Ward 1

Roger Caranci

1. What do you feel is the #1 accessibility issue facing the city of London?

The biggest gap is that housing, streets, and transportation are planned in pieces, so a person can get a unit and still not get a ride, or get a ride and still not get a building they can use.

Rules are often written without the people who will live with them sitting at the table. Builders, property managers, and accessibility advocates should be in the same room before the by-law or regulation is passed. The standard should be useful and consistent. Barrier-free where it is promised, enforced where it is required, and designed so someone can stay in their neighbourhood as their needs change. A rule that only says “no” without showing how to build a good unit does not help anyone.

Snow is part of that same file. A windrow left across a driveway entry after the plow goes by can trap a senior or a person with a disability at home. That is why a senior and disability windrow-clearing program will be in my platform.

2. How will you commit to improving accessible housing opportunities in our city?

I will keep doing the work I have already been doing.

Residenza Affordable Housing, which I helped found and still lead, provides more than 300 affordable homes for seniors, veterans, and low-income families. We partner with Cheshire Homes of London so tenants who need barrier-free units get both the housing and the support. At Residenza Ortona, 19 of 60 apartments are fully accessible or barrier-free adaptable, common areas are universally designed, and Cheshire provides support in those units. At Residenza Italia on Hamilton Road we have housed seniors in the neighbourhood for years. That building taught a simple lesson: accessibility is not only a doorway. It is being able to stay near family, shops, and the street you know.

As Councillor, I will push for more senior-specific and barrier-free affordable housing in existing neighbourhoods, not only on isolated sites. I will work to align occupancy and building rules with advocates and builders so the requirements produce homes people can actually use. Public land and faster approvals should go first to projects that include real accessible units and keep them accessible.

3. How will you work to improve accessible transportation including conventional transit, Paratransit, taxis and ride sharing?

People need a ride when they need it, not when a booking window happens to be open. Conventional buses should stay accessible and get easier to use, including tap-to-pay so riders are not stuck with needing exact cash. Paratransit has to be reliable. Bookings that work, vehicles that show up, and service that treats riders as customers.

Taxis and licensed accessible cabs are an underused part of this system. I worked for years with the London Taxi Association. That industry can offer on-demand, door-to-door rides, including wheelchair-accessible vehicles, often at a lower cost to the City and the rider than the current mix of specialized service. I want City Council to use that capacity. Clear rules for accessible cabs, a fair way to pay for trips that belong in the public system, and a service people can book the same day instead of planning their life around a phone queue.

Ride-sharing should meet the same accessibility and safety standard as taxis when it is carrying the public. The goal is one usable network. Bus, Paratransit, taxi, and licensed ride-hail, so a person is not left at the curb because one piece of the system does not talk to the others.

I would be glad to continue this conversation with your members.