Downtown Markham, Ontario

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Not to be confused with Markham Centre.

Downtown Markham
Motto: Settle for everything.
Downtown Markham's location within York Region.
Coordinates: 43°51′N 79°19′W / 43.85, -79.32
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Regional Municipality	York
Town	Markham
District	Markham Centre
Planned	1992 [1]
Completion date	2030
Area [1]
- Total	0.98 km² (0.4 sq mi)
Population (2030 -- Estimated completion date of Downtown Markham) Uninhabited as of 2007
- Total	10,000
- Density	10,204.08/km² (26,428.4/sq mi)
	Estimation for the year 2030 [2]
Time zone	Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
Canadian postal codes	L6G
Area code(s)	905, 289
Website: Downtown Markham

Downtown Markham is a proposed community within the Town of Markham, Ontario, Canada. The community is located within the subdivision of Markham Centre, and is proposed to serve as the heart of the Town of Markham. Downtown Markham, once completed, will serve as a CBD to the town, as well as a home to approximately 10,000 ^[2] with the proposed medium to high density residential structures. The community is developed primarily by the Remington Group. The Downtown features Montgomery High Street, which is planned to be Markham's premier retail destination ^[3].

[edit] Downtown Markham and Markham Centre

Many residents within the town may be confused with the two names of the community : Markham Centre and Downtown Markham. In fact, these two names are two separate communities. Markham Centre refers to a broad area, west to Rodick Road, east to Kennedy Road, north to Carlton Road / Apple Creek Boulevard and south to 14th Avenue. Markham Centre generally refers to the higher density constructed area within the town, and consists mostly of the residential districts. Markham Centre is considered as a subdivision in Town of Markham, and consists of several smaller community. One example will be Downtown Markham.

Downtown Markham, meanwhile, is a community within Markham Centre, and is mostly commercial buildings.

Downtown Markham refers to an area north to Highway 7, east to Kennedy Road / Main Street Unionville, west to Warden Avenue, and south to Highway 407 ETR.

[edit] History

The community was planned in 1992. It was planned out that the community will be entirely self-sustained, transit-oriented, using Smart Growth. Constructions began in 2005, when Enterprise Boulevard was completed. The community will be fully occupied and in use by 2030.

[edit] Strategies of Downtown Markham

Downtown Markham is using a development strategy namely smart growth. The community will try to limit urban sprawl, while creating a denser urban centre. The urban centre is planned to be a transit oriented community, with everything close by, and fully transit dependent. In addition, the community was also planned to have be environmentally sustainable as well.

The community was planned by the Town of Markham, in co-operation with the Remington Group. The Remington Group mainly in charges of constructing most of the structures across this new community.

[edit] Transportation

There are several methods of transportation, York Regional Roads, municipal roads, toll highway, bus rapid transit, and GO Train.

[edit] York Regional Roads

The community is bounded with 3 York Regional Roads. The 3 York Regional Roads are numbered as 3 (Kennedy Road), 7 (Highway 7), and 65 (Warden Avenue). Because of the anticipated traffic generated from the Downtown core, therefore, all of the York Regional Roads are in the process of widening. All of the regional roads are to be widened to 6 lanes with a centre lane. As of 2008, York Regional Road 65 (Warden Avenue) is the only regional road with this standard. The construction for York Regional Road 7 is approved, while still in debate for York Regional Road 3.

[edit] Municipal Roads

Most of the roads across the community are municipal funded-roads, and most of them are local roads. The only 2 roads that are serving as the major arterials of the community are Enterprise Drive and Birchmount Road. Each of these arterials have 4 lanes and a street divider in the middle.

[edit] Toll Highway

The community is also served with a toll highway. Highway 407 serves the Downtown Markham area, and connects the locale east to the City of Pickering, and west to the City of Hamilton.

[edit] Bus Rapid Transit

The feature of the community is the bus rapid transit. VIVA operates three routes within the community. The community is anticipated to be highly dependent on these transit routes, as part of the planned smart growth. There are 3 lines, Viva Purple, Viva Green, and Viva Pink. As of 2008, Viva Purple is the only line operating fully (full service, 6 am - midnight, 7 days a week), while the other lines are operating during rush hour. It is scheduled that when Downtown Markham is fully functional and occupied, Viva Green will return to full service.

Viva Purple connects the locale to Cornell and York University; Viva Green connects the locale to Don Mills and Cornell; Viva Pink connects the locale to North York City Centre.

Other bus routes that serve the area includes:

• TTC 68 Warden
• YRT 8 Kennedy
• YRT 1 Highway 7

[edit] GO Transit

GO Transit also serves the area. GO Transit operates Unionville Station within Downtown Markham. Unionville Station is on the Stouffville Line, and hence operates only during the rush hours. GO Train connects the locale to Stouffville and Downtown Toronto.

[edit] Environmental Sustainability

The community has an environmental sustainability feature, as a result of the community's usage of smart growth. The community reserves 72 acres of the community as a natural reserve, or a park. This is because the future park encomprises an ecological sensative area, Rouge River.

[edit] References