Award-winning winter services and leadership strengthen Mississauga

The City of Mississauga has received two awards from the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA). The City’s Works Operations and Maintenance (WOM) division has received OPWA’s Project of the Year Award in the Management Innovation category for its expanded winter maintenance service. In addition, Helen Noehammer, Director, Works Operations and Maintenance, has been named OPWA’s Top Public Works Leader of the Year. The OPWA Awards celebrate outstanding projects, programs and professionals across Ontario’s public works community. These awards recognize excellence in areas such as leadership, service, innovation, sustainability and community impact.

Expanding the City’s winter maintenance service

During the 2025-2026 winter season, the City delivered enhanced winter maintenance service across Mississauga. This included two new services: citywide residential driveway windrow clearing and residential sidewalk clearing. The introduction of these two services was approved by Mississauga City Council to better support residents during the winter.

The WOM team improved how winter services are planned and delivered. To ensure the services were delivered successfully, staff:

• Improved the City’s snow clearing routes so crews could work more efficiently while delivering reliable snow clearing service.
• Adjusted the City’s maintenance yards to make space for the new equipment.
• Shared clear information with residents to help them understand the new services.
• Reviewed the delivery of the services after each snowstorm to find opportunities for improvements.
• Worked closely with the City’s Parking Enforcement, Traffic Management and Municipal Parking teams to ensure there was alignment with winter parking restrictions.
• Installed dash cameras into snow clearing equipment so that the City could address obstacles created by parked cars and better monitor overall performance.

Improved quality of life for residents

During a winter of historic snowfall, including a storm that brought up to 55 centimetres of snow, the City’s expanded winter maintenance service made a difference for residents.

With its new driveway windrow clearing service, the City cleared at least a three-metre wide opening in 134,000 driveway windrows whenever roads were plowed. In the past, many residents were left with heavy piles of snow at the end of their driveways after their street was cleared. By clearing a space in residents’ windrows, it was easier and safer for residents to leave their homes to get to work, school and appointments.

In addition, the City cleared 900 kilometres of residential sidewalks during each snow-clearing event. This helped keep walking routes open and safe and made it easier for residents to access the services they needed throughout the winter.

The City delivered these new services while continuing to clear 5,700 lane kilometres of roads, 1,500 kilometres of priority sidewalks, 3,300 bus stops, 127 kilometres of roadside multi-use trails and 73 kilometres of bike lanes.

Leadership that strengthens Mississauga

The City is also proud to share that Helen Noehammer, Director of Works Operations and Maintenance, has won the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) Top Public Works Leader of the Year award.

This honour recognizes Noehammer’s more than 30 years of leadership and contributions to transportation and municipal engineering. Following 20 years of service with another municipality, Helen joined the City of Mississauga in 2014 as the Director of Infrastructure Planning and Engineering, and in 2022 moved to become the Director of the Works Operations and Maintenance Division.

During her tenure with the City, Noehammer has championed many important city-building initiatives and strategies, including:

• Implementation of the city-wide residential driveway windrow clearing program and residential sidewalk clearing program.
• Introduction of the City’s Stormwater Charge, which is used to fund stormwater services and programs and to meet the increasing demand for stormwater management.
• Development of the award-winning 2019 Transportation Master Plan and the City’s first Vision Zero Action Plan.

Her work on transportation and safety plans has influenced how the City’s roads and infrastructure are funded, managed, and improved. Noehammer consistently prioritizes listening to frontline staff and ensuring they have the tools and resources they need to deliver high-quality work.

This award recognizes her strong leadership and commitment to building a safer and more accessible city.

Quotes

“This recognition reflects the hard work, planning, and teamwork behind our winter operations. Our staff delivered new services during a very challenging winter, improving safety, access and quality of life for residents. We are also proud to see Helen Noehammer recognized for her leadership and long-standing commitment to building a stronger, more resilient city.” – Sam Rogers, Commissioner, Transportation & Works

“I’m honoured to receive this award and proud of the incredible work the Works Operations and Maintenance team has done. This achievement reflects the dedication, resiliency and innovative thinking of our staff. It shows our commitment to improving how we provide residents with the services they need, even in challenging conditions. By working together and continuing to learn and adapt, we’re making a real difference in how people move around the city and access the services they rely on.” – Helen Noehammer, Director, Works Operations and Maintenance

Digital assets and downloads

Download high resolution images.

Tags

• Awards and Recognition
• Roads and Traffic
• Snow Removal and Maintenance