The Highway 7 Rapidway in

York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, is a bus rapid transit

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

that runs along Highway 7 from Bruce Street in

Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

to Birchmount Road in

Markham Markham may refer to: Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * Markham's grass mouse (''Abrothrix olivaceus markhami''), a rodent subspecies found on Wellington Island and the ne ...

. There are plans to extend it west to Highway 50 and east to Cornell Terminal. It is served by the

Viva Purple Viva Purple is a line on the Viva bus rapid transit system in York Region, Ontario, Canada. The route primarily runs in an east–west direction along a dedicated right-of-way, dubbed the '' Highway 7 Rapidway'', in Markham and Richmond Hill. ...

and

Viva Orange Viva Orange is a line on the Viva bus rapid transit system in York Region, Ontario, Canada. The route primarily runs in an east–west direction along the Highway 7 Rapidway in Vaughan. It is operated by Tok Transit under contract from York R ...

bus routes.

Route description

The Highway 7 Rapidway consists of bus lanes in the median of Highway 7 between Pine Valley Drive in Vaughan and Town Centre Boulevard in Markham. It also includes a bus-only road parallel to Enterprise Drive, between Warden Avenue and Birchmount Road. Stations along the rapidway include heated shelters protected from the elements. On March 6, 2011, the first segment of the rapidway from Warden Road to Birchmount Road including the Warden Rapidway station opened. On August 18, 2013, the Rapidway along Highway 7 opened from Richmond Hill Centre to East Beaver Creek Drive and the subsequent year to Town Centre Boulevard (and to Cedarland on December 28, 2014). On February 26, 2017, YRT 77 Highway 7 buses began serving the Creditstone and Keele Rapidway stations. After an extension of the

Line 1 Yonge–University Line 1 Yonge–University is a rapid transit line of the Toronto subway. It serves Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission, has 38 stations and is in length, making it t ...

subway opened on December 17 that year, Viva Orange began serving Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station (via a covered on-street rapidway facility) along with Creditstone and Keele stations. Later phases will extend the rapidway west to Highway 50 and east to Cornell Terminal, potentially to the

Durham Region The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, it forms the east end of the Greater Toronto A ...

border at the York–Durham Line.

Stations

There are 25 operating rapidway stations. All stations are built at-grade.

Brampton Transit Brampton Transit (BT) is a public transport bus operator for the City of Brampton in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Ontario, Canada. Brampton Transit began operations in 1974. In , the system had ...

Züm Züm (, pronounced Zoom) is a bus rapid transit system for the suburban city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, northwest of Toronto, operated by Brampton Transit. Three routes extend into the Cities of Mississauga, Vaughan, and Toronto, with the fir ...

Route 501 uses the rapidway between the Wigwoss–Helen and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre stations.

Queen Street–Highway 7 BRT

In January 2023,

Metrolinx Metrolinx is a transportation agency in Ontario, Canada. It is a Crown agency that manages and integrates road and public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). It was created as the Greater Toronto Transportation Au ...

proposed extending the rapidway westwards along Highway 7 from Helen Street in Vaughan to Highway 50 and then into

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

along Queen Street, terminating at Mississauga Road. This would allow buses to travel in reserved lanes from the west end of Brampton to

Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is the city centre of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Measuring , the district is located at the intersection of Highway 7 and Jane Street (Toronto), Jane Street, northeast of the Ontario Highway 400, Highway 400 and Ontario ...

. Metrolinx has dubbed the project the Queen Street–Highway 7 BRT or Q7BRT.

References

External links

{{Big Move RT Viva Rapid Transit Transport in the Regional Municipality of York The Big Move projects Busways Bus rapid transit in Canada