List of north–south roads in Toronto

The following is a list of the north–south arterial thoroughfares in the Canadian city of Toronto. The city is organized in a grid pattern dating back to the plan laid out by Augustus Jones between 1793 and 1797. Most streets are aligned in the north-south or east-west direction, based on the shoreline of Lake Ontario. In other words, major north–south roads are generally perpendicular to the Lake Ontario shoreline and major east–west roads are generally parallel to the lake's shoreline. The Toronto road system is also influenced by its topography as some roads are aligned with the old Lake Iroquois shoreline, or the deep valleys. Minor streets with documented history or etymology are listed in a separate section.

Roads are listed alphabetically, but from west to east they are

Renforth DriveCarlingview DriveBrown's LineHighway 427Highway 27Martin Grove RoadKipling AvenueIslington AvenueRoyal York RoadWeston RoadScarlett RoadJane StreetRunnymede RoadParkside DriveKeele StreetRoncesvalles AvenueJameson AvenueLansdowne AvenueCaledonia RoadDufferin StreetOakwood AvenueMarlee AvenueOssington AvenueAllen RoadChristie StreetBathurst StreetSpadina Avenue/Spadina RoadSt. George StreetUniversity AvenueAvenue RoadBay StreetYonge StreetChurch StreetJarvis StreetMount Pleasant RoadSherbourne StreetParliament StreetWillowdale AvenueBayview AvenueDon Valley ParkwayLaird DriveBroadview AvenuePape AvenueLeslie StreetDonlands AvenueDon Mills RoadGreenwood AvenueCoxwell AvenueWoodbine AvenueHighway 404Main StreetVictoria Park AvenuePharmacy AvenueWarden AvenueBirchmount RoadKennedy RoadMidland AvenueBrimley RoadMcCowan RoadBellamy RoadMiddlefield RoadMarkham RoadScarborough Golf Club RoadOrton Park RoadNeilson RoadGalloway RoadMorningside AvenueSewells RoadManse RoadReesor RoadMorrish RoadConlins RoadMeadowvale RoadCentennial RoadBeare RoadPort Union RoadEast AvenueScarborough-Pickering Townline

Allen Road

William R. Allen Road
Location: Eglinton Avenue – Kennard Avenue
(Continues north as Dufferin Street)
Main article: Allen Road

William R. Allen Road, known more commonly as Allen Road, The Allen Expressway, The Allen or the Spadina Expressway, is a short expressway that travels from Eglinton Avenue West in the south to Kennard Avenue in the north. The portion south of Sheppard Avenue is the completed section of the proposed Spadina Expressway. Allen Road is named after the late Metro Toronto Chairman William R. Allen and maintained by the City of Toronto. Landmarks along the road include the Lawrence Square Shopping Centre, the Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Downsview Park (formerly CFB Downsview).

Avenue Road

Avenue Road
Location: Bloor St – Bombay Ave (just north of Hwy 401)
(continues south as Queen's Park Crescent)
Looking south on Avenue Road from St. Clair, 1937

There are several stories relating to the origin of Avenue Road. The most popular legend retells that of an early surveying team travelling west along what is now Bloor Street. Upon reaching the location of the intersection with Avenue Road today, the lead surveyor, a Scottish man, pointed north and proclaimed "Let's 'ave a new road here". But this is almost certainly apocryphal; the street was probably named for its tree-lined character.[1]

Avenue Road is also a short residential street (1.5 km (0.93 mi)) that runs from Edgar Avenue north to Weldrick Road connecting the communities of Richvale and Yongehurst in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Although the Toronto section can align with the Richmond Hill sections if connected, the latter is a newer street not officially part of the historic Toronto roadway, unlike the disconnected York Region portions of its counterparts Kipling Avenue, Leslie Street and Woodbine Avenue.

Bathurst Street

Bathurst Street
Location: Queens Quay West – Steeles Avenue West
(continues north into Vaughan)

Bathurst Street is named after Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, who was Secretary of War during the reign of George IV. Henry's contributions to Toronto include organizing the successive waves of British settlers following the War of 1812, and granting the charter to the first university in the city, King's College. Bathurst originally only referred to the section south of Queen Street. In 1870, the section north of Queen Street became part of Bathurst Street. It was known until then as Crookshank's Lane, after Honourable George Crookshank. The road acted as a driveway to his 300-acre (1.2 km2) farm.[2]

Bay Street

Bay Street
Location: Queen's Quay – Davenport Road
(continues north as Davenport Road)
The intersection of Bay Street and King Street is considered the heart of Canada's economy
Main article: Bay Street

Bay Street, used to be known as Bear Street, supposedly a reference to a "noted chase given to a bear" by settlers in that area.[3] It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used as a metonym to refer to Canada's financial industry, similar to New York City's Wall Street in the United States. Within the legal profession, the term Bay Street is also used colloquially to refer to the large, full-service business law firms of Toronto, particularly the top-tier law firms known as the Seven Sisters. The street was officially named when the land it occupies was annexed by the first expansion of York. Bay travelled from Lake Ontario to Lot Street, now Queen Street West. North of Queen Street and travelling to College Street was Teraulay Street. Several disconnected side streets existed north of there to Davenport Road. In 1922, By-Law 9316 joined these streets together as far north as Scollard Street.[4] By-Law 9884, enacted on January 28, 1924, changed the name of Ketchum Avenue to Bay Street, officially extending it to Davenport Road.[5] The bend in Bay Street south of Old City Hall reflects this history, serving as a terminating vista.

Bayview Avenue

Bayview Avenue
Location: South of Eastern Avenue – Steeles Avenue East
(continues west as Mill Street and north into Markham)
Main article: Bayview Avenue
Looking north along Bayview from Eglinton in 1910

Bayview Avenue, which used to be known as East York Avenue, was named in 1930 after the estate of Dr. James Stanley McLean, Bay View. The McLean House forms a part of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre today.[6] Several notable estates were built along Bayview in the early 20th century, many of which still exist, since converted to a variety of public uses.

Beare Road

Beare Road
Location: Finch Avenue East – Steeles Avenue East
(continues east as Finch Avenue East)

Bellamy Road

Bellamy Road
Location: Kingston Road – Progress Avenue
(continues as Corporate Drive)

Bellamy Road, previously Secord Road, is named for American author Edward Bellamy, who wrote Looking Backwards 2000–1887, about a utopian society. Settlers approached Scarborough Township for a parcel of land to start their own utopia. Although the request was not granted, the road along which they sought to establish their society came to be known as Bellamy Road. The CN grade separation on Eglinton, built in the early 1960s, split Bellamy Road into two unconnected sections. Consequently, the township of Scarborough renamed the sections as North or South on May 29, 1964.[7]

Bellamy Road South begins at Kingston Road and proceeds north to just short of Eglinton Avenue. It is entirely a minor residential street. Bellamy Road North resumes opposite the southern section, just north of the CN tracks. The road becomes Corporate Drive at Progress Avenue, proceeding towards the Scarborough Town Centre. Most of the northern section is residential, though the section between Ellesmere Road and Progress Avenue consists solely of multi-unit warehousing, many of which have been converted into places of worship.[8]

Birchmount Road

Birchmount Road
Location: Lake Ontario – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north into Markham)
Residential and office development on Birchmount south of Eglinton Avenue

