Tag: transit

Categories
Community Events vivaNext.com Ways to win

Thanks for making our Next Best Thing To Summer Contest such a success.

In the past few weeks, about a thousand people visited vivaNext.com to enter our Next Best Thing To Summer Contest, which ended this past Friday, July 31, 2009. Entrants had a lot of fun using our interactive story to show us why summer’s the best and what their picture perfect summer looks like. On the other hand, we had a lot of fun telling them how vivaNext is the next best thing to summer because it will make it faster and easier for them to get to their favourite summer activities.

Each day during the contest period, one lucky entrant was randomly selected in our daily prize draw to win cool summer gear like water bottles, Canada’s Wonderland® passes, movie tickets, laptop bags and YRT\Viva two-zone passes. In all, 26 daily prizes were awarded.

Then this past Friday, the last day of our contest, we selected the final daily winner. We are now just getting ready to select the lucky winner of our Grand Prize – a handy iPod touch®. With this new iPod touch®, our Grand Prize winner will easily be able to get up-to-date vivaNext construction and project information wirelessly.

Thanks to everyone who entered our Next Best Thing To Summer Contest and made it such a success. Please be sure to visit vivaNext.com often for project updates and to see who won the Grand Prize.

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
Rapidways Stations

Where do you think we should place the bicycle racks?

One possible location for the bike racks is on the platforms as you can see in this rendering.
One possible location for the bike racks is on the platforms, as you can see in this 3D model.

As part of the vivaNext plan, beautiful new vivastations will be built in the centre of the roadway along the rapidways on Davis Drive, Yonge Street and Highway 7, as well as the proposed LRT lines on Don Mills Road/Leslie Street and Jane Street in York Region. From the top down, these vivastations have been designed around you. Among their many features and benefits, they will include bicycle racks for quick and easy transit connections.

Right now, we’re examining where to place these bicycle racks and would like to hear your thoughts. There are basically three options to consider.

Option 1 – Place them right on the platforms. This would allow you to conveniently lock your bicycle up right at your point of departure and simply board the next Viva vehicle. On your return Viva trip, you’ll arrive at the same station, but on a different platform. To get your bicycle, all you’d have to do is go back to the original departure platform.

Option 2 – Place the bicycle racks on the sidewalks at the intersections adjacent to the vivastations.  This option would make it more convenient for you to shop, run errands and meet up with friends after your return Viva trip before picking-up your bicycle.

Option 3 – Distribute the bicycle racks evenly on both the platforms and the sidewalks.

So which option do you prefer? Please take a moment to let us know because here at vivaNext, we value your opinion – even when it comes to bicycle racks!

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.
Categories
Press Rapidways Urban Planning

Metrolinx committed to breaking ground on vivaNext rapidways this fall.

Metrolinx President and CEO Rob Prichard takes questions from reporters after the public session of the July 13 meeting
Metrolinx President and CEO Robert Prichard takes questions from reporters after the public session of the July 13 meeting.

Metrolinx, the body created by the Government of Ontario to develop and implement an integrated transportation plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, is committed to working with Viva toward a fall 2009 construction start date for the rapidways project. During their July 13th public board meeting, Metrolinx President and CEO Robert Prichard said, “Progress is going very well indeed. We want to break ground this fall and we are working hard to do so.” During the meeting, Metrolinx General Manager of Investment Strategy and Projects John Howe presented our renderings of the Davis Drive rapidway to show how it will look in the future. They generated a lot of excitement amongst those in attendance.

If you would like to see the renderings presented at the meeting for yourself click here or visit vivaNext.com, where you’ll also find a link to the Metrolinx website in case you are also interested in viewing the meeting agenda.

Categories
Live-work-play Urban Planning

Transit-oriented development coming to Hercules, California

Many communities around the world are making an attempt at combating urban sprawl. An excellent example is in a town near San Francisco, California. They are preventing urban sprawl and revitalizing a formerly industrial waterfront by creating a pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented city.

What separates Hercules from other cities is that they are reclaiming land that was previously used for other functions instead of building on unused land that is “green”.

The town is also taking transit-oriented development to another level with a transit hub that will include a ferry terminal, an Amtrak rail station and buses destined for surrounding communities. Next to the terminal will be homes, offices, restaurants, retail stores and public space. Having everything close by encourages residents to walk instead of using the car, shop locally and meet their neighbours.

Having transit options, especially going to San Francisco, is a step in reducing traffic on some of the continents most congested roads.

Reducing congestion and commute times are ideas the vivaNext project will also bring to York Region.

What do you think about Hercules and the new urbanism in this suburban town?<-->

Categories
Announcements vivaNext.com Ways to win

Win a daily prize plus an iPod touch® Grand Prize


We’re sure you’ll agree that summer’s the best. But we think vivaNext is the next best thing. How come? Because vivaNext will make it easier and faster for you to get to your favourite summer activities. Makes sense, huh?

To spread this great news, we’re running a contest called – you’ve guessed it – the Next Best Thing To Summer Contest. It starts today and runs through until July 31, 2009.
Each day, we’ll be giving away cool summer gear like water bottles, Canada’s Wonderland® passes, movie tickets, laptop bags and YRT\Viva two-zone passes. Then, at the very end, to top it all off, one lucky person will win the handy iPod touch® Grand prize, which will make it easy for him or her to get up-to-date vivaNext construction and project information wirelessly.

