Where is the love?

Wowed by nifty waterfront ideas, and shamed by decades of treating it badly, Londoners have gushed affection for their river in recent years.

But on the civic election campaign trail, with only a week left to go, the Thames River has all but dried up — with barely a peep heard.

“It hasn’t been part of the municipal election at all,” said Sean Quigley, head of the Emerging Leaders group that’s working to keep young talent in London.

“But frankly, it’s a great opportunity to talk about the river.”

Southwestern Ontario’s major river, the Thames and its tributaries both divide and connect London, its two branches meeting at the historic forks of the Thames where the city began.

Many believe developing its banks as showpieces, especially downtown and near it, will make the city more attractive.

Only yesterday, it seems, the ­heritage river was top of mind for many. The Free Press explored it in a year-long series, there were frequent weekend clean-ups and even visionary ideas about what could be done along its banks — from concrete beaches, to promenades and waterfront cafes.

Sounds romantic, right?

But you can still find beer bottles and needles along the river’s downtown banks, and broken bikes and shopping carts sticking out from it.

And in the heat of an election, where a city’s top issues are all supposed to be on the table, most candidates aren’t touching the Thames.

Mayoral candidate Matt Brown, for one, cited river land redevelopment plans in his platform launch.

But as an election topic, the Thames has been washed away by big-ticket issues like the economy and choas on council.

That’s a disappointment to community leaders, who say the river is just the kind of forward-thinking issue candidates should be talking about.

Greg Thompson of the Urban League of London, an umbrella group for neighbourhood associations, said he’s been to every candidate debate so far, but can’t recall the Thames even being mentioned, except in the broader context of the 411-page London Plan blueprint for the city’s future.

“We came through a period where there seemed to be lots of discussions about the river, even a few months ago,” said Thompson. “And there were lots of things coming forward that one would think would keep the river top of mind. But at the all-candidates meetings, the questions that have been asked have been much more pedestrian — about jobs, the economy . . .”

Not just the Thames’ potential, but also its problems have loomed large in recent years — from the chemicals and animal waste washed into it from the vast farm belt it drains, to the sewage London discharges into it when heavy rainstorms overwhelm its sewer system.

Community leaders and city planners have looked for river inspiration to other cities, like Pittsburgh, a once-grimy former steel city whose riverfront transformation — from unkempt shoreline to 20-km-long waterfront park — has helped to breathe new life into the city.

“I think this is the optimum time to be talking about those bigger questions — what city we want to live in, what kind of city do we want to leave for our kids,” said Thompson.

Instead, he said, the election campaign has focused on past council dysfunctions.

The London Community Foundation launched a design competition for areas near the Thames through central London. But with that deadline a year away and no “official plan out there,” the river is a tough issue to tackle as a wannabe councillor, said former MP Glen Pearson, who has researched and blogged about the impact a thriving river has on a city.

“Anybody who wants their city to be renewed . . . can’t be ignorant about rivers,” he said.

“You might not know the economic cost of developing the river, or the environmental impact it will have,” he said. “But you do know the public is looking for places to gather and the river is the place. There’s a democracy side to it. Citizens get involved.”

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RECENT RIVER INITIATIVES

Announced in June: