FOR CITY COUNCIL
My Priorities
As Councillor for Bay Ward, I’ve worked hard with residents to make sure our community’s concerns and needs are heard at City Council. I am proud of what the residents of Bay Ward and I have accomplished together, but there’s more to do to make city life better for us all. These are my priorities.
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After years of watching their tax dollars go to megaprojects like Landsdowne 2.0, residents want to see their tax dollars spent in their neighbourhoods to replace critical aging infrastructure like sewers and watermains. But it is clear Ottawa needs more infrastructure funding and relying on property taxes will not meet the needs of Bay Ward and other communities across the city. I support the City in its demands to the federal and provincial government for stable infrastructure funding.
Many of our community spaces are also in desperate need of attention. The field houses in Woodroof Park and Frank Ryan Park have aged to the point they need to be replaced. These communities are in high population growth areas with new Stage 2 LRT stations nearby. I’ve lobbied hard to get funds for new community buildings to replace them and worked with the communities to set these two projects up to be shovel
ready. I’m very happy to say that funding to replace these field houses will be coming in the next two years.
But the wait for infrastructure projects like this should not be so long. Just as I’ve fought for sewer upgrades in the ward for years, it’s clear we need to find ways to speed up the process to upgrade critical infrastructure needs and fix or replace our aging recreational spaces. I’ll continue to press local federal and provincial politicians to work towards stable provincial and federal infrastructure funding for Ontario’s second largest city.
Working together to make communities safe and liveable is about designing our streets to make them safe and walkable. It also means safe cycling infrastructure to keep cyclists separate from cars and pedestrians. It means keeping high accessibility standards even during construction. I have worked closely with communities to find ways to slow down traffic in our neighbourhoods by securing funding to install speed humps and traffic and other calming measures.
I have ensured that every school in Bay Ward like Dr F.J. Macdonald School now has a sidewalk leading to it, so that children can safely walk to school. I constantly hear from residents in neighbourhoods that they want sidewalks, and I have been successful in getting many across Bay Ward when the sidewalk is blended into a larger infrastructure project.
Demand for sidewalks is high in many neighbourhoods that were built without them. Sadly, the City has added only a handful of projects to the Active Transportation list in the Transportation Master Plan. I will continue to push for sidewalks in areas like Woodpark and neighbourhoods that are near Stage 2 LRT stations.
I also am a strong supporter of At-Risk youth programs in our communities. We need more investment in our communities to ensure everyone has a place to live, work and play.
The recent City of Ottawa Auditor General's report confirmed what residents have been telling us - that OC Transpo’s New Ways to Bus changes were more about saving money than they were about improving bus routes.
While there were also other factors that have made the bus system unreliable for many riders - shortage of drivers, mechanics and buses that OC Transpo has started to address, it has a long way to go to regain public trust and win back transit riders.
Making the transit system more affordable and reliable must be a priority for Council and I will work with my fellow councillors to come up with solutions that will improve the system and bring back transit riders.
I currently serve as the City’s Co-Liaison on Older Adult Issues. This year we produced a full report that was put together into a city wide Older Adult Plan. I work very closely with Bay Ward’s Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities, also known as NORCs.
Hubs offer programming for older residents in buildings and geographical areas to help them remain in the comfort of their own homes as they age and combat social isolation. The Bay Ward NORC has shepherded the first pilot projects in our community to bring this vital programming to a naturally occurring retirement community building.
I will continue to support the Aging in Place programs in Ottawa Community Housing seniors’ buildings. And I will continue to encourage partnerships with the Paramedics Wellness Clinics and Ottawa Public Health clinics that provide opportunities for older adults in our community to have access to basic medical check-ups.
These City initiatives help fill in the gaps in health care in Ottawa caused by the province’s healthcare funding model.