Tag: City Planning

Categories
Construction General Rapidways

happy national housing day

Having a home is probably one of the most important and basic needs people have, and National Housing Day was introduced to remind us we should never take this fundamental need for granted.  This year National Housing Day is Friday November 22, and it’s being marked by special initiatives all across the country including here in York Region, where the Region is hosting a special social media and web-based campaign to raise awareness about the importance of affordable housing.

One of the biggest challenges facing our Region is that people have limited choice when it comes to affordable housing.  Traditionally a suburban region, many York Region residents have chosen to live in low-density single-family homes. As wonderful as that choice is for many, many families, there are some people who want – or need – other options.  And until recently, people who wanted to live in other forms of housing had very limited choices within the Region.

York has the lowest percentage of rental accommodation in the entire GTA. In some cases, that has meant people who want to live in York Region to stay near their families, or their jobs, have had to move away.  Whether it’s a young professional in their first job who has had to leave York Region to find affordable housing, or an older person who can’t manage a larger home on their own any more, too many people have found it hard to stay here at home.

Fortunately that’s changing, and VivaNext is a key driver that’s helping to expand the housing choices available here in York Region.

All along the viva routes, we’re seeing more and more housing being developed or proposed, including higher density developments near our new urban centres. Taking the direction from Regional Council, 35% of new housing in the centres and key development areas along the corridors have to meet affordability criteria, which is going to meet a key need here in York Region.

Building residential units along transit can help to reduce housing costs, since developments don’t have to include as much underground parking spaces.  This can reduce costs per unit significantly.  Another benefit of building near transit means people can get around without needing a car.  Whether you’re a young person moving out for the first time, or an older person who is happy to give up the keys to the car, that’s a significant advantage.

The best thing is that people who want to stay in York Region are now more able to, because rapid transit and long-term planning together are resulting in more choices, and more affordability.

So on November 22, give a thought to how much it would mean to you to be able to stay in the community you love, and to have a variety of affordable options to choose from.  We’re really pleased to be helping make that more possible, and wish you a Happy National Housing Day.

 

Categories
General LRT Rapidways

choosing the right form of transit

In September the Province set up an expert panel to look at how Metrolinx should be expanding transit in the GTHA, and to propose realistic options to pay for it.  The panel has just released their second discussion paper, and it’s well worth a read for anyone interested in getting beyond the rhetoric and really understanding the facts and issues.

Certainly the issue of what transit technology should be funded, and where it should run, is a subject that’s dominated the headlines for months and is of interest to everyone.  It’s understandable that so many have views on this subject, and it’s also reasonable to expect that the people doing the planning should listen to those views.

But in the final analysis, choosing a mode of transit – the main rapid transit options are subway, LRT, BRT and commuter train – shouldn’t be treated like a popularity contest. There’s just too much money involved.  Each mode of transit has its uses, benefits and drawbacks.  Those qualities are well known to transit planners, and need to be thoroughly and objectively analyzed in the context of local circumstances including passenger volumes, current and anticipated densities, employment projections, and present and future land use patterns.

Planners ideally will look at a range of transit modes to meet the needs of users across a region or area, with the primary consideration being a seamless system that enables passengers to make easy, fast connections.  That doesn’t necessarily mean the trip will be non-stop, or use the same technology the entire way.

This is a concept we all already live with, so we shouldn’t expect transit to be any different. Pretend you are taking a trip to a small island in the Caribbean.  You’d probably drive to the airport, then you’d get on a big jet, then most likely transfer to a smaller plane for the last leg, or maybe even a boat if you were going somewhere out of the way. You’d never expect the big jet to swing by your house to pick you up at your door, then whisk you non-stop to the tiny island.  Getting around the GTHA, depending on where you’re travelling from and to, follows the same logic.  Some riders may need to take surface transit, then transfer to one form of rapid transit – and then possibly to another mode to complete their trip.  The key point is to create a system that gets you there as fast as possible.

In a world where there’s only so much new money available for transit, careful decisions are needed to ensure final choices get the greatest number of people into transit, reducing gridlock on the road system.  The most costly option – subways – should be reserved for where it will do the most good, i.e. get the greatest number of cars off the roads.  Given that the need for new transit massively outstrips the money available, every single transit dollar needs to be spent wisely.

Professional analysis of facts has always been the basis for our vivaNext decisions. That’s why we’re installing BRT – the lowest cost form of rapid transit – along Highway 7, with the option to change to LRT when future volumes justify it.  On the other hand, the ridership and future employment projections do justify the cost of extending the subways north to the VMC, and along Yonge Street from Finch to Highway 7, so our plan includes subways too.

