Tag: Newmarket

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
Construction Rapidways Technical Uncategorized

what’s gravity & slope got to do with it?

While we’re building the rapidway projects, it’s not unusual for us to be talking a lot about retaining walls. If you’ve ever wondered why so much of our work seems to involve retaining walls, the answer can be summed up in two words: gravity and slope.

Simply put, retaining walls prevent soil from sliding down a slope. If a slope is very gradual as you might see on a lawn or wide flowerbed, for the most part the soil and earth pretty much stays put. But where there is a slope over a short distance that creates even a difference in grade, the force of gravity will make the soil slide downwards.

stopping soil slippage

The steeper the slope, the more likely it is that the soil will slide. If you have a lawn that’s even a few centimetres higher than an adjacent driveway or sidewalk, you’ll know that without some kind of edging, eventually the dirt will flow down onto the pavement.

Retaining walls are like edging; they’re structures that keep the soil in place where grades need to change within a short distance. And retaining walls can be short or high. For example, a curb is essentially a very short retaining wall.

where retaining walls fit in on the rapidway

In many stretches along our rapidway construction zones, the adjacent land is either higher or lower than the roadway – in some cases the difference is only a few centimetres, in others it’s a metre or more.

Because we’re widening the road, that difference in grade level now has to be made up over a shorter horizontal distance, making the slope steeper than it was before. In areas where the resulting grade difference between the road and the land slope is very steep, a retaining wall is needed to keep the soil in place.

where design is king

Some of our retaining walls are essentially high curbs; others are high structures requiring handrails and complex foundations.

Every one of our rapidway segments has a significant number of retaining walls, each requiring its own design, approvals and construction process. In all cases, retaining wall construction takes place once utilities have been moved out of the way, and needs to be finished before road widening can be started.

With so many retaining walls forming part of the new streetscape, design considerations are of major importance. A lot of effort goes into ensuring that the new retaining walls contribute to the aesthetics of the streetscape as well as be functional.

Different materials and finishes are used for different walls, from pre-formed wall blocks similar to what you’d use in your own garden, to poured concrete with decorative exterior designs.  Design approaches vary depending on how high the wall is, what kind of foundation it requires, and what it is adjacent to. And if the wall or adjacent slope is especially steep and the wall is next to a sidewalk, it will also get a specially designed handrail.

So the next time you see a bulletin advising about retaining wall work, think of gravity and slopes, and you’ll know that’s why we’re building these additional structures.

For information on 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
Fun & Games

#MyYongeStreet Selfie Contest

#MyYongeStreet Selfie Contest

Get your selfie stick ready, the #MyYongeStreet selfie contest launches on Monday, August 14!

We’ve partnered with the Town of Newmarket and the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce to bring the summer of selfies to Yonge Street. Enter for a chance to win weekly prizes or one of three grand prize shopping sprees. We’re proud to support the businesses that make Yonge Street a great place to stop, shop and dine.

here’s how it works

Take a selfie with your purchase from a business on Yonge in Newmarket, share the image on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #MyYongeStreet, and you’ll be automatically entered into weekly random draws for a chance to win one of three Yonge shopping sprees. You can also submit your image to contest@vivanext.com for a chance to win.

contest dates:

  • Monday, August 14 through to midnight on Sunday, September 3, 2017

it’s easy to enter:

  1. Visit a business within the Yonge Street rapidway construction area in Newmarket [between Savage Road/Sawmill Valley Drive and Davis Drive].
  2. Take a ‘selfie’ with your purchase in the business on Yonge.
  3. Post your selfie on Twitter or Instagram, or email to contest@vivanext.com, using the hashtag #MyYongeStreet.

prizes!

  • Each week, three lucky winners will receive $100 to be spent in the store where the winning selfie was taken.
  • There will be three grand prize draws for Yonge Street Shopping Sprees valued at $1000, $750 or $500.

To learn more about the contest, visit vivanext.com/selfiecontest.

Categories
Community Events History

it’s Canada 150 >> come celebrate!

it’s Canada 150 >> come celebrate!

Even before it became a region in 1971, York Region has been an important part of Canada for more than 150 years. Key fur trade routes travel through the region, and Newmarket hosted the first speech to spark the 1837-1838 rebellions [leading to the British North America Act and the creation of Canada]. In more recent years, we’ve become one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Canada and headquarters for many international businesses.

There are so many ways to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial and YRT/Viva can get you there. To help you plan your celebration, here are a few of the biggest Canada-150 events in York Region:

At vivaNext, we’re so very proud to be building transit in this beautiful, diverse and growing Region of York. As you enjoy and partake in the festivities, we wish you a wonderful weekend with the best this country has to offer.

Categories
History

crossing a river and marking history on Davis Drive

crossing a river and marking history on Davis Drive

Earlier this week we helped the Town of Newmarket celebrate the history of transportation in Newmarket, at the Keith Bridge on Davis Drive.

The Keith Bridge crosses the Holland River, which was an important centre of the original village in the early 1800s, with a grist mill, tannery, and the earliest settlers nearby. The trade routes from the old market of “York” in the south [now City of Toronto] to this “new market” in the north were important, and led traders and settlers to destinations farther north. In the early 1800s Yonge Street was built, following a branch of the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail used by natives and traders. About 50 years later the first railroad came to Newmarket, following the Holland River near Newmarket’s current Main Street.

Davis Drive played an important role in connecting Yonge Street to the railway and market near Main Street, and over time developed into a place of homes and businesses. In recent years, the Tom Taylor Trail has connected Newmarket with a beautiful place to bike and walk, including crossing under the Keith Bridge.

When the vivaNext project built the Keith Bridge as part of the Davis Drive rapidway, it was transformed from a utilitarian bridge going unnoticed by passersby, into an attractive landmark. It’s not just about appearance though. The Keith Bridge is wider, allowing for the new rapidway lanes and wider sidewalks for pedestrians. Construction also included improved utility lines under the bridge and of course the infrastructure itself, built to last for generations.

We hope that as everyone crosses, they’re reminded of the history of the river, the road and Newmarket. If you’re walking, be sure to stop and take a close look at the beautiful series of historical plaques along the bridge. As we celebrate Canada Day, it is wonderful to preserve a piece of history.

Categories
Community Events Construction Rapidways Subways

sneak peek >> what’s to come

sneak peek >> what’s to come

Have you ever walked past those construction sites surrounded by wood walls, and wanted a peek inside to see what’s being built? Curiosity is good – it helps us to move forward and to try new things. In York Region right now, we have a chance to sneak a peek at what’s to come.

In some cases, it’s right out there in the middle of the road. Communities with rapidway construction underway can see how their street will look once it’s done, by looking at Highway 7 East in Markham and Richmond Hill or Davis Drive in Newmarket. It’s more than bus lanes – it’s new utilities and infrastructure like bridges, tree-lined sidewalks and where possible, bike lanes.

In Vaughan Metropolitan Centre [VMC], we can see the transit hub on the way in the next year that will include a super-sized vivastation in the centre of Highway 7, linking to a YRT bus terminal via an underground pathway and above ground plaza, and connecting directly to the new subway platform below via escalator and elevator.

We can even get a peek at the new subway stations that are part of the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension project. TTC is hosting a Doors Open Toronto event this Saturday only, at the new Downsview Park Station and York University Station, set to open for service at the end of 2017. Information about the event is available on the project website, and if you can’t go, be sure to take a look at the photos posted by project staff on their Flickr site. And check out this TTC video of the future subway ride from Downsview Park to VMC, recorded last year to celebrate the final tracks being laid.

So if you’re curious about the subway, be sure to visit Downsview or York University Stations this Saturday. And if you’re curious about transit in York Region, feel free to ask us a question or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Categories
Going Green Live-work-play Urban Planning

urban parks bring us together

urban parks bring us together

Having at least one feature park is a hallmark of a great city. Central Park in New York, Stanley Park in Vancouver and High Park in Toronto – they’re all natural gathering places. We go there on a hot summer day to find some shade or a splash pad, and on a snow day we go there to skate or make a snowman. Parks make our towns and cities more appealing places to live and work, so it’s important to have them right in the centre of things, where we can get to them easily by taking transit, walking or cycling.

Green parks are beautiful, and a refreshing change from the indoors, but there is also something to be said for the more activity-oriented parks and parkettes. In Markham, Toogood Pond and Milliken Mills are full of picturesque trees and ponds, but the Pride of Canada Carousel in the heart of Downtown Markham also offers a fun diversion from everyday life. If you don’t live right around the corner from these, you can get there on YRT or Viva.

