It’s hard to believe, but summer is almost over. Students of all ages are heading back to school this week, and more people will need to pass our construction areas on Highway 7 and Davis Drive. With this in mind, we’ve taken every safety measure we can think of to mark and fence our construction zones for everyone’s safety.
Street safety is an especially appropriate topic as students return to school, since elementary school taught most of us how to travel on roads safely as pedestrians or bicyclists, and Drivers’ Ed taught us the rules of the road. We hope students, and parents driving students, keep in mind everything they’ve learned about safety as they get back into the routine of commuting to and from school.
We’ve installed temporary sidewalks to keep pedestrians away from construction, and we can’t emphasize enough how important it is to obey posted signs and use the temporary sidewalks. At some locations, we’re moving YRT and Viva passengers away from bus stops located near construction by installing new temporary stops. If you ride YRT or Viva along Highway 7 or Davis Drive, please keep an eye out for signs explaining how to get to a temporary bus stop, and remember never take a shortcut through a construction zone.
With people back from holidays and in school, increased traffic volume can make it take longer to drive places. So with this added to construction, it’s even more important to plan your route carefully, remembering that even though all lanes are generally open near work zones, you still may experience delays from time to time. We’ve installed electronic message signs on Highway 7 to note any traffic delays or unusual congestion ahead, and we chose their locations to give you enough time to choose your route.
The best way to find out about upcoming work or potential delays is to sign up for our email updates. We know back-to-school is a time for getting back into routines and starting some new ones, so we thank everyone for making the little adjustments needed to accommodate vivaNext rapidway construction in your school commute.
One reply on “Back-to-school time is here”
After experiencing the non-VIVAnext related construction on Yonge Street in Downtown Richmond Hill (Yonge Street between Major Mackenzie Drive and Elgin Mills Road), I give the VIVAnext crew a thumbs up for doing most of the construction overnight and other offpeak hours.
It was maddening to see two closed lanes completly empty for the most in the middle of Yonge Street c for the most during Wednesday’s Rush hour for as the leftover 1 lane in each direction moves slower than a snails pace. I counted, as I took VIVA Blue southbound, no more than 10 VIVA Blue buses headed northwards inching along and bunching.
So again big thumbs up for keeping riders and other road users in mind along VIVAnext’s construction projects on Davis Drive and Highway 7 in mind when doing road improvements. It is greatly appreciated.