HSR ridership, access to child care key questions for Hamilton amid coronavirus reopening

A “road map” to reopening Hamilton’s economy following the coronavirus pandemic has been presented to city council.

Emergency Operations Centre Director Paul Johnson says the strategy is driven by the Ontario government’s emergency orders, and lays out a gradual plan for the reopening of municipal facilities and the restarting of city programs and services.

Johnson adds that the priority as the plan moves forward will be the health and safety of residents and employees.

City councillors have identified the availability of child care and the future of public transit as major, post-pandemic question marks.

Flamborough Coun. Judi Partridge says the closure of child care facilities is already a barrier to returning to work for some of her residents, noting that she’s getting calls from people who are being offered positions to go back to, but are struggling with what to do with their kids.

“They don’t have child care, they can’t find child care, none of the child care centres are open,” Partridge says.

2:05 Parents struggle with child care as schools stay closed

Johnson acknowledges physical distancing requirements and capacity limits are an issue — he’s hearing “no more than 50 people” in those facilities as they reopen, including staff and children.

Under normal circumstances, the city’s Red Hill Family Centre provides care to more than 90 children.

On the transit front, HSR ridership is down 72 per cent as a result of COVID-19 and strict passenger limits to ensure physical distancing.

Ward 5 Councillor Chad Collins questions whether all of those customers will have the confidence to return to riding the buses.

2:14 Some riders not willing to use TTC until vaccine is discovered

The 58-page report divides the return of services into three categories: the early stages, gradual recovery, and “our new reality.”

It outlines lasting changes to the delivery of municipal services because of COVID-19, including more people working from home, more services offered online and “enhanced health and safety guidelines” within facilities.