Birchmount Road began as a concession line laid out by the surveyors of Upper Canada. For a long time, it remained a rural and little used route. In the 1920s, it was little more than a dirt path.[9]

The southern part of Birchmount was one of the first parts of Toronto to see suburban development. This development was in the years immediately before and after the Second World War, and was thus not reflective of the car-centred design of much of Scarborough. Birchmount is notable for being the terminus of what has so far been the only TTC streetcar to ever travel into Scarborough. The Birchmount Loop was for several decades the turning loop for the Kingston Road streetcar.[10] The first lines in the region were built by the Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company. They were taken over by the TTC which ran streetcars to Birchmount until 1954. The loop remained in place until 1985, when a condominium was built on the site.[11]

By the 1960s, Birchmount had been transformed into its current role as one of the main arterial roads for Scarborough.[12]

Beyond Toronto, Birchmount Road continues firstly as a residential street to Denison Street, then from Denison to Highway 407 it cuts through commercial business parks. In 2011 the road was extended past 407 to Enterprise Boulevard to provide future access for the Downtown Markham residential community. A bridge (to cross over Rouge River) has been built by developers of the residential project in the area[13] to complete the road between Enterprise Boulevard and Highway 7 at Village Parkway. [14]

Although Birchmount is not a major road in Markham, the TTC still runs its 17A branch along Birchmount, then turns around on Highway 7, Uptown Drive and then Rougeside Prom and back onto Birchmount. It operates during peak time only.

Black Creek Drive

Black Creek Drive
Location: Weston Road – Highway 400
Main article: Black Creek Drive

Black Creek Drive is an arterial road intended to be a freeway extension of Ontario Highway 400. It was built as an arterial road after public opposition to building freeways into central Toronto. The roadway is named after the Black Creek watercourse, and runs parallel to the creek for most of its route.

Brimley Road

Brimley Road
Location: Bluffer's Park – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north into Markham)
Main article: Brimley Road

Brimley Road is of unknown origin. Beginning at Bluffer's Park at the foot of the Scarborough Bluffs,[15] Brimley runs through Scarborough, past Steeles Avenue and ends at 14th Avenue in Markham. The Scarborough portion is mainly residential with small strip plazas interspersed along the route. North of Finch Avenue is Brimley Forest, a small patch of unaltered land. North of Steeles, Brimley weaves through the residential areas of the Milliken community of Markham, then ends at 14th Avenue and becomes Beckenridge Drive, which is a residential road.

The section south of Sheppard was once interrupted at Highway 401. An C$11 million overpass and partial interchange of the freeway was built and opened on October 18, 1987 over the objections of many area residents concerned with increased traffic volume. In an attempt to address these concerns, it was initially restricted to transit buses and emergency vehicles.[16] After widely reported public pressure, Scarborough City Council voted 18 February 1988 to open the overpass to general traffic.[17] Proposals to modify the interchange are currently being examined as part of a larger analysis of Highway 401 through Scarborough.

Broadview Avenue

Broadview Avenue
Location: Sunlight Park Road – Fernwood Gardens
(continues east as O'Connor Drive)

Broadview Avenue, known as the Mill Road until 1884, was constructed in 1798 by Timothy Skinner, owner of several mills in Todmorden. The name is a reference to the broad view from the crest overlooking Riverdale Park. The road was extended in 1913 and 1922 by absorbing parts of Don Mills Road as far north as O'Connor Drive.[18] In Toronto's East Chinatown, there are two signs at Gerrard Street East with the Chinese name of the street "百樂匯街".

Brown's Line

Brown's Line
Location: Lake Shore Boulevard – Evans Avenue
(continues north as Highway 427)

Brown's Line was once the name by which the trail running north from Lake Ontario to Highway 9 was known. It originated as a trail, which had been blazed to define the western boundary of the 1805 Toronto Purchase. The trail was eventually referred as "Brown's Line" as the northern terminus was a small town, now known as Schomberg, but originally called Brownsville. Since the hamlet's main inhabitant was known by the surname of Brown (Yorkshire born Joseph Brown came to the area in 1831[19]), it seemed logical that the road which transported persons to Brown's Town should be referred to as Brown's Line. There was, however another Brownsville just south of Ingersoll, Ontario, also named for the family in that town. Since there was obviously confusion in the mail system, the logic required a name change, and Schomberg was created likely for Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, a general under King William III of England. Before the construction of Highway 427, Brown's Line was part of Highway 27. Today, Brown's Line is a small southern portion of the road, which has grown into Highway 427 from the Queen Elizabeth Way to Highway 401, and carries on as Highway 27, past Highway 9, and continues north to Barrie.

Caledonia Road

Caledonia Road
Location: Bridgeland Avenue – St. Clair Avenue West
(Continues south as Caledonia Park Road to Davenport Avenue)
Caledonia Road at Eglinton Avenue
Caledonia Road at Eglinton Avenue

Carlingview Drive

Carlingview Drive
Location:  Highway 401 – North of Attwell Drive
()

Carlingview Drive is named for the former Carling O'Keefe brewery (and current Molson) found at the south terminus. The road winds through industrial properties in Etobicoke to the northern terminus at Woodbine Racetrack (at Entrance Road). The southern end of Carlingview is actually a series of highway ramps:

Centennial Road

Centennial Road
Location: Rolling Meadows – Ellesmere Road
(interrupted by Highway 2A)

Centennial Road, despite travelling through an area that was developed during Canada's centennial, takes its name from the church at its intersection with Kingston Road. The church was named Centennial in honour of the 100-year anniversary. Many of the streets along or near Centennial Road are named after the Fathers of Confederation.

Christie Street

Looking south on Christie Street from St. Clair Avenue

Looking south on Christie Street from St. Clair Avenue

The street is named for William Mellis Christie, founder of Christie & Brown Cookie Company or better known as Mr. Christie, which later became a division of Mondelez. The street is also home to many of Toronto's Korean restaurants and stores. Christie Pits a city park and baseball park is located at Christie Street and Bloor Street West. The area is served by Christie subway station.

Church Street

Church Street
Location: South of The Esplanade - Yonge Street
(Continues north as Davenport Avenue)
Looking south on Church St. from Wellesley

Church Street is so named because where St. James Cathedral sits upon today, at King Street and Church, was the site of the first church in York, a wooden building built in 1807 and referred to simply as "the church". Three incarnations sat on the site of the current cathedral; the dedication to St. James came in 1828, four years before the construction of a new stone church. This building burnt shortly after becoming a cathedral. A new cathedral was constructed, only to burn down in the Great Fire of 1849. John Strachan, first Anglican Bishop of Toronto after 1839, rebuilt the present cathedral in 1853 (the spire was not completed until 1874) in a Gothic Revival style.[20] The St. James Cathedral was the tallest structure in Toronto until the Royal York Hotel was completed in 1927.

At the corner of Church and Wellesley Streets is an LGBT-oriented enclave in Toronto. The area of Church Street and Wellesley Street (particularly along Church Street) is home to the annual Pride Week celebration.

