Step aside, Toronto. The spotlight for this fall's municipal elections is shifting to the suburbs.And that's a good thing. The burgeoning cities and towns just outside Toronto hold the keys to solving many of the GTA's problems of traffic gridlock, garbage disposal, urban sprawl and immigrant settlement. With several incumbent mayors facing serious challenges and vacancies elsewhere promising new blood, voters in the regions should be pushing candidates for their vision on the broad urban issues that affect us all.Where do the candidates stand, for example, on transit integration — and a "smart card" to go with it — that would enable riders to take a local bus from Oakville to Milton or from Scarborough to Markham? Why don't we build an incinerator in Halton big enough to serve Toronto and other GTA municipalities so we don't have to bury our garbage or truck trash to Michigan? And why are some suburban municipalities determined to pave over apple farms at a time when area residents crave green space like never before?"It's overdue for the 905 area to get serious attention around the municipal issues and choices that those communities are facing," says Ryerson University urban politics professor Myer Siemiatycki."The decisions those councils are making will not only affect their own local neighbourhoods, they'll affect the entire region."From Burlington in the west, Newmarket to the north and Clarington in the east, leadership on the edges of Greater Toronto is poised for change.

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