Tag: Vaughan

Categories
Community Events

Who has wheels and big blue antlers?

We do! Look for us this Sunday in the first two of five Santa Claus parades! We’re helping Santa say hello to the crowds along his route.

Happy Holidays enroute, from vivaNextWe’re saying happy holidays and also saying thank you to our residents as we begin rapidway construction along our Davis Drive and Highway 7 corridors.

We’ll be sending you our season’s greetings using modern transportation, and we’ll be suited appropriately for leading Santa’s sleigh – in vivaNext style of course!

Planning these parades has put us in a festive mood, and we hope you’ll give us a wave while you wait for Santa Claus to come to town.

Parade Schedule:
November 14 – Vaughan – starts at 2pm
click here for a parade route map
November 14 – Richmond Hill – starts at 1:30pm
click here for a parade route map
November 20 – Newmarket – starts at 11am
click here for a parade route map
November 27 – Markham – starts at 11am
click here for a parade route map
November 27 – Aurora – starts at 6pm
click here for a route map

Categories
Live-work-play Rapidways Urban Planning

Public transit = more housing choices

housingcollage_10_07_12-copy

Here’s some new math you may not have seen before: vivaNext = more housing choices. How can that be? Let’s start by talking about housing options, and why they matter.

The expression, “one-size-fits-all,” applies to many things, but when it comes to housing preferences, we all have our own ideas about how we want to live. A traditional suburban house might be the perfect dream home for one person, but might be too big or too – well, suburban – for another. A stylish condo with a sleek balcony within walking-distance of entertainment and shopping is just what some people are looking for, but wouldn’t suit everyone.

No matter what our personal preferences might be, one of the values that most of us share is that we’d like to be able to choose where we live. Unfortunately, if a range of housing options is not available, it can be difficult for people to find suitable homes in a particular neighbourhood or community. And that’s a shame, because being able to stay in a neighbourhood you like, near friends and family, close to familiar services and supports – near your roots – means a lot to many people.

By bringing rapid transit to York Region, vivaNext will support the development of a wider range of housing options, so that every member of a family, whether they’re parents with young children, young adults moving out for the first time, or older people wanting to downsize, can live near the neighbourhood of their choice.

As a key component of the transit-oriented development being planned along the rapidways, new housing will be built, especially near the new centres that will be created in Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Vaughan. Almost all of the housing in these centres will be multi-unit, higher density apartments and condominiums. Elsewhere, other established neighbourhoods will be kept predominantly single family housing.

With so much of the new growth and housing planned in centres and along the rapidways, there will be less pressure on other areas to become more densely built up, allowing them to stay much the same. The ultimate goal is to preserve the balance around the region, offering more choice and more flexibility for people – no matter what stage of life they may be at, or their housing preferences.

Having more housing options means every member of your family can choose to stay in the community they love, even as their needs change over time. We’re pretty excited to think that vivaNext will help achieve such an important goal.

Categories
Announcements Stations Subways

View the final designs for two Spadina Subway stations!

spadina-stations-final-designs_2010_07_06

On Thursday, July 8, and Tuesday, July 13, 2010, you are invited to view the final designs of two stations along the Spadina Subway extension: Sheppard West Station and Highway 407 Station.

The Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension project will extend 8.6 kilometres north from Toronto’s Downsview Station to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre at Highway 7. The project will better connect people to their destinations of choice, and will help Vaughan fulfill its vision for future growth and development.

We encourage you to attend these two public open houses and share the excitement as rapid transit plans move forward in York Region.

Sheppard West Station Public Open House

Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010
Time: 4 – 7:30pm
Location: TTC Downsview Station – Bus Terminal Platform
At the intersection of Allen Road and Sheppard Avenue West
Access to Bus Terminal Platform through “Passenger Pick up and Drop off”

Highway 407 Station Public Open House

Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Time: 6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: The Hilton Garden Inn – Toscana Centre
3201 Highway 7, Vaughan
Take Transit: From Downsview Station take Viva Orange 077/077A or Viva Orange 107 to arrive at the doorstep of the Hilton Garden Inn, at the intersection of Highway 7 and Edgeley/Interchange Way.

Categories
Live-work-play Urban Planning

Seeing into the future with York Region’s Official Plan

futurebuilds

What’s the best way to see what the future will look like for York Region? A crystal ball? Cards? Tea-leaves?

