Londoners voting to shape their own neighbourhoods

London, Ont. -

It's a democratic process for people of all ages.

"When you think about shaping your neighborhoods and making them better, obviously, that includes Londoners of all ages," says Josh Morgan, deputy mayor of London, Ont. and the creator of Neighbourhood Decision Making (NDM).

"Youth use our playgrounds, they use our parks, they use all of those facilities that are available to them and there's no reason why they couldn't submit ideas and cast a ballot to make the decision".

Morgan brought his two daughters and his son to cast ballots at Medway Arena and Community Centre (MACC) Saturday.

"I voted for two parks because they aren't fun," says five-year old Max Morgan.

"I voted to improve Blackacres Park by my house, because right now it only has one swing set and a basketball court," says 10-year-old McKenna Morgan.

Blackacres Park improvements are one of the projects being voted on during Neighbourhood Decision Making Day. Currently the park in Northwest London, Ont has just a swing set and basketball court. (Brent Lale/CTV London)

Josh Morgan started this program in 2017.

Londoners pitch ideas, vote on them, and the winners get funding to bring the projects to life.

"Including this year, we have almost 1000 ideas submitted and almost 500 that have actually made it onto a ballot," says Josh.

"So far, we've finished 51 projects across the city and 22 different areas and there have been about 45,000 votes cast".

Of the 86 projects on this years ballot, ideas range from park benches, playground equipment, new basketball courts, and even a concert series.

"It used to be the Woodfield community porch concert series and there was a lot of interest and so now we'd like to bring it to you know, six of the London central neighborhoods," says Dave Knill, who submitted the idea to NDM.

"What I really want is to bring neighborhoods together and to bring world class entertainment right next door, so you can meet your neighbors walk down the street, and have a nice evening in June or July".

Fifty-thousand dollars is allotted for each region, and a single project can be awarded up to $30,000.

Previously voting has only been available in-person on online, but this year they added an option to phone in a vote.

Volunteer Vanessa Kinsley takes votes over the phone on Neighbourhood Decision Making Day in London, Ont. on Nov 6, 2021.

"Especially during COVID, I think people like to have another option as far as a safe way to vote if they don't feel comfortable coming in person and they're able to vote over the phone and have somebody help them and talk them through that process," says Vanessa Kinsley, who was taking calls at MACC.

"I have talked to four people already in the last say 20 minutes and we've got about eight staff working on the phone line right now. Everybody who's called in so far that I've spoken with know exactly which projects they want to vote for, and they're really excited about it".

Online voting can be done here until 11:59 pm Saturday.

"One of the hidden gems in this program is regardless of the winning projects or the losing projects, just involving 1000s of Londoners in a democratic process some for the very first time is such a huge benefit to to our democracy and our society," says Josh Morgan.

"That's why my kids are out here today, some of them voting for the very first time. It's an experience that I want them to enjoy and carry forward for the rest of their lives. I want them to be voters their entire lives."