Urban planner Brad Bradford has been city councillor for Ward 19 (Beaches/East York) since 2018. He also has professional experience in the non-profit sector, private transportation, non-profit renewable energy and the chief planner’s office. Bradford’s work, he says, led him to diagnose a problem: that City Hall needs “Less Talk and More Action” – which has become his campaign slogan.
Toronto needs to move faster to resolve housing, transit and traffic problems, Bradford said. “We need strong leadership that’s not afraid to make a decision.” He is “laser-focused” on delivering affordability and community safety, and “to get the city moving.”
As city councillor, Bradford oversaw construction of 59 new supportive housing units for vulnerable people. Because the housing crisis also affects those in the workforce, he plans to get more purpose-built rentals constructed to unlock public lands, and to work with non-profit sectors to create more affordable housing while cutting timelines and costs.
Bradford does not want working people – who “drive our economy” – moving out of Toronto due to unaffordability. This would result in a “hollowed out core” between wealth and poverty. “My plan will unlock the missing middle,” he said.
Regarding transit, Bradford’s four-point SafeTTC Now plan includes immediate installation of platform edges at the busiest subway stations (other stations to follow) and enhanced security and police presence on the TTC. His transit agency, called There For You Now, which will include hiring 100 mental health and crisis outreach workers to help those in need, and cellular service on the TTC from every cell phone provider.
To expedite traffic and congestion in both highways and the downtown core, Bradford plans to appoint a congestion relief commissioner, who will “own the problem, and deliver the solution” to congestion caused by traffic and construction. He would redeploy 200 parking enforcement officers to the 50 busiest intersections for two rush hours daily to help traffic flow.
Bradford would expedite reconstruction on the Gardiner east by enabling work 24 hours a day, potentially shaving two years off the end date. “It saves the city time, it saves the city money, and it will help relieve the gridlock that has ground this city to a halt.”
Downtown, Bradford would temporarily reroute the Queen Street streetcar route, which is to be compromised by Ontario Line construction for five years, to King Street, which he says would avoid congestion and paying the city’s proposed $40-million contract with Midome to retrack the roads.
“This election is about affordability, and I will bring forward common sense solutions,” Bradford said.
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