The Draft Budget 2017 is a balance of community services and the desire to maintain an affordable city for all residents. It proposes a 2% tax increase cap and includes an increase in funding to social programs such as a transit pass for low income residents beginning April 2017, a 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan, Childcare modernization, social housing repairs, and increases the number of police officers and paramedics to keep our streets safe.
This budget brings welcomed news to the residents of Alta Vista as it focuses on delivering core municipal services. There is renewed funding for community priorities such as road resurfacing, storm water infrastructure, sidewalk restoration, parks and building refurbishment, as well as transportation, traffic and transit services
The City will invest in sustainable transportation budgeting $8 million in cycling infrastructure through the Community Connectivity Program, the Transportation Master Plan, the Cycling Strategic Initiative and an investment in paved shoulders, thus adding more than 38 km of cycling facilities to the City’s network, linking the cycling network to public transit networks.
Highlighting safe streets initiatives, the Draft Budget 2017 offers $40,000 annually for Strategic Initiatives for temporary traffic calming measures, and up to $40,000 annually (depending on the type) for the installation of PXOs (pedestrian crossings).
It allots $9.25 million to enhancing transit services in our community. The transit-related projects cover transit system integration, transitway and O-Train stations ongoing rehabilitation and accessibility improvements for all customers, transitway and O-Train safety and security measures and other measures of support.
There will be over $5.7 million in funding to community expansion programs like the Canterbury Covered Outdoor Refrigerated Rink, Sharel Park Splash Pad, Featherstone Park and the Alta Vista Public School play equipment improvements.
In addressing the environment, the draft budget will provide $15,000 to plant a grove of native Canada Maple trees in Alta Vista as a legacy project for Canada’s 150th anniversary.
The 2017 draft budget offers us the means to accomplish our goals of keeping our streets and kids safe, investing in our streetscapes and parks, turning public spaces into successful and usable community places, and making the LRT work for our community.
To find out more about the 2017 Draft Budget, I invite you to visit ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/budget-and-taxes/budget-2017.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns feel free to call my office at 613-580-2488, email me at jeancloutierott@ottawa.ca or visit me at community office hours December 7th from 6:30-8pm at Mandy’s Cafe -1791 Kilborn Ave.