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General

winter scoop

winter scoop

Winter may have been a little delayed this year, but judging from the frigid temperature outside… it’s here. Although our construction crews might not be able to continue to work in this cold weather, some work is still being done. Even in construction areas, winter maintenance and road clearing will still be done throughout the winter months.

All of our rapidway projects are at different stages, either open or underway. Each piece of each project is unique, and detailed designs are refined before we even get started on construction. Then there’s always coordination to be done with utility companies and municipalities, so we work on that ahead of time to help construction go smoothly in the spring. When a project is almost done, there’s a lot of technical testing, plus communications to local residents and commuters throughout the project’s life.

Even when things slow down due to the weather outside, we’re busy inside. Construction management teams are carefully scheduling work for 2016, and designers are completing detailed plans.

As snow falls outside, your local municipality [e.g., Newmarket, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham] will clear the sidewalks, York Region’s Roads branch is responsible for clearing the rapidway lanes [see their video!] and YRT/Viva operations staff look after the vivastation platforms.

We know that everyone wants to know what’s happening, so we’ll be sending out updates regularly. If you’d like to receive announcements and construction notices about work in your area, be sure to sign up for updates.  So… that’s the scoop for this winter – inside and out!

 

Categories
Rapidways Stations

rapidways in winter

rapidways in winter - Town Centre Station on Highway 7 East

It’s definitely winter! Nobody knows that better than outdoor maintenance crews. When there is snow and ice, York Region’s crews are on duty on our new Highway 7 East rapidway, clearing the way for rapid transit. In Markham, the rapidway travels down South Town Centre Boulevard and Cedarland Drive. The glass canopies at vivastations shelter Viva customers from light flurries, but when heavy snow or ice make an appearance, the heated enclosure is where you want to be.  To remove the snow at the stations, a contractor from YRT/Viva operations shovels and salts the vivastation platforms so that they’re safe for everyone. Sidewalks are usually a municipal responsibility, so the new sidewalks along the Highway 7 West rapidway are cleared by the City of Markham and Town of Richmond Hill.

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Before the rapidway was built on Highway 7 East, sidewalks were few and far between, and there were smaller curb-side Viva stops. The street has now been transformed from a suburban freeway to a walkable urban street and transit route [with bike lanes!]. With the new facelift complete there are benefits for everyone and the same treatment is coming next year on Davis Drive!  Think spring!