Conlins Road

Conlins Road
Location: Military Trail - Sheppard Avenue East
()

Coxwell Avenue

Coxwell Avenue
Location: Lake Shore Boulevard East – O'Connor Drive
Michael Garron Hospital on Coxwell Avenue

Coxwell Avenue is named after Charles Coxwell Small, a clerk in the Supreme Court of Upper Canada and a resident of the Berkeley Estate. The intersection with Gerrard Street features shops that cater to Toronto's Indian and Pakistani communities. [21]

Don Mills Road

Don Mills Road
Location: O'Connor Road – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north into Markham just before John Street and becomes Leslie Street)
Looking south on Don Mills Road from Eglinton

Don Mills Road, known by various names over time including The Mill Road and the Don Independent Road, is named for the many saw and grist mills that established near the Forks of the Don in the early 19th century. At the time the road began at Winchester Street and Parliament Street and crossed the Don River at Riverdale Park. The road rose onto the table lands along what is now the entrance to the northbound Don Valley Parkway and followed Broadview north and O'Connor east before joining with the present-day Don Mills Road. The road ended at the Mills for a time, until farmers to the north on the land between the river valleys opened a new road to provide an easier route to carry their yields to the St. Lawrence Market. The new road cut through established parcels of land, and came to be known as the Don Independent Road. This road extended as far north as York Mills Road.

After the formation of Metropolitan Toronto, Don Mills was designated as part of the municipal network of major roads. It was widened to four lanes, then extended north over Highway 401 to Sheppard in 1964. The "peanut" was constructed shortly thereafter, and Don Mills was extended north of Steeles alongside suburban development in the 1970s. In 1987, the road was widened to six lanes alongside a recommendation to extend Leslie Street south of Eglinton to the Bayview Extension, and a proposal to try new high-occupancy vehicle lane, colloquially referred to in Toronto as a Diamond lane due to the markings on the pavement. While Leslie Street was not extended, the HOV lanes were implemented between Overlea Blvd and Finch Avenue East.

Don Valley Parkway

A highway marker for the DVP

Don Valley Parkway
Location: Highway 401  Gardiner Expressway
Length: 15.0 km (9.3 mi)
Main article: Don Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway in the autumn facing southwest from the Prince Edward Viaduct

The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a controlled-access six-lane expressway in Toronto connecting the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, the expressway continues as Highway 404 to Newmarket. The parkway runs through the parklands of the Don River valley, after which it is named. It is patrolled by the Toronto Police Service, has a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h (56 mph) and is 15.0 km (9.3 mi) in length.[22]

The parkway was the second expressway to be built by Metropolitan Toronto (Metro). Planning for it began in 1954, the year of Metro's formation, the first section opened in 1961 and the entire route was completed by the end of 1966. South of Bloor Street, the expressway was constructed over existing roadways. North of Bloor Street, the expressway was built on a new alignment through the valley, requiring the removal of several hills, the rerouting of the Don River and the clearing of green space. North of Eglinton Avenue, the expressway follows the former Woodbine Avenue right-of-way north to Highway 401.

The parkway operates well beyond its intended capacity of 60,000 vehicles per day and is known for its daily traffic jams; some sections carry an average of 100,000 vehicles a day. Planned as part of a larger expressway network within Toronto, it was one of the few expressways built before the public opposition which cancelled many of the others.

Donlands Avenue

Donlands Avenue
Location: Danforth Avenue – Leaside Bridge
(continues north of bridge as Millwood Road)
Storefronts on Donlands south of O'Connor

Donlands Avenue was renamed from Leslie Street on February 22, 1915, as the two were disconnected.[23] Donlands Avenue begins at Danforth Avenue and ends at the foot of the Leaside Bridge. On the opposite side of the bridge, drivers continue on Millwood Road.[8]

Dufferin Street

Dufferin Street
Location: British Columbia Drive – Steeles Avenue West
(interrupted by Downsview Airport)
Main article: Dufferin Street

Dufferin Street, known as the Side Line until 1876, was renamed in honour of Governor General Frederick Temple Blackwood, Lord Dufferin. Dufferin served as Governor General between 1872 and 1878, and presided over the opening of the first Canadian National Exhibition in 1878.[24] Dufferin Street begins at Exhibition Place and travels north into Vaughan. The road is interrupted between Wilson Avenue and Sheppard Avenue West by Downsview Park.[8] Dufferin was disjointed at Queen Street West by a railway, a detour famously known as the Dufferin Jog. Following decades of negotiation, construction began in 2007 on removing the jog by excavating a tunnel beneath the active tracks. This tunnel was completed and opened to traffic on November 10, 2010.

East Avenue

East Avenue
Location: Lawrence Avenue East – Rouge Hills Drive
()

Galloway Road

Galloway Road
Location: Guildwood Parkway - North of Lawrence Avenue East

The road is named for the Galloway family and settler Ignatius Galloway who began farming in the area along Concession Road D.

Greenwood Avenue

Greenwood Avenue
Location: Queen Street East – O'Connor Drive

Greenwood Avenue, originally Greenwood Lane, was named after the Greenwood family, who were market gardeners and carriage makers.[25] John (d. 1866) and Kate Greenwood were owners of the Puritan Tavern at the corner of Queen Street and Greenwood Lane. The area was home to over a dozen brickmaking factories in the 19th century, including one whose excavations can still be detected at Greenwood Subway Yard and in Greenwood Park at the intersection with Dundas Street.[26]

Highway 27

(see Brown's Line and Ontario Highway 27)

Highway 27
Location:  Highway 427 – Steeles Avenue West
(continues north into Vaughan)

Highway 404

Highway 404
Location:  Highway 401 – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north into Markham)
Main article: Ontario Highway 404

King's Highway 404, colloquially referred to as the four-oh-four, is a provincially maintained extension to the Don Valley Parkway, north of the junction with Highway 401. Highway 404 was opened from Sheppard Ave. to Steeles Ave. in 1979 and extended north of the city limits shortly thereafter.

Highway 427

Main article: Ontario Highway 427
King's Highway 427
Location: Browns Line – Steeles Avenue
(continues south as Brown's Line)
(continues north into Vaughan)

Islington Avenue

Islington Avenue
Location: Lake Shore Boulevard West – Steeles Avenue West
(continues north into Vaughan)
Just north of Bloor Street West, Islington Avenue is bridged by the CPR midtown line

Islington Avenue is named for the village it passed at Dundas Street. The village of Islington used to be known as Mimico, and was often confused with a second village of that name in Etobicoke on Lake Ontario and which had obtained a post office called Mimico in 1857. In 1859, in order to obtain their own post office, residents of the Mimico on Dundas Street held a meeting to select a new name in Thomas Smith's Inn (located on the southwest corner of Dundas Street and today's Islington Avenue.) When the attendees could not reach unanimous agreement on a new name, they invited Smith's wife, Elizabeth, into the meeting and asked her to rename the village. She selected Islington, after her birthplace near London, England.[27]

Islington Avenue begins at Lake Shore Boulevard West in New Toronto, and progresses north to Steeles Avenue West, where it crosses into Vaughan in York Region. The road is mostly suburban in nature, passing through largely residential sections of Etobicoke.[8]

Jameson Avenue

Jameson Avenue
Location: Lake Shore Boulevard West – Queen Street
(continues north as Lansdowne Avenue via Queen Street)
Main article: Jameson Avenue

Jameson Avenue is named for Robert Sympson Jameson, Attorney General for Upper Canada in the late 1830s. Jameson bought land south of Queen Street between the second and third concession sideroads (Dufferin and Parkside today) in the late 1840s. Jameson Avenue was built through his property when it was subdivided by the growing city.[28] The road begins at Lake Shore Boulevard West, where access is provided to the Gardiner Expressway. The road crosses the expressway and travels north through Parkdale between rows of apartment buildings. Jameson Avenue ends at Queen Street West; the traffic signal is coordinated with the southern terminus of Lansdowne Avenue, nearby to the east.[8]

Jane Street

"Jane Street" redirects here. For high-frequency trading firm, see Jane Street Capital.

