Policing will multiply tenfold in the Hamilton, Ont.-area of Waterdown upon completion of a new joint, police-fire station.
In a community update, Ward 15 Coun. Ted McMeekin announced the new combination station will be built at the corner of Highway 6 and Parkside Drive and will likely open in 2026.
“This complex development will enable a more fulsome relationship with the broader Hamilton community. Response times will be enhanced and with it a deeper sense of the Waterdown/Flamborough community being a more secure/safe place to live, work and build a strong family life,” said McMeekin.
The current overall design for the combined facility is approximately 23,000 square feet and will bring the number of police officers assigned to Waterdown and Flamborough from the current eight to more than 80 working out of the new station.
“Approximately 12,000 square feet (of the new facility) will be allotted to the new fire station that will house eight full time staff and two response apparatus (a ladder truck and an engine) on a 24/7/365 basis. Once the new station is opened, the existing Parkside station will be staffed by volunteer firefighters and three response apparatus (a tanker, pumper and squad),” said Hamilton Fire Department Chief David Cunliffe.
An emergency medical services building is also part of the plan and will be adjacent to the police/fire compound in its own building. Hamilton Police Service expects to relocate the collision reporting centre to the new station as well.
“The police-fire compound recognizes both the need to work together and the fact that dispatch will be quicker, more unified and necessary to ensure the best possible emergency responses,” McMeekin added.
As for staffing and job growth, the current plan is to hire more police. Currently, the city hires more police constables every year predicted on the population growth and crime projections of the communities served.
Recently, council supported the hiring of 13 new part-time firefighters working out of the Parkside station.
The development will be located on the southeast corner of the intersection and the city’s real estate division is in the process of finalizing an agreement to acquire the site.
The new station was approved by the City of Hamilton’s Police Servies Board in 2020, upon the recommendation of the police chief at the time.
The cost of the project was expected to be approximately $25 million.
Four years later, as the proposed project becomes a reality, Hamilton City Council recently approved $28 million for the facility, which is now in the design phase.
The rationale behind the development is rapid growth in the Hamilton area of Flamborough-Waterdown-Carlisle, thus the increased need for police, fire and ambulance in close proximity.
“Growth projections, especially along or near number 6 Highway are expected to add not only new businesses but potentially up to 5,000 new homes west of Highway number 6 and up to 3,000 new jobs in an expanded industrial Park. Other changes will see a park and ride HSR (Hamilton Street Railway) hub at the northeast corner of the number 5 and number 6 highways,” said McMeekin.
A multimillion-dollar highway redesign for the area is also in the works by the Ministry of Transportation to enhance traffic flow and address future capacity issues.