Several councillors have teamed up to pay for a city-wide poll to gauge support for LRT ahead of a pivotal public meeting on the project.

The councillors — a mix of project supporters and skeptics — are pooling office budget cash to pay Forum Research to determine public views on Hamilton's proposed $1-billion light rail transit project.

The poll aims to reach more than 2,000 residents and is expected to cost between $8,000 and $12,000. The poll is supposed to be completed before March 28, when staff will ask councillors to approve the submission of the updated project environmental assessment to the province.

Coun. Terry Whitehead, a vocal LRT skeptic, said he's interested in the results of a "scientific poll with simple, straightforward questions" to see how residents have responded to the city's public awareness campaign about the project.

He didn't have a list of actual questions that would be asked Tuesday, but said pollsters would be gauging levels of project "awareness" and support or opposition.

"I see some urbanists arguing opponents of this project represent a minority view," Whitehead said. "I don't know if that's true, but I guess we'll find out."

Coun. Sam Merulla said he agreed to help pay for the poll — he's putting up about $1,000 from his budget — because he believes the results will help him and other LRT supporters "hone the message" about project benefits.

"I want to know what people know or think they know about (the project)," he said. Anyone who is totally opposed to the project, in my view, probably doesn't have all the facts. It's our job to help get those facts out there."

Merulla noted he did polling prior to the city's final decision on the Red Hill Valley Parkway and found the results useful — even though it showed many Ward 4 residents were opposed. "I bucked popular opinion in that case and at this point I think we can all be thankful I did."

Coun. Doug Conley, who expects to put about $800 toward the poll, said he is looking to "confirm" the results of a ward phone poll he did in December that suggested only 30 per cent of his Stoney Creek constituents supported LRT.

"I know what I'm hearing from residents, but you always want to be sure," said Conley, who wasn't on council when it formally voted to request full capital funding from the province for LRT.

Conley acknowledged recent city legal opinions have suggested it would take a two-thirds majority vote at council to kill the LRT project this term.

But he argued council would be within its rights to "put off" looming required votes if members "don't have the answers we need to our very many questions," particularly surrounding operational costs to the city.

It was unclear Tuesday exactly how many members of the 16-person council were involved in the polling effort, but Merulla and Conley said they thought as many as half were interested.

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The next necessary vote on LRT could come as early as next Tuesday, when city staff and Metrolinx present the results of the updated project environmental assessment.

Council must submit that EA to the province before a request for proposals can be issued to find a builder-operator for the proposed 11-kilometre light rail transit line slated to run between McMaster University and the Queenston traffic circle.