Corp Comm Connects


New York Region Transit/Viva facility represents boost to quality of life: politicians

YorkRegion.com
July 22, 2015
By Lisa Queen

After something of a false start in April, a new $135-million York Region Transit/Viva transit facility has officially opened in Richmond Hill.

Transport Canada sent out a press release three months ago trumpeting the completion of the operations, maintenance and storage facility in the Headford Business Park near Leslie Street and 16th Avenue.

But a regional spokesperson jumped in to put a lid on the news, saying work had not yet wrapped up. That changed Tuesday morning when representatives of all three levels of government came together for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 481,679-square-foot facility, which will store and maintain the region’s fleet of transit buses.

“The government of Canada is proud to partner with provinces and municipalities to support transit infrastructure improvements across the country, including right here in the rapidly growing York Region,” Richmond Hill MP Costas Menegakis said.

The state-of-the-art building, twice the size of similar existing facilities in Vaughan and Newmarket, includes a bus repair garage with 26 bays, storage for 196 buses, a bus wash, administrative offices and training facilities.

It boasts a white-coloured “cool roof” to save on cooling costs and a rainwater recycling system with five rainwater tanks to wash buses.

Showing a flair for the dramatic, York-Simcoe MP and Government House Leader Peter Van Loan said the facility represents both a commitment to public transit in rapidly growing York Region and the Greater Toronto Area and an investment in economic growth.

“At the end of the day, it is about quality of life that matters most of all and a facility like this may not look like much but for every family that gets affected, for everybody who gets home a little bit earlier, for everybody whose commute is a little bit better, that means a little bit better quality of life, a better family life, a better future and it helps cement the place of this community in what I think is the heart of this country, which is the best country in the world. Which is a pretty dramatic thing to say about a bus facility and maintenance facility like this one,” he said, laughing as his speech became more climactic.

The federal government contributed $57 million toward the project, with $60 million coming from York Region and $18 million coming from the province.

It is great to have the facility in the heart of Richmond Hill, Richmond Hill MPP Reza Moridi said.

“This state-of-the-art facility will support York Region’s broader Viva Next rapid transit network, which includes the Ontario government’s $1.4-billion investments in York Region Viva bus rapid transit project being implemented by Metrolinx,” he said.

“The Ontario government knows how important public transit is to improving mobility and managing congestion and curbing emissions and building strong communities...Investing in this facility is yet another example of our government’s commitment to supporting transit investments in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.”

York politicians, including regional chairperson Wayne Emmerson, Markham mayor and chairman of the region’s rapid transit commission, Frank Scarpitti, and Richmond Hill deputy mayor and chairperson of the region’s transportation committee, Vito Spatafora, also praised the facility.

“This building takes a huge step forward in building design and sustainable features, it supports our growing transit system, a transit system that provides choices for people of York Region and surrounding communities in how they get around,” Emmerson said.

“York Region is home to almost 1.2 million residents and will welcome another 400,000 people by 2031. We’re one of the fastest growing regions in Ontario and building rapid transit is one of the ways we’re supporting future growth.”