The final design and environmental report on Hamilton's LRT is ready to roll — so long as council is willing to sign off in a crucial vote.

The city's LRT team is recommending council endorse an updated environmental assessment — all 1,200 pages or so — for the $1-billion light rail transit project and submit it for provincial approval.

The massive report weighs in a vast array of project issues like route changes, traffic snarls, changes in HSR bus service and even the fate of street trees along the route.

The report is now online in advance of a special LRT meeting March 28.

The looming council vote is a critical milestone before project manager Metrolinx can solicit consortium bids to design, build and run an LRT line from McMaster University to the Queenston traffic circle.

"We need it (the vote) soon if we're going to stick to the timelines council has asked us for," said city LRT point person Paul Johnson, noting Metrolinx wants to go to tender in June to start major construction by 2019. The first trains are supposed to roll in 2024.

"It's an aggressive timeline."

An easy vote is not guaranteed, however. At least two councillors flatly oppose the project, while others have expressed concerns about traffic, expropriations and last-minute changes like recently revealed plans to run buses, rather than LRT on James Street.

Others want HSR to run the system and to use buses replaced by LRT to bolster service on the Mountain. But a report included on a March 28 meeting agenda says Metrolinx expects the winning project bidder to build and run the LRT.

A council thumbs-up would start a 30-day public review, followed by 35 days for Environment Minister Glen Murray to consider objections before he green-lights the project or requests more work.

Here are five things to know about the report ahead of next week's meeting:

The route

The amended environmental report looks at 11 kilometres of light rail line running from McMaster University along Main Street West, King Street and Main Street East to the new eastern terminus at the Queenston traffic circle. That's a change from the original 14-kilometre route pitched by the city all the way to Eastgate Square.

The route no longer includes an LRT spur along James Street North to the GO station, thanks to a recent decision by Metrolinx to instead plan for (unfunded) bus rapid transit from the harbour to the airport. That surprise change angered some city councillors who worried out loud about back-of-the-napkin planning.

The tracks

The new design includes mostly centre-running LRT tracks instead of the side-running configuration pitched by the city in 2011. A majority of LRT stops will also be "centre-island" platforms, allowing planners to minimize expropriation — although 80-plus full properties are still likely to be purchased.

The dedicated LRT tracks can't be crossed (outside of an emergency) so left turns will be banned at many minor cross-streets. Certain intersections will be designated for left turns or U-turns. The dedicated tracks and turning restrictions help ensure reliable LRT service, including a goal of every-six-minute peak service.

The infrastructure:

The report evaluates the feasibility of an LRT-only bridge across Highway 403, connecting Main Street West to King Street, as well as an underpass to allow unimpeded LRT travel below a CPR rail spur in the east end. A maintenance and storage facility has been scoped out and judged feasible east of Longwood Road, at the end of a promised Frid Street extension. Some pollution and tree preservation challenges remain, though.

The traffic

Adding LRT to King and Main streets (and converting King Street to two-way car traffic), is expected to snarl traffic in areas like King at Dundurn Street near the Highway 403 access, through the narrow International Village and at the Delta.

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The report outlines "mitigation" strategies like adding traffic lanes on parallel York Boulevard and removing bike lanes in favour of strategic traffic relief. Some councillors argue the study underestimates pending traffic snarls — while cyclists aren't keen to lose hard-won bike paths.

The HSR

When LRT trains are rolling, the city proposes to yank local bus service off the King-Main "B-line" between Dundurn Street and the Queenston LRT terminus. But the plan proposes moving or maintaining HSR service on parallel routes like Main, Cannon Street, Dunsmure Road and Maple Avenue. The report also outlines a long list of frequency predictions for many lower city bus routes over time.