Posts Tagged ‘Toronto’
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
A young girl fishes at our Markville Mall pond last Friday hoping to win one of our cool summer prizes.
This past Thursday through Sunday, vivaNext teams were out in full force at various York Region malls including Markville, Upper Canada and Vaughan Mills. Thousands of visitors stopped by our booths to putt golf balls and fish in our ponds for instant prizes like beach balls, flying discs and magnetic puzzles.
Of course, there was also plenty of great chitchat about vivaNext. People were really excited to learn that we’ll soon be breaking ground on the rapidways, which will make it up to 40% faster to get around York Region’s busiest corridors when completed.
If you missed us at the malls, not to worry because you could still win with vivaNext. If you haven’t entered our Next Best Thing To Summer Contest, you have until this Friday, July 31, 2009, to do so.
You could win cool summer gear in one of our daily prize draws plus our Grand Prize of a handy iPod touch® so you can get up-to-date vivaNext construction and project information wirelessly. Good luck to all our entrants!
Tags: BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, City Planning, Congestion, Connections, fish, golf, Highway 7, Markham, Markville, mixed-use development, Newmarket, Ontario, rapid transit, Rapidway, subway extension, Summer Contest, Toronto, transit, transit-only lanes, Upper Canada, Vaughan, Vaughan Mills, Viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Community Events, Ways to win | No Comments »
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Metrolinx President and CEO Robert Prichard takes questions from reporters after the public session of the July 13 meeting.
Metrolinx, the body created by the Government of Ontario to develop and implement an integrated transportation plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, is committed to working with Viva toward a fall 2009 construction start date for the rapidways project. During their July 13th public board meeting, Metrolinx President and CEO Robert Prichard said, “Progress is going very well indeed. We want to break ground this fall and we are working hard to do so.” During the meeting, Metrolinx General Manager of Investment Strategy and Projects John Howe presented our renderings of the Davis Drive rapidway to show how it will look in the future. They generated a lot of excitement amongst those in attendance.
If you would like to see the renderings presented at the meeting for yourself click here or visit vivaNext.com, where you’ll also find a link to the Metrolinx website in case you are also interested in viewing the meeting agenda.
Tags: BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, City Planning, Connections, Metrolinx, Ontario, rapid transit, Rapidway, Robert Prichard, Toronto, transit, transit-only lanes, Urban Planning, Viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Press, Rapidways, Urban Planning | 2 Comments »
Monday, July 6th, 2009
We’re sure you’ll agree that summer’s the best. But we think vivaNext is the next best thing. How come? Because vivaNext will make it easier and faster for you to get to your favourite summer activities. Makes sense, huh?
To spread this great news, we’re running a contest called – you’ve guessed it – the Next Best Thing To Summer Contest. It starts today and runs through until July 31, 2009.
Each day, we’ll be giving away cool summer gear like water bottles, Canada’s Wonderland® passes, movie tickets, laptop bags and YRT\Viva two-zone passes. Then, at the very end, to top it all off, one lucky person will win the handy iPod touch® Grand prize, which will make it easy for him or her to get up-to-date vivaNext construction and project information wirelessly.
To enter, all you have to do is go to our website and use our interactive story to show us what your picture perfect summer looks like. It’s fun and it’s easy. You simply fill in the blanks of our story by choosing from a menu of drag-and-drop pictures. Each time you do, you’re guaranteed to giggle as each picture moves and makes a funny noise. For instance, if you choose theme parks as one of your favourite things to do in summer, when the picture is in the right spot, the roller coaster rides through a loop and the people in it scream.
But be sure to hurry because our Next Best Thing To Summer Contest ends July 31, 2009.
Good luck!
Tags: iPod touch, Next Best Thing, online, Ontario, rapid transit, Summer Contest, Toronto, transit, Viva, vivaNext, win, Wonderland, York Region
Posted in Announcements, vivaNext.com, Ways to win | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Traffic slowly moving along Highway 7 in York Region.
If you think that your commute is taking longer, you’d be right and the bad news is that you’re not alone.
A recent survey conducted jointly by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the City of Toronto and the Regions of York, Durham and Peel confirms that average speeds on highways and roads all around the GTA are decreasing. On average, a trip now takes 11% to 21% longer than the exact same trip in 2002.
