View source for Highway 7 Rapidway

{{short description|Bus transit right-of-way in York Region, Canada}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox bus line
| number       = Highway 7 Rapidway
| bgcolor      = #{{rcr|YRT}}
| titlecolor   = #FFF
| image        = WardenVIVA6.JPG
| image_width  = 290px
| caption      = Warden Vivastation
|status      = 
|system      = [[Viva Rapid Transit]]
| vehicle     = 
|locale      = [[Regional Municipality of York, Ontario|York Region]], [[Ontario]] <br> ([[Vaughan, Ontario|Vaughan]]; [[Richmond Hill, Ontario|Richmond Hill]]; [[Markham, Ontario|Markham]])
|start       = Wigwoss–Helen
|end         = Birchmount Road
|stations    = 25
|open        = March 6, 2011
|close       = 
|operator    = [[York Region Transit]]
|map         = {{Viva Hwy 7}}
|}}

The '''Highway 7 Rapidway''' in [[Regional Municipality of York|York Region]], [[Ontario]], Canada, is a [[bus rapid transit]] [[bus lane|right-of-way]] that runs from Bruce Street in [[Vaughan]] to Birchmount Road in [[Markham, Ontario|Markham]]. There are plans to extend it west to [[Ontario Highway 50|Highway 50]] and east to [[Cornell Terminal]]. It is served by the [[Viva Purple]] and [[Viva Orange]] 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 Terminal|Richmond Hill Centre]] to East Beaver Creek Drive and the subsequent year to Town Centre Boulevard (and to Cedarland on December 28, 2014).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marshall |first1=Sean |title=York Region's Rapidways: the good, the bad and the ugly |url=http://spacing.ca/toronto/2013/09/12/york_region_rapidways/ |website=Spacing Toronto |access-date=December 29, 2018 |date=September 12, 2013}}</ref>

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]] subway opened on December 17 that year, Viva Orange began serving [[Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station|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 [[Regional Municipality of Durham|Durham Region]] border at the [[York Regional Road 30|York–Durham Line]].

