New Viva rapidway segment opens early on Hwy. 7 in Richmond Hill, Vaughan

The rest of the rapidway is expected to open by the end of 2019.

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 25, 2019
Sheila Wang

If you’re tired of getting stuck in traffic or worrying about parking, the new Viva rapidway along Hwy. 7 might help you out.

York Region announced Sept. 22 a 2.6-kilometre segment of Viva bus rapid transit (rapidway) along Hwy. 7 opened for service three months ahead of schedule.

The segment runs from Bathurst Street to Richmond Hill Centre Terminal near Yonge Street and includes the new Bathurst and Highway 7 vivastation.

The station -- located on the Hwy. 7-Bathurst Connecting Road -- has two platforms: eastbound and westbound.

"Together with York Region Rapid Transit, Metrolinx is excited to be opening another segment in York Region," said Metrolinx President and CEO Phil Verster who made the announcement the past Sunday.

The Viva/YRT project is part of a $1.4 billion transit investment from Ontario and funded by Metrolinx, a provincial agency.

The newly-opened segment marked a milestone for a 12.6 kilometres of rapidway with 10 new stations along Hwy. 7 from Bruce Street to Edgeley Boulevard, and from Centre Street to Yonge Street along the existing Viva route.

The rest of the rapidway is expected to open by the end of 2019.

The $333 million project started construction in the fall of 2015 with EDCO as the contractor, a joint venture of EllisDon Capital and Coco Paving.

Once completed, this bus rapid transit network will increase connectivity in the region and make transit more convenient for commuters, Verster said.

 "This rapidway links two of our significant employment, recreation and residential centres to subway lines, train routes, bus routes and park and ride lots; allowing travellers more options to choose how they want to travel," said York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson.

Statistics show York Region is one of Canada's fastest-growing large urban municipalities in Canada, and Richmond Hill and Vaughan have both been experiencing significant growth in population and employment.

There were about 12,000 businesses and more than 218,000 jobs in Vaughan as of 2018, according to Vaughan’s economic development and culture services.

The Vaughan Metropolitan Centre alone -- the city’s central business district under development -- was expected to provide residence to 25,000 people and create 11,500 employment opportunities.

As of March 2019, Richmond Hill was home to close to 5,000 businesses that employed more than 73,000 people, according to Richmond Hill’s latest economic fact sheet.

York Region Rapid Transit Corporation (YRRTC) is responsible for the planning, design and construction of the full vivaNext rapid transit network, but does not operate the service.

York Region Transit (YRT) is a branch of York Region's transportation department and operates both YRT and Viva services.