Posts Tagged ‘connections’
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Extending from Downsview Station in Toronto to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre at Highway 7 in Vaughan, the Spadina subway extension will cover a total of 8.6 kilometres and include six new stations.
To date, three separate public open houses have been held to share the preliminary station design concepts with the community: Sheppard West Station on November 17, 2009, York University Station on December 3, 2009, and the Steeles West Station on February 3, 2010.
If you happened to miss the February public open house, you now have another opportunity to check out the preliminary design concept for the Steeles West Station, and be among the first to review the preliminary design concepts for the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and the Highway 407 Stations. All three will be on display together at a public open house on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.
The preliminary design concept for the remaining new station – Finch West Station – will be presented to the public later this spring. Also, more open houses will be held later this year to share more detailed architectural concepts for all six stations so stay tuned.
Public Open House for Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, Highway 407 and Steeles West Subway Stations
Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Location: The Hilton Garden Inn, Toscana Centre
3201 Highway 7, Vaughan, ON
Tags: city planning, connections, Downsview Station, Finch West Station, GTA, Highway 407 Station, public open house, Sheppard West Station, Spadina extension, Steeles West Station, subway, subway extension, Toronto, transit, TTC, Urban Planning, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, vivaNext, York Region, York University Station
Posted in Announcements, Stations, Subways | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Richmond Hill Main Street
As Richmond Hill’s 162,704 residents already know, they live in a great city. This was recently confirmed in an independent 120-page report, entitled City Magnets, released by the Conference Board of Canada.
The report, which analyzed what attracts skilled workers and mobile populations to Canadian cities, ranked 41 different societal indicators including health, economy, environment, education, innovation and housing.
Richmond Hill was statistically identified as a great place to live, work and play because of its solid economic performance, diverse and well-educated workforce, low crime rates and attractive quality of life.
When completed, vivaNext – York Region’s plan for the next generation of rapid transit – will make Richmond Hill an even better place to live. In addition to making it faster and easier to travel to, from and within the Region, vivaNext will inspire urban transformation as new residents come to live, work, shop and play in close proximity to great transit service.
In total, only six Canadian cities received a grade ‘A’ in the report. Along with Richmond Hill, they include Ottawa, Waterloo, Calgary, St. John’s and Vancouver.
Richmond Hill, congratulations!
Tags: Canada, City Magnets, Conference Board of Canada, connections, GTA, Live-work-play, Ontario, Richmond Hill, societal indicators, transit, Urban Planning, urban transformation, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Announcements, General, Live-work-play | No Comments »
Friday, January 29th, 2010
VivaNext is all about putting the rapid into rapid transit. When completed, it will provide you with faster and easier rapid transit connections, so you have more time to enjoy whatever awaits you at your final destination.
On January 18, 2010, YRT\Viva launched an important first step towards improving rapid transit connections in York Region with the introduction of RideNow. RideNow, which utilizes GPS technology to track the location of transit vehicles in real time, enables riders to determine exactly when their YRT\Viva ride will arrive at their stop. This means no more running…waiting…or frustration. Just smooth transit connections.
YRT\Viva riders can access RideNow’s real-time information in any one of three ways:
1) Online – Visit www.yrt.ca, click on RideNow and enter or select a four-digit stop number to view the next arrival times
2) Email – Enter a four-digit bus stop number in the subject line and send to ridenow@york.ca. A response email will be sent back indicating the next arrival times.
3) Phone – Call 1 866 MOVE-YRT and enter a four-digit bus stop number when prompted to hear the next arrival times.
Tags: bus, bus stop, connections, GPS technology, real-time information, RideNow, transit, viva, Viva vehicle, vivaNext, York Region, YRT\Viva
Posted in Announcements, General | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
An aerial view of the Steeles West Station design
In the fall of 2009, preliminary station designs were unveiled at public open houses for two of the six stations that will be located along vivaNext’s 8.6 kilometre Spadina subway extension, which will extend from Downsview Station in Toronto to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station in Vaughan.
Next week, on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, the preliminary design for a third station – Steeles West – will also be unveiled at a public open house and you are invited to attend.
As previously mentioned on this blog, all of the six stations that will be built along the Spadina subway extension will have a unique design. The most striking features of the Steeles West station preliminary design are its very distinctive and futuristic profile, and its central light cone, which allows daylight to reach all the way down to the platform levels. It’s truly something you have to see for yourself to appreciate.
Following this public open house, a second one featuring more detailed architectural concepts will take place for the Steeles West station in the spring of 2010. Preliminary designs for the remaining Spadina subway extension stations – Finch West, Highway 407 and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre – will also be unveiled in the coming months.
Steeles West Subway Station Public Open House
Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Time: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Black Creek Pioneer Village, Garfield Weston Room
1000 Murray Ross Parkway, Toronto, ON
Tags: connections, Downsview Station, public open house, Spadina extension, Steeles West, subway, subway extension, Toronto, transit, TTC, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Announcements, Stations, Subways | No Comments »
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Getting in shape is a popular New Year's resolution. Photo courtesy of Jennoit.
