Posts Tagged ‘Urban Planning’
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 »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
We all know that York Region is growing. In some parts of the Region, this growth is happening so quickly that some people might worry their neighbourhoods could change in ways they won’t like. Truth is, growth throughout the Greater Toronto Area is going to continue and bring about change – it’s inevitable.
That’s why York Region has been so enthusiastic about bringing the vivaNext rapid transit expansion. But what does rapid transit have to do with managing growth, and why should you care? Let’s talk about this.
With growth, many more people will come to York Region, all wanting homes, jobs, and pleasant places to shop and relax. That means more new business and residential development, and more people needing to move around. Saying no to growth isn’t an option, but there are choices in what new development gets built, and where it happens. This is where growth can be good – or result in change that isn’t so good.
In the past, there was lots of room for new development, and it could spread out. Because it was spread out, people often drove everywhere – to go shopping, to get to work, to do the things that mattered. That was fine when our roads weren’t so crowded, and you could get around easily.
Over the years, two things have happened that changed the way we plan for new developments. One thing is an understanding that available land is limited. Limits have been placed on developments in the fragile greenbelt around the GTA that also surrounds York Region, protecting those lands for future generations. The second thing is that getting around the spread-out developments of the past is taking much longer, now that there are so many more cars on the road.
Part of the answer lies in careful planning for new growth. York Region’s Official Plan sets out clear rules for where new growth will go, and what will be allowed. Our existing neighbourhoods will stay much the way they are, but new developments will be more compact and pedestrian-friendly – especially along the main corridors. The other part of the answer lies in making sure that all new development can be easily reached by rapid transit, so people won’t need to rely on cars to get where they want to go.
With this plan, you’ll get to enjoy all the things you love about living here, plus you’ll have even more places to go and things to do…all connected by a leading-edge rapid transit system that will make getting around easier than ever before.
That’s the plan, and vivaNext is a key part of it. So – tell us – what are the things YOU want to keep the same – and what new things do you wish were here?
Tags: city planning, GTA, Managing Growth, New Development, Ontario, rapid transit, Urban Planning, vivaNext, York Region, York Region's Official Plan
Posted in General, Live-work-play | 1 Comment »
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 »
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is one of the world’s largest and most reliable sources of comparable statistical, economic and social data. In a publication launched in November 2009 entitled “OECD Territorial Reviews: Toronto, Canada”, several of the GTA’s transportation challenges are collectively identified as a key policy issue. They include traffic congestion problems (70% of commuters use cars), poorly integrated regional transit services, and relatively underdeveloped public transport infrastructure.
To address this key policy issue, one of the publication’s key recommendations is to “tackle transportation challenges by creating incentives for reducing car use, access to additional revenue sources, [and] longer term funding commitments by federal government for investment”.
Here in York Region, we are doing our part to tackle these transportation challenges with such vivaNext initiatives as the rapidways, subways and proposed LRTs. In addition to making it faster and easier to get in and out of the GTA, they will make it up to 40% faster to travel along our Region’s busiest corridors. We believe that such incentives will significantly reduce car use, lead to economic revitalization, help the environment, and maintain the quality of life our residents have come to enjoy.
Tags: city planning, congestion, economic revitalization, environmentally friendly, GTA, OECD, Ontario, Policy issues, rapid transit, Rapidway, Regional transit services, subway, Toronto, transport infrastructure, Urban Planning, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in General, Going Green, LRT, Rapidways, Subways, Urban Planning | No Comments »
Friday, November 20th, 2009
An artist rendering of the Steeles West subway station.
Each of the six subway stations that will be built along the Spadina subway extension – a key part of the vivaNext plan – will have a unique design.
Above ground, the most striking feature of the Steeles West Station conceptual design is its very distinctive and futuristic profile. It looks like something right out of ‘The Jetsons’. Below ground, a central light cone will bring daylight all the way down to the platform levels – a solution that’s both illuminating and eco-friendly.
The Steeles West subway station will also feature a commuter parking lot with 1,900 parking spaces plus two bus terminals, including one for YRT and Viva.
Planned service frequency from Downsview Station to Steeles West Station is every two minutes, and from Steeles West Station to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station, every five minutes.
Tags: connections, eco-friendly, Spadina extension, Steeles West, subway extension, Toronto, tunnel boring, Urban Planning, Vaughan, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, viva, vivaNext, York Region, York University
Posted in Going Green, Stations, Subways | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Wondering when and where we’ll start to break ground on the vivaNext rapidways? Or how they are already affecting urban transformation in such key destinations as downtown Markham?
In our fall e-newsletter, which has just been posted on our website at vivanext.com, you can find quick and easy answers to these vivaNext-related questions, and many more.
For example, you can learn what people just like you have to say about commuting to and from work in York Region, and whether or not they think our rapid transit projects will make things better or worse.
