Improvements to the intersection of Cootes Drive and Main Street West, and plans for a multimillion dollar "transit hub" redevelopment of McMaster University's campus next to the intersection are now in limbo due to the province's cancellation of Hamilton's LRT project.

McMaster's board of governors approved a $100-million budget for a series of projects in the transit hub corner of campus, which included a new HSR and GO bus terminal and a second vehicle access to campus on Cootes Drive near Main Street West expected to be funded by Metrolinx as part of the LRT project. That funding was cancelled with the rest of the LRT project.

At the same time, the City of Hamilton planned a redesign of the Cootes-Main intersection that included removing the existing right-turn access lane from Main onto Cootes in favour of a completely signalized intersection. It's not clear if that work will go forward or not.

The provincial government's cancellation of the LRT project appeared to catch Metrolinx and Ministry of Transportation staff by surprise. Several spokespeople from both organizations struggled to get information on the McMaster University and City of Hamilton projects.

Callum Elder from the Ministry of Transportation suggested the $8.9-million McMaster University bus terminal project had been cancelled, because it was part of the province's $1-billion in total planned LRT funding, but that it could be part of upcoming transportation funding discussions.

"The McMaster bus terminal previously proposed at the western LRT terminus was a part of the Hamilton LRT project," Elder said. "Over the coming weeks, the province will work with the city through the Hamilton transportation task force to determine alternative opportunities to deliver on its $1-billion funding commitment to ensure the city gets the transportation infrastructure that it needs."

Metrolinx has been in talks with McMaster for at least three years about funding at least the estimated $8.9-million bus terminal.

Longer-term elements of the transit hub development area included a projected $35-million academic and commercial building, and $56-million classroom building.

In 2018, McMaster expected Metrolinx would fund most, if not all, of the bus terminal while other transit hub projects would need other funding sources.

McMaster's campus master plan featured the planned transit hub development area on the current parking lot at Main and Cootes. The plan looked to redirect most vehicle traffic, including all GO and HSR buses, onto Cootes Drive while the Main Street entrance and other campus areas would become pedestrian focused.

The university is not sure how the LRT cancellation will affect its campus master plan and the transit hub development area.

"The announcement was a surprise," said McMaster spokesperson Wade Hemsworth. "Good transit is important for the university. We have students, staff and faculty that come from across the city. We also have buildings, programs and staff in our downtown locations, so getting people back and forth is vital. We need more information and we're sure that we will find out more in the coming days on how we can work together to find the best transit solutions."

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An ongoing neighbourhood traffic study of the Ainslie Wood and Westdale communities specifically ignored Main Street West — because of the LRT plans. It's not clear whether cancellation of the project will mean adding Main West to the traffic and pedestrian review or not.

"Because of LRT, we were asked not to make any changes on Main Street, which is being worked on separately," City of Hamilton traffic safety technologist Bryan Purins said in May 2019.