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Message from the Mayor
On behalf of the City of Pickering and its Members of Council, I am pleased to welcome you to the City of Pickering’s website. I encourage you to explore the many interesting and informative pages on this comprehensive site and discover all that our wonderful city has to offer. As the gateway city to the east GTA, Pickering is strategically located where Toronto, York and Durham Regions meet; and boasts direct access to major highways, educated and skilled labour, state-of-the-art infrastructure, prime employment lands and supportive municipal government. Profit magazine has previously named Pickering as one of Canada’s Top 10 Municipalities to Start and Grow a Business. This prestigious distinction strengthens our national reputation as a preferred place to do business. Pickering is steeped in history and small town charm with all the amenities and services that a big city has to offer. Our natural beauty is unsurpassed, as Pickering is nestled between the Oak Ridges Moraine, the Rouge Park and Lake Ontario. It’s no wonder that we are a back-to-back Communities in Bloom provincial winner! Further, our quality of life is unparalleled - Pickering is recognized by Play Works as a Youth Friendly Community and was previously named by Canadian Living Magazine as the best place in Canada to raise a family. A few years ago, the City of Pickering embarked on a journey to become the most sustainable community in North America. While our goal may be ambitious, we are truly making progress. I am proud to inform you that in 2008, we received the FCM-CH2M HILL Sustainable Community Award in Planning – a national award that recognizes our groundbreaking efforts in sustainability. I am proud to announce that the City of Pickering will be home to a new 132,000 square foot, “Class A”, LEED-Silver office tower and a fully enclosed pedestrian bridge, a one-of-a-kind project that will kick start the transformation of Pickering’s downtown. The pedestrian bridge will span Highway 401 and connect the Pickering GO Station to the office tower in Pickering’s downtown precinct. Together, the new pedestrian bridge and office tower will be the most visible examples of sustainability in the entire province. In addition, as the Province has named Pickering’s downtown an Urban Growth Centre in its Places to Grow program, the new office tower will be a major catalyst for additional redevelopment and downtown intensification. Finally, as Mayor, I am a staunch advocate for open and transparent government. Each year, I invite all Pickering residents to attend one of my town hall meetings, so that we may meet face-to-face and discuss their ideas, concerns and suggestions in an open, accessible and public forum. In the interim, please remember that my door is always open to you, and feel free to drop me a line at mayor@cityofpickering.com. David Ryan |
