Improving access to Vaughan’s emerging downtown core

Oct. 25, 2019 9:00 a.m.

​The City opens three new roads, making it easier for residents and visitors to get around the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre

The Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) continues to evolve as a leading destination to live, work and play. It remains a hub for businesses and a top place for residential development supported by an integrated transit system used by residents, commuters and visitors. As the VMC continues to take shape with new transformational growth, including the historic arrivals of Niagara University, the VMC Subway Station and vivaNext rapidway, the City is making it easier for people to access and move through the emerging downtown with the opening of three new roads.

Working effectively with York Region, SmartCentres and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, the City has constructed and opened the following new roads in the VMC’s northwest area:
  • Applewood Crescent from Highway 7 to Portage Parkway
  • Commerce Street from Highway 7 to Apple Mill Road
  • Apple Mill Road from Edgeley Boulevard to Applewood Crescent
These streets will help to alleviate congestion on Highway 7, making it easier for commuters to get to the subway, for students and employees to head to class or their offices and for residents to arrive home. In addition to improving local traffic by creating bypass routes, the new roads will expedite future development and establish a central community park space in the area.
 
With approximately 179 hectares of development opportunities, the VMC is the largest and most ambitious project in the City's history. Once complete, it will be a walkable, pedestrian-oriented community with a vibrant public realm that is seamlessly integrated to an expansive park and open space network. It has a world-class transit system offering reliable connectivity throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and will see employment targets of 11,500 and be home to about 25,000 people by 2031.
 
The work undertaken to develop Vaughan’s downtown is overseen by the VMC Sub-Committee. First established in 2011, this working group brings together Council, staff, stakeholders and business leaders to collaborate on achieving the City’s shared goal of transforming the VMC into a thriving urban centre of economic prosperity, culture, greenspace and healthy, active living.
 
The opening of these news roads aligns with the mandate of the 2018-2022 Term of Council Service Excellence Strategic Plan – which identifies improving transportation and mobility as a core priority. Implementing these strategic plan initiatives will be aided by the new Transportation and Infrastructure Task Force.
 
QUOTE
 
“An integral part of moving Vaughan forward is a well-developed transit and transportation network. As one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Canada, we remain committed to being an economic leader in the GTA by generating jobs, encouraging and retaining investment and pursuing opportunities that will improve our quality of life. As the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre evolves, we continue to seek progressive solutions towards urban planning and development. Creating new connections to surrounding communities and making it easier for people to get where they need to go will contribute to our continued success. Higher-order transit provides a huge advantage for attracting residents, businesses and talent to Vaughan. Mass rapid transit, which includes the opening of the SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal and vivaNext Rapidway on Highway 7, will continue to make our city a destination of choice. With the construction of these three new City roads, we are meeting the rising demand of commuters by providing alternate routes of getting to-and-from our downtown core. I look forward to building on our successes, continue to seek progressive solutions and unleash the full potential of the VMC.”
- Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua
 
QUICK FACTS
 
  • With approximately 179 hectares of development opportunities, the VMC will include:
    • 1.5 million square feet of office space, at minimum
    • 750,000 square feet of retail space, at minimum
    • 12,000 residential units to be home to 25,000 people, at minimum
    • Density targets of 200 people and jobs per hectare by 2031
    • Employment targets of 11,500 jobs of which 5,000 will be new office jobs
  • Construction of these three new City roads align with completion of the York Region Bus Rapidway Transit Station on Highway 7 at Commerce Street, in addition to the relocation of the Highway 400 off-ramp at Highway 7.
  • The City is also working on additional road enhancements in the VMC area to be complete by 2021, including the widening and extension of Portage Parkway both east and west of Jane Street, and the reconstruction of Portage Parkway between Jane Street and Applewood Crescent.

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