One of the most popular events at our annual Designing Cities Conference, the Meet the Cities poster session gives every NACTO member agency the opportunity to share their projects, successes, and works-in-progress with their peers. Hamilton prepared the content below for its 2025 Meet the Cities poster.
Hamilton is a major goods movement hub in Canada. The city is home to the nation’s busiest overnight express cargo airport and the busiest port on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes, and it has exceptional access to major road and rail options.Being a goods movement hub comes with significant benefits, but also creates challenges with the compatibility of truck movements and the achievement of safe, livable, and complete streets.
In 2022, the City of Hamilton approved and implemented an updated Truck Route Network designed to:
- Improve the quality of life for residents and vulnerable populations
- Direct trucks to utilize the existing ring road system
- Restrict truck access through the downtown core
- Limit truck size on certain streets
Outcomes
- Truck volumes have been reduced by approximately 80% on arterials in the downtown core
- Air emissions and noise impacts in sensitive neighbourhooods reduced
- Economic activity at the Port and the Airport is growing
- Removal of trucks on certain streets provides a great opportunity for Complete Streets transformations
Enforcement and Monitoring
In conjunction with the Truck Route Revisions, the City developed a tool that allows the public to report any truck route violation they observe in their community. By submitting location-specific feedback, residents can help the City and Hamilton Police Service monitor, efficiently allocate resources, and address non-compliance issues.
Check out all of the posters from Meet the Cities 2025.