In all seriousness, when it comes to reading the future for our community, I suggest you look at York Region’s Official Plan. This document, which is a critical planning tool, has a number of functions: it’s a public document used to describe and promote our vision for the future, but it is also a legal document used to support and defend key decisions related to public infrastructure, development and growth.

Based on a 25 year planning timeframe but updated every five years, York Region’s Official Plan sets out several key themes which will guide planning decisions, and will help make growth work for us.

One of the main themes throughout the plan is the desire to concentrate growth and development in key areas through the region. This will be done through the further development of a series of centres and corridors, meaning new downtowns in Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Vaughan. The idea is that by building more intensively in these areas, there will be less pressure for growth in the existing communities.

These new multi-use centres will be connected by transportation “corridors” that will make it easier for people to get around the region. And obviously, the best way to travel will be on the vivaNext rapidways, which will run along the corridors and connect the centres.

As they develop, the centres will become focal points for exciting new destinations, offering more choices in entertainment, dining, shopping, and other kinds of attractions. They will also provide higher density housing in condominiums and apartments, for people who like the idea of living at the centre of the action. These new downtowns will be designed with people in mind: they will include attractive, public open spaces where people feel welcomed, and be designed in ways that encourage walking, cycling and transit use.

The Official Plan recognizes that while many people may like the idea of heading to one of the newly urbanized centres to dine out, to shop, or to go to work, they may also want to have a home in a quiet residential neighbourhood. So the Official Plan directs that those kinds of communities will be protected from the kind of intensification that will be used in the centres, so people can continue to enjoy the lifestyles they already have.

And because people in York Region value the greenspaces that make up such an important part of this area, a full 69% of the Region’s landmass will be protected as either Greenbelt or Oak Ridges Moraine.

The Official Plan goes into a lot of detail on these main themes, as well as a range of others, and is well worth reading to give you a sense of how your Region is going to manage growth into the future, and how it is going to evolve.

I like to think that with this well-thought-out plan, people in York Region will truly be able to have it all: our familiar communities will be protected, but we’ll get the benefits of city-building; and we’ll have a great rapid transit system to move us easily between all sorts of exciting new destinations. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this future vision, and what it will mean for you and your family!

Categories
Live-work-play Urban Planning

Shaping the vision for the future

official-plan_2010_06_071

When you think of York Region, what comes to mind for you? The comfortable, tree-lined family-friendly neighbourhoods of Aurora or Vaughan? Or maybe the increasingly urban appearance of Markham’s new development areas, with many large head offices employing thousands of professionals? Or maybe the quaint, walking-scale downtowns of Newmarket, Unionville or old Richmond Hill? Not to mention the lovely green countryside that wraps all around our towns, offering recreation, productive farmland, and rural lifestyles. Maybe you think of how some downtown sidewalk areas could be more inviting, how much longer it’s taking you to get to work these days, or how it’s hard to get from A to B in York Region if you don’t have a car.

It’s probably safe to say that everyone in York Region has a view of what their home community means to them, and what they’d like it to be in the future. If asked, most of us could list the things we love, and the things we’d love more of (or in the case of some things, like traffic gridlock, less of!)

So when it came time to update York Region’s Official Plan, residents were asked to describe their vision for the York Region of the future. The input for the Official Plan makes a great snapshot of what people want out of their home in York Region, and what matters to them, which include:

  • Let’s be green;
  • Let’s try to live and work in the same community;
  • Let’s make it more beautiful;
  • Let’s make it lively, with lots of interesting things to do;
  • Let’s live in neighbourhoods that are designed to let us get to know our neighbours;
  • Let’s have more choices in housing availability, to accommodate every member of our community – families, single people, young and old;
  • And to tie it all together – let’s make it easier to get around, with or without a car.

That’s what people said, and then planners had to figure out how to make that vision come to life, looking twenty and even thirty or more years into the future. That vision is captured in a hefty document that is York Region’s Official Plan.

So what’s all this got to do with vivaNext? I’m going to tell you more over the next couple of blog posts, but here’s a hint: one of the key things that’s going to help achieve that vision of a greener, livelier, more compact York Region, is a rapid transit network. More than just transit, the vivaNext plan will help to shape our community into the future, and help bring those things people want – more choice, more opportunity, more green, more fun– to life. So whether or not you take transit, having vivaNext is very good news, and will be great for our community.

