McAlister slams council colleagues for 'shortsighted decision' not to prioritize safety along Hamilton Road

Coun. Hadleigh McAlister dressed in a black suit for Tuesday’s council meeting to symbolize mourning for the Londoners who have died along a dangerous stretch of Hamilton Road.

But his plea to prioritize a redesign of the arterial road fell short.

“It's a short-sighted decision,” he told CTV News after the meeting. “I'm expressing the concerns that I hear all the time in terms of safety and traffic on the road. I do think it warrants a further discussion.”

On Tuesday, council voted against directing civic administration to include a redesigned Hamilton Road (Adelaide Street to Highbury Avenue) during the development of London’s 25-year Mobility Master Plan (MMP) and prepare a financial business case for the upcoming multi-year budget (2028-2031).

McAlister made an emotional plea during the council meeting, “I am sounding the alarm on this road because if we don't put a plan in place for the future now, we are going to see more tragedies occur along this corridor.”

But Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis countered, “If this is the way that we're going to start prioritizing road redesign, then I've got six or seven that I could bring forward to future committee meetings.”

Lewis also pointed to recent roadwork and streetscape improvements that the city made along Hamilton Road.

“Hamilton Road has had its turn,” he said. “We must move on to other projects.”

Coun. Sam Trosow responded that road safety is not like a board game.

“A board game where you get to come up and have your turn rolling the dice and sit down and wait for it to be your turn again. We have to look at this organic situation as it's developing. This is a dangerous street, and it's largely a dangerous street because of the configuration,” Trosow argued.

Intermittent parking in the curb lane requires vehicles to merge as they travel between Downtown London and Highbury Avenue.

Mayor Josh Morgan said Hamilton Road probably needs to be reviewed, but council should wait until the Mobility Master Plan provides a citywide perspective on priorities.

“I don't know where we should prioritize the investments yet,” Morgan admitted. “That's why we trust our staff. We do the analysis and we set forth the process.”

Voting in favour of prioritizing Hamilton Road for a safety redesign were McAlister, Trosow, Hopkins, Franke, and Ferreira.

All other councillors were opposed.

Afterwards, McAlister expressed frustration with the result of the vote, “I think the rest of the city showed that they unfortunately don't care as much about Ward 1.”