Category: Rapidways

Categories
Rapidways Stations Uncategorized Video

watch the building of the Bathurst-Highway 7 vivastation

The iconic vivastations are starting to appear, as rapidway construction progresses in Bathurst and Centre.

The building of the first station in the area began in 2017 with excavation and construction of the platform on the Bathurst Connector Road, just east of Bathurst Street. Once the rapidway opens for service at the end of 2019, this station will be called, “Bathurst-Highway 7 Station”.

watch our latest video to see this station being built

To see how this station came together, take a look at our latest video, which takes you through some of the major steps involved in building a vivastation, including pouring 8 trucks’ worth of concrete, the careful delivery and installation of the canopies and assembling the beautiful, curved, blue-tinted glass.

why we’re doing this

Once construction of the rapidway is complete and the vivastations are open for service by the end of 2019, bus rapid transit commute times will improve. And with Viva buses travelling in their own dedicated rapidway lanes, it helps to alleviate car congestion.

Not only that, Viva buses can take advantage of priority traffic signals to help them stay on schedule, and variable message signs on station platforms tell transit riders when their next bus is coming.

Bus rapid transit also provides a viable option to get around as the populations increases over the decades to come.

To check out the vivastations and rapidways in action, they are already service in York Region on Highway 7 East in Markham, Highway 7 West between Bowes Road and Edgeley Boulevard in Vaughan and Davis Drive in Newmarket.

For information about ongoing vivaNext projects, be sure to subscribe to email updates, and follow us on Twitter. Questions or comments? Comment below or email us at contactus@vivanext.com.

Categories
Construction Intersections Rapidways Traffic signals Uncategorized

a new phase of rapidway construction means intersections are changing

As rapidway construction on Highway 7 West and Bathurst & Centre progresses, dedicated bus lanes and vivastations are being built in the centre lanes.

This means the way that signalized intersections work is changing – especially if you’re a pedestrian, or a driver turning left or wanting to make a U-turn.

Here’s what to watch for:

Dedicated lefts and U-turns now happen at intersections

Signalized intersections will now have a dedicated left-turn traffic signal. This means that drivers can make left turns or U-turns only when the left-turn signal is illuminated. The protected movement through the intersection makes it safe and efficient to get where you’re going quickly.

To reach driveways mid-block

To get to driveways located mid-block on the other side of the road, drivers will no longer be able to turn left between intersections; instead drivers should make a U-turn at the next signalized intersection.

Making a left at an intersection is safer than cutting across multiple lanes of traffic, and ensures that drivers trying to turn left get their turn, and don’t have to rush through a yellow.

Changes for pedestrians

The new intersections will be wider with more lanes and new traffic signals. At intersections that will have vivastations, pedestrians may cross the road in two stages if unable to get to the other side during the first signal. To assist with two-stage crossing, there will be a pedestrian waiting area in the middle of the crosswalk where pedestrians can stop, push the “walk” button, and wait for the next walk signal to safely cross the second half of the street.

Check out the video, “Rapidway intersections: safe journeys” for safe navigation of the new intersections for pedestrians, cyclists, driver and transit riders.

 

For information about ongoing vivaNext projects, be sure to subscribe to email updates, and follow us on Twitter. Questions or comments? Comment below or email us at contactus@vivanext.com.

Categories
Rapidways Subways

more to come

#MoreToCome

The warmer weather is bringing thoughts of new growth, and change. York Region has seen a lot of change in recent years. Along with our growing population, and increasing number of businesses and jobs, changes to our streets and infrastructure have brought about new choices.

Some of our funded rapidway projects are already constructed and open for service, bringing new options in how to travel, to Highway 7 East in Markham and Richmond Hill, Davis Drive in Newmarket, and Highway 7 West in Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. In Vaughan, connections to subway make transit even more of an option to travel across the GTA.

Transit is transforming our city centres, and there are even more projects on the horizon:

  • The Yonge Subway Extension – York Region’s number one transit priority – has preliminary design and engineering underway and is ready to move to full engineering and construction once full capital funding is committed. For more information about this 5-station, 7.4 km extension from Finch to Highway 7, visit vivanext.com/project_YongeSubway
  • The next phase of bus rapid transit includes over 75 km of new dedicated lanes for Viva, along Yonge Street, Highway 7 East and West, Jane Street, Major Mackenzie Drive and Leslie Street. Most of the Environmental Assessments are complete for these projects, and we’re ready to move to preliminary engineering, design and construction once they receive capital funding. For a map of the unfunded rapid transit projects in York Region, click here.

