2012 hellos

2012 was a good year for new things appearing that would significantly improve life in Warsaw and Jeziorki.

Hello to Lidl Jeziorki - despite my initial misgivings, the new store, opened in March has changed my shopping habits; hello to Most Północny, Warsaw's northern-most crossing of the Vistula, opened in March; hello to Google Street View for Poland; hello to Eurolot's new fleet of Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 NextGens (first deliveries in May); hello to the floral rainbow on Pl. Zbawiciela, unveiled in May and which survived a torching, and is likely to become as much a feature of Warsaw as the ten-year old palm tree on Rondo de Gaulle'a; hello to the A2 motorway extended from Stryków (north of Łódź) to Konotopa (south-western edge of Warsaw), opened in June; hello to Modlin Airport (currently closed for runway repairs and ILS installation), opened in July; hello to the Veturilo rent-a-bike system in Warsaw (1 August); hello to the Mars exploration vehicle Curiosity, sending us images from the surface the Red Planet since August; hello to the viaduct carrying ul. Poloneza over the (as yet unfinished) S2 Southern Warsaw bypass, opened in November after three years; hello to some great new works of street art that have appeared this year, commemorating Warsaw's local heros; completion of refurbishment at Warsaw's royal parks (Łazienki and Wilanów) in November; hello to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by LOT, first two deliveries in November and December.

Local hellos to pedestrian crossings on ul. Karczunkowska (by Sarabandy, at the Trombity bus stops and at ul. Nawłocka) and to the massive drainage works between ul. Trombity, Dumki and Kórnicka, started this autumn, and the ponds on ul. Pozytywki (Thanks to Paweł Osiński for reminding me!) Ah! and at last the new cycle- and wheelchair-friendly footbridge over Puławska opened in July. Yes, and the yellow speed camera on Puławska between Karczunkowska and Auchan, which meant that since November, motorists started taking the 50kmh sign by the LukOil garage very seriously.

Have I missed anything else?

Wish list for 2013: connection of ul. Trombity to the sewerage system, a pavement for ul. Karczunkowska. Eleven years we've waited - enough is enough, already!