Burlington gets slight reprieve from bad traffic weekend that had mayor calling for ‘better co-ordination' of projects
Burlington motorists have received a slight reprieve this weekend with only one of three planned major road closures going ahead. There is also a GO train service disruption to be aware of.
The partial closure of two Niagara bound QEW lanes over the Skyway Bridge, originally planned May 23 to 26, is now anticipated from Friday, May 30 to Monday, June 2. Updates will be available at the
ministry's 511 traffic alerts website
.
The City of Hamilton also announced May 22 that a planned full closure of the Lincoln Alexander Parkway was also moved from this weekend to the May 30-June 2 weekend.
Both projects were apparently conditional on weather and delayed due to rain.
A full closure of Burloak Drive, between Prince William Drive and Harvester Road, is moving ahead this weekend starting Friday, May 23 at 8 p.m. and continuing to Monday, May 26 at 6 a.m.
The area will be closed to all traffic, including cyclists and pedestrians, during construction work for the Burloak Grade Separation. For more information on the project,
go to the Metrolinx website
.
There will be no GO train service Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25, between Oakville station and West Harbour station in Hamilton, impacting all three Burlington GO stations.
GO buses will run between Aldershot and Oakville stations. For schedule updates
visit the GO Transit website
.
The previously scheduled three simultaneous area road closures, and lack of GO train service, prompted Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward to post a statement on her Facebook page noting 'the city does not have approval or control over these closures.'
Meed Ward stated the closures were expected to create congestion and delays on Burlington roads, and city staff shared concerns with Metrolinx, the Ministry of Transportation and the City of Hamilton.
'We are advocating for better co-ordination of planned construction projects,' Meed Ward said.
The mayor noted several more lane closures on the Skyway Bridge are expected this summer as the Ministry of Transportation continues restoration work.
According to the statement, city staff planned to help mitigate impacts by adjusting traffic signal timings, and working with other agencies, including Halton Police, OPP, and Halton Region.
'We continue to advocate for improved planning, co-ordination, and mitigation of these impacts in the future,' Meed Ward's statement continues. 'We encourage you to share your driving experiences during these periods of road work directly with the Province and to your MPP. Public input helps them better understand the local impact of the lane closures.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
30-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Weekend construction to impact Burlington Skyway
Motorists, beware — there is construction on the Burlington Skyway this weekend. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) will be closing two lanes of the Niagara-bound QEW at the bridge starting Friday at 10 p.m. until Monday at 5 a.m., according to a notice from the City of Burlington. All ramps from the Eastport Drive collector lanes to the Skyway Bridge will be closed, while Northshore Boulevard will remain open. Eastport Drive collector lanes and Eastport Drive can be used by motorists as a detour or alternative route. Two lanes of traffic will remain open on the Niagara-bound QEW at all times during the construction — which is set to occur over many weekends. Transit riders are also being warned of the potential for 'significant transit delays,' with residents asked to check MyRide or Google Maps for arrival time information. Traffic interruptions won't come to an end this weekend , with annual maintenance on the Lincoln Alexander Parkway scheduled to take place from Friday, June 13, to Monday, June 16. That closure, originally expected to take place this weekend, was rescheduled due to the work on the Skyway. The upcoming shutdown will be the sixth annual closure for the Linc, allowing crews to do asphalt repairs, resurfacing, catch-basin cleaning, bridge maintenance, pavement marking and signage repairs. For the Linc closure, the eastbound lanes will be closed from 8 a.m. on June 13 to 5 a.m. on June 16. The westbound lanes will be closed from 10 a.m. June 13 to 5 a.m. on June 16. Detour routes will be via Mohawk Road and Stone Church Road. Motorists can access the 403 eastbound from the Mohawk Road on-ramps, while those travelling into the city via the 403 will be directed to exit at the Golf Links off-ramp. Those work dates are weather-dependent, and any changes will be relayed to the public. Residents are reminded to plan ahead and use alternate routes, as well as expect delays and increased traffic on neighbouring roads. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Time Business News
26-05-2025
- Time Business News
Why Smart Businesses Are Ditching Complex Software Stacks
For years, the standard advice for small businesses was to 'build a tech stack.' Get a CRM, marketing automation tool, invoicing software, social media scheduler, analytics dashboard, maybe even a chatbot — and then spend days trying to make them all talk to each other. On paper, it looked efficient. In practice, it was often a nightmare. Now, a growing number of business owners are going the other way. They're stripping things back, simplifying systems, and choosing tools that do more with less. Because the truth is, when you're running a small business — especially without a dedicated IT team — complexity is a liability. Most businesses don't need five platforms. They need one that works. The problem with stacking too many tools is that every connection becomes a point of failure. One missed payment, one expired API key, or one platform going down, and the whole process can grind to a halt. Leads don't come in. Payments fail. Emails don't send. And suddenly you're not just fixing tech, you're losing revenue. We spoke with Mitchell from Sell Any Car Fast, a Brisbane-based business that buys cars directly from the public. 