With investments in transit and infrastructure, York Region’s continued growth will be “smart growth.” The new options this brings will paint a bright future, of new opportunities, experiences and destinations for residents and visitors alike!

 

Categories
Rapidways Video

journey of the Highway 7 rapidway

2013 marked the dawn of a new and exciting era for the City of Vaughan. With construction beginning, the next several years of sometimes messy construction signaled the unfolding of a new bus rapid transit system on Highway 7.

The transformation took several years to complete, but now all the speed and convenience is yours at the VMC, where the Highway 7 West bus rapidway connects seamlessly to the TTC Line 1 subway.

Click the image above to learn more.

Categories
Construction Rapidways Safety

who’s who of winter maintenance

They say it can sometimes take a village to raise a child. Well, the same can be said for winter maintenance in one of our construction zones – we work with local municipalities, cities and towns, and our crews to make the construction zones as safe as possible for pedestrians and drivers.

 

road and sidewalk maintenance

During construction, road and sidewalk maintenance is the responsibility of the construction contractor within the project areas.  But during the winter, the Region and local municipalities are responsible for ensuring the roads and sidewalks are kept clear. Before winter arrives, we ensure every aspect of the construction zones is compatible with the requirements for winter maintenance operations.

This means making sure the snow-clearing equipment can manoeuver through the construction zones, boulevards and platforms.  Our design work and construction staging plans have always had those requirements top of mind, but we walk through the sites with Regional and municipal staff again before winter to identify any little details that might impede their operations.

During winter, we work closely with the constructor to repair potholes, ensure proper signs are installed, organize construction barrels for proper delineation for motorists and pedestrians, etc. We also take steps to ensure traffic moves through the winter, including making travel lanes as straight as possible through the construction zones, and ensure traffic markings are clear.

 

municipal versus regional roads

Did you know there are more than 50 Regional roads in York Region? Regional roads are usually main arterial roadways that connect the nine local municipalities to one another. These roads are operated and maintained by York Region, and each is identified by a numbered Regional road sign. Local roads are operated and maintained by local municipalities.

This means that the Region is responsible for clearing snow from Regional roads. Similarly, Towns are responsible for clearing snow from municipal roads. The Region often has agreements with municipalities, where the Town is responsible for clearing snow from sidewalks on the Regional right of way

 

challenges from Mother Nature

Living in Canada, we all know how cruel Mother Nature can be. The fluctuating temperatures and general unpredictability of weather can sometimes cause havoc on our construction sites.

Our construction zones often suffer from the freeze and thaw of winter, meaning road bumps or potholes can appear (and appear often they do!). Potholes and road bumps often appear due to general wear-and-tear, and not as a sole result of construction. Regardless, crews from the Region and our contractor, are out repairing these road settlements often. Road cuts and temporary asphalt patches are only effective when applied on dry pavement and temperature above 6 °C.

These are just some of the ways we work with our Regional partners and constructor to make the construction zones as safe as possible for pedestrians and drivers. Our crews remain busy with the fluctuating weather, so sign up for electronic construction updates.

Categories
Construction Rapidways Stations Utilities

viva la winter!

Brr, it’s cold out there, or unseasonably warm, depending on the day. You never know what’s in store. Regardless of the weather, our construction crews continue to expand the Viva rapidway system to improve connections in York Region. The winter season lends itself to certain types of work, especially the kind that happens above ground.

shiny, new canopies

Forget the January blahs! It’s been exciting times on the Bathurst & Centre corridor this past month. The first two vivastation canopies were installed at Bathurst/Hwy 7 Station located on the Bathurst connector road, one for each side of the station. There’s nothing like seeing that crane lift the canopy into place!

The elegant, arched glass canopies evoke traditional European transit infrastructure, transforming the everyday experience of transit into a beautiful one. A third canopy is coming this winter to the vivastation on Bathurst at Atkinson Avenue.

Looking to the west, construction of the first vivastation platform is beginning to take shape at what will be Commerce Street Station on Highway 7 West.

On both Highway 7 West and Bathurst & Centre, road widening and construction of storm sewers, retaining walls and culvert work is underway. Winter is also a great time to relocate hydro lines and install new poles, which is getting close to being completed in this area.

signals, check!