We’re proud of the system we’ve planned and are building for York Region, and are looking forward to the day when it will be connected to a system that covers the entire GTHA.  Now that’s something we think everyone will support.

Categories
Construction General

clearing the way for construction

If you’ve ever watched a new subdivision get built, you know how fast the work seems to advance.  Crews install utilities, build rough roads, and before you know it there’s an entire subdivision ready for families.  But building a new roadway in a densely built-up area is a completely different challenge: the work seems to go on for a long time, and progress is hard to detect unless you know what you’re looking for.

We’ve been working flat-out on Davis Drive for a year now, with dozens of complex activities underway or completed from Yonge to Leslie.  Even so, most of our effort so far has been about clearing the way, rather than constructing a rapidway and stations.

That’s the predictable reality of modernizing our roads and revitalizing Newmarket’s infrastructure, but it’s worth explaining why we can’t get going on roadway construction until these steps are completed.

A key work priority has been to build retaining walls to enable the road widening along the hilly contours of Davis Drive,  with that work now nearing completion.

And like all major thoroughfares, the foundations of the existing Davis Drive roadway are literally lined along both sides with existing critical infrastructure carrying water, telecommunications, gas, storm sewers and sanitary sewers.  Much of this infrastructure crosses the road at intervals and in many cases the various utilities are stacked up in multiple layers.  In addition, at the sides of the road are hydro poles and lines, transformers for electricity and telecommunications, fire hydrants, and a whole range of privately owned signs for businesses and commercial buildings.

As much as we love getting to the stage of putting down asphalt and constructing the beautiful viva stations, we can’t start this until the right-of-way is completely clear. Once we’ve built the retaining walls, we need to relocate everything else, one element at a time, further back and out of the way of the new wider roadway.  Relocating utilities is a complex task in itself, requiring a highly detailed level of coordination between gas, hydro, telecommunications and other utility companies.

Each type of utility has its own specific requirements about how and where it can be relocated, and which one goes deepest, which has to be installed last, and so on.  Each element requires its own program of design work and approvals.  And lastly, different crews are responsible for specific utility relocations, and there are rules about how closely they can work relative to adjacent work crews.

So the job of getting the roadway clear for construction is a huge, time-consuming and enormously detailed process – without even considering the new bridge and retaining walls that are underway. With multiple activities to be carried out in each block, some people may wonder why we’re not progressing more quickly.  But the reality is that we’ve already completed much of the work needed to clear the roadway, and widening has already started in some segments.  Because so much of the work is underground, there isn’t much to see yet.  But as crews start paving, it will feel and look like progress is starting to take shape.

Even though building a rapidway is a long process, people along Highway 7 in Richmond Hill and Markham can attest that the transformation does come to fruition. Residents and visitors alike are now enjoying the Highway 7 rapidway. We look forward to the day the Davis Drive rapidway is complete and Newmarket can enjoy the finished result too.

Categories
Construction General Live-work-play Rapidways

bringing vaughan metropolitan centre to life

We recently posted a great blog on planning that talked about the link between transit and new urban communities. Given that tomorrow (November 8), urban planners from towns and cities in over 30 countries worldwide will celebrate World Town Planning Day, we thought we would take a moment to highlight another one of York Region’s amazing communities, and see how vivaNext transit projects fit into York Region’s planning vision.

In the Region’s Centres and Corridors strategy, selected areas in Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Markham and Vaughan are targeted to have new, urban “downtowns.” They will be vibrant, higher density, attractive destinations with a full range of amenities so that people can live, work, shop and play in the same community. These “centres” will be connected by transportation “corridors” that will make it easier for people to get around the region. That’s where we come in. Our vivaNext rapidways will run along the corridors, connecting the centres through transit and safe and efficient travel options for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists alike.

You can see the vision for one of these centres coming to life in the City of Vaughan’s new video about the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre [VMC] . Located in the heart of Vaughan, centered on Highway 7, between Highway 400 and Creditstone Road, VMC will be one of the largest and most ambitious development projects in the area’s history, and is a superb location for Vaughan’s new downtown.

In the VMC, mixed-use transit-oriented development is proposed along a tree-lined main street, including businesses, residences, entertainment and cultural facilities, as well as pedestrian shopping areas. The VMC area will act as a transportation hub, including convenient passenger pick-up and drop-off, a York Region Transit bus terminal, and viva rapidways running in dedicated lanes along Highway 7.