To enter, all you have to do is go to our website and use our interactive story to show us what your picture perfect summer looks like. It’s fun and it’s easy. You simply fill in the blanks of our story by choosing from a menu of drag-and-drop pictures. Each time you do, you’re guaranteed to giggle as each picture moves and makes a funny noise. For instance, if you choose theme parks as one of your favourite things to do in summer, when the picture is in the right spot, the roller coaster rides through a loop and the people in it scream.

But be sure to hurry because our Next Best Thing To Summer Contest ends July 31, 2009.

Good luck!

Categories
Studies

Study shows you should expect to spend longer commuting

Traffic slowly moving along Highway 7.
Traffic slowly moving along Highway 7 in York Region.

If you think that your commute is taking longer, you’d be right and the bad news is that you’re not alone.

A recent survey conducted jointly by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the City of Toronto and the Regions of York, Durham and Peel confirms that average speeds on highways and roads all around the GTA are decreasing. On average, a trip now takes 11% to 21% longer than the exact same trip in 2002.

While this figure applies to the entire GTA, one of the worst long sections of highway is travelled by many York Region residents every day. The section travelling southbound along Hwy. 404 from 16th Ave. to Hwy. 401 during the morning rush hour is the slowest long stretch of highway in the GTA. Motorists see an average speed of 31km/h along this stretch during the morning peak period. Driving along Hwy. 404 during peak hours takes 3.5 times longer than during times when you are able to drive at the posted speed limit.

But York Region roads are not just congested by drivers heading in to and out of Toronto. The study looked at Highway 7 all the way from Durham to Peel Region, an 88 km stretch, and found that three of the five slowest sections were in York Region.

Average speeds on Hwy. 7 through York Region are often almost half of the posted speed limit and not just during rush hours. The study found that driving on Hwy. 7 in the middle of the day is almost as slow as driving it during the morning rush.

The simple solution as we see it is to get more people out of those cars that are causing the increase in congestion and get them on fast, convenient transit.

Do you agree that traffic is getting worse? What are some solutions?

Categories
Announcements Community Events

Celebrate Canada’s birthday with vivaNext!

On July 1, vivaNext teams will be out in the community at two different locations taking part in Canada Day celebrations and talking to local residents about our projects.

One of our teams will be at Fairy Lake in Newmarket for the Kanata Day festivities, where you can start the day with a pancake breakfast until noon for just $3 a serving. There will also be all sorts of other fun activities for the entire family to enjoy including inflatable bouncers, a bike competition, a baseball tournament, and live entertainment including our very own vivaNext mime. Then to top it all off, there will be the annual fireworks display presented by the Town of Newmarket.

Our second vivaNext team will be celebrating the day at the Canada Day Home Show in Richmond Hill. If you decide to spend the day there, be sure to drop by our booth to learn more about vivaNext. The Show’s taking place at the Sports Complex at 1300 Elgin Mills Road East from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

At vivaNext, we can’t think of a better way to spend Canada Day than with all of the great people who reside in York Region. We look forward to seeing you!

Categories
Live-work-play LRT Urban Planning

Successes in Portland with the “Total transit system”

Part of the total transit system in Portland, Ore.
Part of the total transit system in Portland, Ore.

While we enjoy talking about our projects, it’s also important to highlight some of the other positive transit initiatives that are going on around the world. Before we first launched Viva, we looked to other cities to see what lessons we could learn. One city that provided inspiration was Portland, Oregon.

Fred Hansen, Portland transportation manager, was recently featured on The Agenda with Steve Paikin talking about the “total transit system”. He said it’s not only about reducing travel time, but it’s about being able to properly plan your trip by knowing exactly when a transit vehicle will arrive. Portland uses light rail, commuter trains, streetcars and buses to move people.

They also have something called “frequent service”, meaning no matter what day or time, a vehicle will be there within 15 minutes on a frequent service route. Hansen said that when people can count on a vehicle arriving, they have seen triple-digit increases in ridership. Portland uses GPS so riders can go online or call to find out exactly what time a vehicle will arrive.

But Hansen said what they really want to do is create neighbourhoods – that it’s all about livability. A residential community is not just a place where people sleep or have a meal, but it should also be a place where people can get a glass of wine or a cup of coffee. The downtown core shouldn’t just be a place where people work. It should also have services and places for people to live. Transit has to reflect the community and be a part of the streetscape.

While the program focused on how Toronto can learn lessons from Portland, I would like to highlight the initiative of Portland and say that we hope to bring all these ideas to York Region and more. In fact, many of the ideas were initiated with phase one of Viva including using GPS so riders can know the exact arrival time. VivaNext will continue to build on leading industry standards that ultimately improves quality of life.

The ideas Hansen talks about are the same ideas we talk about around the office every day. We are using transit to lay the ground work for communities where people don’t just live, but also work and play. That is the end goal, transit is the medium.

What do you think of what Portland is doing? What other good ideas do you think we can copy from other places in the world?

I encourage you to watch the full conversation between Fred and Steve. It is followed by a panel discussion about how to share the road.

Watch the show