Jane Street
Location: Bloor Street West – Steeles Avenue West
(continues north into Vaughan)
Looking north on Jane Street from Bloor

Jane Street is a north–south thoroughfare in western Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that begins at Bloor Street and continues north into York Region to near the Holland River in King Township. It was named after Jane Barr by her husband James. They immigrated from Glasgow in 1907, and a few years later, James became a real estate developer in the region north of Toronto in what was then known as York County. James named numerous streets in the development after his children, but the most important was named after his wife Jane.

The Toronto Transit Commission operates Jane subway station at Jane and Bloor Street. Until the subway opened, this intersection was the western terminus of the "Jane/Bloor" streetcar line. There are plans to operate two additional subway stations on Jane in Vaughan as part of the extension of the University branch of Line 1 Yonge–University. Proposed in the 2007 Transit City plan is the Jane LRT, a light rail line to run almost entirely along Jane from the Jane subway station to the Pioneer Village (Steeles West) station under construction on the Yonge-University subway line. North of Steeles in Vaughan, near its intersection at Highway 7 will be home to one of the TTC's first subway stations outside of Toronto, its Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, at Millway Avenue.

It will also have a Highway 407 station at the intersection of the 407 and Jane.

The title character of the Barenaked Ladies song Jane is "Jane St. Clair", and is named after the intersection of Jane and St. Clair Avenue. Steven Page recalls that co-writer Stephen Duffy saw the intersection on a map and remarked that it sounded like the most beautiful intersection in the world; "I didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't".[29]

Jarvis Street

Jarvis Street
Location: Queen's Quay – Charles Street
()
Main article: Jarvis Street

Jarvis Street recognizes the Jarvis family, who lived on land north of Queen Street and centred on Jarvis Street between 1824 and 1846. William Jarvis was Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Records between 1792 and his death in 1817. His son, Samuel Jarvis, won the last duel held in Toronto when he mortally wounded his neighbour and rival John Ridout. He was arrested as a result, but later acquitted, after which he took over his father's position. The increasing debt of the family led Samuel to sell off the property beginning in 1846. His house, Hazel Burn, was demolished to make way for Jarvis Street. Mutual Street was established at the same time on the property line between the former rivals.[30]

Jarvis Street begins at Queen's Quay north of the Lake Ontario shoreline. It travels north to one block south of Bloor Street, where most traffic is siphoned on to Mount Pleasant Road.[8] Jarvis previously extended to Bloor Street, but was truncated On August 26, 2009. The section between Charles Street and Bloor Street was renamed Ted Rogers Way.

Keele Street

Keele Street
Location: Bloor Street – St. Clair Avenue
South of Lavender Road – Steeles Avenue
(continues north into Vaughan)
Main article: Keele Street

Keele Street is named for lawyer William Keele. William owned land across the road from John Scarlett at Dundas and Keele Streets, gradually expanding his acreage in the mid-19th century. William opened the Carleton Race Course in 1857, which held the first Queen's Plate in 1860.[31]

Keele Street has two jogs within Toronto: one between St. Clair Avenue and Rogers Road and another one block north of Eglinton Avenue.

Kennedy Road

Kennedy Road
Location: Highview Avenue – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north into Markham)
Kennedy Road, south of Ellesmere Road, circa 1925

Kennedy Road is named for the Kennedy family, one of the many early farming settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries (to which Premier Thomas Laird Kennedy belonged to but settled in Mississauga), who settled along the early concession road. It is likely linked to Private John Kennedy of the 3rd Regiment of the York Militia (now The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)) who was granted 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land near Kennedy Road and Ellesmere Road.[32]

The Toronto section of the road is mainly residential with high-rise apartment buildings. However, there is a section between Lawrence Avenue East and north of Sheppard Avenue East, which is dominated by commercial plazas and malls, including Kennedy Commons.[8]

North of Steeles Avenue, Kennedy Road continues as York Regional Road 3 north to the shore of Lake Simcoe. Sections from Steeles Avenue East to north of Denison Street and north of Highway 407 to just south of 16th Avenue were diversions from the original roadway. The latter was created due to opposition to proposed widening of the section running in historic Unionville in the 1960s, which is now referred to as Main Street Unionville (as well as a laneway to the east of the Main Street). The former is now called Old Kennedy Road and Fresno Court. The road is cut off north of Davis Drive in Newmarket, Ontario due to the Bendor and Grave Tract (York Regional Forest), resuming north of Herald Road to Lake Drive East on the shore of Lake Simcoe in Georgina.

The road was mentioned in the song Energy by rapper Drake. It lends its name to two transit stations, Kennedy TTC station on the 2 and 3 lines, and Kennedy GO Station on the Stouffville commuter line. It was also mentioned in his 2016 Album "Views"

Kipling Avenue

Kipling Avenue
Location: Lake Shore Boulevard West – Steeles Avenue West
(resumes south of Highway 7 in Vaughan)
Highway 409 above Kipling Avenue

Kipling Avenue is rumoured to be named after Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book. Kipling was scheduled to read at the Woodbridge fair in 1907, but was forced to cancel at the last moment for reasons of health; it is said that the road to Woodbridge, thereto referred to as Mimico Street, was named in honour of the anticipated author.[33] The road was named by 1908, but may have been named earlier in honour of a local farmer with that last name.

Laird Drive

Laird Drive
Location: Millwood Road – Glenvale Boulevard
(continues southeast as Millwood Road)
Looking south on Laird Drive from Eglinton Avenue

The source of the origin of Laird Drive is disputed.

One theory is that the street takes its name from Robert Laird Borden, Prime Minister of Canada between 1911 and 1920. Borden, whose middle name is his mother's maiden name, led the country through the First World War. [34]

Another theory is that the name comes from Alexander Laird, a Scottish-born banker, and general manager of Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1907. He played a large role in the creation of Leaside, where Laird Dr. is found.[35][36]

Lansdowne Avenue

Lansdowne Avenue
Location: Queen Street – St. Clair Avenue West
(continues south as Jameson Avenue via Queen Street)
Marquis of Lansdowne

Lansdowne Avenue formerly known as North Jameson Avenue. It was renamed by the Parkdale village council in 1883 to honour the new Governor General, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, who served between 1883 and 1888. [37] Lansdowne Avenue begins at Queen Street West, a short distance east of the northern terminus of Jameson Avenue. It passes beneath the Kitchener GO line, meets Dundas Street West and College Street, then passes Lansdowne Subway Station at Bloor Street West. The road continues north past Dupont Street, then passes beneath the CPR Midtown line before ending at St. Clair Avenue West.[8] A short segment of Lansdowne Avenue runs between Wingold Avenue and Glengrove Avenue approximately grid north of the rest of Lansdowne Avenue.

Leslie Street

Leslie Street
Location: Unwin Avenue – Ivy Avenue, Wicksteed Avenue - Vanderhoof Avenue, Eglinton Avenue East - Steeles Avenue East
(resumes north of John Street in Markham via Don Mills Road)
Looking south along the third segment of Leslie Street, in North York

Leslie Street was the second concession line, laid about 13,200 ft (4,000 m) east of Yonge Street. Leslie Street was named for nursery owner George Leslie, who owned a store on Queen Street in Leslieville.[32][38]

Leslie Street, which has four separate sections, begins at Lake Ontario at the foot of the Leslie Street Spit. Just north at Lake Shore Boulevard East was the former eastern terminus of the Gardiner Expressway. It continues north to the railway tracks north of Gerrard Street East, where the first segment ends. Donlands Avenue, which runs from the north side of the railway tracks to north of O'Connor Drive, used to be another segment of Leslie Street. The second segment is represented by a one-block stretch of road between Wicksteed Avenue and Vanderhoof Avenue in the Leaside Industrial land area. It is separated from the third segment by the Ernest Thompson Seton parklands.

The third segment begins at Eglinton Avenue near E.T. Seton and Wilket Creek Park. It travels north through commercial and residential neighbourhoods in Don Mills and the Don Valley. A proposed extension from Eglinton Avenue south to Bayview Avenue (north of Pottery Road) never came to fruition.[39] It exits Toronto and enters York Region at Steeles Avenue. North of there, Leslie Street is a local road and ends shortly thereafter in Wycliffe Park. The fourth segment continues as an arterial road north of John Street in Markham, where Don Mills Road becomes Leslie Street.[8]

Main Street

Main Street
Location: Kingston Road - Hamstead Avenue

Main Street used to be the central street of the independent town of East Toronto. The Toronto Transit Commission's Main Street subway station is located at its intersection with Danforth Avenue.

Manse Road

Manse Road
Location: Copperfield Road - Old Kingston Road
()

Markham Road

Not to be confused with Markham Street, Toronto.

Markham Road
Location: Hill Crescent – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north into Markham)
Markham Road in the Woburn neighbourhood

Originally the Markham and Scarborough Plank Road, the concession line that led to the town of Markham was an early plank road. Existing first between the Danforth Road (now Painted Post) and the town, it was later extended south to Kingston Road and north to Stouffville. Alongside the construction of the Toronto Bypass (now Highway 401), Highway 48 was extended south, from near Beaverton, to where Markham Road would intersect the new "superhighway". It was originally intended to be upgraded to a freeway that would wrap around the eastern side of Lake Simcoe and end in Orillia or north of Sutherland. However, with the construction of the Don Valley Parkway, Woodbine Avenue would be chosen in its place, becoming Highway 404. The Toronto Transit Commission's 102 Markham Rd provides service along the length of the road. It operates from Warden Station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth and terminates at Steeles Avenue in Toronto, and on its 102D branch terminates at Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham. The route continues into York Region where it ends at Major Mackenzie Drive.

Markham Road begins at Hill Crescent, south of Kingston Road. It proceeds through Scarborough to Steeles Avenue East, but continues into York Region, where it is also designated as York Regional Road 68. Between Eglinton Avenue and Lawrence Avenue, the road crosses the Highland Creek ravine; one of the only crossings of the ravine not bypassed by a high-level bridge. South of Sheppard Avenue, most of the route is abutted by a mix of apartments and commercial strip plazas. North of Sheppard is occupied entirely by expanses of industrial land.[8] North of Steeles and south of Highway 407 is occupied by big box stores and plazas and north of Highway 407 is occupied with attached buildings as old Markham. This section is referred to as the nicest part of Markham road.

Marlee Avenue

Marlee Avenue
Location: Eglinton Avenue West – Lawrence Avenue West
(Continues north to Lawrence Square Shopping Centre)
Length: 2 km (1.2 mi)

Marlee Avenue used to be known as Lyon Avenue (southern segment in York) and Woodmount Avenue (northern segment in North York). The name was changed in 1953 at the request of Bernice Stein, who lived at 184 Woodmount Avenue. It is named for Mrs. Stein's niece.[40] In addition, after the name change, both segments were connected and straightened. Marlee Avenue connects Eglinton Avenue West with Lawrence Avenue West to the west of Allen Road.[8] At its northern end, it has a terminating vista of Lawrence Square Shopping Centre.

Martin Grove Road

Martin Grove Road
Location: Swan Avenue – Steeles Avenue West
(continues north into Vaughan and ends at Highway 27)

McCowan Road

McCowan Road
Location: Kingston Road – Steeles Avenue East
(continues south as Cathedral Bluffs Drive; north into Markham; interrupted by the Highland Creek)
The Scarborough RT crosses above McCowan Road on an elevated guideway

McCowan Road is named after James McCowan, the first of the McCowan family who immigrated from Scotland, settled near the Scarborough Bluffs in 1833 where the McCowan family farm was located. The street, the former Lot 22, and later McCowan's Sideroad, was officially renamed McCowan Road by Scarborough Township in 1956.

McCowan Road begins at Kingston Road and briefly breaks north of Eglinton Avenue, before continuing again at the north end of Danforth Road and extending north into York Region. There is an interruption at the Highland Creek between Lawrence Avenue and Eglinton Avenue (break is occupied by McCowan Park and John McCrae Public School); Danforth Road carries traffic south of Lawrence. When the Scarborough Town Centre complex was opened in 1973, an interchange with Highway 401 was constructed. North of Sheppard Avenue, Canadian Pacific Railway's Toronto marshalling yards use McCowan as a western limit, and stretch east of Markham Road.[8]

Meadowvale Road

Meadowvale Road
Location: Lawrence Avenue East – Plug Hat Road

Meadowvale Road is primarily a residential route in Scarborough. It is the site of the Toronto Zoo north of Sheppard Avenue. North of the zoo, Meadowvale Road crosses through Toronto's only rural region, which includes farmland, large section of plain fields, forests, and wildlife.

Middlefield Road

Middlefield Road
Location: McCowan Road – Steeles Avenue
(continues north into Markham)

The concession occupied by Bellamy Road is interrupted by Highway 401 and the CP Agincourt Marshalling Yard. Streets such as Havenview Road (Sheppard Avenue East to Invergordon Avenue) and Shortling Road (north of Nugget Avenue at CPR Agincourt Yard to Sheppard Avenue East) form a part of the original alignment; however, they themselves are also discontinuous. The concession resumes south of Finch Avenue as Middlefield Road turning west to avoid the railyard towards McCowan Road where it continues as Huntingwood Drive. The CPR Yard built from 1959 to 1964 has permanent ended any connecting of Bellamy Road with Middlefield Road.[41]

Midland Avenue

Midland Avenue
Location: Lake Ontario – Steeles Avenue East
(continues several metres north into Markham)
Looking north on Midland from Eglinton

Midland Avenue was known as Church Street until 1882, when it was renamed for the Midland Railway Company in 1882. Only two years later, the Midland Railway would be purchased by the Grand Trunk Railway[42]

Schools serve in the area are John A. Leslie Jr. Public School, Scarborough Centre for Alternative Studies (formerly Midland Avenue Collegiate Institute), Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School (formerly Tabor Park Vocational School), St. Albert Catholic School, Bendale Business and Technical Institute, Agincourt Collegiate Institute, and Monsignor Fraser College Midland Campus (formerly Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School).

North of Steeles Midland now ends in a cul-de-sac next to the former Miliken Public School, but the City of Markham has already planned to extend the road in a northwest direction (requiring property owners along the propose road to be prepared for lands to be transferred over to the city) [43] to end on Old Kennedy Road at Sunrise Drive to provide improve traffic flow and future re-development of the area.[44]

Morningside Avenue

Morningside Avenue
Location: Guildwood Parkway - McNicoll Avenue
()

Morningside Avenue is a suburban arterial road within Scarborough. It runs north from Scarborough Bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario to McNicoll Avenue near the Rouge River valley.

Morrish Road

Morrish Road
Location: Kingston Road - Highway 401
()

Morrish Road is a residential street of about 2 km long. The southernmost part intersects with Kingston Road while the northernmost part is cut off by Highway 401.

Mount Pleasant Road

Mount Pleasant Road
Location: Charles Street – Doncliffe Drive
(continues south as Jarvis Street)
Main article: Mount Pleasant Road

Mount Pleasant Road was named after the cemetery which it passes through when it was constructed in the late 1910s. The road follows the course of several earlier streets, many of which it assumed, including Kinsman Avenue (1918), Sidmouth Avenue (1920) and Hilda Avenue (1935). In the late 1940s, Mount Pleasant Road was extended south to its current terminus. This was initially referred to as the Clifton Road Extension, and is considered Toronto's first expressway.

Mount Pleasant Road begins at the northern terminus of Jarvis Street, one block south of Bloor Street East. It passes through the communities of Rosedale, Moore Park and Lawrence Park and crosses the Rosedale Ravine, Yellow Creek and Blythwood Ravine. The road ends near the Doncrest bus loop at Glen Echo Drive.[8]

Neilson Road

Neilson Road
Location: Rouge Valley Centenary – Oasis Road

Neilson Road was likely named for the settler, Alexander Neilson, who arrived in Scarborough in 1824.

Oakwood Avenue

Oakwood Avenue
Location: Eglinton Avenue West - Davenport Road
()
Looking south on Oakwood towards St. Clair, 1968

Oakwood Avenue is named for the settlement that grew just north of its intersection with St. Clair Avenue West.

Orton Park Road

Orton Park Road
Location: Lawrence Avenue East – Ellesmere Road

Orton Park Road was named by Evelyn J. Lea and his wife, Constance Nicholson, after the Nicholson estate near Cumberland, England, which was also named Orton Park.[45]

Ossington Avenue

Ossington Avenue
Location: Queen Street West – Davenport Road
(Continues south as Lower Ossington Avenue)
Length: 3.5 km[46] (2.2 mi)
Main article: Ossington Avenue

Ossington Avenue is named for the estate of the Denison family in Nottinghamshire.[47] John Denison moved to York and built Brookfield House at a corner on Dundas Street, which is now the intersection of Queen Street West and Ossington Avenue. Dundas Street then followed what is now Queen Street West and then Ossington Avenue, obstructed by the valley of Garrison Creek. Ossington Avenue was later built north from the present corner of Ossington and Dundas to Bloor Street West.[48] The section between Bloor Street and Davenport Road was formerly known as Lancaster Road.[47] South of Dundas, the street has become a popular destination for nightlife, and it is particularly popular amongst the hipster subculture.

Pape Avenue

Pape Avenue
Location: Millwood Road - Eastern Avenue (continues north of the Leslie Bridge and is renamed Millwood Road)
Looking north on Pape Avenue at Lipton Avenue, 1927

Pape Avenue is a road that begins at Eastern Avenue, and continues north to Gerrard Square, where it is interrupted. It resumes on the opposite side of Gerrard Square and continues north, crossing Danforth Avenue and ending at an intersection with Donlands avenue at the south side of the Leaside Bridge. This road has HOV lanes north of Danforth Avenue. Named of Joseph Pape, market gardener who came to Canada in 1853.[49] Son James Pape owned land south of Gerrard Street and what was then Robinson (now Pape) and was alderman for St. Lawrence Ward.[49]


Parkside Drive

Parkside Drive
Location: Lake Shore Boulevard West – Bloor Street West
(continues north as Keele Street)

Parkside Drive was a portion of Keele Street until 1921, when it was renamed by the City of Toronto. John Howard sold his estate to the city in 1873 to use as a public park. The road was renamed on June 13, 1921, by order of Bylaw 8663.[50]

Parkside Drive begins at Lake Shore Boulevard West. Passing beneath the Gardiner Expressway and The Queensway, the road travels north alongside High Park, which lies to the west. At Bloor Street West, Parkside Drive becomes Keele Street. The entirety of the road is residential, with houses to the east side of the road.[8]

Parliament Street

Parliament Street
Location: Queens Quay East – Bloor Street East
(continues south as Queen's Quay)

Parliament Street was the site of the original Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada, constructed on Front Street between Berkeley and Parliament by 1797 under the orders of John Graves Simcoe. The buildings, planned as one building with two wings, were not completed and in 1813 were destroyed by the invading American army.[51] Parliament Street begins at Lake Shore Boulevard East, where it continues southwest as Queen's Quay, and travels north along the eastern outskirts of downtown Toronto. The road ends at Bloor Street East between the Rosedale and Sherbourne phases of the Prince Edward Viaduct.[8] Prior to the construction of the viaduct, Parliament Street ended at Hayter Street.

Pharmacy Avenue

Pharmacy Avenue
Location: Danforth Avenue – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north to Markham as Esna Park Drive and Rodick Road)

Pharmacy Avenue likely takes its name from a local pharmacy, beyond which no information is available.

The road weaves through Toronto as would any other road.

North of Steeles in Markham, the road becomes Esna Park Drive, then the road turns and runs west at Alden Road until meeting Woodbine Ave, after which it becomes John Street. After its turn west, when continuing north it becomes Rodick Road, which it continues as until after 16th Avenue where it turns west and ends on Woodbine Avenue.

Reesor Road

Reesor Road
Location: Old Finch Avenue – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north into Markham)

Reesor Road is a small single land road that travels north from Old Finch Avenue on the north end of Toronto Zoo north into farmland, woodlots, private homes and parts of Rouge Park to Steeles Avenue East. Reesor is named after the Reesor family that settled and farmed the area along the road in Scarborough and Markham.

Roncesvalles Avenue

Roncesvalles Avenue
Location: The Queensway / Queen Street – Dundas Street West
(continues north as Dundas Street
south as King Street)
Length: 1.8 km[52] (1.1 mi)
Main article: Roncesvalles Avenue

Roncesvalles Avenue was named by or in honour of Colonel Walter O'Hara, who fought in the Peninsular War and owned large land grants that were eventually subdivided to form Parkdale. The name originates from a village in northern Spain near the border with France, where O'Hara fought a battle against Napoleon I.[53] Roncesvalles begins at an intersection with The Queensway, Queen Street and King Street and travels north to Dundas Street West.[8]

Runnymede Road

Runnymede Road
Location: North of St. Clair Avenue West - Morningside Avenue
(Continues north to Gaffney Park Trail)

Runnymede Road is named for the house of John Scarlett, built at the corner of Dundas and Keele in 1838. Runnymede is a field in England, southwest of London, where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215.[54]

St. George Street

Scarborough Golf Club Road

Scarborough Golf Club Road
Location: Hill Crescent – Ellesmere Road

Scarborough Gold Club Road was named after the Scarborough Golf Course, which still lay in the Highland Creek valley along the road. Scarborough Golf Club begins at Hill Crescent and travels north to Ellesmere Road.[8]

Sewells Road

Sewells Road
Location: Old Finch Avenue - Steeles Avenue East

Sewells Road is a small single land road that travels north from Old Finch Avenue north through farmland, woodlots, private homes to Steeles Avenue East. Street is named for Joseph Sewell (1785-1870),[55] a early pioneer in the Hillside area of Scarborough.[42]

Sherbourne Street

Sherbourne Street
Location: Front Street – Bloor Street East (Continues north of Bloor Street West as Sherbourne Street North to South Drive.)

