Upcoming public engagement sessions

City of London residents are invited to learn about ward boundaries and contribute their thoughts and considerations to the ward boundary review process at the first of two rounds of public engagement:

Wednesday, June 19, 2024 - 5 to 7 p.m.

• Byron Optimist Community Centre - Full Multipurpose Room
• Sherwood Forest Library – Meeting Room B

Thursday, June 20, 2024 - 5 to 7 p.m.

• East Lions Community Centre - Full Multipurpose Room
• Earl Nichols Recreation Centre - Earl Nichols Hall

By Winston Logan, King's College Political Science

On February 23rd, 2024 the Macdonald Cartier Club of London and Area hosted a meeting with the target of answering the question “What is happening in Housing?” The meeting included a panel of MPP Rob Flack, Deputy Mayor of London Shawn Lewis, Mayor of St. Thomas Joe Preston, and Mayor of Thames Centre Sharon McMillan.

The panel began by addressing the gravity of Ontario’s housing problem stating that along with healthcare, it is the most dominant issue for the province.

Leading off the discussion MPP Rob Flack framed the issue clearly saying, “The housing crisis is better defined as a supply crisis.” This statement created a conversation surrounding the supply struggle within Ontario which all panel members agreed is the greatest challenge to housing within the province.

“It really is about inventory, inventory, inventory” Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis added,  “something that is rare costs more than something common.” increase in supply would significantly reduce the rising cost of housing in Ontario something which had unanimous agreement among the panelists. 

The Ward 2 Newsletter is delivered to every residential address to keep residents in the know about what is happening in our city and our neighbourhood.

The digital copy of the January 2024 edition is available here.

By Amber Fox, Clarke Road Secondary:

Our Ward 2 City Councillor and Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis has had a busy Veterans Weeks, paying tribute to our veterans and Canadian Forces members in the lead-up to Remembrance Day.  As a member of the Victory Legion Br. 317 and the 427 Air Force Wing, and the grandson of a veteran, these activities have personal importance to him and the commemorations extended across London with various meaningful events.

Kicking off Veterans week on Saturday November 4th, Shawn joined the Mayor and Councillor Hopkins at the Byron Legion’s annual service and parade. On the Sunday the Lambeth Legion hosted a service and a reception back at the branch. These services were followed by elementary school students from around the Argyle area participating in a Remembrance Day initiative, creating their own wreaths in school for a Ward 2 ceremony at Vimy Ridge Park (with special thanks to the Rogers TV London employees for donating the wreath making kits).

It is that time of year again, starting at midnight tonight on street personal vehicle parking is restricted on City streets between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Residents and visitors will be required to register their vehicle to park overnight on most City streets and vehicles parked without a valid pass may be ticketed.

Between November 1 and April 30, a maximum of 15 free overnight parking passes may be issued per vehicle license plate. Commercial vehicles, trailers, recreational vehicles or oversized vehicles are not eligible for Overnight Parking Passes.

Budweiser Gardens extension plan:

The Budweiser Gardens extension was approved by City Council last week. What will be done and why City Council believes it is an excellent investment is outlined below. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact your Ward Councillor.

Beginning this October, households must book the pick-up of large items on collection day. Booking requests must be made at least 5 business days in advance either online at london.ca/garbage or by phone at 519-661-2489. The collection will then occur on your next scheduled garbage day.

Not a regular day at the office when the Prime Minister comes to visit and announces the $74 million application for Housing Accelerator Funds you made has been approved!

This August the reconstruction of Railton Ave will be starting, with work scheduled to last until October.

This project will be a little less intense than some of our recent renewal work as this is mainly an asphalt and curb replacement. The underground infrastructure currently is in good shape, but there has been some pave deterioration that needs to be addressed and some significant sidewalk replacement which is also needed.

Starting April 18th, another long overdue Ward 2 road & infrastructure renewal project will finally get underway.

The rebuild of Whitehall Dr. has been on my to-do list since I first ran in 2018, but we can only get so many roads done at once, both for budget and for ability to get around considerations, but I'm happy to finally deliver on the promise to get this done.

Keeping Ward 2 residents informed is an important part of being your city councillor, but as this year is an election year, I have to send out my newsletter a little early and let you know what is coming up this summer instead of providing a year in review update.  These will be arriving in your mailboxes soon via Canada Post, but you can also read it here via PDF or the jpeg versions.

Click Here for PDF

After a long, long, long wait…Friday December 17th the East Lions Community Centre officially OPENS!!!

This is a long overdue but incredibly important edition to the Argyle neighbourhood and the wider east London community. Behind schedule before I was even elected and faced with practically every delay imaginable, it felt like this day was never going to come.

As always, an important part of my job as your city councillor is keeping you informed and updated on the things we are doing. Arriving soon in your mailboxes, my 2021 newsletter is also available for you to read here, both in jpeg and PDF format.

Click Here for the PDF