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Issues that effect the quality of life in Ward 5

The purpose of this page is to keep you up to date with the issues that effect our quality of life, both from a 'Town Wide' point of view, and also from our local neighbourhoods. 

This list begins with the Top Ten Issues that have emerged as the biggest concerns of Ward Five residents. Following that is an alphabetical list of the issues that I'm most often asked about.  For simplicity, I've grouped them by neighbourhood where it is appropriate.

Please click on the issue to find not only the relevant information, but also my opinion.  I'd appreciate your feedback by clicking on the Contact page.

Issues

(The items marked are either new or have been updated during the past 30 to 90 days)

	Issues	Updated
	Top Issue 1: Traffic Gridlock	Aug 18 2007
	Top Issue 2: Complete the Markham By-Pass	January 2007
	Top Issue 3: Complete 9th Line North of Highway 7	February 28 / 07
	Top Issue 4: Transit Needs Improving	April 2007
	Top Issue 5: Urban Sprawl is Out of Control	January 2007
	Top Issue 6: We Want a Pesticides By-Law	May 23 2007
	Top Issue 7: Big Box Stores South of Highway 7	January 2007
	Top Issue 8: What about new Parks?	February 23 / 07
	Top Issue 9: The Community Centre, Library and Hospital	January 15 2007
	Top Issue 10: The community needs an Ice Pad	January 2007
	16th Avenue and Fincham Development
	9th Line Completion	Nov. 2 2007
	Basement Apartments	February 2 2007
	Big Box Stores on Highway 48 North of 16th Avenue	November 17 /04
	Box Grove Development	July 22/04
	Centennial Community Centre Expansion	March 28 2007
	Clothes Lines - Is there a By-Law?	August 1 2007
	Condominium Tax Problems
	Cornell - Affordable Housing	Oct 4 2007
	Cornell - Bus Loop in Cornell	November 4 /04
	Cornell - Crossing Guard at the School
	Cornell - Parking in the Live / Work Areas	June 11 2008
	Cornell - Overnight Parking	Dec. 2 2007
	Cycling Implementation Plan	June 5 2007
	Demolition of Heritage Homes	March 7 2007
	Electricity Sales by Agents Door to Door	Sept 12 2007
	Elevations North of 16th Avenue
	Frequently Asked Questions about Markham	January 11 / 08
	Grand Cornell - When will the parks be ready?	Oct 10 2007
	Garbage not Picked up	Oct 3 2007
	Greensborough - Place of Worship on 16th Ave.	Dec. 31 2007
	Ground Hog Menace
	Homeless People and Emergency Food and Shelter	August 2007
	Leash Free Parks	Dec 9 2007
	Library - Markham Main Street Expansion	July 12/04
	Litter	April 1, 2008
	Main Street Markham Upgrade	February 21/07
	Markham By-Pass	Jan. 6, 2007
	Markham District High School - Rebuilding Plans	June 2008
	Parks Update - When will they be ready to use?	July 4 2008
	Pathways and Trails	July 10 / 07
	Parking	August 3 2007
	Pesticide Use	May 23 2007
	Road Repairs	Weekly
	Sewer Problem
	Sidewalk on Wootten Way South
	Sign By-Law
	Sir Galahad Place - One Way
	Snow Removal	Feb.12 , 2008
	Soccer Field Replacement from Markham District High School	July 9, 2007
	Street Signs Gone
	Swan Lake - Traffic Light at 16th Avenue	January 30, 2007
	Tax - Property	June 13, 2007
	Timelines - Estimated Completion Dates of Projects	April 29 2008
	Three Stream Pick Up
	Tourism
	Traffic Calming
	Traffic Gridlock	January 2007
	Train Whistling and Guards	August 1 2007
	Transit Routes
	Trees on the Boulevard	Sept 10 2007
	Trucks on the 9th Line
	Walker Park Soccer
	West Nile Virus	Aug. 18 2007
	Yard Waste / Paper Bags

There are many other issues affecting Ward Five

Health Care

Markham-Stouffville Hospital has not received as much funding as have other Regional Hospitals. I will speak out loudly to ensure the Region does not continue to under fund Markham.

Trucks, Trucks and More Trucks

Our streets are not highways. Through traffic and trucks are not welcome on Main Street Markham, any more that they are on the 9th Line. The completion of the Bypass, as under construction, is imperative. However, it also needs to take the commuters off Highway 7 by continuing south as quickly as possible. I will champion this effort.

The 9th Line is technically a Regional Road, but in nature it's really a residential road and should not be a shortcut for commuters from the north of York Region to tear through our neighbourhood. Yes, there must be easy access to the Markham-Stouffville Hospital and yes, emergency vehicles need easy access to the residential area, but that doesn't mean we need to have a major inter-urban highway in our midst.

Our Youth

Markham is blessed with a many good opportunities for recreation and culture, but there's a need to help our youth in other ways. Encouragement and mentoring by local businessmen in the Markham Board of Trade has had a wonderful effect. We need to encourage similar projects in each of the communities in Ward Five.

We need drop-in centers and after-school programs. We need to provide facilities and programs that active young people are looking for. In cooperation with the school system, we need to help our youth learn how to find a job or learn skills, as well as to create a fertile ground for the growth of the entrepreneurial spirit.

Parks

Our parks don't seem to receive the attention they require. Weeds, long grass, litter are not acceptable. We need to find creative ways to use our allotted budget to create the kind of community that we desire. Parks are public property. That means we all own them, and with some encouragement, we will treat them as though they were ours.

Annual "Pitch-in Days" are wonderful, but we need to be vigilant all year long in attitude and deed to keep our public areas clean and beautiful at all times. Let's extend the Character Community that the students are learning in school to the entire extent of Ward Five.

Safe Cross Walks and Crossing Guards

There are school children crossing unprotected, busy streets to get to school. This is unacceptable! We're designing our communities so kids don't have to play on the streets, and then force them into unsafe areas to get to parks and playgrounds. This must stop!