HAMILTON, ON – February 17, 2005 – Progress and information on the City of Hamilton’s smart growth plans is just a click away today with the launch of the new GRIDS Web site. A comprehensive collection of information and links to the work underway on Hamilton’s Growth Related Integrated Strategy (GRIDS) can now be found on the City’s Web site at www.hamilton.ca/GRIDS.
“GRIDS not only provides a plan to address how Hamilton grows, where the city grows, and at what density – it also presents opportunities for economic growth and an improved social framework,” said Councillor Bill Kelly, co-chair of the Mayor’s GRIDS Advisory Committee. “GRIDS is a very complex project with major implications for the future of our community. We are hopeful that through the information presented in this new Web site that residents, businesses and senior levels of government will be more informed on Hamilton’s growth issues and engaged in the directions we are taking on smart growth for Hamilton.”
GRIDS is a made-in-Hamilton smart growth strategy that helps to determine where the future growth of the City will take place over the next 30 or more years. Its purpose is to identify the most ideal places for growth and the type of growth based on environmental priorities, social issues, economic opportunities and population studies as well as to identify strategies to fund the servicing of these areas. This unique planning process brings together land use, transportation, water, wastewater and stormwater planning into one project.
The GRIDS project will recommend a strategy to accommodate a projected population of 700,000 and 100,000 additional households by 2031. In keeping with the principles of smart growth, a minimum of 2,500 acres (more than 1,000 hectares) of additional employment lands will be required to accommodate projected employment growth.
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Media contacts:
Councillor Bill Kelly
Mayor’s GRIDS Advisory Committee
905 546-2706
Steve Robichaud
GRIDS Manager
905 546-2573