Roadwork top priority for Ward 38: De Baeremaeker

Improving transit and speeding up road repairs are his top priorities for Ward 38, says freshly re-elected councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker.

“The roads are in bad shape,” said De Baeremaeker, who won his third consecutive term with 61 per cent of the vote.

“The roads are packed and crowded. And the only way you can solve those problems is to fix more roads, and that costs more money. And to get cars off the road, you have to invest in mass transit.”

But this means an increase in taxes, something he acknowledged residents don’t want.

“It’s a falsehood to say you can solve your problems by tightening your belt,” said De Baeremaeker, who’s been chair of the infrastructure and public works committee for the past four years.

“A TTC bus can’t drive itself. It costs more money to put more buses on the road,” he said.”It costs more money to fix more potholes. I could fix every road in the city of Toronto in 10 years. But we don’t have the money.”

De Baeremaeker said the reason the roads are in bad shape is because past councillors were too afraid to raise taxes to pay for the repairs. With no money coming in, road conditions have continued to deteriorate, and now there is a backlog of repairs throughout the city, he said.

De Baeremaeker ran on a platform of improving transit, speeding up road repairs, preserving services while keeping taxes low, protecting green space, and improving safety.

About this article

By: Amanda Kwan
Posted: Oct 28 2010 8:54 am
Edition:
Filed under: News
Topics: