Transportation options - transit, cycling, walkability and accessibility
Not everyone in town is able to, can afford to, or wants to drive everywhere. And with the town growing and Ottawa building billions of dollars worth of transit, it's the right time to invest in a transit system for Carleton Place. I would support a pilot project approach would allow us to get something off the ground and improve it incrementally with user feedback. Ultimately, a successful service will require strategic partnerships with the County, OC Transpo, and other transit agencies.
I frequently walk and cycle around town, both to run errands and for recreation. There is much that we could be doing to improve connectivity and access both for pedestrians and cyclists - especially in school zones. The Transportation Master Plan has a detailed list of available improvements that I fully support. Some of these improvements can be done sooner and cheaper (eg. with paint and signage) - others will take more resources or time.
Better development without sprawl
I am firmly against sprawling, suburban housing developments such as the ones we're currently seeing going up around town. At the same time, I believe we do need to continue to build housing to address the affordability crisis. The best (though imperfect!) solution is to encourage a wide diversity of housing throughout town, so that everyone's needs can be met. In Carleton Place this means encouraging and allowing things like multifamily homes (eg. duplexes), low-rise apartment buildings and infill development, which provide housing at a more affordable price than typical single-family homes - without bulldozing our neighbouring forests and farmland.At the same time, infill development often has detriments to nearby residents and homeowners, and when done poorly can sacrifice the heritage feel of our neighbourhoods. I will take these concerns seriously and impose appropriate conditions on developers to minimize these impacts, as I believe it should be possible to address most concerns and arrive at a win-win outcome.
A steady tax rate
The last thing anyone needs right now is higher taxes! I have taken subtantial interest in the Town's budget and finances and believe there are opportunities for efficiencies or re-allocations. Many of my policy suggestions are designed to make municipal finances more efficient or make better use of existing infrastructure.
I am frugal with my household finances, and would treat your tax dollars with respect.
Affordable housing
There is no one-size-fits-all solution here, and a variety of approaches is necessary. I support Inclusive Zoning (the requirement that new housing be built with a minimum amount of afforable housing) being added to the Official Plan, which will give council a much-needed tool to enforce affordability. Innovation and collaboration with the development community such as what is happening in Almonte is necessary. A dependable transit system will indirectly create options for housing in more locations, without the need to funnel all your money into maintaining a vehicle - and will allow land-use reforms for better housing in the future. The upcoming Community Improvement Plan has excellent incentives to encourage afforable development. And housing diversity will allow you to choose housing that meets your needs best, rather than being priced out of "standard" housing.
Reduce, defer or cancel the Cavanagh Road widening
One of the few major growth-oriented (funded by Development Charges, not taxation) projects that previous councils greenlit was a widening of about 600m of Cavanagh Road at a price of $4,000,000 in order to fuel even more sprawling development at the edge of town. We don't need an expensive road to farmland in Beckwith!
As councillor I would do everything possible to cancel this project and re-allocate the money that has been collected for it to things that would actually benefit residents.
Parking reform
Carleton Place development policies require businesses to build and maintain more than double the parking of comparable districts (eg. the "rural/suburban" zones of Ottawa). Take a stroll down Lansdowne Ave to see the affect of these outdated policies: enormous, rarely- or never-used strips of hot asphalt that also stifle business development.
Reform of our parking requirements would reduce the amount of wasted, empty asphalt in our town, and simultaneously provide opportunities for new business development in areas that need it most.
Speeding
Driving - and speeding - in the country is fundamentally different than in town. A town is place where people should feel safe and comfortable to live, work and play. The OPP's speed enforcement practices are designed for country roads, and shouldn't be used within Carleton Place. I also do not believe that spotty enforcement with expensive, punitive fines is effective or fair.
We need to take speeding - and resident concerns about speeding - more seriously and design our streets to limit both the possibility and danger of speeding. This approach is called traffic calming. But this doesn't mean installing speed bumps everywhere - there are a wide variety of options which can and should be tailored to the situation in each location.
Commercial land-use reform
It is currently illegal to establish a new small, local business in many parts of Carleton Place - including places where there are already existing local businesses! Local businesses enrich and enliven our neighbourhoods, and shouldn't be relegated to distant business parks.
Conversely, the so-called Highway District only permits business development. We shouldn't hermetically seal residential from commercial uses in this way. I have advocated for, and will continue to advocate for mixed-use development at neighbourhood scale, which will allow the services you need closer to you - while protecting residential areas from larger commercial uses.
Transparency and communication
Some common issues within town have been diligently researched by town staff or council, who then come to sensible solutions/conclusions. But too often these conclusions are not adequately communicated to residents, leading to a sense of distrust among residents, who think that the town is dropping the ball and not addressing the problem. For example, a commonly discussed idea of installing water metering devices in private residences has been thoroughly investigated by town staff, and (in my opinion, quite sensibly) rejected - but do you know why?
I would ensure that existing town studies and know-how was more accessible to the general public on the town's website. I would also create more venues for Council and staff to communicate. There is need for more explanatory documents/FAQs to better inform residents, leading to happier residents and less staff time dealing with misunderstandings about town policies.
