The City of Hamilton is planning a complete redesign of Barton Street and Fifty Road in Stoney Creek, including the addition of lanes, sidewalks, a multi-use path, and street trees.
The improvements fulfill recommendations in multiple city documents, including the 2008 Stoney Creek Boundary Expansion Transportation Master Plan and the 2018 Citywide Transportation Master Plan.
The city has been working on the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment for the plan for a number of years, with the Notice of Study Commencement issued in November 2016.
Since then, a Public Information Update came out in September 2017, public consultation took place in 2021 and 2024, and the Environmental Study Report came to Council for a 45-day public review on June 10, 2025.
The 45-day public review, which provided the opportunity for final comments, ended on July 30, 2025.
The final draft of the Environmental Study Report is expected to be released soon.
The improvements involve Barton Street from Fruitland Road to Fifty Road and Fifty Road from the South Service Road to Highway 8.
Both Barton Street and Fifty Road are part of the B-Line rapid transit network connecting to Winona Crossing.
The Barton Street improvements are expected to cost approximately $53.9 million, including design, construction, and land acquisition.
Approximately $32.3 million of that is expected to come from development charge contributions, while the remaining $21.6 million would come from the property tax levy.
So far, $3.4 million of that is approved and will be used to start the land acquisition process later this year.
The start of construction is currently targeted for 2028.
Meanwhile, the Fifty Road improvements are budgeted for $5.2 million and is expected to start in 2029, although other planned work, such as temporary pedestrian upgrades south of the Canadian National Rail line, sidewalks across the QEW, and signalization of the Fifty Road ramp terminals, could advance the project sooner.
On Barton Street from Fruitland Road to Lewis Road, the city is currently planning a five-lane street for cars with two lanes in each direction and a two-way left-turn lane in the middle.
On the north side of the road, a three-metre boulevard is planned to be used for street trees and utility poles and as a buffer between the road and a continuous sidewalk.
On the south end of the street will be a 4.4-metre boulevard and then a multi-use path that can be used for walking or cycling.
Barton Street from Lewis Road to Fifty Road would be changed in two separate phases.
The first phase would be built in the near-term and would include a three-lane street for cars with one lane in each direction and a two-way left-turn lane in the middle.
It would also have a continuous sidewalk, a multi-use path, and boulevard space.
The potential second phase, which would be built in the future if traffic volume warrants, would turn the road into a five-lane street.
Additionally, along that stretch of Barton, traffic signal controls would be installed at all major intersections.
Meanwhile, Fifty Road from Highway 8 to Barton would become a three-lane street with one lane in each direction and a two-way left-turn lane in the middle, a multi-use path on the west side and a drainage ditch on the east side.
Then, on Fifty Road from Barton Street to South Service Road, the street would become four lanes, with two lanes in each direction.
The street would continue to have a multi-use path on the west side and a drainage ditch on the east side.
However, in what would be another major project, the recommended design also includes an eventual rail underpass on Fifty Road to “improve safety and operations at the railway crossing.”
Nonetheless, through the study process, the city has determined that “Fifty Road traffic would not likely be the primary driver for grade-separating the crossing,” but that the “future grade-separation study may be initiated by provincial interests for expansion of rail service to the Niagara Region.”
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
