Questions
How many new stations will there be?
How are traffic patterns changing?
Will pedestrians be able to easily cross the street?
How do people get to the station in the centre of the road?
What happens in the event of an emergency on a vivastation platform?
How will drivers know which lanes to stay out of?
How will the rapidways be maintained?
Routes and Fares
What transit services and routes will use the new rapidway?
How frequent will service be?
How does fare pricing work when transferring between Viva, TTC and Züm?
Can I pay my YRT fare without PRESTO? Can I use cash to buy a ticket at SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal?
How do I use PRESTO for my fare? And will I be able to reload my PRESTO card at the new bus terminal?
Are there plans for fare integration between Viva and TTC?
How will Viva rapidway service differ from my curbside Viva service?
Can Local YRT routes use the rapidway on Highway 7?
Cycling
Where can pedestrians and cyclists travel along this section?
When will the raised bike lanes open?
Why are there bike lanes in the middle of the bridge over Highway 400? Can pedestrians also use this section?
Vaughan Metropolitan Centre
Contacts
Answers
How many new stations will there be?
The Highway 7 West segment has five new stations:
- Wigwoss-Helen
- Pine Valley Drive
- Ansley Grove Road
- Weston Road
- Commerce Street
How are traffic patterns changing?
- Rapidways change how motorists access driveways and streets between intersections. The rapidway provides safer left turns for drivers, with dedicated left-turn signals at intersections and the ability to make protected U-turns.
- The elimination of mid-block left turns will help in avoiding common side-impact accidents in the median of the roadway during times of heavy traffic. This measure also helps to improve the flow of traffic.
Will pedestrians be able to easily cross the street?
At signalized intersections with viva stations, pedestrians may cross in two stages if unable to get to the other side during the first signal. To help guide them safely across, new pedestrian signals and a pedestrian countdown have been installed. The countdown will let pedestrians know how many seconds they have left to safely cross the street.
There is also a waiting area in the middle of the crosswalk, where pedestrians can push the “walk” button and wait for the next light before crossing the second half of the street, if needed.
How do people get to the station in the centre of the road?
People can get to the station by crossing at the signalized intersection and turning onto the platform ramp at the centre of the crosswalk. To return to the sidewalk from the station, a pedestrian light with push-button activation is located at the centre of the crosswalk at the platform ramp.
What happens in the event of an emergency on a vivastation platform?
A customer can push the emergency call button for (24/7) assistance and their call will be answered by a York Region Enforcement Dispatcher, which allows for two-way communication. Surveillance cameras will pan to the emergency call button area and blue pulsing lights on the platform will be activated to attract the attention of responders.
How will drivers know which lanes to stay out of?
We have designed a number of features to ensure the rapidway is easy to see, including paving it with red asphalt, "bus only" pavement markings and dotted turn lines at intersections to help guide drivers into their lane.
How will the rapidways be maintained?
Once the rapidway goes into service, York Region maintains the roadway, YRT maintains the stations and the City maintains the sidewalks and bike lanes through various service contracts.
Routes and Fares
What transit services and routes will use the new rapidway?
York Region Transit’s [YRT] Viva orange buses and Brampton Züm will use the rapidway on Highway 7.
How frequent will service be?
Frequency and the rapidway are what will put the rapid into rapid transit. Viva is already known for being frequent and when the full Highway 7 West and Bathurst and Centre rapidways open, schedules will be adjusted to ensure appropriate spacing between arrivals.
Viva and YRT routes are evaluated by YRT’s Service Planning branch on a regular basis, and service changes are made to routes and schedules as needed.
How does fare pricing work when transferring between Viva, TTC and Züm?
- Customers coming off the TTC subway and onto a YRT bus must pay a separate YRT fare. This can be done using a PRESTO card, the YRT Pay app, or exact cash. Visit YRT’s Fare Chart page for prices. Customers may also purchase a single fare from the One Ride fare machines located inside and outside of the SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal.
- Customers coming from YRT and onto the TTC subway must pay a separate TTC fare. Visit this webpage for more information about using the TTC subway in York Region.
- York Region and the City of Brampton have partnered to offer an integrated rapid transit service for riders travelling between Brampton and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
- Brampton's Züm rapid transit service operates between downtown Brampton and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre along the Queen Street corridor in Brampton, and Highway 7 in York Region. York Region's Viva orange service continues to operate along Highway 7 between Martin Grove Road and Richmond Hill Centre Terminal.
Can I pay my YRT fare without PRESTO? Can I use cash to buy a ticket at SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal?
