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Streetsville Village Times Artic le- February 2013

This year will be an exciting year for Streetsville. Plans are underway to revitalize and transform theTown Square into a vibrant and exciting public space.

The present Town Square, which houses the Cenotaph monument, has been an enduring feature ofdowntown 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 amemorial to honour local residents who served in WWI.

Plans to revitalize the Town Square began in December 2011, when the City of Mississauga, withassistance from my office, submitted an application for revitalization of the Town Square, under the 8-80 Cities Make a Place for People project. The Make a Place for People project focuses oncollaborating with communities to create vibrant and dynamic public spaces that are shaped by thecommunitys vision for the space. 8-80 Cities received 34 applications from interested communitiesacross 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. Duringfour 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 toMurphys to get ice cream (5%); biking (2%); and maintenance (2%). 90% of people observed spentless than 10 minutes there. As the observations indicate, the Town Square is not being used to itsfull potential as a dynamic space, and it has great potential to be transformed into an excitingcommunity space, with great concerts, festivals, markets, etc.

To begin creating a shared community vision for the Town Square, public engagement sessions wereheld 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, wherevehicles 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 Projectin J anuary 2013. This will be followed by a presentation to Council in February 2013.

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I am very happy to report that the Town Square Project was selected to receive $1 million ininfrastructure funding from the Federal Government, through MP Brad Butt, under the CommunityInfrastructure Improvement Fund (CIIF), which is part of Canadas Economic Action Plan. The grossbudget for the Town Square Project is approximately $3,100,000. CIIF funding is available for therehabilitation, improvement, and expansion of existing community infrastructure. To be eligible forCIIF funding, projects must be substantially completed by March 31, 2014, which means that theTown 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 winningCelebration Square in downtown Mississauga, have been hired to work on the Streetsville TownSquare 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 wilprovide more information about this project as it becomes available via my print and e-newsletteredition Councillors Reports. In the meantime, for more information about the Streetsville TownSquare project, please contact Randy J amieson, Project Manager, at (905) 615-3200 x 4133 orrandy.jamieson@mississauga.ca . I look forward to enjoying the new Streetsville Town Square andits exciting programming, activities, and events with our community! As always, if you need anyassistance on this or any other municipal matter, please dont hesitate to call my office at 905-896-

5011, or e-mail at george.carlson@mississauga.ca.