facts

Interesting Facts

Did you know this about York Region?

Roads:

York Region builds, fixes, plows, salts and sands more than 3,400 lane kilometres of roads (lane kilometres is the length of the roadway multiplied by the number of lanes).
York Region maintains more than 15,000 traffic signs and more than 670 traffic signals.
York Region has replaced all traffic signals with brighter signals that last longer and use less energy (LED technology).
York Region has installed a number of crossing signals that count down at intersections. These help people know how much time they have left to cross the street.
Download the York Region National Public Works Week Activity Book.

York Region EMS:

EMS stands for Emergency Medical Services

In 2009, York Region EMS responded to more than 120,000 requests for service

York Region EMS has 420 Fulltime/casual Paramedic and support staff

York Region EMS has the following emergency response vehicles:

46 Ambulances

15 Emergency Response Vehicles

4 Special Purpose Vehicles

York Region EMS features these Special Programs

Mountain Bike Unit
Special Response Unit

Heart Alive Public Access Defibrillation Program

Click here to download and print the York Region Junior Paramedic Manual.

Water:

York Region provides clean water that is safe to drink to all nine of its municipalities. It operates:

19 water pumping stations
48 production wells
40 water storage facilities (elevated tanks & reservoirs)
308 km of transmission mains (pipes)

2 water treatment plants

The Region is the only part of the GTA without direct access to Lake Ontario. Because of this, It relies on the City of Toronto and Peel Region for much of its drinking water. York Region also gets water directly from Lake Simcoe and underground sources called aquifers.

For more information on how to conserve water, please visit the Water for Tomorrow Web site.

Wastewater:

Wastewater is any water that is used in a home, business or school that leaves through a drain.

Most of York Region's wastewater (more than 90 per cent) is sent by a series of pipes (called the York Durham Sewage System) to a treatment plant in Pickering.

The Pickering plant (called the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant) cleans the wastewater and puts it back into Lake Ontario.

Other parts of York Region have smaller treatment plants to clean wastewater from their communities.

Solid Waste:

York Region's Solid Waste Management Branch:

Recycled more than 80,000 tonnes of Blue Box material in 2009
Has a Blue Box program to recycle paper, plastic and metal
Has a Green Bin program to compost kitchen waste (food) and some paper products
Diverts 57% of waste away from landfills by recycling and composting
Operates four depots to collect hazardous waste and electronics (East Gwillimbury, Georgina, Markham and Vaughan)
Collected more than 1,000 tonnes of electronics (cell phones, computers and games) in 2009

York Region Transit/Viva Rapid Transit:

York Region merged all of the municipal transit systems in York Region in 2001. They provide transit across the region through the York Region Transit (YRT) service and YRT Mobility Plus service for passengers with special needs.

York Region introduced the rapid transit service Viva in 2005.

YRT and Viva:

Carried more than 18 million passengers in 2009
Have 70,000 passenger trips on an average weekday
Operate a large and growing fleet that includes 101 Viva rapid transit vehicles, 323 YRT vehicles and 23 Mobility Plus vehicles
Operate 120 different routes with more than 4,700 stops