Yes, you may use debit, credit or exact change at a OneRide fare machine located on station platforms when riding Viva. Alternatively, you can also pay your fare using the YRT Pay app. Here is more information about payment options, fares and passes.
How do I use PRESTO for my fare? And will I be able to reload my PRESTO card at the new bus terminal?
PRESTO is the smart card fare option for York Region Transit [YRT] as well as all other GTHA transit agencies. To use it for your fare, tap your PRESTO card on a PRESTO fare machine and your fare is deducted from your account. There are PRESTO fare machines for reloading your cards at the concourse level of TTC’s Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station.
Presto cards can be purchased at all Shoppers Drug Mart locations throughout the Greater Toronto Area [GTA]. Here is more information about PRESTO for YRT and Viva routes. And here is general information about paying with PRESTO: prestocard.ca.
Are there plans for fare integration between Viva and TTC?
Metrolinx and the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area [GTHA] transit agencies, including YRT, have been working towards finding the solution to fare integration. A final solution has not been identified.
How will Viva rapidway service differ from my curbside Viva service?
Viva rapidway service will offer all the things you already love about Viva on other corridors, with the added benefit of being in your own lane and not being caught in congested traffic. Plus the stations will have amenities such as a heated enclosure, security surveillance and live service announcements so even your short wait for the next vehicle will be pleasant.
Can Local YRT routes use the rapidway on Highway 7?
Local YRT routes cannot use the rapidway since they provide frequent local service within neighbourhoods with curbside stops, the buses need to turn onto/off streets, shopping plazas and major roadways to pick-up customers. YRT Local routes then feed into the Viva rapid transit system to enable travellers to get wherever they need to go.
Cycling
Where can pedestrians and cyclists travel along this section?
Raised bike lanes: Cycling paths are next to motorized vehicle traffic and raised to the same level as the sidewalks. At intersections, the bike lane goes back down to road level. The raised bike lanes will be opened for service in 2020.
On Highway 7 West: If you’re cycling Highway 7 westbound, raised bike lanes run from Bruce Street to Famous Avenue, where cyclists then access the centre-lane multi-use path to Applewood Crescent, then move back to the roadside bike lane. They also connect with bike lanes in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, which includes connections to YRT at the newly opened SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal, and the TTC Line 1 subway.
When will the raised bike lanes open?
The raised bike lanes will open in 2020.
Why are there bike lanes in the middle of the bridge over Highway 400? Can pedestrians also use this section?
Yes, the multi-use path running between the rapidway lanes on Highway 7 West over Highway 400 is for pedestrians and cyclists. This protected path for pedestrians and cyclists has signalized intersections at each end to enable crossings back to the sides of Highway 7.
Separated from traffic and transit vehicles by a concrete barrier wall, the multi-use path is wide enough for two-way travel. By bringing travellers away from the outside of the bridge, as well as the busy ramps of Highway 400, the new multi-use path improves regular traffic flow, and crucially for pedestrians and cyclists offers an effective, convenient solution as people make connections to and from the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and throughout Vaughan and York Region.
While centre-road travel for cyclists and pedestrians is a new concept here in York Region, they’ve been built in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Athens, Georgia; Washington, DC; and New York City.
Integrated with the City of Vaughan’s bike lane program and York Region’s network of bike lanes, the multi-use path connects with bike lanes already constructed on Highway 7 from Edgeley Boulevard/Interchange Way to Bowes Road/ Baldwin Avenue, as well as up Millway Avenue to the newly opened SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
Vaughan Metropolitan Centre
What is the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre [VMC] and what transit connections does it offer?
The Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is a key urban centre with a focus on connected transit networks and new growth and development, via York Region’s Centres and Corridors Program – a visionary planning framework that is channeling new jobs, housing and shopping to the newly urbanized downtowns in Vaughan, as well as Markham, Newmarket and Richmond Hill.
The Vaughan Metropolitan Centre has within it an ultra-connected transit hub. The Viva rapidway on Highway 7, the TTC Line 1 subway and now SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal are all connected to get you where you want to go.
Contacts
Who can I call if I have a question about the rapidway construction projects in Vaughan?
Keeping the public informed and engaged with our rapidway projects is important to us. Our Community Liaisons work with property owners, tenants, local businesses and residents.
For more information on VivaNext Construction, please contact our Community Liaison.
Who can I call if I have questions about YRT bus service?
YRT Information Line:
Local: 905 762 2100
Toll free: 1 866 MOVE YRT [668 3978]
Monday to Friday: 7am–7pm
Saturday, Sunday and Holidays: 8:30am–4:30pm