My Leaside Life column last month encouraged you to come up with questions to ask candidates hoping to be our new Ward 15 city councillor. By the time you read this column, the all- candidates’ meeting will have been held, but as of press time the actual election will still be in the offing.
What I propose to do here is to ask YOU what YOUR priorities are. Which issues do you want our new councillor to prioritize? Which issues, either in Leaside or city-wide, are most important to you, or need the most immediate attention?
For instance, planning and development. Are the ‘right’ kinds of housing being created? What about affordability? Family-size units vs. small one-bedroom size? Rental vs. condo?
Traffic congestion: does building or widening roads just create more congestion? Does installing more separated cycle lanes reduce automobile use (or not)? And how do you feel about toll roads?
What about public transit? Should our councillor promote surface transit (buses) over subways?
Do you want our new councillor to make heritage protection truly worthy of the name, to protect the character of neighbourhoods like Leaside? is this a priority you want our new Ward 15 councillor to embrace?
How important are environmental concerns to you? Do we want our councillor to place more emphasis on choosing environmentally friendly ways of transportation, building, and working?
What about property taxes, and how those taxes are spent? Always a hot topic!
Finally, let’s not forget more effective and speedy enforcement of our building bylaws and traffic regulations, and better protection of trees on building sites. How active do you hope our new councillor will be on these issues?
We are often reminded that the city is only ‘the creature of the province’, but there is a tremendous amount of influence and power that municipalities can wield to make our municipalities better places to live. We are all voters.
As constituents, your opinions can help set the city’s agenda, but only if you express them. More gets done when our elected representatives know what we want them to work for, for us.
The LRA board of directors meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, at the Trace Manes building on Rumsey, just south of Leaside Library. You are welcome to join us there. Our next meeting is on Nov. 6th. For more details and updates between now and then, or to become an LRA member, find us at leasideresidents.ca and press the Contact Us button, or at leasideresidents.ca/contact-us.