Our Yonge Street projects are not as far along, and the underground utility work they need to do is limited during cold weather. Crews have made some progress on installing underground duct banks and gas mains in Richmond Hill. Traffic signal work, a good above-ground winter activity, and is also underway. In Newmarket, crews are preparing to start work on the east side of Yonge when the weather gets a bit warmer. They’ll be replicating the road widening that was performed on the west side last year.

planning season

Winter is also a great time to make plans, large and small. We’re working together with the TTC on design and engineering for the biggest plan of all – the Yonge Subway Extension. Also, our staff and contractors are carefully planning spring construction schedules for the Viva rapidway projects, coordinating in advance with stakeholders, and procuring contractors for other projects.

Come spring, our crews will be raring to go, full steam ahead. If you’d like to keep on top of what’s going on in your community, we invite you to sign up for updates.

Categories
Commissioning Construction Facilities and terminals Rapidways Stations Technical

the critical role of spiders in building Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station

Now, before you think we’ve imported some exotic tropical arachnids, what we call “spiders” are actually the stainless steel fittings that hold together the glass pieces on our stations. They’re called spiders due to their shape, and they play a critical role in the architectural and structural design of our stations.

For the new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre [VMC] rapidway station, the main structural support comes from the welded steel superstructure that forms the distinctive curved shape. Over top of that, steel, custom-made spider fittings are bolted to each steel intersection. The spider fittings support the individual glass panels on the station’s sides and skylight.

410 panels of glass

Each triangular-shaped panel of glass is attached by brackets on the legs of the spiders. Because each piece of glass is a unique size and shape, the job of attaching the glass to the spiders is very fiddly. The extra-large 50 by 24 metre VMC canopy has an eye-popping 410 panels, each equally spaced and slightly different due to the station’s curved planes. The tempered glass can’t be cut or drilled on site without shattering, so holes for the brackets were made during the fabrication process.

beautiful precision

We knew if the holes in the glass didn’t line up exactly to the spider brackets, the glass pieces wouldn’t fit. Since glass fabrication is a fairly slow process, we didn’t want to risk having to go back and remake a piece. Rather than making the glass in advance, we installed the spiders, then measured them with a 3-D laser scanner that registered the targets as multiple cloud points; essentially the same process used to make a 3-D model.

The last step was the installation of the glass panels to the station roof, and seeing all this precision and planning come together for beautiful results. Now if you visit the VMC rapidway station, you can take shelter under a strong and stunning glass canopy reminiscent of the great European architectural traditions, right here in York Region.

 

Categories
economic & financial General Innovation Rapidways Stations Subways Urban Planning

great transit knows no borders

The vivaNext mandate is to build a strong bus rapid transit network in York Region, but our responsibility doesn’t end at our Region’s borders. We’re forging transit connections that help people get wherever they want to go, in our Region and beyond. That’s why we partner with organizations like Metrolinx, and engage in big-picture thinking about how people use transit and what customers want. We don’t live our lives constrained by regional borders, why should our transit systems?

crossing borders

A key feature of the Metrolinx Draft 2041 Regional Transportation Plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area [GTHA] is that it calls for historic levels of transit investment to deliver more – and more frequent – transit service across the region that crosses regional borders more simply and efficiently. Another key strategy is optimizing the system, so we make the most of what we have.

getting ready to meet RER

For example, over the next 10 years, the Metrolinx Regional Express Rail program plans to transform the GO rail network – the backbone of regional rapid transit in the GTHA – providing two-way all day service north-south, east and west. This doesn’t happen in isolation. We’re preparing to offer integrated services with YRT/Viva networks, to serve passengers riding the trains.

one fare system

We’re not there yet, but that’s the direction we’re headed. From a passenger perspective, a transit system with one simplified fare system that transcends regional boundaries across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area could make a lot of sense. We’re on our way with the PRESTO card, which you can use to pay for transit at 11 different transit agencies in the GTHA. As digital apps improve and new technology comes on board, we look forward to what comes next.

TTC subway, now running in York Region

The regional transit system took a giant leap forward with the first TTC subway to cross regional borders, connecting with the Viva bus rapid transit network. Now we’re seeing what one subway [and bus rapid transit] connection has done for Vaughan, with all the ground-breaking residential, office and entertainment development at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. The next top priority transit project for York Region is the Yonge Subway Extension, which will elevate regional subway connections to an entirely new level.

These are just some of the ways we’re involved in strengthening regional transit connections, a task that comes with challenges and opportunities.

