Bruce Polan for Ward 7 Councillor
Helping Waterloo Continue to Prosper
Thanks for viewing my website and reaching out to me!
Over the past few weeks, I have had some good input from concerned residents in our Ward 7. The main issues raised that are important to me are:
- meet with all our Waterloo Neighbourhood Associations soon after my election
- safer streets in our Ward and City. Lowering the speed limit to 40 km on our residential streets
- supporting our local Uptown Business Improvement Area (Waterloo BIA) and their almost 500 members
- ensuring developments in our Ward support affordable housing choices, including rental units and affordable condominium developments in the uptown core.
- snow clearing- as we get closer to winter season, a lot of our residents remember the issues within the City with respect to snow clearing. I will work with Council to give a higher priority to proper snow clearing, especially on highly trafficked areas like the side walks on King Street.
- supporting infrastructure development in our City, including our bike lanes, paths, open spaces, and EV charging
- encouraging Green growth in our city such as 15 minute neighbourhoods, and reducing our carbon footprint.
- providing suitable accommodations for our Waterloo university students, and encouraging them to make Waterloo their permanent home.
- providing a safe environment in our Ward and City by support from our local community support services and police services.
- inclusion of all groups in our City and recognizing and celebrating our cultural differences.
Thanks for the great turnout and great questions at the Mayor and Ward 7 Debate organized by the Waterloo Neighbourhood Associations at the Waterloo Rec Centre on Oct 19- your support for my campaign is appreciated!
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If I am elected as a new Councillor, I know I will have a steep learning curve. I am ready for the challenge.
Although I am new to politics, I am a long time resident of Waterloo, and have lived in Ward 7 for the past 10 years. I would like to contribute my time and experience as a Professional Engineer to continuing the work of our retiring Mayor Dave Jaworwsky and past Councils, to assist our newly elected Mayor and Council in making the proper decisions for improving our City.
We will have a new Mayor and several new Councillors this year. will be a great opportunity to get new faces and ideas into our City Council. I will dedicate my time to become familiar with the new Mayor's goals, and work with the rest of Council to continue to improve our City. The priorities that I would like to see focused on in the next 4 years are:
- continue the work on infrastructure improvements. The recent completion of Uptown King Street renovations has made a huge difference to the uptown core, and has brought our residents back to the local stores and restaurants.
- work with the Uptown Business Improvement Area (BIA) and their 475 businesses. I am a firm believer in having a vibrant uptown core, and am happy to see King Street come back to life, with almost all buildings occupied with successful businesses, and more building renovations ongoing.
-let's get the renovations to King Street finished. It has been a tough few years for local businesses and residents, and is about time that the work on King Street was complete. We are almost there, with the last phase up to University Avenue open to pedestrians and traffic now.
- I would like to work on having more events in the uptown core. More open space would be great as well. Waterloo Square is a great public space, that is now becoming better utilized.
- I am a firm believer of shared street use for pedestrians and cyclists. I much prefer walking in the uptown core than driving. This also helps improve our fossil fuel usage and reduce our carbon footprint. Can we have more closed street opportunities like we used to have in Uptown?
I have lived in one of the more established condominium buildings in Waterloo for the past 10 years, and have been on the Board of Directors for our condominium building for the past 4 years, and am the current President of the Board. I believe my experience with holding a board position will help me fit in to the dynamics of being a Waterloo Council member. I believe in making sound decisions that represent the best interests of all City residents.
About Bruce
I am a consulting Professional Engineer specializing in infrastructure improvements. I work for a large consulting company in Waterloo, and have had some involvement in local projects in the City of Waterloo and Region, as well as across Ontario. I have lived in Waterloo for over 30 years, and have lived in the heart of Ward 7, close to uptown Waterloo for the past 10 years. I have worked my entire career here in Waterloo, and raised my family here. I am proud to be a Waterloo resident, and would like to provide my skills and assistance to the next Mayor and Council, to continue to make Waterloo a great city to call home.
I look forward to representing our Ward 7 riding, and welcome your questions. Please feel free to provide information on any concerns that you have for your neighbourhood in Ward 7 or elsewhere in the City.