Tag: subway extension

Categories
General Studies Urban Planning

Ridership across country to soar shows study

Passengers wait to board Viva.
Passengers wait to board Viva. A new study shows that ridership will greatly increase in the coming decades.

Transit ridership is expected to nearly double in Canada over the next 30 years as the population rises to 42 million, with most of those people living in urban centres.

This is according to a report released recently by the Canadian Urban Transit Association, which represents public transit agencies across the country.

The report, titled Vision 2040, suggests all levels of government must work together to put transit at the centre of community planning and design. This will help create communities that reduce dependency on cars.

“Today, national transit ridership and investment are both at all-time highs,” states the report. “Transit is widely recognized as an important part of the solution to national challenges including economic prosperity, climate change, public health, safety and security.”

When factoring population growth, ridership will increase from 1.76 billion trips in 2007 to 3.28 billion trips in 2040.

To deal with this increase, CUTA says large cities and major metropolitan areas such as York Region and Toronto, must focus on integrating transit services and expanding rapid transit.

It sounds like vivaNext is on the right track with subway extensions that will be the backbone of a seamless transit system. The subway extensions and dedicated lanes will improve travel times throughout the Viva network and help to shape successful urban revitalization.

Read the final report.

Watch the video and see how transit will play a role in the future: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Transit Vision 2040 Video”.

What do you think of this vision? What do you see as the role of transit in the future?

Categories
Rapidways Subways Urban Planning

We talk a lot about the rapidways, subways and LRTs that are coming.

But when you boil it down, that’s not what vivaNext is really about. VivaNext is the plan to provide you with faster and easier rapid transit connections, so you have more time to enjoy whatever awaits you at your final destination. It’s not only our goal; it’s our slogan – “vivaNext. it’s about connections. it’s about time.”

Transit hubs at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and Richmond Hill/Langstaff Urban Growth Centre, where the Spadina and Yonge subway extensions will respectively meet Highway 7, is just one way vivaNext plans to improve connections. At these locations, riders will be able to make convenient connections with Viva, GO Transit commuter rail and express buses, YRT and other transit systems.

Rapidways is yet another way vivaNext is putting the rapid into rapid transit – up to 40% faster. How? By featuring dedicated centre lanes in roadways to allow our beautiful blue Viva vehicles to safely speed past congested traffic, no matter what time of day.

So tell us…When the vivaNext projects are complete, which connection point will be the most important for your daily commute?

Categories
Community Events

Back to school with vivaNext

Drop by our booth at York University to learn how our plans will improve your quality of life.

Viva vehicles on the York University campus.
Viva vehicles on the York University campus.

The rapidways and subway extensions will make it faster and easier for people living and working in York Region to get around. This is especially true for current and future students, faculty and staff at York University. Within the next four years, new rapidway stops in dedicated lanes will be near the campus and within the next six years, two subway stops will be right on the campus. Construction will begin on both of these fully-funded projects within the year.

When complete, not only will you save time getting there, but you’ll save on parking. If you’ve already graduated, then these projects will make it faster and easier for you to get to work and connect with other places.

We will be on campus Sept. 16 for the Annual Clubs BBQ. On Sept. 17, we will be there, joined by all of the other public transit providers in the area plus cycling networks and car share companies, for the Transportation Fair.

Here is some more information about the events we’ll be at.

Annual Clubs BBQ

Date: Wednesday September 16 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Vanier Field

Transportation Fair

Date: Thursday September 17 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: York Lanes Mall

Categories
Announcements Live-work-play Rapidways Subways

And the new name is…

An artist rendering of what an intersection at the new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre may look like in the future. It is complete with subway and rapidway stops, high rise condos, offices, shops and restaurants.
An artist rendering of what an intersection at the new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre may look like in the future. It is complete with subway and rapidway stops, high-rise condos, offices, shops and restaurants.

The City of Vaughan’s downtown core will undergo a transformation over the next several years. Encompassing 125-acres, development plans include office and residential towers, shopping and entertainment complexes, plenty of green spaces and pedestrian walkways, and, of course, vivaNext rapid transit connections.

In recognition of all the exciting changes to come, Vaughan City Council determined that a change of name – from Vaughan Corporate Centre – was in order to better reflect the true vision and future of this key hub.

This summer, the City held a contest where people were encouraged to submit their suggestions. Almost 1,600 entries were received, including Central Vaughan, Vaughan Gateway, Vaughan Mosaic Centre and Vaughan Nexus.

In the end, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre was chosen as the winning entry by the City subcommittee that reviewed all the submissions, which consisted of business stakeholders and citizens.

