Honouring Team Canada 2020 World Junior Gold!
A Year 1 Council Update, with Councillor Morgan
Ward 2 Townhall Meeting
Wednesday October 2nd
6:30-8:30pm at the East London Library
UPDATE ON EAST LONDON COMMUNITY CENTRE CONSTRUCTION
Dear Argyle Residents,
I know we’ve all been waiting a long time for the Argyle neighbourhood to get a proper community centre, over 19 years in fact.
It was a privilege to stand with (then) Mayor Brown in the fall of 2017 and officially break ground on the construction site.
And, it has been a disappointment to have the opening repeatedly pushed back from fall of 2018 to spring of 2019, to fall of 2019.
Since being elected I’ve stopped by the work site and connected with the management team on a regular basis. I know they’ve been doing what they can.
Unfortunately, it falls to me to share the bad news that we are still behind schedule.
Time to Say No to a Bridge to Nowhere
The 2014-2018 Council (including the former Ward 2 Councillor), set aside $5 million to potentially fund the “Ribbon of the Thames” portion of the “Back to the River” project.
What has become known as the “bridge to nowhere”, a suspended lookout bridge and river facing amphitheater space, has already ballooned in cost from $2 million to $7 million, with additional costs for shoreline work, excavation, and flood mitigation measures coming in at another $3-4 million.
Staff pegs the cost of the “Ribbon of the Thames” at a minimum of $12.8 million dollars, with only $2 million in private donations from the London Community Foundation, leaving the project with at least a $5 million funding gap even if we spend all $5 million of the public dollars set aside.
And that’s without spending a penny on the removal of the decommissioned Springbank Bank that has gates and hydraulic systems currently sitting at the bottom of the river. Continue Reading
The BRT Vote and Better Transit, What Does It All Mean?
After almost 4 years of the Matt Brown led council insisting that their BRT plan absolutely had to be an all or nothing decision, staff clearly indicated to the new council that not only could the BRT plan be broken up into pieces and still be viable, but that other options besides the old BRT plan were available which could qualify for provincial and federal funding.
A list of 19 projects came to council to decide which ones to submit for federal and provincial funding approval. These included; 5 component pieces of the old BRT plan, an intelligent traffic signal management system, bus stop amenities including 60 new bus shelters, the purchase of more buses, a portion of the Adelaide St. underpass design, an intersection improvement project for Wharncliffe & Oxford, Thames Valley Parkway connections, pedestrian connections to the transit network, new sidewalks, and three different cycling proposals along with a couple of others.
What changed from the old BRT plan? Continue Reading
Shawn Lewis Campaign Flyer on the Issues
Play Your Way! Parks, Arenas, & Recreation Centres Matter
Whether we are talking about big parks with lots of amenities or small ones, like Vimy Ridge Park at the Hale and Trafalgar roundabout, the evidence is in: Park spaces are good for our bodies and our minds, green space matters. And good recreation facilities are key to encouraging an active, healthy lifestyle.
Last week I attended the “Stakeholder Input Session” for the City of London’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Continue Reading
Campaign BBQ with MP Mathyssen, Cheryl Miller, & Ward 7’s Josh Morgan
Launching the Shawn Lewis for Ward 2 City Councillor Campaign with an east London backyard BBQ Meet & Greet, Shawn was joined by local Member of Parliament Irene Mathyssen, former City Councillor and past Conservative candidate Cheryl Miller and Ward 7’s Josh Morgan.
Time for Someone New to Represent Ward 2
I’m literally on the wrong side of the tracks to be able to say I live in Ward 2. But arbitrary lines on a map don’t define community. I’ve called east London’s Argyle neighbourhood home for more than 20 years.
Argyle—or Ward 2—is where I work, shop, and play. It’s where my heart is. Home. Continue Reading