VMC will also be home to the northernmost subway station, as part of the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension [TYSSE], an 8.6 km subway extension from Downsview Station, northwest through York University and north to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. An entrance to VMC Station will be built on Millway Avenue, between Edgeley Boulevard and Jane Street to provide easy and efficient connections to other transit services.

With approximately 442 acres of development opportunities, VMC also includes:

  • Projected office development: 1.5 million SF
  • Projected retail development: 750,000 SF
  • Minimum of 12,000 residential units
  • Population potential: 25,000 new residents
  • Employment potential: 11,000 jobs of which 5,000 will be office jobs

It’s exciting to visualize how Vaughan will evolve in the years to come. To find out more about other vivaNext projects, visit our projects page.

 

Categories
General Live-work-play

a trend away from cars

A recent article in the New York Times described a curious trend that’s showing up in countries as varied as Germany, Norway, Canada and Japan – a trend that shows fewer young people are driving cars compared to their parents.

The findings show that Millennials – people currently in their twenties – are less likely to get their driver’s licence now than in previous generations. Young people are more likely to take transit or cycle, and overall, the number of car trips taken on a per capita basis has been declining for the last several years.  In the US, people in their twenties drive about 20% less than their parents did when they were in their twenties.

There are quite a number of studies that together confirm this trend, although there’s no agreement on what is causing it. Increasing gas prices and weak economic climates in some countries may have contributed to this trend, researchers feel that other longer-term dynamics are the real reason young people are increasingly turning away from the car and finding other ways to get around.

One key theory is that increasing urbanization is a critical factor. In this theory, when people live within walking distance (defined as roughly 500 metres) from transit, it’s easier to leave the keys at home and let transit do the driving.

Whatever the reason, other recent studies carried out show that while baby boomers are ageing beyond the years when they drive the most miles, Millennials aren’t picking up the slack.  The result is that total miles driven is steadily decreasing, and is projected to continue to do so over time.

This change is bound to require a shift in long-term transportation policies developed by governments, including an increased investment in transit.

York Region residents do a lot of driving covering a large geographic area, and even with the launch of vivaNext along its major corridors, there’s no doubt this pattern isn’t going to change overnight.  But as it does, we’re going to be in good shape, thanks to our vivaNext plans for region-wide rapid transit giving residents more options.  We are already seeing the trend here with transit ridership increasing every year.

 

Categories
General Urban Planning

introducing the Bayview Towers

The Bayview Towers opened on September 1 for service, just in time for back to school. If you’re in the area near Highway 7 between Bayview and Chalmers/South Park you’ll have noticed two attractive buildings, sporting vivaNext symbols, built right next to the Bayview Bridge.   Here’s a description of the Bayview Towers, and how they’re going to make life more convenient and comfortable for York Region transit users.

The two handsome glass and concrete buildings, one on each of the north and south sides of Highway 7, are there to provide convenient access for people on Bayview Avenue wanting to connect to the viva system, and vice versa.  These buildings replace the stairs that used to be the only way people could make that connection.

Providing elevator access was always seen to be the ideal solution to ensure everyone would be able to move easily from Bayview down to Highway 7, but because elevators need to be located in spaces with constant temperatures and protected from the elements, we needed to create actual buildings around them.

That’s why we have built the Bayview Towers.  The buildings are not bus stations – there are curb-side vivastations on both the north and south sides of Highway 7.  The buildings are both fully accessible, and each has an elevator that will whisk people up to the level of the Bayview Bridge, as well as an interior stairwell.

Inside, the Towers are airy and well-lit, with glass walls making the interiors clearly visible to Highway 7.  With full security coverage including cameras that can monitor the entire building and emergency call buttons on all levels that connect directly to YRT dispatch, people will feel safe using the towers at all times.

At the top level, people will access the Towers via pedestrian bridges that enter onto the sidewalks on the Bayview.  Changes to YRT and Viva routes will go into effect now that the Towers are open, so check out the schedules before you head out.

All in all, we’re proud of these great new additions to our rapidway system, which are going to improve connectivity for everyone using Viva and YRT.

 

Categories
General Rapidways Urban Planning

welcoming all cyclists

We’ve been focusing recently on all the features of the new rapidways, which together are going to make transit truly rapid along Highway 7.   But it’s important to remember that many of the design features were developed to ensure that all users of the Highway 7 corridor feel welcome and secure.  This includes transit users, pedestrians, cyclists and drivers – the “complete street” design concept which you can read more about here.  One of the features that have been installed on the rapidways are new dedicated bike lanes and bike boxes, which are painted green.

