As Toronto enters 2012 in earnest — read hangover free — it seems the right time to run our annual top 10 news stories post. As was expected when he won the mayoral election in 2010, Rob Ford dominated the headlines throughout the first year of his term, and no less than half of the headlines below are related to the city's chief politician in one way or another. In year's past, these roundups haven't been quite as focused on municipal politics, but there certainly seems to be an increased level of engagement regarding what goes on at city hall, so that's no much of a surprise.

Inevitably this list leaves out some stories worthy of mention — off the top of my head, these would includethe fight for GSA's in Toronto Catholic Schools, the loss of theold Empress Hotel building to fire, TTC service cuts andthe recently implemented fare hike— but that's just the nature of the game when it comes to top 10s. Part of the process is the debate over which stories made it and which didn't. So, please add your nominations to the comments section. One note about the list below: the way it's been ordered is a reflection of chronology rather than importance.

Rob Ford cancels original Transit City plans

The roots of this storyextend back to late 2010, but it continued to makeheadlines throughout 2011, particularly as boththe feasibilityofthe Ford-endorsed Sheppard subway extensionandthe sensibility of burying the entire Eglinton LRTwere repeatedly drawn into question.

BIXI arrives in Toronto

尽管不到cycli友好的态度ng on city council, Torontodid finally get a bike-sharing program, and by most accountsit was quite the success in its first year.

Fort York Bridge cancelled

Thecancellation of the Fort York Pedestrian and Cycle Bridgeseemedto come out of the blue, and would serve as a precursor for a number of similar surprise motions put forward by Ford supporters on council (e.g. Jarvis bike lane removal, review of the scramble intersection at Yonge and Dundas). There is, however, hope yet that it may return.

Ford skips Pride

Of the many decisions for which the mayor was criticized in 2011,他拒绝participate in any Pride related eventswas probably the most problematic and embarrassing.

Bike lane reductions

A bikeways plan that includedthe elimination of bike lanes on Jarvisandin various areasin Scarboroughwas anything but inspiring for cycling advocates. Although separated lanes are scheduled to come to certain key routes, it was a net loss for bike lane construction in Toronto for 2011.

Toronto budget 2012

This story is still being written, butthe KPMG Core Service Reviewand 2012 budgetary process has already led to epic public deputation sessions, loads of mayoral criticism (including thatwhich derived from a rather well-known local author), and some serious questions about whether there was any so-called gravy to be found in the first place.

The death of Jack Layton

A national story, to be sure — butno city registered the loss of Layton like Toronto. The responseto Layton's final letterand the scene of the chalk messages that filled Nathan Phillips Square were nothing short of profound.

The Fords try to take control of the Port Lands

It remains to be seen if this event will become even more important in the future, especially given the murmurs abouta possible return of Transit City. When the Fordstried to wrest controlof the Port Lands development from Waterfront Toronto, the backlash — bothfrom the publicandmembers of city council— signaled that the mayor's power had significant limits and that active and organized resistance to his and his brother's vision for the city could prove very effective.

New streetcars and subways from the TTC

The Toronto Rocketsfinally hit the rails in 2011, and just as they did, we got a lookat our new streetcars, which arepretty darn snazzy.

Occupy Toronto

There was much skepticism regarding the occupier's resolve when the movementgot started on October 15th, butafter a few weeksit was clear that Occupy Torontowasn't just going to fizzle out on its own. Questions remain as to just what the prostesters accomplishedbefore they were evicted, but it'd be fair to say they left their mark on the city's collective consciousness.

Photos (in order) by Tom Ryaboi,Theodropham, Martin Reis,Jackman Chiu, and the TTC.