Tour in Markham Cornell BUS Terminal and it built $50.8 million

This is the new Cornell Terminal. Located in Markham Ontario, this state-of-the-art transit hub officially opened to the public on September 4, 2022, and acts as a terminal for Markham’s bus rapid transit system.

Containing 11 bus bays and serving 9 bus routes, this $50 million dollar project is the first bus terminal in the City of Markham, and will connect routes operated by York Region Transit.

Ground on the project was broken in August 2018, with construction on the terminal delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and issues with the original contractor.

As a result, the terminal is opening roughly two and a half years late, and $10 million over the initial projected budget.

Today, we’re exploring this newly opened terminal, showcasing its features and connecting routes.

Located at the northeast corner of Ninth Line and Highway 7 in Markham, the new Cornell Terminal is a massive structure given its suburban location.

Accessed from the newly built extensions of Rustle Woods Avenue and Diamondwood Road, the terminal will be the centre of a future transit-oriented community, which will provide convenient connections to destinations throughout Markham.

The terminal contains 11 bus bays around a central platform, with select bays in the terminal able to accommodate articulated buses.

Each bay is equipped with a real-time information display, showing departure times for the next few buses.

In the centre of the platform, 3 enclosed shelters provide a heated waiting area for passengers, equipped with benches and automatic doors for accessibility.

In the centre of the terminal, an additional building provides washroom facilities for passengers, as well as a space for a future retail store.

Fare machines are located on the platform, allowing passengers to purchase single-ride tickets with cash, debit, or credit, while PRESTO readers also allow for pre-payment before boarding the Viva rapid transit route.

Given the developing nature of the surrounding area, access to the terminal remains difficult, however, this is expected to improve with surrounding developments.

Sidewalks lead to pedestrian plazas at the north and south ends of the terminal, with landscaping and benches greeting passengers.

Leaving the terminal, sidewalks lead west to Ninth Line and south to Highway 7, however, a lack of a pedestrian crosswalk at Highway 7 makes crossing to nearby houses difficult.

At the north end of the terminal, a pedestrian crosswalk will be installed this coming fall to provide access to the north side of Rustle Woods Avenue.

However a lack of direct sidewalk to the nearby hospital and community centre is not planned to be fixed at this time.

Painted bike lanes along Rustle Woods Avenue will also be extended to the terminal this fall, with bike racks at the terminal providing storage.

On the east side of the terminal, a dedicated passenger pick-up and drop-off can be accessed from Diamondwood Rd, with 12 spaces for waiting vehicles.

No parking is provided at the terminal, given its location in a future transit-oriented development.

With the opening of Cornell Terminal, various routes serving the nearby Markham Stouffville Hospital will be adjusted to service the terminal instead, improving facilities for passengers.

The most prominent of these is Viva Purple, the main east-west rapid transit service through Markham.

Using the terminal as its eastern end-of-line, the route runs frequently to Richmond Hill Centre, running in a clockwise loop through the surrounding road network. Six additional local routes serving the hospital will also be revised to service the terminal, including an on-demand and community bus route.

Three of those will continue to service stops along Church St, while the remaining 3 will have their routings adjusted. Two new routes will also be extended to the terminal from neighbourhoods south of Highway 407, with the 14 providing weekday service, and the 2 taking over on weekends.

The terminal also has provisions for future service from the neighbouring Durham Region, as well as regional service by GO Transit, although no timelines for these have been given.

Interestingly, route 303 Bur Oak express and various nearby school special services will not service the terminal, continuing on their former routes on the neighbouring roads.

That was a tour of the newly opened Cornell Terminal, an exciting addition to Markham’s transit network.

If you enjoyed it, be sure to share this article with your friends on social media, getting more people to tour this excellent Cornell Terminal.

Title: Tour in Markham Cornell BUS Terminal and it built $50.8 million