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New Bus Shelters

July 10, 2008

In the ongoing commitment to make our Transit system as convenient and comfortable as possible, there are new bus shelters being constructed this summer at Church Street and Country Glen Road.  They are on the north-west and south west corners.

I am still working on the bus terminal which will be on the south side of Highway 7, well east of Bur Oak.  It is part of the Shopping and Commercial area that is planned for this area.

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Help for Highway 7 and Main Street

July 7, 2008

The intersection of Highway 7 and Main Street (Formerly Highway 48) has been a bottle neck for years.  With a lot of work, I'm please to announce that steps have been taken to help. 

Traffic Gridlock is an on-going concern, but this is a step in the right direction, and I thank all those from the Town of Markham and the Region of York who have worked with me on this.

Please click here for the full story.

Improvements and Upgrades to Transit Schedules

June 20. 2008

Markham Service Changes

Several YRT/Viva service changes will be going into effect on June 29, 2008.

Below is a summary of the changes for our area. All revised schedules are available at www.yrt.ca/schedules/service-changes.asp .

YRT/Viva Markham Service Changes – Effective June 29, 2008

• Viva purple
- Weekday rush hour service will be reduced to a 15-minute frequency for the summer months.
• Route 1 – Highway 7
- Due to an increase in use of Viva purple, Route 1 – Highway 7 will run on a decreased 15 to 20-minute frequency during the morning and afternoon rush hour periods.
- With the end of the school year at Markham District High School, all eastbound morning rush hour trips will operate along Highway 7.
- Also, the previous 3:05 p.m. trip departing from Markham District High School will now depart from Markham Stouffville Hospital at 3:20 p.m.
• Route 2 – Milliken
- NEW eastbound trips will depart from the Finch GO Bus Terminal at 5:50 a.m., 3:15 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- The existing 3:05 p.m. eastbound trip departing from Finch GO Bus Terminal will now depart five minutes earlier at 3 p.m.
- Service will be EXTENDED along Denison St. and Elson St. to provide service to the residential area east of Markham Rd. Minor weekday schedule adjustments will occur to accommodate this extension.
- There will also be minor weekday rush hour schedule adjustments due to the road closure along John St. between Henderson Ave. and Bayview Ave.
• Route 2A – 14th Avenue
- A westbound trip will now depart from Markham Stouffville Hospital at 3 p.m. for the summer months.
- With the end of the school year at Father McGivney Catholic Academy, the 2:47 p.m. eastbound trip departing from McCowan Rd. & 14th Ave. will be discontinued.
- With the end of the school year at Markham District High School, the 7:10am eastbound trip departing from McCowan Rd. & 14th Ave. will be discontinued.
• Route 18 – Bur Oak
- For an improved connection with TTC Route 129A – McCowan North, the 8:45 a.m. westbound trip from Markham Stouffville Hospital will now depart at 8:43 a.m.
• Route 85 – Rutherford/16th Avenue (Vaughan Mills Mall to Markham Stouffville Hospital)
- Major restructuring of the Rutherford Rd./Carrville Rd./16th Ave./Beaver Creek corridor will occur to accommodate a significant increase in demand.
- Route 85 will be restructured to operate from the Vaughan Mills Terminal to Markham Stouffville Hospital.
- Route 85 schedules will be adjusted for improved frequency and transfer connections along the entire corridor, with special emphasis placed at the intersections of Yonge St. & 16th Ave. and Leslie St. & 16th Ave.
• Route 303 – Cornell Express
- To provide express service north of 16th Ave., Route 303 – Cornell Express will be EXTENDED to McCowan Rd. & Bur Oak Ave. via Bur Oak Ave.
- This service will no longer service Raymerville Dr., Stone Mason Dr., 16th Ave., Fincham Ave., Larkin Ave. and White’s Hill Blvd. Route 301 – Markham Express will continue to service these streets.
• High School Specials
- With the end of the school year, all high school special routes and regular transit routes that divert to local high schools will be discontinued for the summer months.
- These high school specials will resume service in September.
• TTC in York Region
- For the summer months, TTC services north of Steeles Avenue will be slightly reduced because of lower ridership.
• TTC Route 224B – Woodbine Avenue
- To provide service further north of Vine Cliff Blvd., Route 224B – Woodbine Ave. will be EXTENDED to Stoney Hill Blvd. & Woodbine Ave.
• TTC Route 224D – Victoria Park North
- To provide service further north of Vine Cliff Blvd., Route 224D – Victoria Park North will be EXTENDED to Stoney Hill Blvd. & Woodbine Ave.
- To accommodate increasing demand, weekday rush hour service will be improved to a 30-minute frequency.

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Viva grows in 2008

December 17, 2007

Beginning January 27, 2008, Viva purple service will be extended to Markham Stouffville Hospital, serving the community east of McCowan Road for the first time.

The eastward extension will service existing YRT stops with new VivaNow fare validating machines located at Highway 48 / Main Street Markham and Wootten Way, and a new viva station on Church Street in front of Markham Stouffville Hospital.

To accommodate future service expansions, Cornell Terminal is planned to be constructed in east Markham for service connections and bus turnarounds.  Discussions to confirm the site and timing for Cornell terminal are in progress.

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All Day, 2 Way Go Service Announced.

December 15, 2007

Good News!

It was reported that the Ontario Government will announce $100 million in immediate improvements to GO Transit services.  The funding plan includes $20 million for new passing track sections for GO’s Stouffville and Bradford Corridors.

The cash injunction will be used to provide all-day, two way service between Toronto and Markham as well as Toronto and Newmarket.

