It was a year in which the public was so riveted to the lowlights at city hall that little else got noticed. But, that aside, 2013 was a year in which many good things happened for Willowdale. Here are just some of the highlights:

Solutions will be found to Yonge/401 interchange. City of Toronto staff have identified several options to correct the bottleneck from cars backed up on Yonge Street trying to enter the eastbound 401. The preferred solution will be identified in 2014 and construction could start shortly afterwards.

New St. Edward School completed. Willowdale is getting its first completely new school in decades with the opening of a new JK to Grade 8 St. Edward at 1 Botham Rd.., near Sheppard and Highway 401. Another positive feature for the West Lansing community and great for the kids who will be attending.

New Maplehurst Park opened. After years of assembling the land lot by lot, we built a new park at Maplehurst and Longmore, creating some much-needed green space and a wonderful new playground for the community.

New arts park announced. Local artists, residents and arts schools are working with me, parks staff, North York Arts, and the Toronto Arts Council to design a new park with a sound/music theme. Construction will begin in 2014.

New Avondale school and child care centre announced. Design work will begin soon on a new Avondale school, to be built by the Toronto District School Board, along with a child care centre paid for by the city.