Sherbourne Street was named by Samuel Ridout in 1845 after the town in Dorset, England; the Ridout family emigrated from Sherborne.[56] Sherbourne has Cycle tracks on the south side of Bloor Street West to Front Street West, and has bike lanes between Bloor Street West and Elm street. [57]

Spadina Avenue/Spadina Road

Spadina Avenue
Spadina Road
Location: Queens Quay West - Bloor Street (Spadina Avenue)
Bloor Street - Davenport Road,
Austin Terrace - Eglinton Avenue West, Chaplin Crescent - New Haven Drive
(Spadina Road)
Main article: Spadina Avenue

Spadina Avenue, and its extension north of Bloor Street, Spadina Road, originally pronounced "spa-dee-nuh", are named after the estate of Dr. William Baldwin. After a fire and two complete reconstructions, this estate has since become the Spadina House. The Baldwins held many important positions in the early government of York, having several streets named after them (including Baldwin Street). William planned Spadina Avenue as the driveway to his new estate in 1818, and laid the street in 1836 with the unusual width of two chains (132 feet), double the width of any street laid to that date.[58] It was eventually extended north and over the Nordheimer Ravine to the village of Forest Hill, and thereafter to Eglinton Avenue. Its southern terminus is at the edge of Lake Ontario.[8]

Spadina has been transformed many times, once almost to a depressed expressway known as the Spadina Expressway, which was cancelled by Ontario Premier Bill Davis in 1971 after extensive protesting. Casa Loma was built next to the Spadina House in the early 20th century.

Port Union Road

Port Union Road
Location: Lake Ontario – Kingston Road
(continues northwest as Sheppard Avenue East)

Port Union Road is a residential street that carries traffic from Sheppard Avenue East at Kingston Road southwards to south of Lawrence Avenue East into Port Union Waterfront Park. It was named after the former village of Port Union, south-east of the current neighbourhood that bears the same name.

Renforth Drive

Renforth Drive
Location: Bloor Street West – Carlingview Drive
(continuing as International Blvd.)

Royal York Road

Royal York Road
Location: South of Lake Shore Boulevard West – Dixon Road
(continues north as St. Phillips Road)
Looking south on Royal York Road from Judson St. The view of the CNR bridge was over Church Street which ended at Lakeshore Road, and was later changed to Royal York Road. Judson Rd. was previously named Main Street.

Royal York Road was named for the original destination of the drive, which was the Royal York Golf Course, now St. George's. The course was built as an added attraction for the hotel guests. The entrance to the Club was changed to Islington Avenue after the Royal York Hotel sold the course.

Scarborough-Pickering Townline

Scarborough-Pickering Townline
Location: Steeles Avenue East – Finch Avenue East
()
Length: 2.7 km (1.678 mi)

Toronto-Pickering Townline serves as clearly defined eastern boundary between Toronto and Pickering. The road is managed by the City of Pickering and not the City of Toronto. The road is a still a rural route for local traffic (mostly farms) due to the shortness of the road. The entire length is single lane in each direction with no curbs and unpaved shoulders. The only traffic light is found at the junction with Steeles Avenue East and Taunton Road and stop signs at Finch Avenue East; these are the only controlled intersections on the length of the road. Toronto-Pickering Townline continues north of Steeles as York-Durham Line (York Regional Road 30).

Scarlett Road

Scarlett Road
Location: Dundas Street West – north of Lawrence Avenue West
(continues west as Dixon Road)

Scarlett Road is named for John Scarlett, who moved to Upper Canada in 1808 and owned several square kilometres of property northwest of Bloor and Keele Streets. "Scarlett's Road" was opened along the route of the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail north of his property. The road begins at Dundas Street West immediately south of the CPR crosstown rail line. It connects with the western terminus of St. Clair Avenue, then progresses north alongside the Humber River to north of Lawrence Avenue West, where it curves to the west and becomes Dixon Road.[8]

University Avenue

University Avenue
Location: Front Street – College Street
(continues north as Queen's Park Crescent)

University Avenue shares its origins with College Street as one of the two private entrances to King's College (now the University of Toronto) opened in 1829. King's College was chartered by Henry, 3rd Earl of Bathurst two years earlier. Both roads were known as College Avenue. In an attempt to create a stately elegant driveway to the college, the road was cut 120 feet wide and lined with chestnut trees and ornamental fences. A gatehouse designed by John Howard sat at the entranceway at present-day Queen and University. The road quickly became an obstacle to the growing city, and the gates surrounding it were torn down in 1859.[59]

As part of a depression relief program, University was extended south of Queen Street to meet York Street at Front beginning in 1929.

Victoria Park Avenue

Victoria Park Avenue
Location: Queen Street East – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north into Markham)
Main article: Victoria Park Avenue

Victoria Park Avenue was named after a park which once ran alongside the road. The park was named in honour of Queen Victoria. Until the 1960s, Victoria Park Avenue only extended as far north as Danforth Avenue; the swamps of Taylor-Massey Creek blocked further progress until they were drained during the construction of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth. The road north of St. Clair Avenue formed part of Dawes Road until then. Victoria Park Avenue begins at Queen Street East, north of the R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. It climbs the western edge of the Scarborough Bluffs and travels through a residential neighbourhood to Gerrard. North of Gerrard, the density of the surrounding development increases; though detached homes exist throughout the length of the road, businesses and apartment blocks are far more common. Victoria Park ends north of Steeles Avenue East at Denison Avenue in Markham.

Warden Avenue

Warden Avenue
Location: Lake Ontario – Steeles Avenue East
(continues north into Markham)

Warden Avenue used to be Wardin Avenue, the original spelling of Wardin refers to the Wardin Park subdivision built in 1912 Scarborough. Warden begins south of Kingston Road at the former Toronto Hunt Club and travels north to Steeles Avenue East, where it continues into Markham as York Regional Road 65. Although the section south of Danforth Avenue is mostly detached residential housing, the majority of Warden Avenue north of Danforth is industrial or commercial.

Weston Road

Main article: Weston Road
The Weston radial line, pictured here in October 1925, about a month before opening, was the impetus for development along what was until then a muddy stagecoach trail.

