“I would Certainly Support Rail Investment as a Transportation Mode In Bank Street”
Candidate Johnson College Ward 8
College Ward 8 candidate Laine Johnson is “good at dealing with focus groups” and the candidate says she “understands how to navigate the city system and get things done through connecting with people.” Candidate Johnson has “always been interested in the local level of government and my background is in community engagement.”
“People in Ward 8 are concerned about traffic and traffic calming. We need a rapid transit bus option that works for the residents of College Ward. We need safe streets. Our ward is going to intensify with developments on either side of Baseline. It’s going to change with greater development. We need to understand the Baseline corridor is going to quickly develop into 15 minute walkable neighbourhoods. We need to do something about bus #88 for example, it’s not good enough and OC-Transpo can do better. We really need smart development in College Ward which has been lacking.”
“We need to cut red tape to help speed up development for more housing and a commitment for more citizen involvement. We need to embrace citizen insight. Reducing red tape will help create more local businesses in College Ward and help us with more local food security” says Johnson.
When asked about the Ottawa Senators moving into the north end of the downtown core, Johnson believes “it’s a thoughtful decision for a world class city, we are lucky to have our NHL team moving in the core, and we are lucky to have a CFL team in the south end of the core, these developments make a lot of sense, they benefit rail transit in the city. We are interested in limiting urban sprawl, and there more developments we have in the core the more it makes financial sense for all of us. People are going to want to see sports and other events in the core including the arts.”
When asked about the city excitement for Bank Street O-Train plans, and how she plans to deal with the issue, she responds “trying to get to and from Lansdowne is always challenging and getting worse, and its going to become an issue for all Ottawans. I think we can be responsible and connected to each other. The current system is not serving the Bank Street communities properly. We are excited for a faster mode of transportation through the Bank corridor. I would certainly support rail investment as a transportation mode in Bank Street; it’s about working on a collaborative approach and building our city. I’m happy to work with other wards if they can help me with our specific needs in College Ward. I think Bank Street has an essential need and for climate & congestion reasons Bank makes a lot of sense for the next rail investment. We really need to complete Confederation Line 1 before we embark on Bank Street though.”
Laine Johnson is clearly someone who understands College Ward and has a vision for the city as whole. The next municipal city council will be in safe hands with people like Johnson working to build a better Ottawa.