council about a lack of public consultation, council still managed to unanimously vote in favour for installing the Cannon Street cycle track on March 19, 2014.