Candidate for
Council Member; City of Milpitas

TRAFFIC CONGESTION --

Commuter traffic is congesting our streets. During rush hour Milpitas is paralyzed by out-of-town drivers who are using our roads just trying to shorten their commutes. Deepka Lalwani will fight to protect Milpitas streets from excessive use by out-of-town commuters who are only passing through.

Deepka will promote increased traffic enforcement to prosecute the out-of-town drivers who are abusing our roadways. She will fight to keep this excess traffic off our neighborhood streets. She will support increasing traffic fines for those commuters who block our intersections, speed through red lights and endanger our children.

Deepka Lalwani wants improved emergency tow services to clear traffic mishaps and will support city staff in researching traffic light patterns which may help us confront this terrible problem.

Our residents and businesses all suffer when our roads are congested. Deepka Lalwani will bring forward innovative ideas to protect our streets and our quality of life.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT --

The City of Milpitas and our city services are dependent on the health of our tax base. Deepka Lalwani will work hard to promote our local economy. She will promote business development and the marketing of "Shop Milpitas." She will support city staff in efforts to further streamline the permit process for new businesses and well as for our residents when needing standard permits to get things done.

As a former president of the Milpitas Chamber of Commerce, Deepka is committed to promoting our business community. She will support the rezoning required to diversify our income base from too much dependence on the high tech and dot com industry. Deepka will work hard to help implement the Midtown Plan with well planned strategies to deal with traffic, parking and the increased need for city services associated with any new development.

HOUSING COSTS --

Many residents are struggling with our excessive housing costs. As nice as Milpitas is for long time homeowners with equity in their homes, we must be realistic about the community's long term needs. We need to promote housing in our new developments. Deepka is committed to addressing the jobs/housing imbalance which makes Milpitas less affordable even for the people born here, raised here and working here.

PROTECTING OUR PRECIOUS HILLSIDES AND OPEN SPACE --

Deepka Lalwani will maintain the fight to protect our gorgeous hillsides and open space. The City of Milpitas must remain steadfast against excessive development of our precious open space. Deepka believes that our gorgeous hills are Milpita's best asset. She will fend off the aggressive developers who want fewer restrictions and want to develop housing in our hills. Deepka has the support of many people who have led the historic fight to protect our foothills.

PROTECTING OUR WATER SUPPLY --

The future and safety of our water supply will be one of the critical issues facing the residents of Milpitas in the years to come. Healthy, safe, and sufficient water are absolutely critical to human survival. Deepka Lalwani wants to keep Milpitas on the forefront of this important fight. The San Francisco Water District for too long has deferred necessary maintenance of the Hetch Hetchy infrastructure and system. We must fight with other municipalities to address these serious problems. This problem alarms Deepka Lalwani. On the city council she will be eager to make water one of her top concerns. Along with all emergency preparedness, Deepka intends to address these critical issues before the problem occurs. She knows that other sources of water may not provide Milpitas residents with the high quality that we must demand.

CITY SERVICES --

Deepka is passionate about city services. She is enthusiastic about the city's park renovations. She wants to work to expand our library services and to find the funding to make it happen. She, too, knows that the current library is far from adequate for a well educated community like Milpitas. She wants to promote after school recreation programs closer to our homes. Deepka is personally fond of the arts and will enjoy watching as "Art in the Park" rotates through our city parks.

Deepka Lalwani knows what a good city can provide. Not just excellent public safety, roads and services. But also innovative programs which care for our youth, our seniors and our community needs.