Richmond Hill Centre Transit Terminal - Richmond Hill, ON
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InGodsHands
N 43° 50.342 W 079° 25.519
17T E 626590 N 4855199
This is the Richmond Hill Centre Transit Terminal located at Yonge Street and Highway 7.
Waymark Code: WMEA0H
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 04/24/2012
Views: 2
Richmond Hill Centre is a transit terminal located in Richmond Hill, ON. It is located north-east of the intersection of Yonge Street and Highway 7, accessible from the connecting road between the two.
Richmond Hill Centre has 10 bays (2 GO, 4 YRT and 4 VIVA). All of the bays have overhead LED displays, which indicate the real-time arrival of the next 2 buses (much like the VIVA stations' ticket machines). The terminal also has a Kiss and Ride facility and commuter parking lots. Located across a busy freight railroad track from Langstaff GO Station, a pedestrian bridge has been constructed to link the two together. It is fully wheelchair accessible with elevators at both ends.
The terminal could be described as a 'bare-bones' terminal when it opened, being fully open aired with only 2 automated ticket machines. Only VIVA stopped by frequently (and briefly), with the YRT routes coming by every 15 to 30 minutes each. However over time traffic has increased and heated waiting areas have been added.
Currently, Richmond Hill Centre is YRT's newest terminal.
History
In September 2005, YRT would be rolling out the first phase of VIVA, their new rapid transit system. The 2 main routes, Blue and Purple, would connect at Yonge and Highway 7, the 2 busiest roads in the region. YRT took this opportunity to build a brand new terminal to promote the service at this location.
The new terminal (including Langstaff GO Station) would become the transportation hub of the planned Langstaff Gateway, centered around Highway 7 and Yonge St.
Richmond Hill Centre performs its current function well. It is a moderately busy terminal, always with people waiting on the platform for the next bus. YRT's customer appreciation days are split between RHC in the morning and Finch Station during afternoons. As transit ridership increases, the usage of this terminal is sure to increase as well. It also has room for expansion and on April 26, 2008, the eastern part of the layover area was converted to bays 9 and 10 for GO service. A pedestrian bridge was seen as neccessary for connecting the terminal to nearby Langstaff GO Station. Construction of the pedestrian bridge was delayed, but construction finally started in 2007. The bridge opened in March 2008. Construction was again performed begining in late 2010. By February 2011, a fully enclosed waiting area was nearly complete in the middle of the terminal. This is seen as an improvement over the two existing partially enclosed heated waiting areas. In mid-2011, the GO platform was extended to accommodate the transfer of GO Highway 407 East service from Langstaff GO Station to RHC. A second enclosed waiting area was completed in October 2011.
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