==Stations==
[[File:VMC Vivastation A01.jpg|thumb|right|The Rapidway station at [[Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station|Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station]]]]
[[File:LeslieVIVAConstruction.JPG|thumb|right|Leslie Street Rapidway station under construction in May 2012]]
[[File:Warden Viva Shelter.JPG|thumb|right|Rapidway stations feature heated shelters]]
There are 25 operating rapidway stations. All stations are built at-grade.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- bgcolor="{{rcr|YRT}}"
| colspan="4" | '''Stations'''<ref name="project_map">{{cite web|url=http://www.vivanext.com/project-map/|title=Project Map|date=2017-09-01|work=vivanext}}</ref>
|-
! Name
! Opening date
! Municipality
! Service
|-
| Highway 50
| rowspan="6" | TBA
| rowspan="19" | [[Vaughan, Ontario|Vaughan]]
| rowspan="19" | {{Rint|york|orange}}
|-
| Highway 427
|-
| Highway 27
|-
| Martin Grove
|-
| Kipling
|-
| Islington
|-
| Wigwoss–Helen
| rowspan="5" |November 24, 2019<ref name="service-november-2019">{{cite web |title=Highway 7 West Rapidway Now Open From Commerce To Wigwoss/Helen |url=https://www.yrt.ca/en/news/highway-7-west-rapidway-now-open-from-commerce-to-wigwoss-helen.aspx |website=www.yrt.ca |access-date=24 November 2019 |date=24 November 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vivanext.com/PDFs/H2/BandC/2017_Factsheet_Hwy7West.pdf|title=Hwy 7 West Woodbridge|website=vivanext|access-date=2017-09-28}}</ref>
|-
| Pine Valley
|-
| Ansley Grove
|-
| Weston
|-
| Commerce
|-
| [[Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station|Vaughan Metropolitan Centre]]
| December 17, 2017<ref>{{cite web|title=Changes are coming to Vaughan|url=http://www.vivanext.com/blog/2017/11/03/changes-are-coming-to-vaughan/|website=[[Vivanext]]|access-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref>
|-
| Creditstone
| rowspan="2" | February 26, 2017<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vivanext.com/PDFs/H2/VMC/2016_Factsheets_H2VMC_Phase1.pdf|title=Hwy 7 West VMC|website=vivanext|access-date=2017-09-28}}</ref>
|-
| Keele
|-
| Dufferin
| rowspan="4" | January 5, 2020<ref>{{cite web |title=Viva Bus Rapid Transit Segments Opening in Vaughan and Newmarket |url=http://www.vivanext.com/news_releases/2020-01-03_Viva-Bus-Rapid-Transit-Segments-Opening-in-Vaughan-and-Newmarket |website=www.vivanext.com |access-date=January 3, 2020 |date=January 3, 2020}}</ref>
|-
| Taiga
|-
| [[Promenade Terminal|Disera–Promenade]]
|-
| Atkinson
|-
| Bathurst
|September 22, 2019<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vivanext.com/news_releases/2019-09-22_Viva-Bus-Rapid-Transit-Segment-Opens-Three-Months-Ahead-of-Schedule-on-Highway-7-in-Richmond-Hill-and-Vaughan|title=Viva Bus Rapid Transit Segment Opens Three Months Ahead of Schedule on Highway 7 in Richmond Hill and Vaughan|date=September 22, 2019|website=vivaNext|access-date=September 22, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| [[Richmond Hill Centre Terminal]]
| N/A
| [[Richmond Hill, Ontario|Richmond Hill]]
|{{Rint|york|purple}} {{Rint|york|orange}}
|-
| Bayview
| rowspan="6" | August 19, 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vivanext.com/PDFs/H3/2016_FactSheets_H3_Rapidway.pdf|title=Hwy 7 East|website=vivanext|access-date=2017-09-28}}</ref>
| rowspan="6" | [[Markham, Ontario|Markham]],<br>Richmond Hill
| rowspan="22" | {{Rint|york|purple}}
|-
| Chalmers
|-
| Valleymede
|-
| West Beaver Creek
|-
| Leslie
|-
| East Beaver Creek
|-
| Allstate Parkway
| rowspan="4" | August 24, 2014
| rowspan="16" | Markham
|-
| Woodbine
|-
| Montgomery
|-
| Town Centre
|-
| Cedarland
| January 4, 2015
|-
| Warden
| March 6, 2011
|-
| Andre De Grasse
| rowspan="10" |TBA
|-
| University
|-
| Kennedy
|-
| Bullock
|-
| McCowan
|-
| Galsworthy
|-
| Main Street Markham
|-
|Wootten Way
|-
|[[Markham Stouffville Hospital]]
|-
| [[Cornell Terminal]]
|}

[[Brampton Transit]] [[Züm]] [[501 Züm Queen|Route 501]] uses the rapidway between the Wigwoss–Helen and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre stations.<ref name="Züm-501">{{cite web |url=https://moovitapp.com/index/en/public_transit-line-501-Toronto_ON-143-775684-196592-0 |title=501 Zum Queen Eastbound |publisher=Brampton Transit |accessdate=January 20, 2023 }}</ref>

== Queen Street–Highway 7 BRT==
{{External media|title=Metrolinx exhibits
|image1=[https://assets.metrolinx.com/image/upload/f_auto,c_limit,w_1920,q_auto/Images/Metrolinx/QueenBRT_Project_Overview_Map_bbewxg.jpg Map of Q7BRT route]
}}
In January 2023, [[Metrolinx]] proposed extending the rapidway {{convert|24|km}} westwards along Highway 7 from Helen Street in Vaughan and continuing along [[List of roads in Brampton#Queen Street|Queen Street]] in [[Brampton]] to terminate at Mississauga Road. This would allow buses to travel in reserved lanes from the west end of Brampton to [[Vaughan Metropolitan Centre]]. Metrolinx has dubbed the project the Queen Street–Highway 7 BRT or Q7BRT.<ref name="Metrolinx-2023-01-18">{{cite web|url=https://www.metrolinx.com/en/news/introducing-the-proposed-queen-street-highway-7-brt-project- |title=Introducing the proposed Queen Street-Highway 7 BRT project |publisher=[[Metrolinx]] |date=January 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118222757/https://www.metrolinx.com/en/news/introducing-the-proposed-queen-street-highway-7-brt-project- |archive-date=January 18, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>  

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{York Region Transit navbox}}
{{Big Move RT}}

[[Category:Viva Rapid Transit]]
[[Category:Transport in the Regional Municipality of York]]
[[Category:The Big Move projects]]
[[Category:Busways]]
[[Category:Bus rapid transit in Canada]]