Celebrating a new era for the City of Vaughan
The past year has been 'remarkable', Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua says

YorkRegion.com
Dec. 26, 2017
Maurizio Bevilacqua

It has been quite a remarkable year for Vaughan. From introducing our new electric utility — Alectra — at the beginning of the year to the opening of the subway on Dec. 17, our city has undergone tremendous change in the last 12 months. With time, focused planning and hard work, we are witnessing the seeds we planted throughout the years now bearing fruit.

Just a week ago, we made history when we welcomed the Line 1 Extension into our city. This is the first time in Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) history that a subway has crossed Toronto’s borders, and we can proudly say that three new stops are right here in our backyard. Our downtown core, the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, is taking shape and is now a major transportation hub connecting communities and getting people where they need to go in a faster, more efficient way. Our vision for transit has become a reality and, by 2019, this area of our neighbourhood will see more than 20,000 people using the system every day.

In the next few years, the dream of having a hospital in our city will come true when the new Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital opens its doors for the first time. As a full-service facility with an Emergency Department, 350 beds and 1.2 million square feet, residents will no longer need to cross our borders to get the quality wellness services that they need. Construction has started, concrete has been poured and cranes tower over the site — all of these are signs of progress and hope for future health care in our city.

As we embark on a new year, I am reminded that we are blessed to live in the greatest community in the world. We have so many great city-building initiatives underway that are changing the landscape of our city. Our agenda for positive change has proven successful — Vaughan continuously averages 3.5 per cent economic growth, we welcome thousands of jobs a year, we maintain one of the lowest tax rates in the Greater Toronto Area and provide more than 200 programs and services that make our city one of the best places to live, work, play and invest. The year ahead will be filled with just as much optimism and promise, and I cannot wait to continue this journey together.