Mayoral Candidate Roger Caranci unveiled his "Let's Get Moving Platform" on Thursday morning to improve transportation in London.
"Transit is a very important part of the City of London. Have we invested enough? I think people will tell you we possibly have not," he says.
He is making transportation and infrastructure the first major plank - and a priority - in his mayoral platform.
To do so he says he would establish a working group - which he would lead - to find ways to relieve congestion in traffic areas around the city.
In addition, he proposes considering making Dundas Street bus free, more routes to industrial areas and more multi-use bike lanes where needed.
Caranci said if he was elected he would want to push Queen's Park to hand over one per cent of all sales tax evenue collected - about $200 million a year - to be given back to municipalities to pay for infrastructure.
But similar requests hae failed to gain traction with the deficit-constrained province.
As for whether it would be worth raising property taxes, Caranci says "Well we want to see what we need to do first and at that time council can have that discussion so that would be a decision left to council."
Meanwhile candidate Matt Brown says the city already has a 2035 transportation master plan and to get provincial funding "We need to know that it's a practical plan and an achievable plan. The bus rapid transit study underway right now will provide significant improvements to how we get around the city."
Candidate Joe Swan thinks there are lower cost solutions like better traffic signalization and says "I would disagree with Mr. Caranci that London needs a bailout from the provincial government. I am about new wealth creation."
It will be up to voters to decide whose plan to get the city moving they prefer, and whether it's as important an issue as jobs and taxes.