Perhaps you’re especially looking forward to the proposed Yonge subway extension? If so, then you’ll enjoy our look back to where it all began more than fifty years ago.
We even reveal the lucky Grand Prize winner in our ‘Next Best Thing To Summer’ contest. It’s all there, along with a handy sign-up form so you can conveniently receive future issues of our e-newsletter in your Inbox, along with customized email updates about vivaNext projects of particular interest to you.
Once you’ve had a chance to read our latest e-newsletter, we encourage you to submit topic suggestions for future issues right here on our blog.
Enjoy!
Tags: BRT, city planning, commuting times, congestion, connections, Fall e-newsletter, Grand Prize winner, Highway 7, Markham, Ontario, rapid transit, Rapidway, subway extension, Summer Contest, Urban Planning, urban transformation, viva, vivaNext, website, Yonge subway extension, York Region
Posted in Announcements, Rapidways, Subways, vivaNext.com | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 9th, 2009
It’s been about a month since Larisa Roiberg, the Grand Prize winner in our Next Best Thing to Summer Contest, picked up her brand new iPod touch®. Now, here I am again letting you know about our exciting new contest beginning October 9, 2009, and running through until October 30, 2009.
This time, the Grand Prize that’s en route is the new iPod nano®.* Plus, we’ll be giving away great daily prizes including Tim Hortons gift certificates, Cadillac Fairview mall gift certificates, movie passes, and YRT\Viva 2-zone passes.
The goal of this latest contest is to highlight all of the great things that are en route with the vivaNext plan – faster transit, better connections and attractive boulevards.
Simply visit vivaNext.com for entry details. You can enter once a day. Each time you do, you get a chance to win the daily prize plus the Grand Prize. That means you can get up to 22 chances to win the new iPod nano®.
Good luck! 
* “iPod nano” is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, Inc. is not a participant in or sponsor of this promotion.
** Wireless service provider charges may apply.
Tags: BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, Cadillac Fairview, connections, Enroute, Grand Prize, Highway 7, iPod nano, Markham, movie passes, rapid transit, Rapidway, subway extension, text to win, Tim Horton's, transit-only lanes, Urban Planning, viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Announcements, Community Events, Ways to win | No Comments »
Friday, September 18th, 2009
Passengers wait to board Viva. A new study shows that ridership will greatly increase in the coming decades.
Transit ridership is expected to nearly double in Canada over the next 30 years as the population rises to 42 million, with most of those people living in urban centres.
This is according to a report released recently by the Canadian Urban Transit Association, which represents public transit agencies across the country.
The report, titled Vision 2040, suggests all levels of government must work together to put transit at the centre of community planning and design. This will help create communities that reduce dependency on cars.
“Today, national transit ridership and investment are both at all-time highs,” states the report. “Transit is widely recognized as an important part of the solution to national challenges including economic prosperity, climate change, public health, safety and security.”
When factoring population growth, ridership will increase from 1.76 billion trips in 2007 to 3.28 billion trips in 2040.
To deal with this increase, CUTA says large cities and major metropolitan areas such as York Region and Toronto, must focus on integrating transit services and expanding rapid transit.
It sounds like vivaNext is on the right track with subway extensions that will be the backbone of a seamless transit system. The subway extensions and dedicated lanes will improve travel times throughout the Viva network and help to shape successful urban revitalization.
Read the final report.
Watch the video and see how transit will play a role in the future: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Transit Vision 2040 Video”.
What do you think of this vision? What do you see as the role of transit in the future?
Tags: BRT, Canadian Urban Transit Association, city planning, rapid transit, Rapidway, ridership, subway extension, Toronto, transit-only lanes, Urban Planning, Vision 2040, viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in General, Studies, Urban Planning | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
We talk a lot about the rapidways, subways and LRTs that are coming.
But when you boil it down, that’s not what vivaNext is really about. VivaNext is the plan to provide you with faster and easier rapid transit connections, so you have more time to enjoy whatever awaits you at your final destination. It’s not only our goal; it’s our slogan – “vivaNext. it’s about connections. it’s about time.”
Transit hubs at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and Richmond Hill/Langstaff Urban Growth Centre, where the Spadina and Yonge subway extensions will respectively meet Highway 7, is just one way vivaNext plans to improve connections. At these locations, riders will be able to make convenient connections with Viva, GO Transit commuter rail and express buses, YRT and other transit systems.
Rapidways is yet another way vivaNext is putting the rapid into rapid transit – up to 40% faster. How? By featuring dedicated centre lanes in roadways to allow our beautiful blue Viva vehicles to safely speed past congested traffic, no matter what time of day.
So tell us…When the vivaNext projects are complete, which connection point will be the most important for your daily commute?
Tags: BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, city planning, congestion, connections, rapid transit, Rapidway, subway extension, Urban Planning, viva, vivaNext, York Region
Posted in Rapidways, Subways, Urban Planning | 3 Comments »