“People wanted something that’s easy enough to remember and still reflected what we want to see from the downtown,” said Councillor Sandra Yeung Racco, who chaired the City subcommittee.

To view a video of the future transformation of Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, please click here or visit vivaNext.com.

Categories
Rapidways Subways

Pop quiz for students

All aboard!
All aboard!

If you are a student, you’ll be heading back to school next week so we thought we would get you ready for some of those really hard tests with a little pop quiz. Luckily for you, this is an open book/computer quiz and help can be found on our website and blog.

1) What major university will have two subway stops running by it within the next six years?

2) What College campus in Markham will have a rapidway stop right outside its door within three year?

3) What high school at Warden and Highway 7 will have a rapidway stop outside its doors within three years?

4) What public high school in Newmarket will have a rapidway stop only a short walk away from its doors?

5) What Richmond Hill high school may have a subway stop a few blocks from its doors?

Good work, pencils down.

So as you can see, the rapidways and subway extensions will make it a lot easier for students from many different areas to get to school and travel in to, out of and around York Region.
If you are a student, how will our future projects help you get to school?
Good luck this school year.

Answers: 1) York University 2) Seneca College, Markham Campus 3) Unionville High School 4) Huron Heights Secondary School 5) Langstaff Secondary School
Categories
Announcements Press Subways

Big step toward starting construction on the Spadina subway extension

Chair Fisch and the other dignitaries pose for cameras in front of a scale model of a tunnel boring machine.
Chair Fisch and the other dignitaries pose for cameras in front of a scale model of a tunnel boring machine.

Lovat, an Ontario-based company that makes tunnel boring equipment, has been awarded a $58-million contract to build four machines that will be used in the construction of the Spadina subway extension.

The announcement was made last Friday, August 7, at the Lovat plant by Ontario Transportation Minister Jim Bradley, joined by MP Bob Dechert, York Regional Chair and CEO Bill Fisch, TTC Chair Adam Giambrone and Lovat President Dick Cooper. Not only does this mean the creation of some 200 jobs in the GTA and a boost to the economy, it signals continued progress on the project as it’s scheduled to open in 2015.

Prior to the announcement, I had the pleasure of joining the group for a bit of a tour of Lovat. We met at one end of their Mississauga plant and walked through to the other end while learning about what’s involved in making tunnel boring equipment. Cameras and reporters were waiting at the end of the tour to hear each dignitary deliver a short speech about the announcement.

It was awe-inspiring to watch the dignitaries being interviewed in front of a massive tunnel boring machine. They’re HUGE. Just take a look at the picture below to see how big they are compared to the people near them.

Lovat has built similar and even larger machines for projects all around the world, from Algeria to Venezuela. “We are pleased to be a part of this significant mass-transit project, as it not only generates jobs and strengthens infrastructure locally, but also highlights Canada’s technological capabilities on a global scale,” said Cooper.

The first two machines are expected to be delivered in the fall of 2010, with tunnel boring to begin shortly after.

York Regional Chairman Bill Fisch speaks to the audience and TV cameras in front of an actual tunnel boring machine last Friday.
York Regional Chair and CEO Bill Fisch speaks to the audience and TV cameras in front of an actual tunnel boring machine last Friday.
Categories
Studies Subways

Metrolinx’s interim report recommends subway over BRT on Yonge

What a transit sign may look like at the Richmond Hill Centre with connections to a subway, YRT and Viva busses, and GO trains.
What a transit sign may look like at the Richmond Hill Centre with connections to a subway, YRT and Viva busses, and GO trains.

Last Friday, Metrolinx released its interim Benefits Case Analysis (BCA) for the Yonge North Subway extension.

The BCA was developed by Metrolinx in collaboration with the City of Toronto, the Regional Municipality of York and the Toronto Transit Commission. The analysis looked at two subway options, and a bus rapid transit option.

Here are the key findings:

  • The subway options have a far greater positive impact on the environment, economy, land development and community than the BRT.
  • The economic impacts of the subway options are considerable – creating 21,800 person-years of employment.
  • Both subway options provide better service and reliability than the BRT. The BRT is not as reliable as the subway and would likely experience substantial overcrowding in peak hours.
  • The BRT is not considered a long term solution.
  • The BRT is likely limited by technology, and would not have sufficient capacity for the long-term needs of the corridor.

The proposed subway extension will meet up with the rapidways along Hwy. 7, which will soon get under construction. The combination of the rapidways and a connecting subway on Yonge St. creates a viable alternative to driving and will make it much easier for people to travel between York Region and Toronto.

