Streetsville Village Times Article- February 2013 This year will be an exciting year for Streetsville.

Plans are underway to revitalize and transform the Town Square into a vibrant and exciting public space. The present Town Square, which houses the Cenotaph monument, has been an enduring feature of downtown Streetsville for over 70 years. The 18-foot Cenotaph was originally constructed in 1926, when the Streetsville Overseas Veterans Association, under the leadership of Major Rev. Frank Vipond (a local resident who served as a chaplain during the First World War), wanted to construct a memorial to honour local residents who served in WWI. Plans to revitalize the Town Square began in December 2011, when the City of Mississauga, with assistance from my office, submitted an application for revitalization of the Town Square, under the 880 Cities Make a Place for People project. The Make a Place for People project focuses on collaborating with communities to create vibrant and dynamic public spaces that are shaped by the communitys vision for the space. 8-80 Cities received 34 applications from interested communities across Ontario, and Streetsville was awarded $25,000 in services to revitalize the Town Square. This past summer, staff from 8-80 Cities conducted a number of site visits to observe the number of individuals using the Square and understand how these individuals presently use the Square. During four days of observations, approximately 860 people (aged 19-50) were observed using the Square. The most popular activity was walking (62%); followed by sitting at the Square (15%); going to Murphys to get ice cream (5%); biking (2%); and maintenance (2%). 90% of people observed spent less than 10 minutes there. As the observations indicate, the Town Square is not being used to its full potential as a dynamic space, and it has great potential to be transformed into an exciting community space, with great concerts, festivals, markets, etc. To begin creating a shared community vision for the Town Square, public engagement sessions were held in fall 2012, and many amazing ideas were generated and shared by the community. In fact, over 600 ideas to revitalize the Town Square were collected at the engagement sessions. Some of the suggestions submitted include the following: A Shared Space: A shared space that is safe for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers, where vehicles will travel at a low speed Farmers Market: Farmers markets and markets taking place in the square Music and Movies: Movies and a wide range of concerts during the summer Community Events and Activities: Events, activities and programs that help to build community (open air movie nights, concerts etc.) History: Recognition of the unique heritage and history of Streetsville to be highlighted in the Town Square Sitting and Gathering Spaces: Places where people can sit and gather at the Square (e.g. benches, tables, gazebos) Cafs, Food & Market Programs: Cafs surrounding the square and other events that can gather the community to the Town Square Road Changes: Physical changes in the traffic infrastructure such as speed limitations and removal of parking spaces Permanent Street Closures: Closing one or more streets around the Town Square The Cenotaph: Retained at this location and enhanced to reduce vandalism and inappropriate use 8-80 Cities will be preparing a Report with recommendations on the Streetsville Town Square Project in January 2013. This will be followed by a presentation to Council in February 2013.

I am very happy to report that the Town Square Project was selected to receive $1 million in infrastructure funding from the Federal Government, through MP Brad Butt, under the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund (CIIF), which is part of Canadas Economic Action Plan. The gross budget for the Town Square Project is approximately $3,100,000. CIIF funding is available for the rehabilitation, improvement, and expansion of existing community infrastructure. To be eligible for CIIF funding, projects must be substantially completed by March 31, 2014, which means that the Town Square will be redeveloped relatively quickly over the coming year. I am also very pleased to report that CS&P Architects, who worked on the design and construction of the award winning Celebration Square in downtown Mississauga, have been hired to work on the Streetsville Town Square project, so we can expect excellent work. I am looking forward to seeing the plans for this project and anticipating the start of construction. I will provide more information about this project as it becomes available via my print and e-newsletter edition Councillors Reports. In the meantime, for more information about the Streetsville Town Square project, please contact Randy Jamieson, Project Manager, at (905) 615-3200 x 4133 or randy.jamieson@mississauga.ca . I look forward to enjoying the new Streetsville Town Square and its exciting programming, activities, and events with our community! As always, if you need any assistance on this or any other municipal matter, please dont hesitate to call my office at 905-8965011, or e-mail at george.carlson@mississauga.ca.