Ontario Announces Two Transit-Oriented Communities for the Yonge North Subway Extension

New communities will bolster housing supply and economic development in York Region

TORONTO – The Ontario government is proposing to build two vibrant communities at Bridge and High Tech stations – along the Yonge North Subway Extension – that would help create more housing, more jobs and space for recreation and leisure within walking distance of the TTC’s extended Line 1.

“By working with our municipal and regional partners, our Government is unlocking a once-in-a-generation opportunity to integrate critical subway and community planning along the Yonge North Subway Extension that will transform the area for decades to come,” said Stan Cho, Associate Minister of Transportation. “We are moving beyond the ‘park and ride’ model and creating communities built around transit: this will bring jobs and housing closer to stations, lower commutes for workers, increase ridership and build critical infrastructure at a lower cost to taxpayers.”

Consultations with the City of Richmond Hill, the City of Markham, the City of Vaughan and York Region are currently underway, with public consultations beginning later this Fall.

The transit-oriented communities at Bridge and High Tech Stations would include commercial, office and retail space to support approximately 14,000 new jobs in the region. The proposed communities would be served by the future Yonge North Subway Extension, GO regional service, VIVA Rapid Transit and the encompassing major highways.

Quick Facts

• The Bridge and High Tech station sites are within the Richmond Hill Langstaff Gateway Urban Growth Centre – an area identified and planned for strategic population and employment growth.
• On July 21, 2020, Ontario passed the Transit-Oriented Communities Act, to enable the construction of vibrant communities centred around transit stations along the routes of the province’s four priority subway projects.
• In May 2020, Ontario and York Region officially signed the Ontario-York Region Transit Partnership Preliminary Agreement, including a “Memorandum of Understanding on Transit-Oriented Development” confirming their partnership to deliver on Ontario’s transit plan and build the Yonge North Subway Extension faster.
• On July 16, the province announced a fourth station at Clark Avenue for the Yonge North Subway Extension.
• Ontario, in partnership with the federal and municipal governments, is undertaking the largest subway expansion in Canadian history. This includes the all-new Ontario Line; a three-stop Scarborough Subway Extension; the Yonge North Subway Extension; and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.

Source Province of Ontario