Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill (2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and the 27th most populous municipality in Canada. Richmond Hill is situated between the cities of Markham and Vaughan, north of Thornhill, and south of Aurora.

Richmond Hill has seen significant population growth since the 1990s. It became a city in 2019 after being a town since 1957. The city is home to the David Dunlap Observatory telescope, the largest telescope in Canada.

Arts

The Richmond Hill Public Library system has four library branches. The Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts offers theatre productions, concerts, comedy, and other shows in a multi-purpose space that includes a 631-seat auditorium.[20] The Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 2008, offers a variety of concerts throughout the year at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.

Housed in a restored cottage from the 1840s, the Richmond Hill Heritage Centre offers an exhibit of local history and has a number of educational programs.

Recreation

Richmond Hill has 167 parks, of which most are small urban parks, and 689 ha (1,700 acres) of undeveloped natural area for recreation.[23] The largest such park is Richmond Green Sports Centre and Park which includes several baseball diamonds, two ice skating rinks, a 300-person amphitheatre and a skateboard park.

The city also has a total of six public swimming pools, including an indoor wave pool. Each summer, the city features a concert series entitled "Concerts in the Park", each having a specific theme, such as children's music and "The Beach Boys" and are held at Mill Pond Park, with some Sunday concerts at Richmond Green Park.

The city is also home to the Richmond Hill Country Club, Summit Golf and Country Club, and the Bloomington Downs Golf Course.

Richmond Hill was awarded the National Communities in Bloom award in 2003, with a special mention about the city's floral displays.

In September 2009, Alias Grace Park was opened to honour Margaret Atwood's novel's depiction of the city in Upper Canada prior to John A. Macdonald becoming Prime Minister.

Public transit

Public transit within the city of Richmond Hill is on buses co-ordinated by York Region Transit (YRT). In September 2005, YRT unveiled a new rapid transit initiative entitled VIVA which provides enhanced bus service on major routes using vehicles capable of speeding up traffic lights to lessen the time they idle. Viva Blue, Viva Purple, Viva Orange, and Viva Pink have stops in Richmond Hill. In addition, YRT operates several feeder routes on secondary streets in the city.

Commuter train service is provided to the city by GO Transit on the Richmond Hill line with four stations in the city, Bloomington Station, Gormley Station, Richmond Hill Station and Langstaff Station. Langstaff Station is near the new Richmond Hill Centre Terminal of York Region Transit at Highway 7 and Yonge Street, and is connected to it by a pedestrian bridge opened in March 2008. The Richmond Hill Centre Terminal is complete with enclosed heating areas, payphones, and credit card/debit card ticket purchasing machines.

Owing to its proximity to Toronto, there are plans to extend the TTC subway system to the intersection of Yonge and Highway 7. The project is in its preliminary planning, design and engineering (PDE) phase, with funding from the federal and provincial governments