While this figure applies to the entire GTA, one of the worst long sections of highway is travelled by many York Region residents every day. The section travelling southbound along Hwy. 404 from 16th Ave. to Hwy. 401 during the morning rush hour is the slowest long stretch of highway in the GTA. Motorists see an average speed of 31km/h along this stretch during the morning peak period. Driving along Hwy. 404 during peak hours takes 3.5 times longer than during times when you are able to drive at the posted speed limit.
But York Region roads are not just congested by drivers heading in to and out of Toronto. The study looked at Highway 7 all the way from Durham to Peel Region, an 88 km stretch, and found that three of the five slowest sections were in York Region.
Average speeds on Hwy. 7 through York Region are often almost half of the posted speed limit and not just during rush hours. The study found that driving on Hwy. 7 in the middle of the day is almost as slow as driving it during the morning rush.
The simple solution as we see it is to get more people out of those cars that are causing the increase in congestion and get them on fast, convenient transit.
Do you agree that traffic is getting worse? What are some solutions?
Tags: BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, City Planning, Congestion, Connections, GTA, Markham, mixed-use development, MTO, Newmarket, Ontario, rapid transit, Rapidway, Richmond Hill, study, subway, subway extension, Toronto, transit, transit-only lanes, travel time, Urban Planning, Vaughan, Viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Studies | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
The Ministry of the Environment recently approved the Environmental Project Report for the Yonge subway extension. We recently conducted a survey* to see how many people in York Region support a subway extension to Langstaff/Richmond Hill Centre at Highway 7 and Yonge. Eighty-nine per cent of residents said that they support the extension.
This is very similar to our online poll that shows over 90% of the hundreds of people who have responded thus far support the subway extension. These survey results reaffirm that we are improving rapid transit routes where people need them.
Are you one of these people who support the Yonge subway extension? Or do you think a subway line would be better built elsewhere? Tell us what you think.
*Survey deemed accurate to within 5 percentage points
Tags: Connections, Ontario, rapid transit, Richmond Hill, subway, subway extension, Toronto, transit, tunnel boring, Viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Subways, Surveys | 8 Comments »
Friday, June 5th, 2009
An aerial view of a TRAX LRT line in Salt Lake City, Utah with dedicated, transit-only lanes. This is similar to how the Leslie/Don Mills corridor line will be designed.
Imagine a light rail line that could take you from Danforth all the way up the Don Mills/Leslie corridor into Richmond Hill. That was one of the transit projects identified by Metrolinx near the end of last year as part of the master plan for transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
The light rail line study is now underway and we want your input. We are having a public meeting on Wednesday, June 10, where we will present our plan for the York Region portion of the line that will run on Leslie from Steeles to Highway 7.
The City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) are currently undertaking a preliminary planning study to identify an LRT route in this corridor from Danforth to Steeles. Although we are conducting different studies, we are working with staff at the City of Toronto and TTC on the light rail line.
Similar to our vivaNext rapidways, the LRT vehicles will operate in their own right-of-ways – enabling them to safely speed past congested traffic, no matter what time of day.
Like all of our projects, we want to ensure that anyone with an interest in the study has the opportunity to get involved and have their voice heard.
What do you think of a light rail line through this corridor? Join us in person for the meeting or, if you can’t make it, let us know your thoughts by commenting on our blog.
For more information on light rail transit or the current studies please see our website
The meeting will be held:
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
6:30 to 9:00 pm
Hilton Garden Inn
300 Commerce Valley Drive East,
Thornhill, ON
An LRT vehicle traveling through the streets of Melbourne, Australia.
Tags: City Planning, Connections, environmentally friendly, light rail transit, LRT, Ontario, rapid transit, Richmond Hill, subway, Toronto, transit, Viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Announcements, Community Events, LRT | 5 Comments »
Friday, May 29th, 2009
We all know that traffic congestion is getting worse. The major arteries, including Yonge St., Davis Dr. and Highway 7, are packed during peak hours of the day and congestion is only expected to get worse. That is a key reason why York Region is taking steps to improve rapid transit and build livable cities.
We wanted to know what you had to say about congestion, so we recently conducted a survey.* When asking York Region residents how they rate traffic congestion on a 10-point scale, over 75% of them said it was between a six and a 10, where 10 was high traffic congestion. In fact, four times more people rate traffic congestion as “high” than rate it as “low”. And almost 25% of the people surveyed rated congestion as an eight on the scale.
When asked about solutions, the largest percentage of respondents said that more and better rapid transit was the answer. People also cited bicycle lanes and more roads as other solutions.
It sounds like we are on the right track to providing those who work and/or live in York Region the solutions they need to avoid congestion.
