Last Friday, I wrapped up my first conversations with strangers about the future of Cornwall.

I was in the back room at Hobby Hoard, where me and fifteen other people had just finished a solid round of trivia hosted by my partner Sarah. Big thanks to the Magic players who shared the space with us as we navigated double-album, 2000s sci-fi, and other weird and wonderful categories.

There were three big themes that came out of my conversations that evening. None of them were surprises, but they do solidify some of the specific directions I’d like to take as a councillor here in Cornwall.

  • Cornwall needs more fun things to do. That can take the form of trivia nights or skate parks, book clubs or movie nights, but we are hurting for things that will bring people together. There remains a perception that arcades are not able to be open in Cornwall despite that 1991 bylaw being changed in the early 2020s - we should be doing more to both communicate those changes and to enable interested entrepreneurs who want to bring these fun spaces to our city.
  • Cornwall’s business owners struggle to keep up with our paperwork needs. This is tightly related to the last point - our zoning and licensing requirements should be looked at from a holistic lens, and made as easy as possible to ensure compliance. This doesn’t mean weakening our requirements, but it does mean working closely with business owners to make sure they can run their businesses as successfully as possible in our city.
  • Cornwall’s transport infrastructure is failing us. This came up in reference to the mobility scooters that we see every day on our streets, specifically; I think looking closely at how we treat our bike lanes can help keep pedestrians, drivers, and anyone using a non-enclosed vehicle (be it a mobility scooter, an eBike, or a classic bicycle) all safe moving through our city.
  • A denser Cornwall is a happier Cornwall. Our residents like to walk places. Denser housing enables everyone (but especially people too young or too old to drive) to enjoy the city, get to and from work, do their shopping, and so much more. This isn’t an overnight dream, but looking again at our zoning and even our tax rates to incentivize the building and buying of dense housing in Cornwall will lead to a brighter future for everyone.

These were brief but excellent conversations, and I’d like to have more of them. You can email me on my contact page, or find me at events around the city (like trivia) to chat more and tell me what your Cornwall might look like in 2079.

Trivia, by the way, is held every month at Hobby Hoard and is free to play. September’s game is on Sunday, September 6th, at 6pm - I hope I’ll see you there!