What does the new city council mean for bus rapid transit?

For those hoping the new city council's first order of business would be to kill London's $500-million bus rapid transit plan, the election didn't yield the results they were hoping for. 

But it wasn't exactly a slam dunk for the massive transportation and infrastructure project, either. 

Depending on how you calculate the votes and who will abstain from voting because of conflicts of interest, the BRT project could proceed full steam ahead, or could be in for some changes. 

The council has seven solid BRT backers: 

• Mo Salih.
• Jesse Helmer.
• Maureen Cassidy.
• Anna Hopkins.
• Stephen Turner.
• Elizabeth Peloza.
• Arielle Kayabaga.

There are also seven staunch BRT opponents: 

• Michael Van Holst.
• Shawn Lewis.
• Phil Squire.
• Steve Lehman.
• Paul Van Meerbergen.
• Steven Hillier.
• Ed Holder.

Coun. Josh Morgan hasn't been voting on significant portions of the plan because he works for Western University, through which part of the plan will flow. 

But newly elected Ward 8 Coun. Steve Lehman, who made his anti-BRT stance a major part of his platform, owns several businesses along Richmond Row, which could also prevent him from voting for the plan because it runs along Richmond Street. 

That would make the vote to continue the project as-is a 7-6 victory. 

"I'm both happy and disappointed," said London lawyer Michael Lerner, who has been the spokesperson for StopBRT.

"There are still people who support the plan, and we're just going to have to hope that they take a look at the significant races during the election and opt for some further consultation." 

Many of the ward races went down to the wire between two candidates, one for the transit plan, the other opposed. 

Lerner said he hopes the two groups will come to a "middle ground" now that the heat and passion of the election has passed. 

'Shovels in the ground soon'

"I hope everybody, notwithstanding their position, is open to consultation," he said. 

"I think that split, currently, justifies council not scrapping the plan, by any means, but at least reviewing it and at least seeing if it can be improved in some areas." 

Marcus Plowright, the London builder who has been the voice of Build This City, the pro-BRT group, said the election has given proponents a good opportunity to highlight rapid transit. 

"I want the best transit we can achieve within the art of the possible," Plowright said.

"I'm not tied to the specific BRT plan but I have a general belief that the plan that was developed by experts over 10 years was very good. If we can incorporate a significant portion of it into whatever new rapid transit plan we get, I'd be more than pleased, as long as we can get shovels in the ground soon." 

Plowright said he's optimistic about working with newly-elect Mayor Ed Holder.