To understand more about the challenges in our region and beyond, the Ryerson City Building Institute hosted Breaking Transit Governance Gridlock, an all-star panel on regional transit governance. Read their blog about the event.

Categories
Commissioning Construction Facilities and terminals Rapidways Safety Stations Technical

beautiful curves of glass

If you’ve ever had to replace a window in your house, you know that working with glass is fiddly, exacting work. It needs to fit perfectly or you’ll get drafts and leaks. Glass has no tolerance for being the wrong shape or size. And dropping a pane from a window: well, that means another trip back to the store.

Now, imagine the challenges of installing the glass on the curves of our new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre [VMC] rapidway station. As you can guess, it was a long, multi-stage process, done with great care and precision.

strength and safety

As with all our vivastations, the VMC glass was laminated and tempered for strength and safety. First the glass was cut into panes, and then it went through a special process to make it extra strong. This way, if it breaks, it crumbles into small granular chunks instead of sharp pieces.

To add more strength and make it even safer, we then laminated the tempered glass by sandwiching two glass sheets together around an interlayer. If the glass is broken, the interlayer holds the small pieces together instead of breaking into many little shards, the same way a car windshield stays together in an accident. The interlayer on the blue skylight glass is actually a different, stronger material than the interlayer used for the clear side glass, since the top skylight needs to support heavier loads from snow and maintenance workers.

creating curves

Fitting flat glass to the curved shape of the station was a challenge, because every surface of the steel roof curved over two dimensions, much like the outside of a ball. The first step was to divide the glass into a series of triangles. Three-sided shapes are easier to work with compared to four-sided shapes, the same way a tripod is more stable on uneven ground compared to a four-legged chair.

But this still left the challenge of fitting flat pieces of glass over a curved frame. The solution here was to adjust the bolts on the corners of the spiders [the stainless steel fittings that hold  the glass pieces onto the frame] so they’re each set at a different height. We knew how high each bolt needed to be from 3D scans, so we adjusted them before we installed the glass. By installing each corner of glass at a slightly different height, we recreated the curves of the tubular steel frame.

intricate jigsaw puzzle

The last step was putting the glass panels in place, one by one. Although they were all triangles, every piece was unique like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, so to avoid mix-ups they were carefully numbered before they were delivered. Once the glass panels were bolted onto the spiders and the final adjustments made to perfect the curve of the glass, we sealed the gaps with caulking to make the structure weather-tight.

Building this strong and beautiful glass-covered station took precision, but look at the stunning results! This landmark station helps set the architectural stage for future development at the VMC and makes the everyday experience of transit a beautiful one for our customers.

Categories
Commissioning Community Events Facilities and terminals General Innovation Rapidways Stations Subways

amazing team, extraordinary results

What a week it has been! The launch of the TTC Line 1 subway extension with the Highway 7 West rapidway and vivastation on Sunday in Vaughan is one of those lifetime moments. We’re going to remember this day for the rest of our lives. This is the day everything became a little closer, and a lot faster for York Region and the City of Vaughan.

unwavering dedication

For everyone involved, including us at York Region Rapid Transit Corporation, it was an exhilarating and emotional weekend, the culmination of years of incredible challenges and unwavering dedication, everything we’ve been working toward for a very long time! Many of us shouted and cheered as the first train pulled into the new subway station.

Then, seeing that Viva bus roll down the red asphalt rapidway into the open, airy Vaughan Metropolitan Centre vivastation and pick up actual passengers who came up the stairs from the subway – well, it’s hard to describe the feeling, except to say that more than a few grew a little misty-eyed! So many people came out to mark this milestone day for transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, we know how much these new transit connections matter and we thank you for your patience during the long construction period.

#AnEngineerWasHere

Kudos goes out to the engineers, planners and project team, whose tireless drive moved the VMC station and rapidway project forward every step of the way: from the environmental assessments to the design to breaking ground, from utility relocations to storm sewer work and road widening. Along with the many contractors, they pushed though good and bad weather, scalding heat, freezing cold and everything in between. They worked through paving and bridge reconstructions, to timelines off schedule and on again, to the construction of our vivastations and our landmark Vaughan Metropolitan Centre vivastation. Experts from many agencies, cities and private companies all came together to make this day happen.

Now we have incredible, tangible results with the first subway-BRT connection, a legacy that will keep our Region moving for years to come. Just goes to prove anything is possible with extraordinary teamwork, unwavering dedication and an eye to the future. Again, thank you for supporting this project and we hope you get out and try the new system!