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My GOALS for Ward 5

Continue careful development using new urbanism.
Address Traffic Gridlock.
Improve Transit.
Open and Protect the Employment Lands in Ward 5.
Open shopping areas along Highway 7 east of 9th Line.
Continue with Traffic Calming measures that work.
Keep the lid on taxes and make sure they're spent carefully .
Protect our environment and our Farm Community.

Platform 2010 – Councillor John Webster

I have been your Councillor in Ward 5 for the past 7 years and am asking for your support in this election for the next term.In the next four years, I will continue to bring my strong voice to Council so that East Markham’s concerns are heard. No longer will we be the bedroom community of the rest of Markham and have to travel to other parts of Markham for services.

This is a Full Time Job for me - not a part time pastime. I will continue to use my integrity and honesty on behalf of you. I have never made an election promise that has been broken.

I have brought better Transit, Go Transit and Viva to Ward 5. I have brought another Fire Station and a Community Centre that is designed to be greater than the one in Angus Glen. When the construction is finished, we will have two full size Libraries, and we can find shopping and services without having to travel past McCowan Ave. But there’s more to come!

I will continue to bring to you the quality of life that you’ve been accustomed to. I have had a seat on the Budget Committee that has brought to you a zero tax increase for the past two years, and without lowering services, I believe we can do it again. I hate paying taxes as much as you do, but what is worse is not getting value for those dollars. The wise use of tax dollars has permitted us to maintain our balanced budget.

Traffic Gridlock continues to plague the entire Town, and the East End has it’s share. We are paying the price of the “Urban Sprawl” planning that was permitted in the past, and you can rest assured that I will not allow any new development that is not in the New Urbanism design which will incorporate the ‘live, work, play and learn’ concept which has been proven to reduce traffic congestion.

The major arterial roads are being, or already are widened to the edge of the road allowance. We can’t make them any wider. The answer is to move people in a more efficient way. I was able to get Bur Oak opened before it was assumed, which will allow VIVA to be extended to us. This has provided a rapid and convenient alternative to sitting in a traffic jam. The future is to replace the large bus that is currently rumbling through our neighbourhoods with a lighter shuttle on a faster route. The VIVA bus will be in a segregated lane and has the ability to get ahead of traffic by changing the traffic lights as it approaches the intersection. We are preparing for light rail while we are improving Highway 7. We are using high occupancy lanes and Travel Demand Management practices.

I have managed to get the Donald Cousens Parkway (The Markham By-Pass) open to south of the 407 and with constant pressure and the help of other Councillors, we are working to get the City of Toronto to understand the need to connect to Steeles Avenue.

I will continue to bring Traffic Calming that works. Speed bumps have proven ineffective, but the roundabouts that I have had installed in our Ward are working.

The Road Watch Program is working, and I will continue to support and work closely with York Regional Police for more enforcement. While the Police Department is under the Regional Councillors jurisdiction, I am right there in support of more police protection for our security and the security of our property.

I have worked hard and will continue to work to bring more employment opportunities to our area. I have reserved a piece of land along Reesor Road to be used as a Research Park similar to the IBM campus on Warden. There were those who wanted to give this land to the Rouge Park, but I fought and maintained that it is the last piece that can bring such employment to Markham, and to the East End where it is needed. Markham has not participated in the recession as badly as some areas, and I will continue to bring Economic Development that makes sense to our area.

I will continue to work hard for a better Main Street Markham - in the original Downtown Markham. I have guided the Main Street Markham Class A Environmental Assessment through and will now continue working to ensure that in the spring of next year the design, and then construction of a revitalized, working Main Street is completed. We need this to preserve our unique heritage district and attract the types of businesses that we need and want. I will continue to make sure that this does not get stalled in favour of any other project - and I need your help on this. I encouraged the revitalization of some of the tired non heritage buildings and am looking forward to this being a start after so many years of neglect.

I will continue to bring you more parks and open spaces. Our ward has more parks per person than any other ward in Markham, and I will keep it that way. There are woodlots to be developed and off-leash parks where safety of people and of pets is the main concern.

I will continue to bring you my experience with the Rouge Park Implementation Task Force. I am one of the founding people on this committee and I am committed to making sure that the Park is a place for people as well as the environment.

I will continue to make sure that Growth in Markham is controlled, and is where we want it. I chaired the Development Services Committee meeting that brought over 1000 people to a Growth Strategy meeting and managed to work out an arrangement that could be lived with by all. I will continue to bring to Council and to you the quality of life in Ward 5 without high-rise apartments in our neighbourhoods. They will be on the outskirts, on arterial roads with transit, where they belong.

Life is good in Markham and in Ward 5. I’m John Webster and I commit to you that I will bring my skills, my experience in business and on Council, and my credibility, so that together, we’ll make it better.

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