Our Manager of Transportation, Sabbir Saiyed, P.Eng., spoke with Dan Francey, Manager of Transportation Planning and Development, GO Transit and he mentioned that the target date for completing the construction work of Grade Separation (at Hagerman near Unionville Station) is December 2008.  The work on by-pass track will have to go through EA process as well as design & construction.  This is expected to be completed by late 2009/2010.  The all-day service to Unionville will commence with one-hour headways sometime in 2009. 

GO Transit is planning to have extended all-day service to all stations in GO’s Stouffville corridors including Mount Joy; however it may take sometime as the GO wants to complete the construction of by-pass track.  Dan Francey, Manager of Transportation Planning/Development at GO Transit, was not sure of the timings, but he mentioned that it is going to happen soon after opening the service to Unionville.

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9th Line is Open - Bus Routes Change

November 21 2007

With the opening of 9th Line, there are changes to the bus routes in the East End of Markham. Please click here for the information.

York Region Transit Route Change for the Fall.

Starting September 2, 2007, York Region Transit and Viva routes will change to serve the public better.  I've listed some of the changes to the Routes in the East End of Markham.  Please click here for the information.

How do students get from Cornell to Bur Oak High School? Please click here

Box Grove By-Pass Finally Open

For the past 3 years, I have been working hard with Council, the Developers, and the Region to get the Box Grove By-Pass open.  It is finally being done. 

The barriers will be removed and opened to traffic on Saturday August 18, 2007 at 6:00 a.m.

Finally some relief for southbound traffic.  Now if we can just get The City of Toronto to co-operate with Steeles Ave ..........

Bur Oak Open from Church to Highway 7

May 28 2007, 5:45 pm

At the last Council meeting, I made another plea to cut the red tape and get Bur Oak Open.  My motion was not only passed, but heartily endorsed.  With thanks to the Regional Councillors and the Town and Regional Staff, as well as the developers, the road will be open by the time you come home from work tomorrow afternoon on May 29.

Hallelujah.

Transit figures are In

More transit users means less cars on the road. 

Our year-end numbers are in and 2006 rider ship reached 17.1 million, representing a 12.4% increase over the previous year.  This translates to some 70,000 fare-paying passengers using our services each weekday.

Please click here the PDF file of the Spring 2007 publication from YRT.

April 7 2006

Relieving Traffic Congestion on McCowan

Relieving traffic congestion on McCowan will have an effect on Ward 5 as motorist find McCowan a more efficient method for southbound traffic.  This should relieve some of the pressure on Main Street Markham.  Please click here for the details of the Environmental Assessment.  (This is a Word Document) April 5 2007

Community Memo notice about the building of a Bus Loop in Cornell

A motion was brought to Regional Council to build a temporary bus loop at the corner of Country Glen Road and Church Street.  For a notice of the Community Meeting, please click here.
October 28, 2004.

Trucks, Trucks, Truck - Bypass Extension

The Markham Bypass Extension is currently being studied by the Region of York who have retained McCormick Rankin Corporation. The study for a north- south transportation link in the southeast York Region.

Read the complete article, click here.

Cycling Implementation Plan

Phase one of the Cycling Implementation Plan has been endorsed by Council and will be updated as required with input from the Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

Read the complete article, click here.

Controlling the Traffic Monster

Traffic is worse every year. Often the engineers' solution to this is to plough big, wide roads through the centres of quiet neighbourhoods. There are other solutions, such as the Bypass and innovative traffic control technologies. I will defend your neighbourhood and support new tools to untangle the traffic gridlock.

Read the complete article, click here.

Speeding Vehicles

There is no single answer that will work for the entire Ward. Each area needs to be fully informed and be part of the decision making process, so we can find the method that will work best for them.

Speed Bumps have been installed in many areas of Ward Five. These need to be analyzed to gauge their effectiveness. Raised intersections and medians have been installed on John Street in Thornhill. These too need to be analyzed.

Long wide stretches of residential roadways encourage speeders, who would be slowed by adequate stop signs. More frequent police patrols also discourage speeders, as well as make the Ward a safer place to live, work and play.

Grid Locked Streets

It would be nice if we all worked in our local neighbourhood and could commute by foot or bicycle. Many can, and technology is allowing many more to be able to, but Ward Five needs integrated bikeways and pathways, kept in good condition year 'round. And where there is no other way than on the road, we need bike lanes.

I will push hard for the Highway 7 corridor to be completed, with the proposed transit right of ways. Traffic Lights need to be coordinated. And they need to take into account that there are senior citizens, children and parents using our intersections. An intersection should be a safe place to cross, not a place to make a mad dash to the opposite curb.

A complete interchange at 407 and 9th line is required, with proper lanes for easy entrance and exit.

The new Federal Government has promised more money for traffic and transit measures to the Municipality, and I intend on making certain that Ward 5 benefits from it.

Increased Traffic from New Development

The design of the new developments must not only reflect the style of surrounding areas, but must also be designed to keep traffic moving slowly and safely in the residential areas, yet with easy entrance and exit to the feeder routes. Now is the time to do it, rather than try to fix problems afterwards. There are good developers and then there are the others! I will strongly fight against poor design that does not fit what is needed in Ward Five.

Transit

It should not take an hour to get from one side of the Town to the other! We have a new provincial government with promises of money for transit. I will make sure that Ward Five gets its fair share. The Highway 7 corridor must be completed without delay, including a light rail system that does not stop before the 9th line. In fact, I will push for it to continue to the Town Line instep with eastern development.