New milestone for Highway 7 East BRT
York Region is advancing plans for the Highway 7 East Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor, a key rapid transit project designed to support future growth, improve mobility and strengthen connections across Markham and the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH).
The Highway 7 East BRT corridor currently serves approximately 6,700 passenger trips each day and is projected to accommodate more than 10,100 daily trips by 2035.
York Region Chairman and CEO Eric Jolliffe and Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who also serves as Chair of the York Region Rapid Transit Corporation Board, announced the award of a design contract for the Highway 7 East Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
The contract for $7.66 million was awarded to CIMA Canada Inc. and GHD Limited Joint Venture for preliminary design services for approximately eight kilometres of BRT segments: from Birchmount Road to Kennedy Road via YMCA Boulevard in Markham Centre, along Kennedy Road from YMCA Boulevard to Highway 7, and along Highway 7 from Kennedy Road to Cornell Bus Terminal near Ninth Line. This project is centred around key future growth areas and will connect to existing BRT along Highway 7 west of Warden Avenue, serving businesses and supporting significant new housing units.
“On behalf of York Regional Council and The Regional Municipality of York, we are pleased to see the Region’s 10-year Capital Plan investments are delivering meaningful progress to plan and design the next phase of critically needed Bus Rapid Transit,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Eric Jolliffe, “We are looking forward to seeing these projects be ready for construction funding from senior levels of government and keeping our growing population moving on some of busiest roads in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.”
The corridor is expected to play a significant role in supporting growth across the region, accommodating more than 45,000 new residential units (based on development applications submitted in 2025), and supporting an estimated 122,000 new residents and more than 30,000 jobs projected by 2051.
Photo: York Region Chairman and CEO Eric Jolliffe and Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who also serves as Chair of the York Region Rapid Transit Corporation Board, announced the latest BRT planning milestone on June 15.