Newmarket Mayor John Taylor welcomes your questions, to which he will personally write the responses in this candid monthly column. Send your questions to [email protected], with the subject line Up Front Question.
Q: As a new year begins, can you tell us what's ahead for Newmarket and what your goals are?
A: January is an exciting month of the year for myself and Council. I love January because the year holds so much promise and so much time in which to accomplish so many things.
I will be excited to see the Mulock park plans advance in 2020. We also expect to finalize the design of the skate park (Scooters & Skateboards) at the Magna Centre. Also, we will continue to work with our "Northern 6" (N6) York Region neighbours to find better and more efficient ways to deliver community services.
In 2020, I plan to support the launch of a capital fundraising campaign at Inn From the Cold to expand their transitional housing services to help people move from crisis to stability.
2020 will also see the re-opening of the Newmarket Theatre as we continue to improve our arts and cultural offerings in the Town of Newmarket.
Also, early in 2020, we will launch the electric bus pilot project on Davis Drive in Newmarket, once again showcasing our environmental leadership.
What do I plan to work on in 2020? I want to see us expand and improve GO service to Newmarket and I plan to put more time into those conversations. I believe we can increase service levels significantly in the short term and strive for 15-minute two-way all-day GO trains for Newmarket in the longer term, along with a new station at Mulock.
We also want Main Street Newmarket continue to excel with the opening of the George Brew Pub, the Old Fire Hall coming back to life, as well as seeing the Clock Tower proceed to full use, bringing more people and energy to our downtown.
2020 will be busy and it will be exciting. To kick off what is sure to be an amazing year, I invite everyone to join me on Friday, Jan. 10 for my Mayor’s New Year's Levee at Riverwalk Commons from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. to welcome the new year. There will be food trucks, hot chocolate, a laser light show and, of course, skating. I hope to see you there!