Categories
Announcements Community Events Rapidways

Exciting improvements en route for Richmond Hill and Vaughan!

collagepcc

As we said in the previous blog post – we’re on our way! Exciting improvements are en route for Richmond Hill and Vaughan, and we want you to get involved by coming out to our upcoming public meetings.

Over the next two weeks, four meetings will be taking place to discuss vivaNext rapidway projects, and you are invited! Two public meetings are being held for the Yonge Street rapidway, from Highway 7 to 19th Avenue, and two for the Highway 7 rapidway, from Yonge Street to Pine Valley Drive.

These rapidways – dedicated centre lanes in the road for Viva vehicles – will not only improve transit travel times, they are also a key part of Richmond Hill and Vaughan’s visions for the future, and York Region’s plans to manage future population growth.

If you’ve been to a vivaNext public meeting before, you know that our open houses provide a great opportunity to learn more about the vivaNext plan, ask questions, share your comments and meet the team that is making rapid transit a reality for York Region.

We are moving forward with our rapidway plans, in line with the recently revised funding schedule, and we look forward to speaking with you and answering any questions you may have!

Public Meeting for Yonge Street rapidway –
Highway 7 to 19th Avenue

Please note that the same material will be presented on June 2 and June 3.

Date: June 2
Time: 6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Plaza Suite
10268 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill

Date: June 3
Time: 6:30 – 8:30pm
Location: Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, Wallace Hall
10066 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill

Public Meeting for Highway 7 rapidway –
Yonge Street to Pine Valley Drive

Please note that the same material will be presented on June 9 and June 10.

Date: June 9
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Location: Richmond Hill Country Club, Georgian Room
8905 Bathurst Street, Richmond Hill

Date: June 10
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Location: Hilton Garden Inn, Toscana Room
3201 Highway 7 West, Vaughan

Categories
Announcements Rapidways

We’re on our way!!

metrolinx-announcement_2010_05_20

Yesterday, we got positive news.  But first: rewind back to March 2010, when the Province announced in their budget that, due to their major financial pressures, they would need to rejig their transit spending schedule, to focus on getting the most urgent projects built first.  So we sat down with Metrolinx to work through our plans.  We needed to figure out the best schedule that would still benefit the region-wide transit system, but with some pieces coming sooner and others coming later.  It took a lot of hard work, and yesterday, Metrolinx announced the proposed new schedule.

Metrolinx’ board gave its unanimous endorsement to the proposed plan, which means the vivaNext projects can continue to move forward, one in each of Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Vaughan. This first phase of building will see York Region getting $790 million for rapid transit expansion over the next five years.

The plan also has a second series of rapidways, which will expand the rapid transit foundation established through the first set of routes. This second phase will get $965 million for projects to be constructed between 2016 and 2020.

The bottom line is that between these two phases, the entire vivaNext plan as originally announced in April 2009 will be built. We’ve always believed that the vivaNext plan is one of the keys to getting the GTA moving, and now, after working closely with our partners at Metrolinx, we believe that the revised plan will still help us address the building gridlock that’s such a risk for us all. That’s good news for York Region, and for everyone who lives or works here.

So with this revised schedule now approved, we can really get underway towards building the vivaNext vision of true rapid transit for York Region. We’ve got our design teams, our engineers and our construction crews all revved up to finalize their planning and, as the Metrolinx proposal is confirmed by the province next month, we can keep on going. So keep visiting us at vivaNext.com for updates and news as we, with real excitement, get on our way!

Categories
Live-work-play Urban Planning

Making room for everyone

making-room_2010_04_19

There might have been a time when, as it grew, a community could just continue to expand its boundaries farther out into the surrounding countryside, adding new neighbourhoods as more people moved in. But in our increasingly crowded part of the province, we’re long past the time when municipalities can just spread out endlessly – our boundaries are pretty much fixed. So finding room for new people has to happen within our existing space.

With provincial legislation setting out formal growth targets for all Ontario communities, York Region has had to do some careful planning to map out where all those new people are going to live. And we’re not talking small increases – our planners have projected that by 2031, York Region will need to find room for an additional 577,000 residents and 234,000 households. And those new people need places to work, so planners also need to factor in room for an additional 180 million square feet of employment floor space, to accommodate the 318,000 new jobs that will be needed.

