Barrhaven West council candidate wants to tackle community speeding issue

A lawyer with land planning and municipal bylaw experience is throwing his hat into the ring as a council candidate for Barrhaven West.

Taayo Simmonds told The Sam Laprade Show with guest host Derick Fage on Wednesday, August 3, that his background would help him navigate the role and understand the residents' perspective.

“One thing I bring is my legal background, I'm a litigator, I'm used to being in the courtroom, I'm used to my ideas being challenged, and also challenging other people's ideas, that's healthy, we should have that on counsel,” he said, adding that it's also important to not be unnecessarily inflammatory and that ultimately council must work together to find common ground.

As for what he wants to see for Barrhaven, the father of two said a big issue in the community is speeding, and almost every night, stunt driving occurs.

“You can hear the racing every night,” he said, adding that it is not only a noise issue but a safety one.

The speeding, which Simmonds said extends to local roads and school zones, inspired him to start a petition in January to address the issue.

“That was kind of the impetus behind me running for council,” he said.

Another priority for Simmonds is to bring stage three transit to the fast-growing community.

“Barrhaven is coming in on 100,000 people,” he said. “I think it's very important that in the future, we do have reliable LRT.”

Listen to the full interview with Taayo Simmonds below: