Our vivaNext team had a great time at the Markham Fair talking to people from all over York Region about what our projects will mean for them. During the four-day event, we spoke to thousands of people and handed out hundreds of enviro bags, lollipops and informational brochures.
Take a look at our video below for just some of the highlights of this year’s fair, and to see what some people had to say about the vivaNext plan.
Didn’t get your chance to appear on camera and comment on vivaNext? Make your own short video talking about our projects, send it to us and we’ll post it on YouTube.
One of the biggest Markham community events of the year is going on right now on the Markham Fairgrounds. In fact, it is also Canada’s largest four-day agricultural fair.
In addition to all these activities, the vivaNext team will also be there to talk to you about our new rapidways that will get you around York Region’s busiest corridors faster. We will have our booth set up inside with a team ready to answer your questions.
The Fair runs today through Sunday and is located on McCowan north of Major MacKenzie. For more information on how to get there, the price of admission, and the hours, please click here.
For a $2 off adult admission coupon provided through the Markham Fair website, please click here.
We look forward to seeing you at the Markham Fair.
So far, over 4,000 people have signed-up to receive our regular vivaNext email updates. Perhaps you’re one of them. Recently, we made it possible for you to customize the updates you receive.
You can now choose to receive email updates for a specific vivaNext project – or all of them if you want.
Click on this button in the top right of our website and watch the video.
For the past few months, we’ve been showing futuristic computer renderings of key growth centres within York Region and what they could look like years down the road with the rapidways. These renderings are really just a small part of a longer video that we have been working on that includes time-lapse animation segments showing the transformation of Newmarket, Markham Centre and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
You can now watch the full version on our website or scroll down to the bottom of this post. When you are on the website, just click on the icon at the top-right of every page that says “the future of viva”.
The video follows one girl’s journey as she grows up taking transit around York Region and witnesses these three key areas transform. As rapidways are built along Davis Drive, the streetscape is revitalized, a pedestrian mall with mixed-use development is built at Markham Centre, and high-rise condos and offices are built at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. The video ends with the girl, now in her 20s, walking to a subway station at Richmond Hill Centre.
These changes won’t happen overnight, but if you wonder how our community could evolve with these transit improvements and development planning, you have to take a look at this video. The transformation is quite remarkable!
What do you think of the time-lapse animation segments? Can you picture yourself walking down the Markham Centre pedestrian mall or hopping on a subway at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre? Let me know your thoughts on the future of York Region.
Team vivaNext member, Donald, shows students where the new Spadina subway extension will run on a map during the Annual Clubs BBQ last Wednesday.
VivaNext teams had such a great time talking to York University students on campus last week about how our new rapidways and subway extensions will make it faster and easier to get to school in the future. Over a two-day period, we had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of students who use rapid transit to commute to class from all over York Region. Boy, did they get excited when they learned that rapidway stops will be near their campus within the next four years, and subway stops right on their campus within the next six years.
On Wednesday, our first day on campus, we were at the Annual Clubs BBQ at Vanier Field. While the line-up for burgers was incredibly long, the one at our vivaNext booth was pretty impressive as well. Then the next day, Thursday, we took part in the Transportation Fair at York Lanes along with other transit organizations, car share companies and cycling networks. It gave York University students a chance to explore a wide range of present and future commuting options – including Viva – all in one convenient location.
Perhaps you were there? If so, we’d love to hear what you think about the vivaNext plan and what impressed you the most.
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.
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.”
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
