Here’s a question for you – when you hear the word highway, what comes to mind? Like most, you probably think of a lot of traffic moving at high speed along a roadway that is designed purely to get you from one place to another as quickly as possible. There may be the occasional stop along the way, but highway stops tend to be more functional than appealing destinations in and of themselves. A highway is for vehicles, large and small – but typically, not a great place for people.
A highway probably doesn’t bring to mind a welcoming, human-scaled streetscape, where people feel comfortable strolling along wide, beautifully-landscaped sidewalks and boulevards. Most highways don’t offer attractive shopping destinations, with store-fronts and restaurants near the sidewalk.
So why the question? Highway 7 is evolving and we want your thoughts and ideas about changing its name to something that better reflects its future.
Highway 7 is one of the most important roads in York Region and is the connector between urban areas in three of our municipalities. It stretches from Highway 50 in the west, across Vaughan and Richmond Hill to east of Donald Cousens Parkway in Markham. And certainly, in the past Highway 7 was all those things associated with the word “highway” – it carried a lot of traffic, and wasn’t designed to be a comfortable, attractive destination for pedestrians or local residents.
But change is coming quickly to Highway 7, and in the not-too-distant future there will be many sections of Highway 7 where people will want to shop, dine and relax. It’s all part of a larger plan – York Region is planning a system of regional centres and corridors, which follow the Province of Ontario’s Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The vivaNext plan for rapidways and great transit connections along Highway 7 is also a big part of the change, with construction already underway for wide, welcoming boulevards and beautiful transit stations.
So, York Region is looking for suggestions for re-naming Highway 7. Considering the future transformation of Highway 7, what do you think it should be called?
It’s not a contest, so there are no rules – they’re just looking for your ideas. You can make your suggestions to York Region via Twitter (www.twitter.com/YorkRegionGovt), Facebook (www.facebook.com/YorkRegion), or you can post an idea here and we’ll forward it.
It’ll be interesting to see the name ideas people have for one of our most important streets. Tell us what you think!
We’re saying happy holidays and also saying thank you to our residents as we begin rapidway construction along our Davis Drive and Highway 7 corridors.