Weston Road
Location: St. Clair Avenue West – Steeles Avenue West
(continues south as Keele Street
north into Vaughan)

Weston Road from Mount Dennis to Highway 401 follows a native Canadian trail that predates European settlement of the area. The trail, known as the Toronto Carrying-Place, commenced at the mouth of the Humber and was trodden by Samuel de Champlain and Étienne Brûlé, as well as many other early European explorers. The first of the fur traders and the first European settler of Toronto, Jean Baptiste Rousseaux, had a fur trading fort at the southern terminus of the trail, which is marked by an historical plaque. The trail was known in the earliest of recorded history, and followed the eastern banks of the Humber River from the Queensway along what is now Prince Edward Drive and continued on a route that would have been somewhere between Jane Street and the Humber River. Weston Road from Mount Dennis to the 401 follows the Carrying Place route, which then continued north along the banks of the Humber and pursued roughly the route taken by Islington Avenue, through Humber Summit, staying east of the Humber over the Oak Ridges Moraine, following just west of the Weston Road crossing the Aurora / Schomberg road between Weston Road and Highway 400. It finally joined a tributary of the Holland River at what is now Highway 9 just west of Weston Road where a cairn has been erected.[60]

Willowdale Avenue

Willowdale Avenue
Location: Glendora Avenue (interrupted by Wilket Creek) – Steeles Avenue East (continues into Markham)

Named for the area of Willowdale, Toronto, which was originally the postal village of Willow Dale. The area's name was provided by David Gibson, who was one of the originally settlers in the area and influenced by Willow trees in the area when petitioning for the creation of the post village designation.[61]

Woodbine Avenue

Woodbine Avenue
Location: Lake Shore Boulevard East – O'Connor Drive
(resumes north of Steeles Avenue in Markham)
Main article: Woodbine Avenue

Woodbine Avenue was named for the Woodbine Racetrack that existed near its southern terminus for over a century and held numerous Queen's Plates until the track was moved to Etobicoke. The origins of the street date back to 1800 when surveyor John Stegman laid out farm properties and their supporting concession roads, including what has become today's Woodbine Avenue.[62]

The road allowance of Woodbine Avenue north of Lawrence Avenue to Highway 401 was removed when the Don Valley Parkway was constructed in the early 1960s.[63] Another section from Highway 401 to Steeles Avenue was lost when Highway 404 was built in the 1970s.

It resumes north of Steeles in Markham. It runs as an urban road through Markham, and connects to Highway 404 at Steeles, and runs through York Region.

Yonge Street

Yonge Street
Location: Queen's Quay – Steeles Avenue
(continues north into Thornhill)
Main article: Yonge Street

Governor John Graves Simcoe named the road Yonge Street, after Sir George Yonge, secretary of war in the British Cabinet and a family friend.[64]

North of Steeles, Yonge continues through York Region, as the border of Markham and Vaughan south of Highway 407. North of the highway, it is now a road in Richmond Hill with one of its busiest intersections at Highway 7.

See also

References

Sources
  1. Chris Bateman (8 February 2012). "The story behind Toronto street names". blogto.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  2. Wise & Gould 2000, pp. 29–30.
  3. Scadding 1873, p. 308.
  4. City of Toronto Council (1922). "By-Law No. 9316". Appendix 'B' to the Minutes of Proceedings to the Council of the Corporation for the City of Toronto for the year 1922: Volume Two. Toronto: The Carswell Company. p. 589.
  5. City of Toronto Council (1924). "By-Law No. 9884". Appendix 'B' to the Minutes of Proceedings to the Council of the Corporation for the City of Toronto for the year 1922: Volume Two. Toronto: The Carswell Company.
  6. Wise & Gould 2000, pp. 31–32.
  7. Township of Scarborough By-Law No. 11461 (1964)
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 TO maps (Map). City of Toronto. 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  9. Toronto Archive Image
  10. Toronto Archives - Birchmount Loop under construction
  11. James Bow. Remembering Birchmount Loop Transit Toronto.
  12. Birchmount in the 1960s
  13. http://www.markham.ca/markham/ccbs/indexfile/Agendas/2010/Development%20Services/pl100323/Rodick%20Funding%20Transfer%2004Mar2010.htm
  14. http://www2.markham.ca/markham/ccbs/indexfile/Agendas/2012/Development%20Services/pl120626/Birchmount%20Road%20Report.PDF
  15. "T.O's un-tourist guide". Toronto Star. 2007-07-29. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  16. Abbate, Gay (December 17, 1987). "Stage set for final battle on Brimley, 401 overpass". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. A23.
  17. "Committee votes to open Brimley Road". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. February 19, 1988. p. A13.
  18. History of the Danforth
  19. Brown's Line Historical Plaque. Torontohistory.org (2008-08-27). Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
  20. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 58–59.
  21. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 65.
  22. Toronto & Area Map Book (Map). Cartography by Perly's. Rand McNally Canada. 2010. p. 3. § D1. ISBN 978-0-88640-928-9.
  23. Toronto Bylaw 7297 (1915), section VIII
  24. Wise & Gould 2000, pp. 82–83.
  25. http://leslievillehistory.com/about-2/
  26. Domagala, Gene (22 February 2012). "Greenwood Avenue's history of bricks". Beach Metro News. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  27. "The nameing [sic] of Islington". Document handwritten in 1929 by David Lyle Streight who attended the 1859 meeting to rename the village. Original filed in Etobicoke Historical Society archives.
  28. Wise & Gould 2000, pp. 121–122.
  29. Murray Crawford, "What's in a name? Plenty", Lloydminster Meridian Booster (Thursday, October 21, 2010).
  30. Wise & Gould 2000, pp. 122–123.
  31. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 124.
  32. 1 2 City of Markham. History of Markham Street Names. Accessed on February 3, 2010.
  33. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 128.
  34. Wise, Gould & 2000 128–129.
  35. Mike, Filey (April 20, 2013). "Leaside a reflection of those who built it". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  36. Flack, Derek. "5 fascinating stories about Toronto street names". BlogTO. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  37. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 131.
  38. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 137.
  39. McCormick Rankin (July 1990). Leslie Street Extension and Bayview Avenue Widening Environmental and Needs Assessment Study (Report). Metropolitan Toronto Transportation Department.
  40. Internal Database, Department of Public Works and the Environment, Survey and Mapping Division
  41. http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/CPR_Toronto_Yard/History_1.htm
  42. 1 2 Street Names of Scarborough | Scarborough Historical Society. Scarboroughhistorical.ca (1915-07-26). Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
  43. http://www.markham.ca/markham/ccbs/indexfile/html/planning/agenda/pl080219.htm
  44. http://www.city.markham.on.ca/markham/ccbs/indexfile/agendas/pl030707/Milliken.htm
  45. "Street Names of Scarborough". Scarborough Historical Society. Scarborough Historical Society. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  46. Google (January 27, 2010). "Route of Ossington Avenue" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  47. 1 2 Robson, Mary E (1987). Johnson, Norah, ed. The Origins of Street Names in Toronto's Ward 5. Spadina Road Library. p. 7. ISBN 0-9692938-2-8.
  48. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 46.
  49. 1 2 http://www.leslieville.com/real-estate-history-leslieville-riverdale-riverside-street-names-hunter-street-to-howie-avenue
  50. City of Toronto Bylaw 8663 (1921)
  51. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 160.
  52. Google (February 2, 2011). "Roncesvalles length and route" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  53. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 177.
  54. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 179.
  55. Other Sewells. Robertsewell.ca. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
  56. Wise & Gould 2000, pp. 193–194.
  57. Toronto Cycling Map PDF 2016
  58. Wise & 200, pp. 197–198.
  59. Wise & Gould 2000, p. 216.
  60. Robinson (1933). Toronto During the French Regime. Ryerson Press
  61. http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=71d68d5c19c52410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=a2dc2271635af310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD
  62. "A brief history of Whitchurch-Stouffville - Part 1". Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
  63. City in the Trees: Retrospectives: Finch Avenue and Woodbine Avenue. Cityinthetrees.blogspot.com (2009-10-07). Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
  64. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/yonge-street-governor-simcoes-military-road-feature/
Bibliography
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