VivaNext Construction update! Prospect South of Davis

Utility manhole construction on Prospect Street south of Davis Drive As part of the rapidway construction on Davis Drive, a utility manhole will be constructed just south of Davis Drive on the east side of Prospect Street. Dates: Starting Monday, October 22 for approximately four weeks* Times: 7am-5:30pm Lane closure and work area Crews will be working in the northbound curb lane on Prospect Street around the Southlake Regional Health Centre parking garage entrance (see map). Sidewalk and bus stop information The east sidewalk around the work area on Prospect Street will be closed. Please follow on site signs. All entrances to the hospital will remain open. Should the bus stop on Prospect Street (near Grace Street) be temporarily relocated south during this work, on site signs will guide pedestrians to the new bus stop location. Please note: There may be short-term noise disturbances and intermittent vibration associated to this work. If you have questions about the rapidway project, please visit vivanext.com, or contact: Michelle Dudzik Community Liaison Specialist Telephone: 905.886.6767 Ext.1096 Cell: 905.716.7663 Email: michelle.dudzik@york.ca *Please note: As with other road construction projects, some work will have traffic flow and noise impacts or may be rescheduled due to weather conditions and other variables. We are committed to providing advance notice whenever possible.

VIVA Davis Drive Road Widening Lane Closures

Please see below for details regarding temporary lane closures on Davis Drive this week.

1) In front of 54 Davis Drive on the south side (east of Yonge Street), temporary lane closures of the eastbound curb lane.
• Dates: Tuesday, March 22 to Thursday, March 24
• Hours of work will be between 9:30am and 3:30pm

2) In front of 350 Davis Drive on the south side (west of Niagara Street), temporary lane closures of the eastbound curb lane.
• Dates: Tuesday, March 22 to Thursday, March 24
• Hours of work will be between 9:30am and 3:30pm

Appropriate traffic control measures will be in place and every effort will be made to minimize any disruption to the traffic and pedestrians near the work area.

Coming Soon to Downtown Newmarket

Click on this link for information on the Newmarket Community Urban Space Project (CUSP) which is currently under construction behind main street

VIVA/NEXT Rapidways

For those curius to know what the Viva Rapidway is scheduled to look like, have a look at this video that viva has posted on youtube. The first 40 seconds are basically what Main/Davis is expected to look like, while other Transit oreinted projects follow.


*PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THIS VIDEO IS A DEMONSTRATION OF WHAT THE DEVELOPMENT MIGHT LOOK LIKE. Main/Davis is not likely going to see major development like the one proposed in the video for many many years to come.


The goal is to build transit systems and roadways that will accomodate for vertical development and the concentration of population growth in designated Growth Centres. This is all based on the The Ontario Places to Grow Act which is intended manage growth and development in a way that supports economic prosperity, protects the environment and helps communities achieve a high quality of life across the province.
Newmarket is a targeted area in the Act and has been given a Provincial Growth mandate to acheive a population of 98,000 by 2026, a goal I think will be achieved well before that date.

For More Info on Viva , click Here
For more on The Place to Grow act the the communities affected, click here

Transit Future Woes - Budget Cut backs could put Road Widening on Hold.

If you were hoping to trade in your car for the region’s new rapid transit service in the next few years, you may want to hold on to your keys.

The budget unveiled by Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan Thursday asks Metrolinx to delay $4 billion in transit spending during the next five years, meaning Viva’s bus lanes, including an extensive project on Newmarket’s Davis Drive, likely won’t open as soon as hoped.

Viva didn’t know about the funding delays until the budget announcement, but will soon meet with the province and Metrolinx, spokesperson Dale Albers said. The province and York Region will work together to deliver programs in a reasonable time frame, he said.

Mr. Albers emphasized the province’s prior commitments to transit and that no projects are cancelled. But with shovels nearly ready to go in the ground in Newmarket, Markham and Richmond Hill, the future is suddenly uncertain.

“It does’t seem sensible to halt the project this far along,” said Newmarket Regional Councillor John Taylor, who began making enquries as soon as he heard about the delay.

Engineering work for Davis Drive’s rapidways is complete and expropriations have proceeded to the point some buildings along the strip are boarded up.

Mr. Taylor said he was very concerned, but spoke with regional chairperson Bill Fisch Friday and is confident Mr. Ficsh and staff, who brought Viva so far already, will ensure things don’t grind to a halt.

“I’m hoping we’ll have a positive outcome. I wouldn’t want to see Davis Drive caught in limbo,” Mr. Taylor said.

The bus line would help free up congestion choking Davis for decades, Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen said, adding Southlake hospital’s new cancer centre will bring even more vehicles to town.

Expropriations are also underway along Hwy. 7 East, so construction can begin this fall. Those lanes were set to open in 2013. Further phases, extending north along Yonge Street to Richmond Hill and through Newmarket and west along Hwy. 7 to Vaughan, were set for 2014 to 2015 openings.

Even further down the road were other Viva segments and plans to extend TTC’s light rail transit on Don Mills road and Jane Street into York Region.

It was almost exactly a year ago Premier Dalton McGuinty came to York celebrating $1.4 billion for Viva, fully funding the construction of the median lanes that allow buses to operate out of mixed traffic.

The premier was following through on the promise of the $11.5 billion Move Ontario 2020 plan unveiled during the 2007 election campaign. He hoped the federal government would step up with money, but that never happened and the original funds for transit projects across the GTA are almost entirely dispersed.

Now, the government is trying to hold off spending the more than one-third of funding already spoken for.

While Viva’s future is up in the air, things are surely more bleak for the unfunded Yonge subway extension, despite strong regional lobbying for the needed $3 billion.
It’s “basically dead”, Thornhill Conservative MPP Peter Shurman said of Move Ontario, but he and other local politicians formed a working group with residents to lobby for the subway and they are kicking around alternate funding ideas.

“Gridlock costs a fortune” in terms of money and quality of life for York residents, Mr. Shurman said.

Vaughan’s Spadina subway is unaffected but Toronto’s plans to construct LRT along Finch Avenue and Eglinton Avenue are also pushed back.

“It makes absolutely no economic sense, it makes no sense from a social policy perspective,” Toronto Mayor David Miller told reporters, describing the decision as “disgraceful” and “thick”.

Both Mr. Miller and the Toronto Board of Trade slammed the move as shortsighted given its job-creation potential.

“This is not a good day for regional transit,” board president and chief executive officer Carol Wilding said.

“Our infrastructure deficit has become the casualty of a fiscal deficit with shorter-term priorities sacrificing the fundamentals of long-term economic growth.”
The transit delays were one of several belt-tightening measures announced by Mr. Duncan, including a freeze on provincial salaries.

“Public servants make a valuable contribution to the health and well-being of this province. They are an important part of our well-educated workforce. That is why we will not propose mandatory days off. That is why we will honour existing collective agreements.”

About 700,000 unionized employees will not see a freeze, at least until their contracts come due. That means it’s business as usual for the unions while other Ontarians are busy making ends meet, Mr. Shurman said.

Mr. Duncan also touted previously announced programs, such as plans to spend $63.5 million on daycare, the introduction of full-day kindergarten in September and the shift to the HST in June.

The harmonized tax is expected bring $1.2 billion to the provincial treasury next year.

Storey from:

http://www.yorkregion.com/news/local/article/657189--transit-future-woes

For more information on the VIVANEXT Project and how it's planned to effect Davis Drive, click here