Do you support a more vibrant neighbourhood retail destination on Upper Wellington? If so, what do you propose to achieve this? - Raise the Hammer Elections

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Response Summary
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13 Candidate Responses (top)

Ward 07
Candidate	Brief Response	Full Response
Bradshaw, Philip	Yes	Yes. I grew up in the Queensdale and Upper Wellington area. I feel there is potential and that the street needs more exposure. It can become vibrant with the help of community involvement and community partners. Too many rules and regulations tend to choke the beginnings of small business. New business owners become disenchanted when opening a new enterprise. So, these need to be reduced. Further, there are grant programs, through the City, that help perk up shopping areas. For example, many storefronts and properties located in the Concession Street shopping area have been visually enhanced because of these available grants.
Farraway, Doug	Yes	I support more vibrant neighbourhood retail destinations wherever possible in Ward 7. Upper Wellington becomes a difficult case for this application if the neighbourhood itself is not sold on the idea of creating a BIA. Many business owners have told me personally they do not support a BIA and also would not support a narrowing of Upper Wellington. What many would like to see is more enforcement of speed limits and the addition of a pedestrian friendly light at Upper Wellington and Brucedale to allow their clients to safely cross this dangerous intersection which has seen its fair share of accidents and near misses.
Gordon, Tim	Yes	From the onset of campaigning and in all my election material, I specifically cite securing commercial capital growth for Ward 7, specifically on Upper Wellington Street and Concession Street. Ward 7 needs a new vision for urban revitalization. This is more than possible; we can take a page from our neighbours in Ward 1 and other places in the city where critics would have cited that revitalization was a lost cause. We deserve a mountain with a thriving local economy, growing entrepreneurism and a sense of ownership in this area. We can only do this through reimagining what Ward 7 will grow to be and working with stakeholders to see commercial capital growth.
McMullen, Geraldine	Maybe	I would require more information regarding an initiative for another retail destination on Upper Wellington. An in-depth discussion with constituents, business owners and any other stakeholders who might be affected is required.
Nicholl, Anthony	Yes	Yes, we need to attract more businesses to Ward 7. Upper Wellington is one of the main roads that connects the Hamilton mountain to the downtown core via the Jolley Cut. It would be beneficial for both the community and entrepreneurs to create an appealing retail centre.
Pacey, Jeanne	Yes	Yes, I support retail destinations. They are important to the fabric of our community and well-planned ones attract both tourists and community shoppers and help boost our economy. I have a background in project planning with the cities of Hamilton and Brantford. I also bring over 10 years of Business Improvement Experience to the table.
Qureshi, Uzma	Yes	I hope that we can see entrepreneurs choosing Upper Wellington as a place to set up new businesses, just as I do for all of our main retail streets in Ward 7 and beyond. But to do that, we must truly be "open for business". I understand the challenges small businesses face first hand. I will work to streamline processes and levels of responsiveness so that entrepreneurs can open their doors as soon as they're ready and not have to wait for city approvals while they're paying rent on premises they can't open.
Rabb, Howard	Yes	We can look to Locke St, James St, and now Ottawa St to name a few (in the lower city) as great examples of how people will congregate and shop in their local communities. These examples show us that if we create the right conditions, businesses and customers will move into an area and transform it. I would like to see some emphasis placed on the section of Upper Wellington between Queensdale and Brucedale initially. I believe this area has the beginnings of what could become a vibrant district. I also believe we need to continue to support the businesses on Concession.
Skelly, Donna	Yes	Whether on Upper Wellington or elsewhere in Hamilton I support entrepreneurs who have the courage and work ethic to start and grow a business. To facilitate this growth, I believe the city must eliminate the red tape businesses encounter daily. The amount of onerous and sometimes unnecessary paperwork is costing the city jobs and acting as an obstacle to economic growth. I believe council must work together to make Hamilton more business friendly eliminating unnecessary red tape.
Starr, Damin	Yes	This process must begin with consultation with both businesses and residents. A plan must genuinely develop from those consultations as would be the case with any good community development project. As councillor, I believe my role will be to facilitate the discussion and provide resources and liaison in a progressive manner.
Vecchioni, Louis	Maybe	An Upper Wellington retail destination spot, would be interesting, not sure where on Upper Wellington you would build retail outlets, not a lot of vacant land on that particular street ? Unless you know something we don't, such as private investment in the Bethel Church area ?
Young, Robert	Yes	I absolutely support a more vibrant neighbourhood retail destination on Upper Wellington and would emphasize small businesses as they can offer retail with the much needed service that goes along with it. 1) Encourage small businesses, as large companies in the wrong sectors produce over pricing and inefficiencies at one end and poverty at the other. 2) Emphasize local retail and service. 3) Focus on combining retail with service. 4) The small business sector needs to grow--it's far more personal and provides more service and promotes competition. 5) Unlimited internet should be available everywhere in Hamilton--it could even be free as it is in many places in the U.S. and Europe.
Zuriel, Hans	Yes	Yes, Upper Wellington has a great potential to be a retail destination as it directly connects with the lower city through Jolley Cut. However, as it is now, while it has a lot of traffic, it is not suitable to accommodate a commercial district as there is a lack of parking space, high speed traffic flow and the sidewalks seems to be lacking in terms of safety to accommodate a high pedestrian traffic. In order to transform Upper Wellington into a vibrant retail destination, Ryan McGreal from Raise the Hammer has some credible ideas. He suggested curbside parking and reducing car lanes from four to two; increased sidewalk protection and safer crosswalks. In addition to those ideas, I would suggest to re-direct some of the traffic from the lower city in Upper Wellington to Upper Wentworth in order to avoid traffic gridlock. Furthermore, traffic islands could be used to increase pedestrian safety both when crossing the road and walking along the sidewalks. If curbside parking is insufficient, multi-storey parking could also be used. In addition, GO bus depots can be constructed for Hamilton Mountain at Mohawk College and Limeridge Mall to reduce congestion.. The GO bus depots would reduce traffic in Upper Wellington for people travelling outside of Hamilton as they will have an alternative to using the Jolley Cut to access the GO station in the lower city.

Response Summary (top)

Brief Response	Count	% of Total
Yes	11	84.6%
No	0	0.0%
Maybe	2	15.4%

9 Candidates Have Not Responded (top)

Ward 07
Bolton, Robert
Burt, Shaun
Charters, Bob
Danko, John-Paul
Heroux, Chelsey
Hetu, Luc
Murphy, Glenn
Nagy, Paul
Shahrouri, Mohammad