At first blush, it's easy to understand why some pro-LRT Hamiltonians are disappointed at the thought of scrapping the James Street North spur line in favour of express bus service that would run from the waterfront up James Street all the way to the airport.

There is something appealing about having LRT spur access to the new GO station and the waterfront, and having it linked to the full LRT B-line operation along King Street. That appeal is magnified by having the train run through the arts district corridor, possibly giving more people access to the waterfront ultimately.

But the fact is that James Street spur is also problematic. The street is too narrow for a dedicated lane as will be on King, so the LRT vehicles will share the road with cars and trucks. The tracks would be street level. There might be some loss of street parking, which is important to businesses in the area.

In short, a thorough exploration of an A-line bus alternative may not be the worst idea. And it has at least two significant pluses. First, it kick-starts the city's master BLAST transit plan by putting in some sort of elevated express bus service on the A-line. Eventually that plan would be implemented along with all the other BLAST enhancements, but it is unlikely it would have happened as soon as 2024, which is when LRT is scheduled to launch.

Some sort of elevated bus option for all of James Street and Upper James brings transit enhancements sooner, in particular to the Mountain which badly needs more seamless transit options between the lower and upper city. That, in turn, leads to the second significant plus if a bus option is settled upon.

One of the biggest complaints from Mountain residents and LRT critics in general is that the existing plan does little or nothing to directly benefit the Mountain, or for that matter suburban centres at the east and west ends of the B-line. That view is flawed in at least one major way: If property values and tax revenue along and close to the LRT corridor grow exponentially as they have in other LRT centres, there is an overall financial benefit to the entire municipality.

Regardless of its legitimacy, it is a perception strongly held by many, which is adding to the negativity around the entire project. This has the potential to change that dynamic. If modern, express bus service, whether it is Bus Rapid Transit or something less than that, can provide a measurable boost to transit service and effectiveness on the Mountain, that's another concrete manifestation of why LRT and all things related to it have the potential to be good for all of Hamilton.

It's too soon for a full endorsement. There's exploration to be done and questions to be answered. But this shouldn't be seen as a setback. It's actually a new opportunity that might even end up being an improvement.