The Downtown Markham proposal is supported by a comprehensive transportation plan that takes into account the resident and employee populations proposed for the project and the rest of Markham Centre plus as much as 1.5 per cent per year growth in additional “background” traffic that will occur throughout York Region by 2011 and up to the year 2021.

The transportation plan takes into account all relevant past transportation studies by Markham, York Region and the former GTSB. It also takes into account existing conditions such as traffic congestion on Warden Avenue and Kennedy Road at Highway 7 and 14th Avenue.

The plan incorporates proposed road and transit improvements that have been announced or committed for coming years, including additional lanes on Highway 7, Warden Avenue and Kennedy Road, enhanced local and regional bus service, and additional GO rail service.
It also considers that today only 10 per cent of Markham residents currently use public transit during rush hours and only 5 per cent of people who work in Markham use public transit during rush hours.

Various design elements are intended to increase pubic transit use in future, to meet the town’s goal of 20 per cent transit usage by 2021. The road system throughout Downtown Markham is carefully planned to accommodate transit, pedestrians and cyclists to support this goal.

The Proposed Road Network {See Road Network Map}

At the heart of the network is a new four-lane east-west road called Enterprise Boulevard that will run between Warden Avenue and Main Street, Unionville. It is the widest street in Downtown Markham and its prominence is marked by a ceremonial entrance at Warden Avenue.

Its curving east and west portions will have a tree-line centre median and in the central areas it will have lower planting and decorative paving, both serving to make the street pedestrian friendly and encourage street activity such as shopping and dining at outdoor cafes. Human scale buildings will be set close to the sidewalks, and offers shops, banks and restaurants at the street level with office or apartments above.

Birchmount Road is a four-lane north-south road that presently ends at 14th Avenue. Plans call for it to connect with Highway 7 at Village Parkway. The new section will cross the Rouge Valley, intersect with Enterprise Boulevard, pass under Highway 407 and connect with the existing section at 14th Avenue. It will be a tree-line shopping street.

Verclair Gate is proposed to be extended south of Highway 7 as a four-lane road connecting to the extension of Birchmount Road. The river crossing is not required for Downtown Markham but for the full development of Markham Centre. Sciberras Road is proposed to be extended south of Highway 7 as a four-lane road to the proposed Riverside Drive and a two-lane road south to Enterprise Boulevard. Large trees on a sodded boulevard will soften this road.

The Proposed Transit Network {See Transit Network Map}

The proposed transit network is based on a number of improvements, including some that are already committed. Key recommendations –

• two-way, all-day service on the Stouffville GO line, with four trains in rush hours and train-bus service outside of rush hours
• express bus service along the Highway 407 corridor with transfers at Warden Avenue and the Unionville GO Station pending an ultimate decision on whether light rail transit will be implemented
• all-day bus service on other major roads in area (Warden Avenue, Birchmount Road, Kennedy Road and Highway 7) with convenient transfers to other local or interregional routes and 15-minute headways during rush hours
• high-occupancy vehicle or exclusive bus lanes on Highway 7
• local bus and shuttle bus service within Markham Centre.

The Unionville GO Station will play a major role in Markham Centre. The highest-density housing will be located nearby and the road system throughout Downtown Markham will be designed so that local residents can walk, cycle or take transit to the station to travel into Toronto.

The station’s current attraction of commuter parking is in conflict with the pedestrian-friendly design of Markham Centre and a poor use of land in a “town centre” locale. Therefore, in future commuters who live beyond Markham Centre and who are travelling on to destinations outside of Markham Centre will be encouraged to use other GO stations for commuter parking.

Transit-Friendly Strategies

To make Downtown Markham and the broader Markham Centre transit-friendly, a number of strategies are proposed. A parking strategy will encourage on-street parking, especially for short-term parking. The shared use of off-street parking lots (employee lots could be used by shoppers at night and on weekends, for instance) will be encouraged.

A travel demand management strategy is proposed to reduce the growth in single-occupant cars during rush hours. To do so will require steps to reduce overall travel, such as telecommuting; to spread travel outside of rush hours, by encouraging flexible hours or changing shift time; to encourage people to switch to transit, walking or cycling; and to encourage carpooling by providing commuter parking lots and high-occupancy vehicle lanes.