By Mary-Frances Turner, V.P. York
Region Rapid Transit Corporation
They came by the hundreds to see the rapid transit system of the future. People of all ages, from communities across Toronto and York Region, attended a series of public meetings and workshops throughout 2008. They watched presentations, reviewed engineering plans and, most importantly, asked questions and provided input.
This flurry of public interest, excitement and community pride was generated by the anticipation of vivaNext, the plan to deliver the next generation of rapid transit to York Region and connect our growing communities.
VivaNext is the plan that puts the “rapid” into rapid transit. Working together with the City of Toronto and Toronto Transit Commission, vivaNext includes the extension of the Spadina subway line to the Vaughan Corporate Centre and Yonge subway line to the Richmond Hill Centre. This will be the first time in history that York Region will be serviced by modern subways!
VivaNext spawns vibrant, pedestrian-friendly places for people to live, work and play and better ways for them to get to those places. The prospect of the Yonge subway being extended beyond Finch Station has generated a lot of positive public comments such as: “…it’s a great thing, not good, great!”, “I think it’s a dream come true!”, and “We are taking part in history making here!”
VivaNext will also take our blue Viva buses out of mixed traffic and move them into their own dedicated lanes down the middle of the street – called rapidways. Imagine how much faster your trips will be when they are operating in their own lanes along Highway 7, Yonge Street and Davis Drive.
It was a pivotal year for vivaNext in 2008 for a number of reasons. In November, the provincial transportation planning organization – Metrolinx, selected two infrastructure projects for construction beginning in 2009. Metrolinx gave its final approval to a $7 billion, five-year capital plan that includes over $1 billion for construction of several vivaNext rapidways. The Government of Ontario is expected to confirm this funding in the 2009 Spring Budget.
In the meantime, shovels are in the ground marking the early stages of construction of vivaNext. Over 400 metres of storm sewer lines, including manholes and catch basins, are being installed along Enterprise Boulevard in Markham. This project, east of Warden Avenue, is the first step in building a Viva rapidway. This initiative is modest in scope, but it is a positive sign of progress.
Together with public input, we are planning, designing and building a modern transit system to ensure we keep pace with tremendous growth, improve connectivity among our communities and preserve the quality of life people have come to appreciate. VivaNext spawns vibrant, pedestrian-friendly places for people to live, work and play and better ways for them to get to those places. As many of those who attended the public meetings so aptly put it, vivaNext “is long overdue.”
People appreciate the level of cooperation being demonstrated by all levels of government and understand the benefits of planning for the future. It is the best way we can accomplish such a large, complex infrastructure project. We witnessed positive progress in 2008 and we are confident 2009 will be even better.