John C. Munro Hamilton…

John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport

Please find our comment on the Towards a Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Plan: Discussion Paper

Objective: Advancing Highway #6 South Widening, Lighting, Shoulder, Interchanges at Butter and Glancaster and making it integral to the Golden Horseshoe Transportation strategy and capital plan.

Hamilton International Airport is the nation’s leading dedicated cargo operations for time sensitive overnight express deliveries in a vital transportation and trade corridor. It is a key stakeholder enabling the movement of people and goods and is a critical link in the supply chain.

Air cargo is a crucial enabler of the economy and trade has made air transportation crucial for all distribution networks that generate substantial economic activity. Ontario’s interconnected and intermodal strategic goods movement network is a priority to ensure people can get the goods they need and businesses can thrive as the region continues to grow.

Highway 6 South is a strategic trade corridor in Ontario that must be a priority in the near-term and must be done now. It is one of the of the busiest two-lane provincial highways in Ontario. The existing nine-kilometre, two-lane highway is the main road corridor connecting the growing goods movement and logistics supply chain operations at Hamilton International.

To support our partners growth, expansion of Highway #6 South should be planned soon. The highway plays an important role for the efficient movement of goods across the Greater Golden Horseshoe and is critical in keeping the economy moving and supporting the continued growth and expansion of the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport and its business partners.

To remain competitive, sustainable and efficient, improved access to and from the Airport is required in the near-term.

Widening Highway 6 South is critical to expand from the two-lanes to four lanes today. Transitioning from a single lane in each direction, adding roadway lighting and improved shoulders, will reduce the treacherous conditions during winter weather events, fog and motor vehicle accidents. Adding interchanges at Butter Road and Glancaster Road will direct traffic to its final location more quickly, reduce pressure on other sections of the highway and shorten the commute, reducing emissions. With improved efficiency of the provincial road network, our cargo partners will realize their growth potential and seize emerging opportunities today and create new jobs.

Hamilton International invests in airport infrastructure to support our partners Cargojet, DHL, Canada Post, Purolator, UPS and Amazon. They invest millions into facilities and enjoy the strategic location, highway connections and access to the labour market. These were key attractors for locating in Ontario.

The success of all operations is quick access to key markets in a fast-paced environment.
To maintain our position as Ontario’s and the nation’s leading overnight domestic cargo airport and support the supply chain, air carriers, courier companies, logistics and freight forwarding, our
ground transportation and road network must be robust. Minutes matter to goods movement and access to key markets must be seamless and quick.

To improve both infrastructure and key linkages across the ¬corridor and to enable the growth potential for Hamilton International, government focus should be directed to:

Building adequate transportation infrastructure to remove bottlenecks and congestion.

• Moving people and goods efficiently through our roadways, to eliminate bottlenecks and increase safety, is critical to Canada’s continued success in trade and international commerce, investment in key infrastructure is critical.

Enabling integrated intermodal connectivity including a viable ground network system linking airports to all markets.

• Highway congestion challenges the timely and efficient movement of goods by truck where ‘minutes matter’. Truck drivers will say that it takes them 3 to 9 hours to cross the border, and this is ‘costly’. One recommendation for improving connectivity is the proposed Mid-Peninsula Highway. This would traverse the central part of the Niagara Region, parallel to the QEW and connect to Highway 401, provide congestion relief, and unlock a key trade corridor.

Increasing economic activity on a global stage.

• As the largest overnight express freight airport in Canada based in the fourth largest catchment area in North America, Hamilton International is a key component of Canada’s trade corridor.

This project is essential to improving transportation between Hamilton and Highway 403, 401 and the QEW as e-commerce and the movement of goods exceeds forecasts. It will improve the flow of traffic along this vital economic corridor, ensure the growth of the region and reduce the frustration of drivers and village residents trapped in lengthy traffic jams and unsafe conditions during inclement weather events in Southern Ontario.

We urge the province of Ontario to advance its investment in the road network surrounding the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport to expand and modernize it, to build capacity in critical infrastructure projects to drive economic growth and create jobs.