While we would like to see the Yonge Subway extension proceed immediately, we know that projects of this magnitude can’t happen overnight. We will continue to work with all stakeholders and analyze the overall network elements, such as GO electrification impacts, the TTC capacity study at Yonge/Bloor, as well as the Downtown Relief Line.

The benefits of this project are significant and long-term. We will continue to work with all levels of government to ensure the funding is in place to keep this project moving forward.

The executive summary of the interim BCA is available here.

Categories
Subways

See how our subway system compares to others around the world.

Like Toronto, most of the great cities around the world have a subway system to connect people to key destinations and get people where they need to go faster, without relying on a personal vehicle. So how does ours compare in terms of vastness and complexity? At fakeisthenewreal.org, we found a really neat and simple linear illustration of 36 different subways systems, from Toronto to Tokyo and beyond, all shown on the same scale.

While cities such as London, Moscow, New York and Seoul all have subway systems that are both vast and complex, the ones in some cities tend to be one or the other. For instance, in San Francisco, Washington DC and Los Angeles, the subway systems are vast but not very complex. On the other hand, in Tokyo, Paris and Madrid, they are complex but not very vast. Then, of course, there are subway systems in some other cities that are neither.

So where does Toronto’s current subway system fit in? Ours is similar to those found in cities such at Athens and Delhi. It’s neither vast nor complex and consists of only a few lines covering a relatively small area.

Fortunately, the vastness of our subway system will dramatically improve with the subway extensions that are part of the vivaNext plan. They include the Spadina subway extension that will extend north-west 8.6 kilometres from Downsview Station in Toronto to the Vaughan Corporate Centre in Vaughan, and the Yonge subway extension that will extend north 6.8 kilometres from Finch Station in Toronto to the Langstaff/Richmond Hill Centre by Highway 7. Both of these subway extensions will further connect with vivaNext’s new east-west Highway 7 rapidway that will extend from Highway 50 in Vaughan to Reesor Road in Markham.

Categories
Community Events Ways to win

Thanks to all our visitors for a winning four days at the malls.

A young girl fishes at our Markville Mall Pond last Friday hoping to win one of our cool summer prizes.
A young girl fishes at our Markville Mall pond last Friday hoping to win one of our cool summer prizes.

This past Thursday through Sunday, vivaNext teams were out in full force at various York Region malls including Markville, Upper Canada and Vaughan Mills. Thousands of visitors stopped by our booths to putt golf balls and fish in our ponds for instant prizes like beach balls, flying discs and magnetic puzzles.

Of course, there was also plenty of great chitchat about vivaNext. People were really excited to learn that we’ll soon be breaking ground on the rapidways, which will make it up to 40% faster to get around York Region’s busiest corridors when completed.

If you missed us at the malls, not to worry because you could still win with vivaNext. If you haven’t entered our Next Best Thing To Summer Contest, you have until this Friday, July 31, 2009, to do so.

You could win cool summer gear in one of our daily prize draws plus our Grand Prize of a handy iPod touch® so you can get up-to-date vivaNext construction and project information wirelessly. Good luck to all our entrants!

Categories
Community Events Ways to win

Coming to a mall near you…with more chances to instantly WIN!

Putt through the hole at one of three York Region malls this weekend for your chance to win cool summer gear.
Putt through the hole at one of three York Region malls this weekend and win cool summer gear.

Our vivaNext teams are headed out to some malls this Thursday through Sunday. Stop by for some fun and games and you could instantly WIN cool summer gear. Of course, we’ll also be handing out some important information about vivaNext projects and answering any questions you may have. To find us at any of the malls listed below, simply look for all the activity around our big, bright Next Best Thing To Summer display booth. We look forward to seeing you.

Mall Schedule:

Thursday, July 23
• Markville (10am to 9pm)
• Upper Canada (9:30am to 9pm)
• Vaughan Mills (10am to 9 pm)

Friday, July 24
• Markville (10am to 9pm)
• Upper Canada (9:30am to 9pm)
• Vaughan Mills (10am to 9pm)

Saturday, July 25
• Markville (9:30am to 6pm)
• Vaughan Mills (10am to 9pm)

Sunday, July 26
• Markville (11am to 6pm)
• Upper Canada (11am to 5pm)
• Vaughan Mills (11am to 7pm)

A mother putts with her son at our golf game challenge. He won a flying disc.
A mother putts with her son at our golf game challenge at Upper Canada Mall last weekend. He won a flying disc and she learned about the rapidways coming to Newmarket.