Community Safety for East Gwillimbury: Safe Homes, Safe Streets, Safe Public Spaces, No Compromises.

Community Safety is the foundation of everything else we want East Gwillimbury to be: a thriving town, a welcoming town, a town people choose and stay in. Every resident deserves to feel secure in their home, on their street, and in our shared public spaces.

As councillor for 8 years, Community Safety has been an obsession of mine! Whether it was working with town staff to explore and implement Traffic Calming measures (e.g., lowering speed limits, adding stop signs, adding pedestrian school crossings to name a few) for troubled streets, or working with YRP to drive out illegal cannabis grow operations in our town. Making sure people felt safe in their home and in the community was my north star.

As East Gwillimbury grows, so do the demands on our emergency services, our traffic enforcement, our mental health supports, and the infrastructure that holds our neighbourhoods together. Meeting those demands isn’t optional. It’s leadership.

That’s why Community Safety is one of the core pillars of my Campaign for Mayor, and why I’m laying out clear, specific commitments, not vague promises, on how I’ll get it done.

Public Safety: Strengthening Fire & Emergency Services & Dedicated Police Sub-Station

As councillor for 8 years, I have always supported East Gwillimbury Fire and Emergency Services, and we’ve made significant investments in East Gwillimbury’s Emergency Services:

50%+ increase in the operating budget $4.8M to $7.3M.
10 new full-time Firefighters.
$4.5M in capital investments, including 9 Emergency Vehicles.
$1M renovation of the Holland Landing Fire Station.

These investments have strengthened our Fire Emergency Services, and as Mayor, I will continue to invest in East Gwillimbury’s Community and Public Safety. As Sharon and the surrounding area continue to grow, our Emergency Response Times can’t be allowed to grow with them. As Mayor, I will deliver on a Fourth Fire Station for the community of Sharon with full-time Firefighters, ensuring that growth in central East Gwillimbury is matched with the Emergency Coverage residents deserve. I will also continue expanding the full-time Firefighter complement to our other Emergency Services Fire Departments in East Gwillimbury (Mount Albert, Holland Landing and Queensville), so response capacity keeps pace with our population.

Decisions about policing in York Region are made at the York Region Police Services Board, and East Gwillimbury needs to be in the room when they’re made. As Mayor, I will request membership on the Police Services Board, so our town has a direct voice in the priorities, budget, and strategic direction that affect our streets.

This is important for East Gwillimbury to have a voice on the York Region Police Services Board, as our population grows, so should our local policing presence. As Mayor, I will fight for a dedicated Police Sub-Station right here in East Gwillimbury, giving residents faster response times and a visible, accessible point of contact for York Regional Police in our own community.

We have Fire Stations, a York Region Paramedic Services Headquarters, along with a Paramedic Satellite Station, it’s about time we have a Police Sub-Station in EG.

Public Safety is the foundation of a community where families can thrive, and East Gwillimbury’s growth must never come at the expense of the protection our residents count on. With a Fourth Fire Station in Sharon, more full-time Firefighters, a seat at the York Region Police Services Board, and a Police Sub-Station of our own, as Mayor, I will make sure our Emergency Services are built to match the town we are becoming. Every resident, whether in Sharon, Mount Albert, Holland Landing, Queensville or anywhere in between, deserves fast Emergency Response Times and a visible, local presence they can trust. I have spent my life in this community, and as Mayor, I will bring my experience and integrity to get these commitments done and to see them through.

Safe Streets – Real Traffic Calming, Not Just Talk.

For 8 years, traffic calming has been an obsession of mine! King Street in Mount Albert had a reputation of being a speedway. We installed radar boards to track just how bad the situation was. It was bad. It’s important to make data-based decisions; the radar boards provided validation to what residents already knew, speeding on our streets was unacceptable. We tried several measures. Some worked, and some didn’t. Here are two examples: we tried flexible bollards in the middle of the street, and for the first couple of weeks they lowered speeding. But once drivers got used to them, the speeding resumed. So, we took them out. Then, we installed some strategically placed stop signs, and that had greater impact. To be clear, there are other traffic calming measures at our disposal, I just gave the above two as examples.

Speeding and cut-through traffic are among the most common concerns I hear at the door. I will pursue new and effective Traffic Calming Measures on our community streets, and I won’t limit that effort to what the Town can do alone. Many of the most effective tools, from speed enforcement technology to funding for road redesigns, require cooperation with the Province and Regional government. I will work directly with our Provincial and Regional partners to bring new resources and new Traffic Calming methods to East Gwillimbury, so our neighbourhoods are as safe as they are welcoming.

Keeping Children Engaged, Active and Connected

My parents always said, “if you keep your kids busy, they won’t get into trouble.” When I became a parent myself, I appreciated those words even more. A safe and vibrant community is one where children have meaningful opportunities to participate, connect, and thrive. East Gwillimbury can strengthen community safety with children’s well-being by supporting recreation, sports, arts, cultural activities, volunteer opportunities, and youth-focused programs.