To provide safety and convenience the new bike lanes will extend 5 kilometres, from Chalmers to South Town Centre Boulevard with lanes on both the north and south sides of Highway 7.  Unlike in many urban settings, York Region cyclists will have these lanes to themselves –our new bike lanes are dedicated, meaning they’re not shared at any point with vehicles.

We’re following the established safety standards, making the lanes 1.4 metres wide, with an additional half metre for a buffer zone between the bike and traffic lanes. Also to give maximum visibility for the bike lanes, they’ll be painted a high-contrast green in the areas around intersections, with special bike-lane markings to clearly identify them in the mid-block.

With the high volume of traffic, the bike lanes will provide a much more comfortable and secure environment for cyclists riding along Highway 7.  But eventually most cyclists will want to turn off of Highway 7, with some needing to make left turns.  Waiting in the left turn lane with vehicles to cross multiple lanes of traffic and the rapidways wouldn’t be safe on a bike, so we’re adding another feature to make the experience better for cyclists.  They’re called bike boxes, and they will make the corridor more welcoming to cyclists.

Here’s how they work.  Cyclists wanting to turn left off Highway 7 will proceed through the signalized east/west intersection in the bike lane into the far side  then stop in a protected area, reserved for cyclists, tucked into the boulevard on the far side of the intersection.  This area, known as a bike box, will offer cyclists a waiting zone while they wait for the light to change.  Once the light changes, they will then cross Highway 7 along with other north/south traffic.

The bike boxes will be clearly marked with green paint like the bike lanes and other markings, so drivers and pedestrians will know they are for cyclists only.  Permanent bike boxes will be put in place this fall and replace the painted ones on the street, so by next spring cyclist will have a great new pathway to follow, with the latest of features.

We’re excited to be providing these new features for York Region cyclists, and know that they’re going to help make this corridor much more welcoming to all travellers, no matter how they choose to get around.

 

Categories
Live-work-play Rapidways Urban Planning

using colour and shape to create welcoming pedestrian spaces

If you’ve walked along the new rapidway on Highway 7, you’ll have seen the vivaNext pavers we’ve installed on the boulevards.  We know from the feedback we’ve gotten that people love the new look.

Most sidewalks in York Region, like pretty much everywhere else, are made of concrete, and the most important consideration is functionality: they need to be safe, accessible, durable and easy to maintain.  But beyond those goals, we also want our new boulevards – which are wider than the Region’s regular sidewalks – to reinforce the complete street concept, the guiding philosophy for our vivaNext streetscape design.  With all the development coming to the Region’s centres and corridors, in the future there will be more pedestrians, whether they live, work, or commute along our rapidway routes.  So we’ve made sure that our boulevard design is going to be visually appealing as well as functional.

The boulevard is made up of the pedestrian zone and the furnishing zone. The pedestrian zone is typically a 2.0m wide sidewalk which is fully paved with light-toned coloured pavers near intersections, and paved with concrete in the mid-block areas. The sidewalk is a continuous system even across driveways to alert motorists that pedestrians have priority.

The furnishing zone is located next to the pedestrian zone. The furnishing zone is an area where pedestrian amenities, furniture and planters are located. It is paved in light coloured unit pavers which reinforce the identity of the vivaNext system.

We’re using a combination of coloured pavers which not only look great but also add to wayfinding for pedestrians.  The main field pavers are light-coloured cool gray with contrasting coloured accent bands which will increase in frequency as pedestrians approach the main intersections. The east-west accent bands are a red; the north-south accent bands are a dark charcoal gray.

Immediately adjacent to the roadway and running along beside the pedestrian zone is a 610mm wide “transition zone”, which will provide an important comfort buffer against bicycle and vehicular traffic. In the winter months, it also provides an area for snow storage and protects the adjacent plantings from salt spray. This zone will be paved in special “eco-pavers”, which allow water to seep through to the storm sewer system.

A charcoal gray coloured textured warning strip will alert visually impaired pedestrians that they are approaching an intersection or driveway. At midblock where the pedestrian zone in paved in concrete, the warning strip will be grooved concrete. Both approaches will provide a tactile clue for visually impaired pedestrians of potential conflicts.

We’ve given special attention to the boulevards near intersections to ensure they reinforce pedestrian priority and add to placemaking. These areas have been designed to function as urban plazas with unit paving and accent pavers. Soft landscaping will define the corners of the intersections and function as gateways to the adjacent areas.

