407 Transitway

scarberiankhatru said:

Blame the Warden & 7 mess on the planned success of Downtown Markham, which will come at the expense of the success of Markham Centre, whose failure will trigger the failure of Downtown Markham......oh dear, I've gone cross-eyed

Viva pretty much has to dip south to hit the GO station, while most of the area's vacant land is south of 7, also supporting a southward shift in where the bulk of downtown (and the transit line) would end up. If Viva ran along 7 and the GO station was moved closer to 7, Warden & 7 could have been the centre of downtown Markham, but it'd be worse for GO buses and the office parks nestled against the 407 wouldn't be very close to transit. This is what happens when you plan new downtowns instead of develop existing ones...something's gotta give.

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nfitz said:

For Spadina though, won't this transitway service go to the "Highway 407 Station" and the 7 line would go to the Vaughan Corporate Centre Station" at the corner of Jane and 7. So one would have to change from the 407 BRT, to the subway one stop, the the Highway 7 service. I'm starting to wonder how well this has all been thought out ...

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xtremesniper said:

But the part of the dip to the south that the Viva takes that annoys me the most is the part that holds no purpose. Just before Warden, it takes a turn onto Town Centre Blvd, and then it turns left onto Cedarland Dr before turning right back onto Warden. After that point it turns left onto Enterprise, which is where an actual stop is.

What's the purpose of the dip around the Hilton hotel if there's no stop there? It just makes it awkward for people who want to take the Viva if they live near Warden and 7.

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* by David Fleischer


Gridlock until 2023?
Transitway route along 407 unveiled
Transit unveiled. The Hwy. 407 Transitway was revealed to the region's rapid transit board at a meeting earlier this week. It is expected to be ready for use by 2023. If all goes according to plan, it could help reduce congestion in the southern end of the region.
The good news is a new express road is being constructed alongside Hwy. 407. The bad news is you won't be able to drive on it.

It won't open until at least 2023 but the province has nearly finalized the route express buses only will use through York Region on the 407 Transitway.

"We're at an important juncture," consultant Khaled El-Dalati told the region's rapid transit board.

By 2020, Viva will have a network of bus rapid transit lanes along Hwy. 7, however, the Transitway's exclusive road will operate as more of an express line, with only seven stops across the region.

'A key goal is funneling people onto â?¨other systems.'

It is estimated the system will see 70 to 80,000 weekday trips by 2031, including 13,800 boardings during morning rush hour.

A key goal is funnelling people onto other systems and 80 per cent of riders are expected to exit at Richmond Hill Centre to board the GO train, YRT and Viva buses or the planned Yonge subway.

A similarly high percentage are expected to transfer to other systems at the Spadina subway's 407 Transitway station.

When complete, the line will stretch across the GTA, but the first phase will be a 23-kilometre stretch in York Region, with a connection west to Pearson Airport.

The system is designed with a possible future conversion to LRT in mind and space is set aside behind the 407 Transitway subway station for a bus operations and maintenance facility and a similar facility for LRT.

The preferred route is nearly complete and an environmental assessment could be complete before the end of the year.

It would need to be renewed every five years but starting now allows the province to protect property and be ready to go, project manager Robb Minnes said.

You can learn more at two public meetings scheduled for later this month, at Black Creek Pioneer Village and Markham's Delta Hotel.

THE ROUTE

The road will travel below Hwy. 400, remaining underground through the 407 Transitway station and Jane Street. It then comes above ground, crossing the CN rail yard bridge, crossing over Hwy. 407 east of Keele Street. It enters the future GO rail Concord station (on the Barrie line) and then runs between and Hwy. 407, stopping at Bathurst Street, where a parking lot will be built between Bathurst and the Hwy. 7 ramp. A pedestrian bridge will allow a connection across Hwy. 7.

The route remains between the two highways, heading underground and curving north into its biggest station, Yonge Street. The station is expected to be between the future subway stop at High Tech Road, and the GO station.

It heads back between the highways, crossing over Hwy. 407 en route to the next stop, on Leslie Street, just south of the 407.

Next, it travels over Hwy. 404, but below the ramps to the 407, remaining above ground until entering the next station, at Woodbine Avenue/Roddick Road.

Once again, it comes above ground and crosses Hwy. 407, east of Warden Road, before dipping underground one last time at the Markham Centre station, which will interface with the GO Stouffville line and Viva routes.