'At one point, I had forms in one system, CRM in another, emails going out through a third platform, and tracking through a fourth. It was fine when everything worked, but if one link broke, the whole chain collapsed. Now, it's just a simple embedded form and a fast manual follow-up. That's it. Less to manage. Less to break.' And that's not uncommon. More small businesses are realising that reliability beats bells and whistles — especially when you're juggling sales, admin, and customer service all on your own. Here's a typical scenario: you capture leads through a landing page builder like Unbounce. That sends data into a CRM like HubSpot. An automation sends a welcome email through Mailchimp. Then, a different app creates a task in Asana to follow up. Sounds smart, right? Now imagine this: your Mailchimp account lapses because the card expired. Emails don't send. Leads sit cold. You don't notice because HubSpot didn't trigger an alert, and now your conversions are down, and you're left wondering why. This isn't just inconvenient — it can mean lost trust, missed revenue, and hours spent firefighting something that never needed to be that complicated in the first place. What's the alternative? Instead of trying to duct tape tools together, more businesses are choosing all-in-one platforms that do the job well enough, even if they're not best-in-class at everything. • Go High Level: Combines CRM, email, funnels, and scheduling into one dashboard. Great for agencies and service businesses. • Zoho One: Offers over 45 integrated apps for everything from sales to accounting. • Kajabi: Built for content creators and coaches — handles email, courses, payments, and websites all in one. • Square: For retail and service businesses, it merges POS, payments, appointments, and staff management. • Notion (paired with tools like Tally or Super): Many small teams are building DIY systems using Notion's flexible interface. Are they perfect? No. But they're easier to maintain, faster to learn, and often 'good enough' to get the job done without breaking the business every time you miss a subscription renewal. Simplicity doesn't just reduce tech issues — it improves how you run your business. When your systems are streamlined: • New staff can get up to speed quicker • You make fewer mistakes • You spend less time troubleshooting • Your customer experience is more consistent You also free up mental bandwidth. Instead of worrying whether your email sequence fired or if your automation failed, you focus on what matters: delivering value, making sales, and building trust. You don't need to be a tech company There's this subtle pressure on small businesses to act like startups. To be 'automated,' 'data-driven,' and 'scalable.' But the truth is, you're not a software company. You're a plumber. A car buyer. A wedding photographer. Your edge isn't in your stack — it's in your service. Trying to copy how software companies operate (with full-time dev teams and huge budgets) is a fast way to overcomplicate what should be a lean, profitable business. You're better off with one or two reliable tools you understand than a Frankenstein setup that breaks every time you update Chrome. The future of small business software might not be 'more.' It might be less, but better. Fewer logins. Fewer dependencies. More confidence that what you've built won't collapse if Stripe changes a setting or Zapier misses a zap. So before you sign up for another monthly subscription, ask yourself: • Do I need this tool? • What happens if it breaks? • Can I explain how it works to someone else? And if the answer is 'I'm not sure,' maybe the simpler solution is the smarter one. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Hamilton Spectator
23-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Two proposed developments could bring almost 850 units to Fergus
FERGUS — A Kitchener-based developer is hoping to construct almost 850 residential and mixed-use units just past the northern edge of town on Highway 6. According to planning justification reports from Up Consulting, Polocorp Inc. has applied for zoning bylaw amendments and official plan amendments from the County of Wellington and the Township of Centre Wellington to construct a residential development and a mixed-use development at 6581 Highway 6 and 968 St. David St. N. in Fergus. The properties are adjacent lands on the east side of Highway 6. Intended to form a collective community, the report notes that the St. David Street N. development is included in the Fergus Settlement Boundary and the applicant is hoping to include the Highway 6 property to create a complete, mixed-use community. 6581 Highway 6 Currently occupied by a heritage farmhouse, the development proposed for 6581 Highway 6 would see up to 535 units, comprised of 130 single detached dwellings (including an existing heritage farmhouse), 266 street townhouses, 125 medium density dwelling units, up to 14 mixed-use units for commercial or retail and a 2.2-acre park in the centre. Parking for single detached dwellings, street fronting and stacked townhouses would be provided by individual attached garages and surface parking spaces, with on-street parking available on four internal streets. Anticipated to generate 249 new trips in the peak morning time and 310 new trips in the evening peak times, a Traffic Impact Assessment said the additional traffic from the proposed development could worsen issues at the intersection of Highway 6 and Sideroad 18, Highway 6 and Sideroad 19 and St. David Street and Gordon Street. Although the report indicates no new traffic control signals are needed, it recommends a southbound left-turn lane on Highway 6 and that the township and Ministry of Transportation agree on whether to widen Highway 6 in the study area or provide a Highway 6 bypass to reduce through volumes. A noise feasibility study found that future road traffic sound levels are predicted to exceed MECP guidelines at the dwellings closest to the roadways and recommends installing acoustic barriers for those with flanking exposure to Highway 6 and air ventilation systems for those located further away. Noise warning clauses would be required for any dwellings with excessive sound levels. Regarding environmental impacts, an environmental impact study had several recommendations, including tree preservation strategies, erosion and sediment control measures, installing a bat rocketbox and artificial nesting structure for Barn Swallows, restoration and biodiversity enhancements and a tree protection and buffer zone. To mitigate loss of farmland, the report recommends phasing development and keeping any prime agricultural lands in production until the land is needed for development. 968 St. David St. N. Also currently occupied by a heritage farmhouse that's proposed to be maintained, the St. David Street North development is proposing approximately 221-323 units, with 62-88 single detached dwellings, 80-118 street townhouses, 71-102 medium density dwelling units, 8-14 mixed-use units and a centrally-located 1.97 acre park connected to the other development. Parking for single detached dwellings and street fronting townhouse dwellings would be provided via individual garages attached to each unit, while surface parking spaces are proposed for the stacked townhouses. Anticipated to generate 219 new trips in the peak morning hours and 301 new trips in the peak evening times, a traffic impact assessment identified potential capacity issues at the intersections of Highway 6 and Sideroad 19 and St. David Street and Gordon Street, as well as the intersections of Highway 6 and Sideroad 18, and Highway 6 and a future internal road. Several improvements are recommended, including traffic control signals and southbound, eastbound and westbound left-turn lanes at Highway 6 and Sideroad 18 and a southbound left-turn lane at Highway 6 and one of the development's internal streets. Since the site contains significant natural heritage features in the northeast portion, an Environmental Impact Study recommends several actions to minimize or avoid potential negative effects, including a 10-metre buffer and a stormwater management pond adjacent to the wetland. Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
