The Platform

Ward 1 residents deserve to feel safe in their homes and on their streets. I have and will continue to work with London Police Service and community organizations to improve neighbourhood safety. Measures I will advocate for if re-elected include:

-Better street lighting on key corridors.

- Faster response from city bylaw to address chronic nuisance properties.

- Expanded community outreach programs to deal with the root causes of crime.

- Explore the possibility of having a police satellite station East of Highbury Ave to improve service response and expand foot patrol routes in OEV and Hamilton Rd.

- Continuing security and building improvement programs through the OEV and Hamilton Rd BIAs.

Having thriving main streets is key to revitalizing our neighbourhoods. We need to ensure that city plays its part by investing in services that will directly support revitalization through:

- Co-ordination between OEV and Hamilton Rd BIAs

- Incentive programs with dedicated city staff support for economic development and tourism supports.

- Expansion of incentive programs (currently façade and building code improvements) to include mixed use buildings to redevelop retail and residential spaces.

- Enhanced cleaning and garbage collection.

- London Police Service foot patrols supported by mental health professionals.

Outdoor public spaces play an important role in the quality of life of residents and I want to ensure that we have safe, clean, and accessible parks and recreation facilities that everyone can enjoy. If re-elected I will push for:

- Replace aging playground equipment.

- Repair and upgrade damaged pathways and facilities.

- Bring back year round garbage cans in our parks.

- More public washrooms.

- Public engagement on the district park planning for the former River Rd golf course land.

- Explore options to improve the needle clean up program for our parks.

- Review neighbourhood supports available by the city for community organizations to host events in parks.

- Continue to cover rental fees for community organizations to host events in our parks.

- Continue to offer free community swims through the summer at Silverwoods and Glen Cairn outdoor pools.

- Public engagement on Lorne Ave park and Boyle Community Centre to ensure that the amenities and programs match the needs of residents.

Our roads, sidewalks, and parks need attention. I have and will continue to push for Ward 1 to receive its fair share of capital budget investment. We are dealing with a high volume of construction across the city and Ward 1 is no exception. Many of these projects are needed to address aging infrastructure above and below ground. If re-elected I will advocate for the following:

- Making the Hamilton Rd corridor safer with improved traffic signals, crosswalks, and speed enforcement.

- Accelerate the timeline for the redevelopment of the Hamilton Rd/Highbury Ave intersection sooner than the currently scheduled 2029 start date.

- Address congestion with road improvements further East along Hamilton Rd as the former Fairmont PS is redeveloped.

- Move up construction work for Hamilton Rd/Highbury Ave intersection to address congestion and traffic volumes prior to 2029.

- More advanced green lights at key intersections.

- A user friendly map of Ward 1 with current and upcoming schedule construction.

London is growing fast and we need to ensure that we have a variety of housing that is affordable and meets the needs of residents. If re-elected I will pursue the following:

- First time home buyer support programs.

- Utilize the Provincial and Federal housing funds to develop programs to bring down the cost of housing.

- Continue to invest in the redevelopment of LMCH housing. I am immensely proud to have served on the Board of LMCH over the last four years and to have been apart of the building of the first new community housing in fifty years. We need to bring down our housing waitlist and building new community housing stock is key to tackling this longstanding problem.

- Capital investments in supportive housing projects to ensure that higher acuity individuals are placed in housing with the appropriate wrap around services. The city has and can continue to play a role in the development of these projects, while recognizing that the Provincial government needs to contribute operating funding for the health care components of these vitally important projects.

- Explore an expansion of the mirco-modular shelter model.