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xtremesniper said:

But the part of the dip to the south that the Viva takes that annoys me the most is the part that holds no purpose. Just before Warden, it takes a turn onto Town Centre Blvd, and then it turns left onto Cedarland Dr before turning right back onto Warden. After that point it turns left onto Enterprise, which is where an actual stop is.

What's the purpose of the dip around the Hilton hotel if there's no stop there? It just makes it awkward for people who want to take the Viva if they live near Warden and 7.

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By David Fleischer
Slow down Hwy. 407 transit plan, region says

It’s not expected to open for at least a decade, but the 407 Transitway system is already a major concern for some regional councillors.
Nearly an hour was spent this week by members of regional council debating how to let the province know about the strong concerns Vaughan and Markham have with the planned bus rapid transit system.
After contentious discussions, council agreed to ask the province to extend an approaching deadline for comments on the project’s environmental assessment by one month so councillors could decide precisely how to articulate their position.
Four councillors voted against waiting due to concerns the province would move forward on a nearly complete environmental assessment.
“If this alignment gets passed, I don’t think you’ll see anything develop in Markham Centre in the next 10 to 15 years,” Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti said.
He spoke strongly against the plan, urging council to ask the province to hold off for a full year and said Markham would struggle to meet its growth projections if the plan went forward as is.
Both Markham and Vaughan expressed concerns with the plan to the province, but Mr. Scarpitti took issue with regional staff comments that effectively endorsed the project.
“Our concerns should be your concerns,” he said.
He and other councillors wondered why the province is moving so quickly on a project that has no funding and which is only earmarked to be built between 2023 and 2033. Mr. Scarpitti described the process as “a rush to nowhere”.
The issue also touched off a debate at Vaughan council this week, where local residents fought against the proposed location of a station in Concord.
“It’s not been fair and square or transparent,” Concord West Ad Hoc Committee chairperson Dr. Paulo Correa said of the planning process.
Residents of the 285-home subdivision have urged the province to move the station from a planned location west of Dufferin Street, on Hwy. 7, to the north side of Hwy. 7.
The station will block their access to, and infringe upon, the Bartley Smith Greenway trail system, damaging the environment and cutting residents off from a crucial part of their own community, they argue.
The Concord station is set to be a hub, not only for Transitway, but also for a future GO station and a Viva buses.
Moving the station would necessitate separating the GO and Transitway stations, eliminating the possibility of a seamless transfer between systems, project manager Robb Minnes said in a letter to Vaughan’s council.
The 27-year resident disagreed, saying the province is fine with a walk of 300 metres or less, and the distance residents propose is 380 metres.
“We’re talking about 80 metres, as opposed to preserving this land and saving this community,” he said.
The city has also been working to finalize key secondary plans, including for Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and, as in Markham, fears a locked-in Transitway plan would constrain development.
Vaughan council passed a strongly worded motion in support of residents, but when the matter came up at regional council, members voted against moving too harshly and too quickly.
Regional Councillor Deb Schulte earned a look of surprise from Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua as the only councillor from that city to break ranks, joining Markham councillors in voting against waiting one month.
“It is key that this work well ... and the alignment as it stands today will cause us significant problems in realizing that full potential,” she said.
Markham’s laundry list of concerns includes everything from the placement of stations at Markham Centre and Yonge Street to the route cutting through land earmarked for an expansion of Markham District Energy; land recently purchased from the province that now seeks to protect it.
At the end of the day, councillors were wary of supporting Mr. Scarpitti’s strongly worded request, hoping instead to still find common ground.
The frustrated Markham mayor pointed out Vaughan’s own resolution already called for Mayor Bevilacqua to sit down with the Minister of Transportation and request a delay.
When complete, the Transitway will stretch across the GTA but the first phase will be a 23-kilometre spanning of York Region, with seven stops at major intersections.
Express buses running on their own road alongside Hwy. 407 are expected to see 70,000 to 80,000 weekday trips by 2031, including 13,800 at rush hour.

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BMO said:

Looks like its moving in a promising direction, although we'll see what happens with the proposed station in Concord, which is facing a lot of local opposition. Locals want to move the GO train station to the North side of Highway 7, but the transitway is on the South.

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BMO said:

]Looks like its moving in a promising direction, although we'll see what happens with the proposed station in Concord, which is facing a lot of local opposition. Locals want to move the GO train station to the North side of Highway 7, but the transitway is on the South.

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