Ward 8 Councillor Tracy Richardson talks traffic and her love of community
Tracy Richardson has been the councillor of Ward 8 since 2018, a job she says she loves to do.
Kawartha Lakes Weekly met up with the almost two-term councillor in Pontypool for a driving tour of her ward. Richardson has seen many changes to her ward firsthand. One of the biggest – and most controversial – has been the newly built Buddhist temple, just outside of this city’s limits. While it may not be in Kawartha Lakes, it’s close enough to be causing a major local concern about traffic.
“The temple here is a concern for residents, just because of the speeding, the amount of traffic congestion on this road, especially on weekends,” she said. The city does not own the temple, but the roads are still their responsibility to maintain.”
Due to the high levels of traffic being seen from people travelling to the temple, new community safety zones have been put into place to slow people down. “It’s a very busy connection and has definitely become (busier) with the temple getting their occupancy permit last April,” Richardson said.
It’s not just the roads near the temple that Richardson has been focusing on. There has been an increase in road construction across Kawartha Lakes, and Ward 8 is no exception. Roads will be undergoing construction, allowing for things like paved shoulders to be put in.
Aside from roads, Richardson wants residents to be able to see their tax money being used for the community. “When I look at my communities each year when it comes to budget time, I like to look at all the communities and try to target each area” for some type of community benefit, “whether it be roads, some work done to their local community centre, work done to their parks.”
For her, the whole process of being on council has been a learning curve. “I feel like I learn every day because I sit on so many committees of council and you get to meet so many folks.” Her committees include Kawartha Lakes municipal heritage committee, the budget committee and the development charges task force.
While her ward is rural and spread out, going through Janetville, Pontypool, Bethany and Emily, she still tries to connect with all her residents. “I’m here to help find solutions and answer questions … residents won’t be 100 per cent happy with me, but I will get them the answer. It may not be the answer they want to hear, but I will give them the answer so they understand.”
Richardson says there’s “lots more to do,” but she feels proud of all that she’s accomplished in her first two terms.
It is a real shame that so much trust has been lost in our communities that residents sometimes feel panicked enough to try to take matters into their own hands against Council members. Municipalities remain the front line of democracy and constituents want to feel they have a say in the decisions their representatives make. I’d favour more referenda, online referenda that wouldn’t cost to much to administer, on some of the more important issues that councillors find placed before them by City staff.