York Region is pretty big, so maybe those people can all spread out? No, it’s not that easy. In the first place, although some people prefer to live in more rural settings, the majority of people in York Region want to live close to amenities – near schools, near stores, near entertainment – near all the great things that make city life interesting and convenient. And those things tend to be clustered at the heart of our existing larger communities, like Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.

Secondly, although York Region is quite large geographically, a lot of our lands are actually very fragile environments, and are protected against significant development. In fact, nearly 70% of our total land is protected under either the Green Belt Act, or the Oak Ridges Moraine Act.

To make this a win-win for everyone, the Region has adopted a planning strategy that directs almost half of the expected new growth to existing built-up areas, with the other half going to new development areas. This approach will result in more opportunities for people to live, work and play in the neighbourhoods that they already know and love, while reducing some of the growth pressure on the surrounding countryside.

The Region’s Centres and Corridors – which include the cores of Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Vaughan – will play an important role in this growth strategy. Most of the growth that will occur within the Region’s existing urban area will take place in the Centres and Corridors. With this concentration of growth, people will find it easier to get around using existing and planned rapid transit services, and to enjoy the exciting mix of living, employment, shopping and entertainment options that are already there, and that will continue to evolve.

Those of us working on vivaNext are excited about this plan, because it will put transit at the centre of the action as York Region grows into the future. I’d love to hear what you think of this vision, and what it will mean for how you live your life in York Region?

Categories
Community Events Fun & Games

Have a ball learning what’s en route with vivaNext at this weekend’s Winterfests!

winterfest

You don’t have to be into winter sports to get out and have fun with family and friends in the middle of winter. This coming weekend, February 6 and 7, Winterfests are taking place throughout York Region featuring all kinds of fun-filled activities including pancake breakfasts, dog sled rides, horse drawn wagon rides, snow bowling, live entertainers, and of course, amusing games like our vivaNext ball toss.

We don’t want to reveal too much, but you could receive an exciting prize after you have a ball learning what’s en route with vivaNext – from the rapidways and subway extensions to great shopping and comfort zones.

For your chance to play and learn more about vivaNext, simply look for our vivaNext team and booth outdoors on Saturday at the Newmarket Winterfest and outdoors at the Vaughan Winterfest on Sunday. We look forward to seeing you there!

Winterfests Schedule

Newmarket Winterfest 2010
Saturday, February 6

Indoor at the Newmarket Community Centre
200 Doug Duncan Drive, Newmarket
8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Outdoor at Fairy Lake Park
Water Street, Newmarket
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sunday, February 7

Indoor at Ray Twinney Complex
100 Eagle Street West, Newmarket
Noon to 4 p.m.

Vaughan Winterfest 2010
Sunday, February 7

Vellore Village Community Centre
1 Villa Royale Avenue, Woodbridge
10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Categories
Announcements General Urban Planning vivaNext.com

Reflecting back on a year of many milestones!

With a new year just around the corner, we wanted to celebrate by reflecting back on some significant milestones for vivaNext in 2009.

In early spring, the Province of Ontario committed $1.4 billion for the construction of dedicated rapidways along Davis Drive, Highway 7 and Yonge Street for Viva vehicles.

The following month, the Ministry of the Environment unconditionally approved the Environmental Project Report for the proposed Yonge subway extension.

Around this time, our new website was also launched along with this blog and other social media initiatives to help keep you informed of all the latest vivaNext developments.

By the fall, preliminary rapidway construction activities were underway in Newmarket and Markham, and a contract for conceptual design work regarding the Yonge subway extension was awarded. In addition, preliminary station designs were also unveiled for several of the Spadina subway extension stations at a series of public open houses, and the project took an important step forward with a groundbreaking ceremony at the Wilson Subway Yard.

Then, just before the holiday season, a ceremony was held on the site of the planned rapidway alongside Enterprise Drive in Markham (which is part of the Highway 7 rapidway project) to commemorate the start of construction of the first 37 km of rapidways.

From every side of York Region, this past year has been filled with milestones for the vivaNext projects. We look forward to bringing you many more in 2010.

Happy New Year from vivaNext!

Reminder: All YRT\Viva rides are free on New Year’s Eve after 7 p.m.