Waterdown, Ontario

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Waterdown was a town in Canada which since 2001 has been a community of Hamilton, Ontario.

Waterdown was created from that part of East Flamborough Township on the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, just east of the junction of King's Highways Nos. 5 and 6. That intersection is known as Clappison's Corners, but continuous residential and commercial buildings between the two communities make it difficult to see any difference.

Community institutions include:

Waterdown is also home to Bethel CRC. In 1974, it was amalgamated with East Flamborough, West Flamborough and Beverly townships to form the Town of Flamborough in the newly minted Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth. In 2001, Hamilton-Wentworth and all its former municipal federation members were abolished and replaced by an amalgamated City of Hamilton.

Waterdown is expanding greatly, with the recent addition of a YMCA and several commercial establishments. Because of the approval of new homes in Waterdown - at least 6,500 more houses in the near future - there are ongoing disscussions regarding the planned $50 million 'Waterdown By-Pass', which would allow for easier access across the city. Waterdown population growth was approximately 28.9% over the years 1996 and 2001.

[edit] Amalgamation

Months before Waterdown's amalgamation into Hamilton, the residents of the town were contesting heavily Premier Mike Harris' push to include Waterdown into Hamilton. Due to Waterdown's location as a sandwich town, resting between Burlington and Hamilton, residents argued that Hamilton would not extend the services the city residents get out to Waterdown, such as bus routes. Along with this, Burlington had expressed some interest in amalgamating the town into it's city - this idea was favoured by the Waterdown residents due to a collection of issues:

Waterdown was a financially sound town, as was Burlington. On the other hand, Hamilton was in serious debt.
Burlington's geographic location is closer to Waterdown than Hamilton, and parts of Burlington (Aldershot + Kerncliff Park) wrapped around the south and east ends of the town.
Burlington promised bus service to Waterdown (two of the buses routes reached the eastern edge of Waterdown).

However, despite the resident's attempts to sway the Conservative Ontario government otherwise, Waterdown was amalgamated into Hamilton. This prompted the elected MPP at the time, Conservative Toni Skarica, to resign from his position - which shocked many, mostly because he ran (and won) on the platform of keeping the town unamalgamated, and vowed to resign if the Conservatives amalgamated with Hamilton. He gained a brief local celebrity status during that time because of his surprising honesty.

[edit] Photo Gallery

Waterdown, Great Falls, Canada	Waterdown, Great Falls, Canada	Waterdown, Great Falls, Canada	Waterdown, Great Falls, Canada
Waterdown, Great Falls	Waterdown, Great Falls, Canada	Close to Waterdown, Webster Falls	Close to Waterdown, Webster Falls
Close to Waterdown, Webster Baby Falls	Close to Waterdown, Webster Baby Falls	Close to Waterdown, Tew's Falls	Close to Waterdown, Tew's Falls
Waterdown, St.Thomas Apostle - Church	Waterdown, St.Thomas Apostle - Church