Newmarket launches tracker for council priorities

The Town of Newmarket has launched a website highlighting council's progress in its efforts to advance the community.

Council got a first look at the website Nov. 18, after staff worked on developing a site and booklet to better spotlight those priorities.

Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said it is a strong example of the municipality being customer-first, one of council’s central priorities for the term.

“It is visually appealing, it is easy to consume the information, it’s very easy to move around on. I think it’s really a significant outcome,” Taylor said.

Priorities for the term also include community and economic vibrancy, making extraordinary spaces, environmental sustainability and being diverse, inclusive and welcoming. Those five categories further break down into more specific goals, such as the opening of Mulock Park by the end of the term in 2026, creating a new brand strategy, creating a corporate app that will allow residents to access services more easily and implementing the anti-black racism plan.

Councillor Christina Bisanz suggested having information on the tracker included with tax bills for those who may not be on social media.

“It’s a great tool and certainly will be helpful for us to be able to respond to any questions about the different priorities and where we’re at with them,” Bisanz said.

The tracker highlights the town’s progress in different priority areas. For example, it indicates the town has completed or is in progress on 60 per cent of actions under the Anti-Black Racism Implementation Plan.

One area of focus during the meeting was the pedestrianization of downtown, with the website highlighting the addition of the new Ice Lounge on Main event where the street was closed to traffic for the event. Although the portion of the website does not specify a progress goal, it does refer to this event as a first step to piloting a pedestrian experience on Main Street. 

Not every part of the priority list has made as much progress. The town’s Active Transportation Implementation Plan has remained in limbo for years and is still in a pre-project phase, not expected to be updated until 2026.

Other council members also complimented the effort.

“It’s great for us, it’s great for the public, they can actually kind of track and follow and see,” Councillor Trevor Morrison said.

Staff plans to send out more communications regarding the tracker in the coming weeks.

You can see the tracker at councilpriorities.newmarket.ca.