2018 London Municipal Election

[UpstairsCranberry]

Originally Posted by haljackey

I'll just leave this here

[IMG]clipped[/IMG]

I love the Ward 4: The candidates in their own words

8. What sets you apart from other candidates?

Orser says, "I ani’t no CHICKEN !"

I love how they did not correct the candidate's spelling!

[Dupcheck]

Does anyone know who are the School Board Trustees for London?
What do they believe in?
How do we vote to choose these people when there is no information available like the City Councillor and Mayor candidates.
I can not cast my vote just based on name alone and who has the best street corner sign.
I want to know what they stand for in one page summary for each candidate.

I can not seem to find the information in one article alone, do we need to go to each candidates facebook profile and do our own research. Come on, this is a paid position right and they want our votes....

[MrSlippery519]

Originally Posted by Dupcheck

Does anyone know who are the School Board Trustees for London?
What do they believe in?
How do we vote to choose these people when there is no information available like the City Councillor and Mayor candidates.
I can not cast my vote just based on name alone and who has the best street corner sign.
I want to know what they stand for in one page summary for each candidate.

I can not seem to find the information in one article alone, do we need to go to each candidates facebook profile and do our own research. Come on, this is a paid position right and they want our votes....

Information does seem a little slim at the moment, and I agree it would be nice to have the core thoughts and values for each candidate listed on a simple source.

Not sure I would be interested in who the school board wants, their interest lies in what best fits their pocket book...not suggesting that is wrong necessarily but these unions (not just school) basically tell their employees who they "should" vote for in a round about way which is terribly in my opinion.

[ssiguy]

Without spending weeks going thru the LRP, who are the main mayor contenders and where do they stand on SHIFT or transit in general?


As far as London being a paradise compared to Toronto in terms of traffic, that is hardly a glowing endorsement considering the GTAH has 7.8 million and greater London 530,000. London like everyother city has it`s issues but when compared to other cities major crime, unaffordability, and general urban decay, London is doing quite well. London`s biggest issue today is it`s traffic woes which for a city of just 400,000 is ,by far, the worst in the country. Considering London`s size, it`s transportation problems are the stuff legends are made of.

[Djeffery]

Tanya Park is the only one of the supposed main mayoral contenders (I'm being generous in lumping her in that group) to be in support of Shift BRT. The rest are opposed. Holder and Paolatto are in favour of an improved LTC, while Cheng sounds more in favour of more road work. Cheng is a bit clueless though, so I expect he will keep campaigning on the idea that we need to look at doing something about the Adelaide crossing south of Oxford lol.

[ssiguy]

So it looks like the BRT, at least in it`s current configuration, is dead. Frankly, I`m not very surprised nor upset. I think the BRT plan was ill conceived. The only thing all this SHIFT talk has done it seems is get Londoners to talk about their transit future which is a small but very substantial step. London has never really been the type of city that grabs the bulls by the horn which is why it`s transportation system is such a mess.

At least all the SHIFT talk has brought public transit to the forefront and is now too visible in the public eye for any potential mayor or councillor to avoid. Giving the standard "we will improve the LTC' no longer cuts the mustard and Londoners now expect and want to see what their candidates public transit plans are in detail.

[Djeffery]

The mayor is only one vote though. So it will depend on which current councillors get re-elected and how the anti-BRT candidates fare. And how good of a sales job the new mayor does with the new council to push their agenda.

[tyeman200]

Originally Posted by MrSlippery519

Information does seem a little slim at the moment, and I agree it would be nice to have the core thoughts and values for each candidate listed on a simple source.

Not sure I would be interested in who the school board wants, their interest lies in what best fits their pocket book...not suggesting that is wrong necessarily but these unions (not just school) basically tell their employees who they "should" vote for in a round about way which is terribly in my opinion.

I have met that Pedro Almeida guy once during some catholic dinner. He seemed pretty nice from what I can remember

[Dupcheck]

It is really sad that no one talks about the School Board Trustees. How do you vote for someone if you know nothing about them and what they would do?

[haljackey]

If not BRT, then what? Four mayoral candidates explain their transit plans

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/lo...ransit-plan-mayoral-candidates-1.4818762

https://www.reddit.com/r/londonontario/c...utm_source=reddit&utm_name=londonontario

[Dupcheck]

I read all the comments in Reddit link above. I feel this is most crucial Election in London ON history. Citizens of our city should take this election very seriously and hold the politicians accountable for their actions. This can be the turning point of the city's path forward. Transportation and traffic flow is the main issue and it should be addressed once for all.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Dupcheck

I read all the comments in Reddit link above. I feel this is most crucial Election in London ON history. Citizens of our city should take this election very seriously and hold the politicians accountable for their actions. This can be the turning point of the city's path forward. Transportation and traffic flow is the main issue and it should be addressed once for all.

