Ward 19 campaign dispatch #2: rebuilding ramps and reading between lines

A reminder that we’ve got our campaign office opening (1188 Woodbine Ave) at 12 pm today. Join us if you can!

We’ve also got a fundraiser in the works: Thursday October 1 at Brunswick Bierworks. Anyone who donates here will be welcome to attend.

October 1 is also the first day we can put up lawn signs. You can request a lawn sign here and volunteer to help us put up signs here.

We continue to knock on doors every day and we hear local stories about ways we can improve our community and city.

The story that stands out from this past week came from a woman who initially expressed skepticism at politics because she was so fed up. Last year, with her husband undergoing chemo, snow removal was so bad that they couldn’t get out and to their appointment (and yes, she contacted the city multiple times).

Share your own story here if you’ve got an example to improve city services.

There are, of course, many common and broader issues we’ve heard at the door.

Getting around our city faster

“Rebuild the ramp”?

Anyone in our east end who uses a car knows that congestion only worsened with poor Gardiner access. But don’t believe politicians who promise an impossible fix.

The solution is to fast track the already planned rebuild at Cherry Street, together with transparent timelines.

Useful to know:

• We are in phase 3 of a 6 phase rebuild. Phase 5 is the planned Cherry Street connection that will help alleviate east end congestion, and this work should be prioritized.

• The Gardiner, and the ongoing work to rebuild it, is now being uploaded to the Province as part of Mayor Chow’s New Deal. It’ll save the city billions over time, and was a smart move by the Mayor.

• The planned rebuild was a key part of a broader waterfront expansion that includes new housing and greenspace.

Fast, safe, and reliable public transit

Thousands of us also rely on the TTC.

We’ve seen solid action from the Chow administration to deliver affordable transit, and there’s more we can do to improve service quality.

For example, we should deliver the 10 recommendations from FastTrackTO to speed up streetcar service. Speeding up the 501 and 506 cars isn’t just good for TTC passengers in our east end, it’ll also mean speeding up all traffic on those routes.

We also need to prioritize faster and more reliable subways, public safety as part of overall quality of service, and cost-effective capital planning in keeping with best practices around the world.

Protecting neighbourhood character?

One of the key reasons for running in this race is to help deliver action on housing.

We were asked recently how one balances the need for more housing with neighbourhood character. It depends how one thinks about neighbourhood character.

A defining characteristic of our neighbourhood is that people who grow up here want to raise their families here. I’m one of them.

We need to build new and more affordable homes so that young people in our community see a future here.

Beaches-East York is already a great example of a community with many different kinds of housing, including semi and detached homes, multiplexes, co-ops, condos, and apartments. As we build new and more affordable housing for everyone, from young families to seniors, every ward across the city should do its part.

Here are my four priorities on housing:

Ensure smart growth city-wide.

That means gentle density in residential neighbourhoods, midrise on avenues, and greater density at major transit hubs. Smart growth also means more than just building homes. Our ravines need protection, for example. And new housing must be matched with access to transit, green spaces, and community infrastructure.

Build nonmarket housing with ambition.

City leadership should work to create a public/community land bank and deliver economies of scale in nonmarket builds.

Protect tenants.

The Chow administration has rightly cracked down on slum landlords, and we should bolster this work.

End homelessness.

This will require an ambitious expansion of rapid housing, among other things. We can deliver dignity for those in need while ensuring public spaces remain welcoming.

Protecting our waterfront and environment

Our neighbours want a councillor who will be a voice for protecting our public waterfront. That’s the bare minimum we should expect, of course.

We should also work to phase out use of the Portlands gas plant (Toronto’s largest single source of pollution) through a massive expansion of renewables, especially rooftop solar. There are lots of lessons to be learned from Australia, for example.

Safe neighbourhoods

Public safety has come up a number of times on the campaign trail so far, mostly in relation to safety on the TTC. Mayor Chow launched a strategy late last year with increased security staff and outreach workers, and this work should be assessed and bolstered as needed.

Locally, the stretch along Danforth between Main and Dawes is rough right now. Completing construction there will help, and we should expedite that work (which will also help with endless congestion). I’ve spoken with the Unit Commander at Division 55 and we’re engaging with the local BIA. I will prioritize action to house people in need and ensure that stretch of Danforth is a welcoming public space.

“Read between the lines”

Much has been written about Premier Ford’s (not an) endorsement of Mayor Chow.

I don’t think it’s complicated, though.

When I was Housing Minister, Mayor Chow and I worked together well to lock in two big deals: one to deliver housing on the waterfront and the second to expand affordable rental construction in the city.

She is a deal-maker, willing to set politics aside to get things done for our city. We need more of that.