91Ô­´´ saw plenty of change in 2024, from the political to the physical.

We saw a decades-old building destroyed by fire in downtown 91Ô­´´ City, saw a culvert on 40 Avenue undermined by an atmospheric river, and countless buildings suffered floods from burst pipes during a vicious cold snap.

Roads are being widened, while others remain patched-together messes as construction continues at a furious pace.

New classrooms were opened and schools are under construction, but not fast enough to stem the tide of portables.

The community's first two residential highrise towers opened, with many more potentially on the drawing board in the years to come.

Development continued at a frantic pace, driven by rapid population growth and the promise of SkyTrain in 2029. The combined population of the City and Township is already more than 180,000.

A blue wave of Conservative candidates – federal and provincial – swept away NDP and Liberal control of local ridings, possibly a sign of what is to come in next year's general federal election.

Many of our top stories this year also dealt with issues that have been top of mind for at least a decade, including homelessness, the high cost of housing, and crime.

With a new year dawning, now is a good time to ask how we can guide the changes we know are coming in a positive direction.

This means both preserving and adding to what makes 91Ô­´´ a great place to live.

It means tending to our parks and creating more green space. It means keeping our quiet rural areas while we add bike lanes and public plazas in our growing urban cores. It means expanding transit options while ensuring our roads don't rattle cars to pieces.

On 91Ô­´´'s side in these goals is a powerful tradition of community involvement.

Social service organizations, non-profits, business groups, seniors, streamkeepers, youth sports leagues, and fraternal organizations remain deeply embedded in our civic life. Our public festivals and sports tournaments would be impossible without them.

We have leaders, both elected and those who are committed citizens and volunteers, who will advocate for 91Ô­´´ in Victoria, Ottawa, and abroad.

In the coming year, we should support or become the kind of leaders our community needs.

Infrastructure keeps a city habitable. People make it somewhere worth living.