Each January, certain New Year’s resolutions consistently make the Top Ten most popular lists. They include:
1. Spending more time with family & friends
2. Getting fit
3. Losing weight
4. Enjoying life more
5. Saving money
6. Helping the environment
7. Reducing stress
8. Helping others
9. Being more punctual
10. Reading more
In future, vivaNext rapid transit projects will make it easy for you to keep all of these New Year’s resolutions. How so? Rapid transit is faster, easier, less expensive and more environmentally friendly than driving. As a result, it can reduce your stress levels, allow you to arrive at your destination on time, and give you more time to work out, do the things you enjoy, be with the people you love, and of course, help you save money and the environment.
We think that’s a lot of added value for the cost of a YRT\Viva fare. Speaking of which, did you know that YRT\Viva fares will remain unchanged throughout 2010?!
Tell us about your New Year’s resolutions. Did they include any of the above Top Ten?
Tags: BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, connections, Enjoy life, environmentally friendly, Family time, Fast, Fun, Get Fit, Green Choice, Lose Weight, New Year, rapid transit, Rapidway, Reduce Stress, Resolution, Save Money, viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in General, Going Green, Rapidways | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 18th, 2009
Pick colourful candies out of the jar to decorate your very own gingerbread house.
There are all kinds of great ways to celebrate the holiday season. Spending time with family and friends…making snow angels…eating way too much food…drinking hot cocoa…hitting the slopes…and one of our favourites here at vivaNext…decorating gingerbread houses.
That’s why, this holiday season, we’ve created a fun little gingerbread house for you to decorate and share online. It includes a jar full of colourful candy, all sorts of hidden treats, some merry holiday music, an animated snowman, and of course, a warm reminder that there’s no place like home sweet home for the holidays. And with vivaNext, no faster or easier way to get there.
We hope you have as much fun decorating it, as we had creating it. No doubt your finished gingerbread house will look good enough to eat.
Happy holidays from vivaNext!
Tags: animated snowman, candy, congestion, connections, family activity, gingerbread house, holiday music, holidays, hot cocoa, snow angels, viva, vivaNext, winter fun, York Region
Posted in Fun & Games, vivaNext.com | No Comments »
Monday, December 14th, 2009
Today, an on-site ceremony was held on Enterprise Drive in Markham to commemorate the start of 70 kilometres of vivaNext rapidway construction in York Region.
VivaNext – York Region’s plan for the next generation of rapid transit – includes a network of several rapidways across the Region. They are the east-west Highway 7 rapidway from Highway 50 in Vaughan to Reesor Road in Markham, the north-south Yonge Street rapidway from the Richmond Hill Centre Terminal in Richmond Hill to Green Lane in Newmarket, and the east-west Davis Drive rapidway from Yonge Street to the Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket.
The rapidways will take Viva vehicles out of mixed traffic and into their own dedicated lanes, where they will safely speed past congestion, no matter what time of day.
The 800 metres of rapidways being built on Enterprise Drive, between Warden Avenue and Birchmount Road, are part of the Highway 7 rapidway project.
“This construction phase is truly significant, as it marks the beginning of a new stage of rapid transit in York Region,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Bill Fisch. “Together with the Government of Ontario, we are building a modern transit system to ensure we keep pace with the planned growth in York Region and preserve the quality of life our residents have come to expect.”
Rapidway construction on Enterprise Drive, which will be completed by the end of 2010, will involve the installation of concrete platform foundations, curbs, and the placement of station canopies. No road closures will be required; only short-term temporary lane closures.
“This is great news for the people of York Region and the GTA,” said Markham-Unionville MPP Michael Chan. “The project signals the start of a faster, more convenient rapid transit network that will enable people to get around more easily, improve the ability of our businesses to grow and succeed and help improve the environment.”
As construction of the rapidways gets underway, we encourage you to add vivanext.com to your list of favourite websites for quick and easy access to the latest information and construction updates. While there, you can also sign up to receive our quarterly e-newsletter in your Inbox, along with customized email updates about vivaNext projects of particular interest to you.
Tags: BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, Chairman Bill Fisch, congestion, connections, construction, Davis Drive, dedicated lanes, Enterprise Drive, Highway 7, Markham, Metrolinx, mixed-use development, Ontario, Rapidway, Richmond Hill, transit-only lanes, viva, vivaNext, Yonge St., York Region
Posted in Announcements, Press, Rapidways | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
Crowds pack Boulevard Saint Laurent during a street festival. Photo courtesy of Djof.
Project for Public Spaces (PPS), an internationally-recognized non-profit organization that helps communities get the most out of their streets, both as transportation links for all modes of commuters and as vital places for people to enjoy, recently compiled its list of “9 Great Streets Around The World”.
Affectionately known as “The Main”, Montreal’s Boulevard Saint Laurent tops PPS’s list for a number of reasons including its Access & Linkages, Comfort & Image, Uses & Activities, and Sociability.
With vivaNext, this kind of placemaking will also take place along York Region’s busiest corridors as people come to live, work, shop and play in close proximity to great transit service. In addition to great access, vivaNext will bring attractive boulevards, planted medians and an enhanced pedestrian experience including continuous, wide sidewalks.
We wouldn’t be at all surprised if Highway 7, Yonge Street and Davis Drive top the PPS list of great streets in years to come!
Tags: 9 Great Streets, attractive boulevards, Boul. Saint Laurent, Bus Rapid Transit, city planning, connections, Davis Drive, Highway 7, mixed-use development, Montreal, placemaking, planted medians, Project for Public Spaces, Rapidway, subway extension, The Main, viva, vivaNext, Yonge St., York Region
Posted in Live-work-play, Urban Planning | 1 Comment »