What do you think about traffic congestion around York Region and what else should be done? Tell us what you think.
*Survey deemed accurate to within 5 percentage points
Tags: Bus Rapid Transit, City Planning, Congestion, Connections, environmentally friendly, Markham, mixed-use development, Newmarket, Ontario, rapid transit, Rapidway, Richmond Hill, subway, subway extension, survey, Toronto, traffic, transit, transit-only lanes, Urban Planning, Vaughan, Viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Announcements, Surveys | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
An artist rendering of what the live-work-play community at Markham Centre will look like when complete. Rendering courtesy of the Remington Group.
Construction at Enterprise, which will be within walking distance of the above rendering of Markham Centre.
Are you tired of sitting in congested traffic trying to get to work or to visit with friends and family?
I don’t like to think that we are simply designing and building a rapid transit system. We are helping to create live-work-play communities. That’s the basic term for living in a place where everything is nearby. The goal is to create more time in your life and reduce reliance on a vehicle to get around.
Other names for this concept are a mixed-use development or new urbanism. The idea is the same: it is about making communities that let you live within walking distance of work, shopping, restaurants, cinemas, parks and other activities. And when you do have to travel, there are transit options nearby such as subways, rapidways and GO trains.
Unlike many parts of Europe where it’s the norm, it will no doubt require a mind-shift from many Ontarians. But I can tell you that it’s already starting with the youth. They get it from a logical, environmental and social standpoint. I get the sense that they place greater importance on quality of life and that excludes sitting in a vehicle for hours every day.
This shift has also started in our local communities – Markham, Mississauga and Richmond Hill for example.
What examples have you seen? What are your kids saying about it?
Tags: BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, City Planning, Connections, environmentally friendly, Markham, mixed-use development, Ontario, rapid transit, Richmond Hill, Toronto, transit, transit-only lanes, Urban Planning, Viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Going Green, Live-work-play, Urban Planning | 2 Comments »
Friday, May 15th, 2009
Rendering of a vivastation showing the middle section, which will be enclosed and heated.
As you might have already heard, we are currently working on a video where the lead architect of the new vivastations talks about the design of the shelters for the rapidways we will be building over the next few years.
Since that video is not yet completed and there’s growing interest in how the vivastations will keep people protected from the weather, I wanted to take some time to talk about a few features of the new stations. In a way, here’s a trailer of the video…
There will be three different sections (modules) in each station. The middle section will be completely enclosed and heated, blocking the wind, rain, snow and cold temperatures.
Extensive consultation with the public told us that comfort and keeping warm are very important to riders, which is reflected in the design for the new service.
The stations will be large enough to provide adequate personal space and there’ll be an overhang reaching above the vehicles to protect people boarding and alighting on rainy days.
The stations are also more environmentally friendly. Energy efficient LED lights will brighten the station at night. The enclosed section will have automatic accessible doors at each end of the enclosure. They will still have sensors to open automatically, but as you can see in the picture, the hinged doors are on the side of the enclosed section. This will keep heat from escaping when someone triggers the sensor by walking along the platform. Accessibility has also been top of mind during the design process, ensuring that the platform and station design are accessible for individuals with disabilities.
Each platform will be 55 metres long with a 27-metre glass and steel canopy structure in the middle. This will make the stations easy to find and the curved canopy will blend well into the natural streetscape.
Last week, we had a full day of production, shooting interviews and b-roll for the video. Watch for the finished product on our website in the coming weeks.
Tags: BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, City Planning, Connections, environmentally friendly, Markham, Newmarket, Ontario, rapid transit, Rapidway, Richmond Hill, shelter, station, Toronto, transit, transit-only lanes, Vaughan, Viva, vivaNext, vivastation, York Region
Posted in Going Green, Rapidways, Stations | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
Tough new drinking and driving laws recently went into effect giving people an even greater reason to take public transit.
The tougher penalties mean increasing fines and suspensions for anyone driving under the influence.
Why risk lives when there’s a simple, easy and safe alternative – public transit. Keeping people from driving after they have been drinking alcohol is critical to keeping our roads safe.
As OPP Sgt. Dave Woodford has said many times, most accidents are not accidents, they are collisions and completely preventable.
Hopefully this new law will make people realize that drinking and driving is not worth it – and illegal!
Tags: Bus Rapid Transit, Connections, McGuinty, Ontario, rapid transit, Rapidway, Toronto, transit, Viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in General | No Comments »