When children have positive places to go, activities to participate in, and supportive adults and peers around them, they can develop confidence, leadership skills, healthy relationships, and a stronger sense of belonging.

Municipal investment in these opportunities is not simply about keeping children busy, it is about creating pathways for them to become active, engaged, and valued members of our community.

We should continue working with community organizations, schools, families, local businesses, and youth themselves to identify gaps and expand affordable programs across East Gwillimbury. This includes improving access to child-care services, after-school activities, recreation, community spaces, employment and volunteer opportunities, along with programs that reflect the many interests and needs of our growing youth population.

As Mayor, My Commitments:

Continue to support EG’s Youth Advisory Committee, providing meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in community decisions.
Continue to work with York Regional Police to provide ongoing educational programs for families and children on street safety.
Keeping our parks, playgrounds, libraries, and recreation facilities safe places for our families and children to connect.
Supporting affordable recreation, sports, arts, cultural, child-care and after-school programs by finding new ways to keep recreation fees low and expand subsidized membership access, so a family’s income doesn’t determine whether their children can play a sport, learn to swim, take dance lessons, join scouts or girl guides.
Improving safe routes for children walking, cycling, and travelling to school.
Continue to build partnerships among families, schools, community organizations, community leaders, businesses, and public agencies to help coordinate resources, educational programs, identify gaps in services, increase part-time jobs and improve communication to ensure that families and children know where to turn for assistance.

By investing in our children today, we help build a safer, healthier, more connected and resilient East Gwillimbury for tomorrow.

Safe Streets – Getting Ahead of E-Bikes and E-Scooters

Community safety also means preparing for the challenges of tomorrow, not just managing the ones we already know. E-bikes and e-scooters have grown quickly in popularity across the GTA, and East Gwillimbury is no exception. They offer real benefits: affordable, low-emission transportation for residents of all ages, but their rapid growth has outpaced the rules, infrastructure, and enforcement needed to keep everyone safe.

Right now, too many of our streets, trails, and shared pathways were never designed with these vehicles in mind. That creates real risk for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and riders alike.

As Mayor, I will work with Council, York Regional Police, and our provincial partners to develop a clear, practical strategy for e-bikes and e-scooters in East Gwillimbury, one that looks at where they can safely be ridden, how they should be regulated, and what infrastructure investments will let residents use them safely rather than treating them as an afterthought.

I’ve spoken directly with York Regional Police’s Deputy Chief on this issue, and they are already taking meaningful steps. York Regional Police are rolling out a public education campaign on e-bike and e-scooter safety, will be providing suggested by-law amendments for municipal councils like ours to consider, and are stepping up enforcement of the Highway Traffic Act for these vehicles. As Mayor, I’ll make sure East Gwillimbury is a full partner in that work, acting on their recommendations rather than letting them sit on a shelf.

But this isn’t a challenge that policy and enforcement can solve on their own. Parents play a vital role in having conversations with their children about the safe and responsible use of e-bikes and e-scooters. Rules of the road, awareness of surroundings, and respect for pedestrians and other riders start at home, and that conversation matters just as much as anything Council or York Regional Police can put in place.

No Compromises

Safety isn’t something we can be reactive about. It requires foresight, sustained investment, and a willingness to fight for our town at every level of government. That’s the approach I’ve brought to Council for 8 years and it’s the approach I’ll bring as Mayor of East Gwillimbury!

As Mayor, My Commitments:

A Fourth Fire Station for Sharon with full-time Firefighters.
Continue Expanding the full-time Firefighter complement to our other Emergency Services Fire Departments in EG, so response capacity keeps pace with our population.
Continue to invest in the East Gwillimbury’s Fire Stations and the Firefighter’s Health, Safety and Training along with the necessary Apparatus, Equipment, Resources, and Public Education to keep pace with future growth.
A Dedicated Police Sub-Station for EG.
Continue to improve in Real Traffic Calming Solutions for EG.
Keeping Children Engaged, Active and Connected: strengthening meaningful opportunities for children to participate, connect, and thrive in EG.
Getting Ahead of E-Bikes and E-Scooters: develop a clear, practical strategy for e-bikes and e-scooters in East Gwillimbury.

Community Safety is not a luxury or an afterthought, it’s a basic human need, and it’s the foundation on which every other measure of quality of life is built. A resident who doesn’t feel safe in their home, on their street, or in their community can’t fully enjoy anything else this town has to offer, no matter how strong our economy or how beautiful our parks. That’s why Community Safety is one of my priority campaign deliverables. I also believe that Community Safety should be a core deliverable for every elected official at every level of government.

Affordability, Responsible Growth, Community Safety, and Economic Development aren’t competing priorities. They’re the foundation for a safe, strong, and prosperous East Gwillimbury community, and we must deliver all four!

As a sixth-generation East Gwillimbury resident and as Mayor, I will continue to build a community that grows on our terms, for the people who already call it home and for future generations.

That’s what I’m fighting to protect!