By making the boulevards along the rapidways welcoming and attractive, we’re contributing to the development of York Region’s new urban centres, and adding more walkable places for us all to use.

 

Categories
Construction Rapidways

the communications brain behind our rapid transit system

In other posts I’ve talked about the various ITS components behind our Bus Rapid Transit along Highway 7. But none of these pieces would be able to do its job without being connected to the others through a sophisticated fibre optics communications system.  Although it’s hiding underground, this communications system is really the unsung hero that’s going to put the rapid in our rapid transit system.   Here’s how it’s going to work.

As I’ve described before, there are several transit priority measures that will help viva vehicles on the new Highway 7 rapidways run smoothly and quickly through congestion.  These include on-board components on each vehicle including a GPS system and transmitters.  There are also the components at each intersection that help each traffic signal respond to changing traffic requirements including radio and infrared receivers that pick up signals from approaching buses and emergency vehicles, and loop detectors in the roadway that detect cars waiting at the intersection.  Lastly, there are the variable message signs (VMS) located at each platform that provide next-bus arrival information to customers.

As high-tech as each of these components is, none can be effective unless it can communicate with the others.  Each one also needs to be connected to the overall transit system which keeps track of the schedule for each bus, and which determines when the traffic signal phasing requires a temporary adjustment to let a delayed bus get back on schedule.

The connection is provided through a fibre optics communications network that links all of the intersection and every vivastation to YRT’s transit operations and York Region’s traffic operations.

This system is fully automated, with approaching vehicles alerting intersections that they are arriving, and each intersection sharing that information with the central traffic control system, which in turn compares that information with the transit schedule.  The system will continuously adjust and fine-tune to ensure the buses stay on schedule, while keeping the roads and intersections working well for everyone.

To enhance passenger safety, each station is equipped with cameras to monitor the platforms, a public address system to provide announcements and an emergency call box for personal safety.  All of these systems operate reliably and seamlessly over the fibre optic communications system.

By using fibre optics technology running the entire length of the corridor, we’ll be able to collect all this information and transmit it quickly so that the transit system can respond immediately.  The communication system will also provide the real-time bus arrival information displayed on station VMS.

With this high-tech communications system providing the brains to the transit system, viva will make it easier, faster and more reliable to travel across York Region.  Check out this video on how this system works.

Categories
Construction Live-work-play Rapidways Stations Urban Planning

countdown

As we get closer and closer to the time when the Highway 7 rapidway will be ready for service, our teams are working hard to finish all sorts of little details.  With much of the construction complete, we’re now focused on the final stages of completion and testing, and then getting ready for handover, when the system is officially turned over to York Region and YRT, the system owners and operators.

Handover means just what it says – it’s the moment in time when a system is handed over to the owner for care and custody.  From that time going forward, a system – which until then has been the responsibility of the Contractor/Design Builder – becomes the private property of the owner, and anyone needing access to do any additional work needs to get the permission from the owner for access.

Because the formal handover is such a significant development, especially on a major infrastructure project like the vivaNext rapidway, it’s important to ensure everything is in perfect working order.  The various steps involved in commissioning, which is the testing period that takes place before handover, vary depending on what is being handed over.  For example, with the fare equipment, we make sure the ticket vending machine [TVM] prints properly.  With the traffic signals, once they’re programmed the permanent signals are turned on and each phase is tested individually, and all the push buttons are tested to make sure they work.

Streetlights are inspected to ensure all the wiring is according to the drawings; that the bases are level, and the power connections are all correct.  The teams go out at night to actually turn on the lights, to ensure all the lamps come on and nothing is flickering.  Lighting is an important safety feature for both pedestrians and vehicles.

Viva driver testing is completed to make sure drivers know how to use the rapidway, its signals, and the stations.

Every single detail is inspected through a visual walk-down and a list of the things that still need to be finished or perfected is created with items graded from most serious to least serious.

Once handover takes place, legal ownership and responsibility is transferred to the owner, and the Contractor/Design Builder’s warranty period begins, just the way it happens when a homebuyer takes possession of a new house.

Handover in this case means some elements of the rapidway, like the rapidway, stations, boulevards and planters, are transferred to the Region.  Others, like the sidewalks and streetlights are transferred to the local municipality to maintain.

Ultimately, everyone who has a stake in vivaNext wants to see it work as designed, to provide a reliable, efficient rapid transit system and beautiful streetscape.  Because, at the end of the day, the ultimate owners are the people who are depending on it to work well: the public of York Region and we all want this to be a system to be proud of.