In Newmarket, Fairy Lake Park and the Mabel Davis Conservation Area provide green places to gather for sports and culture, connected by the Tom Taylor and Nokiidaa Trails and meeting in the middle at the Riverwalk Commons, where people gather for concerts and events throughout the year. Mabel Davis and the Tom Taylor Trail can be reached via the new Viva yellow route on Davis Drive, and on the south end of town, YRT will get you there.

In Richmond Hill, Lake Wilcox Park has cultural and culinary events most summer weekends, and is a stone’s throw from the new Oak Ridges Community Centre and Pool. A short walk west from the Viva blue route on Yonge Street is Mill Pond Park – the heart of Richmond Hill’s downtown and host to concerts and neighbourhood festivals all year.

Parks can be activity-focused too, such as Vaughan Grove Sports Park in Woodbridge, offering several soccer and baseball fields just south of Viva and YRT routes on Highway 7. On the northeast corner of Highway 7 and Jane Street, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre will be adding one more important development to this already bustling construction area: an urban park. Edgeley Pond and Park will be in the middle of commercial and residential developments – a place welcoming to all who will live and work there. With a rapidway on Highway 7, the northernmost station of the Spadina subway line and a bus terminal at Highway 7 west of Jane, this park will be connected in all directions.

As we start to see a hint of the spring weather to come, let’s remember how important it is to have great parks, connected by great transit.

 

Categories
Construction General Rapidways Utilities Video

a year on Yonge

a year on Yonge

‘Tis the season when we sit back and reflect on the year which has passed and prepare for the year ahead.

2016 was a big year for utility work on Yonge Street in both Newmarket and Richmond Hill. Gas and telecommunications installations were completed in Newmarket and water main and gas work made significant progress in Richmond Hill.

Through all of the construction barrels, mud, noise and mess on Yonge Street, we took pictures every step of the way and put together a video which captures the progress of rapidway construction in both Newmarket and Richmond Hill.

It is amazing to look back and remember all that can be achieved in just one short year. We look forward to another productive year in 2017!

Categories
Community Events Video

next stop… Yonge! the sky is the limit!

YouTube video: next stop... Yonge! Colouring Contest

What do you get when you give imaginative minds a box of pencil crayons, paper and creative license to draw their vision of the future of transit? Some pretty amazing masterpieces!

This fall we teamed up with the Town of Newmarket’s Recreation and Culture Department along with the Newmarket Public Library to give kids between the ages of 6-12 a challenge. We wanted to see their vision of what transit on Yonge Street will look like in the future. We received many colourful masterpieces brought to life as part of our Next Stop….Yonge! Colouring Contest.

Check out our latest video for a glimpse of the amazing entries we received. We’re sure you’ll agree that selecting our winners was no easy task. Congratulations to Avery [age 6-8], Sienna [age 9 and 10] and Olga [age 11 and 12]! Visit the contest page to see all the artwork we received.

We can’t wait to see what the future of transit holds for the next generation, the sky is the limit based on their imagination!

To find out what we’ve been up to in your community, check out our community events page.

 

Categories
Construction Rapidways Safety Uncategorized

let it snow!

Brrrr…..Winter decided to make an entrance this week! With the arrival of snow, our project teams put their winter maintenance plans into action.

With a bit of hard work and planning, the teams will ensure that our construction corridors are routinely maintained over the winter months to make sure everything is safe and secure, and that there is clear and easy access.

When our rapidway projects are in the construction phase, care and control of the corridor is transferred from York Region over to our constructor, but they need a little help maintaining the roads and sidewalks during the winter months.

They rely on our local municipalities [Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Newmarket] to assist with snow and ice clearing on the sidewalks, as well as York Region’s Roads branch to maintain the roadways.

With their specialized equipment and around-the-clock maintenance crews, the Municipalities and the Region are better equipped to handle whatever Mother Nature throws at us.

Before our teams can put their winter maintenance plans into action, we need to ensure that our construction corridors meet minimal maintenance standards. Traffic lanes and sidewalks are inspected to make sure they are wide enough to accommodate snow clearing machinery.

All sidewalks must be cleaned and potholes filled. Traffic barrels are inspected and cleaned so that they are visible at night.

Even though snow continues to fall outside, our construction crews will continue to work at building the rapidways in Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.  Stay up-to-date on work in your area by subscribing to our updates. Happy shoveling!