Ontario Investments in Transit Fostering Growth

Public Transit Expansions Fueling Development in Vaughan’s New Downtown

Ontario.ca
Oct. 7, 2014

Premier Kathleen Wynne was in Vaughan today to celebrate the groundbreaking for a new office tower at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.

The government is helping to build up downtown Vaughan with smart investments in public transit. These investments are creating a new hub for development which is attracting major employers such as KPMG, the lead tenant in the new tower. Downtown Vaughan will be an urban and walkable community with extensive green space and quick access to transit that will boost productivity and ease people's daily commutes.

Ontario provided $870 million to the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension project to extend the subway to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. It has also committed up to $1.4 billion for the York VIVA Bus Rapid Transit Project, which included construction of dedicated bus lanes along Highway 7. A bus station connecting the new subway terminus will also be built.

Making smart investments in public transit is part of the government's plan to build Ontario up by investing in people, building modern infrastructure and supporting a dynamic and innovative business climate.

Quick Facts

• The Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension will extend the subway 8.6 kilometres from the existing Downsview subway station to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
• York Region Transit’s vivaNext Rapidway program involves a rapid transit network in which the buses travel in separate lanes so it is easy to get through congested areas.
• The City of Vaughan forecasts that by 2031 more than 11,000 people will work in downtown Vaughan and 25,000 people will live there.
  

Quotes

“Building modern infrastructure is a pillar of our economic plan for Ontario because we know that companies give a lot of weight to local infrastructure when deciding where to invest. Today’s groundbreaking is a great example. Our government’s transit investments in Vaughan helped make the KPMG office tower a reality, and are spurring the development of a thriving new downtown for Vaughan. By making smart public infrastructure investments, our government is supporting new jobs and new opportunities for people here in Vaughan, and all across Ontario.”

Kathleen Wynne
Premier of Ontario