On Highway 7 West and Davis Drive in Newmarket, important changes are on the way for how drivers and pedestrians use intersections and travel along the road. Each rapidway project is at a different stage, and along the Highway 7 East rapidway in Markham and Richmond Hill, these road and intersection changes have been in effect for about two years.
Aside from rapidways for fast, convenient transit, projects include wider sidewalks and attractive landscaping. Each project helps to connect York Region, and manage future growth for generations to come. Once construction is underway in the centre of the road on Highway 7 West and Davis Drive, here are some of the changes that you need to watch for, and follow the signs:
Dedicated left-turns
- Dedicated left-turn lanes at rapidway intersections
- Dedicated left-turn signals – motorists can only turn left when the left-turn arrow is illuminated
Right-turn access, via intersections with u-turn signs
- To access to mid-block destinations on the opposite side of the road, motorists will make u-turns at intersections.
- Rapidway intersections with u-turn signs will allow drivers to make a u-turn from the left turn lane, once the left-turn arrow is illuminated.
- Global studies of traffic control have shown this to be a safer way to turn left on a multi-lane road.
Shared lanes for right-turn and through traffic
- Curb-side lanes will be shared by right-turning and straight-through traffic.
Two-stage pedestrian crossings
- Intersections will be wider with the new rapidway lanes.
- Pedestrians may cross intersections in two stages if unable to cross in the first signal.
- A waiting area will be in the middle of the crosswalk, where pedestrians can press the “walk” button and wait for the next signal.
- Pedestrians will need to press the “walk” button for the “walk” signal to be displayed.
2 replies on “intersections are changing: u-turns and 2-stage crosswalks”
Why is a rapidway being constructed along Centre Street? There is no stop between Promenade Station and Dufferin Street. All the turns along Centre Street between these two stops turn into residential areas.
DaleA: Hi John, Thanks for your question.
The Bathurst and Centre area is a destination, with malls, schools, theatres and many professional services. Viva has travelled along Centre and Bathurst Streets since 2005, and with over 14,000 boardings on an average weekday [2015 statistics, Viva Purple and YRT 77 routes], these routes are two of York Region’s busiest. High density in the Bathurst and Centre area already exists, and the population and employment opportunities will continue to increase in the area, so having fast, convenient transit in place will help support this growth. Once the rapidway is built there will be one station between Promenade Terminal and Dufferin Street – located between New Westminster Drive and Vaughan Boulevard.
There’s more information about the rapidway project in the Bathurst and Centre area on the project page, and we’ve also written some blogs on the topics of growth and station locations that may be helpful:
where will the vivastations be along Bathurst & Centre?
and
going where the action is
When are the 2 stage pedestrian crossings going to have 2 stage lights? Crossing Hwy 7 from the southwest side of Leslie should have a “walk” to the useless vivanext rapidway when there is a left turn for Leslie north.
Please give me an eta on corrections on this crossing.
Also why is there a rapidway for buses & yet bus are still blocking traffic on the main roadway?
Thank you,
Steven Anderson
DaleA: Hi Steven,
I see what you’re saying about the idea of a “walk” signal that allows pedestrians to cross the first half of the crosswalk to the centre median while traffic is turning left on the second half of the crosswalk. Our traffic signals experts say that this type of partial “walk” signal can’t be used with Accessible Pedestrian Signals [APS] that have the audible beeping sound to assist people with vision disabilities across the intersection.
When we refer to “two-stage pedestrian crossings” we’re talking about a protected place to wait in the centre of the road at the rapidway for any pedestrian who prefers to stop there, press the crosswalk button again and wait for the next “walk” signal before continuing to cross. Pedestrians can choose to cross in two stages or cross the entire road at a faster pace.
The rapidway provides dedicated express lanes for Viva rapid transit buses. YRT buses that stop curbside typically gather customers from nearby neighbourhoods and bring them to the Viva routes on Highway 7 and Yonge Street, where they travel for a short distance before returning to the neighbourhood routes. Staying outside the rapidway allows them to enter and exit in a shorter distance.