Remember Mayor only has one vote on council. Your councilor matters just as much.

Does anyone know if the ranked ballot system is just for mayor or your councilor too?

[Djeffery]

Ranked ballot for mayor and council, school board is just pick whatever number of choices your particular circumstance is. Better than half of the council races, and the mayor's race, won't be resolved until the next day, so the city clerk has said in the past. Based on the assumption that those races won't have 50%+1 results on the first ballot.

[Djeffery]

Strange story. Orser and Polhill wanted to set conditions for stories, and now they are getting tons of free publicity for not having the article done.

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/defeated-london-politicians-interview-conditions-outrageous

[UpstairsCranberry]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Strange story. Orser and Polhill wanted to set conditions for stories, and now they are getting tons of free publicity for not having the article done.

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/defeated-london-politicians-interview-conditions-outrageous

That's Megan Stacey for you.

[tyeman200]

Originally Posted by haljackey

If not BRT, then what? Four mayoral candidates explain their transit plans

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/lo...ransit-plan-mayoral-candidates-1.4818762

https://www.reddit.com/r/londonontario/c...utm_source=reddit&utm_name=londonontario

I find it funny, because all of the anti-BRT mayors transit problems would be solved with BRT . Cheng just wants to add more bus bays, which would happen if BRT is done. Holder wants to improve service, and sync the traffic lights, again both would be done with BRT. & Paolatto wants to move the CP tracks at Adelaide (which is already getting an underpass) & Richmond (good luck with that), & basically improving traffic flow and limiting left turns on major roads during rush hour. This can all be achieved with BRT.

People can hate BRT all you want but in the end it will improve traffic flow for this city.

[Stevo26]

Originally Posted by tyeman200

I find it funny, because all of the anti-BRT mayors transit problems would be solved with BRT . Cheng just wants to add more bus bays, which would happen if BRT is done. Holder wants to improve service, and sync the traffic lights, again both would be done with BRT. & Paolatto wants to move the CP tracks at Adelaide (which is already getting an underpass) & Richmond (good luck with that), & basically improving traffic flow and limiting left turns on major roads during rush hour. This can all be achieved with BRT.

People can hate BRT all you want but in the end it will improve traffic flow for this city.

Exactly. People are so limited in their thinking that they believe that BRT is all about giving busses exclusive right of way over cars, or that it speeds up transit by bus.

They don't realize that the real purpose of BRT is to get busses out of the way of the flow of regular traffic. This can only be done with dedicated lanes and bus stops or stations situated in the centre of the road on their own island.

[Dupcheck]

If the BRT lanes were also utilized as HOV lanes (2 or more passengers) it would have been a better approach to the traffic flow.

One perfect example of an HOV and bus lane would be the one on Sarnia road traveling west to turn left on Wonderland st. Currently the only turning lane for cars is overcrowded and it ends up being a mile long at rush hour traffic.
The "Bus Only" left turning lane at Sarnia (westboud) and Wonderland rd. would be much more functional if it was also an HOV lane where 2 or more passengers in vehicles are also allowed. Currently this lane is underutilized and sits empty 90+ percent of the time while left turning vehicles have to wait 10 to 15 minutes to turn during the rush hour. That 10 to 15 minutes of idling cost the average vehicle 50 cents in gasoline x say 100 days per year = 50$/year per vehicle wasted waiting at this intersection alone. Not considering that time is also money 15 min of a minimum wage = 0.25x14$/hr=3.5$/day x 100 days = 350$/year. Adding up to a total of 400$/year wasted by a simple intersection such as the above assuming one working age person inside the vehicle at the time. This bad for the environment and the drivers pockets. It is sad to see a mile long of vehicles trying to turn left when the other left turning lane sits empty. Instead of someone using that 400$ towards a one or two day vacation or injected back to the economy or save more for retirement, they have to spend it in traffic at this left turning lane alone.

[haljackey]

I see your points. That double-left could work maybe as a HOV-3. HOV-2 might make it too crowded for buses to use.

Another alternative is to have the bus use the rightmost lane (or a new lane) and when the bus is detected in the intersection, all lights turn red and a transit signal lights up for the bus to make left turn.

-----

Getting back on topic, I was phone-polled for my choice for Mayor yesterday. The first debate also takes place today I think on AM 980.

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/heres-your-guide-to-london-city-hall-election-debates

[Djeffery]

Love it when I get to that intersection and I see a bus sitting there all alone in it's own lane, sitting on a "transit red", while the rest of the westbound traffic, including the other left turn lane, has a green. Saw one again today. I'm sure those passengers were really happy to have their priority lane there.