Bayview Avenue

York Regional Road 34
Bayview within Toronto
Maintained byCity of Toronto
Region of York
Length46 km (29 mi)[1]
LocationToronto
Markham
Richmond Hill
Aurora
Newmarket
South endMill Street in Toronto
Major
junctions
Queen Street
River Street
Eglinton Avenue
Lawrence Avenue
 Highway 401
Sheppard Avenue
Finch Avenue
Steeles Avenue
 Highway 407
Highway 7
Major Mackenzie Drive
Stouffville Road
Mulock Drive
North end2nd Street in Newmarket (Continues as Prospect Street)
Nearby arterial roads
 Yonge Street Bayview Avenue Leslie Street 

Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in York Region, Bayview is designated as York Regional Road 34.

History

Bayview Ave. sign in East York

Bayview Avenue follows the first concession line, laid 6,600 ft (2,000 m) east of Yonge Street. Over time, the concession road became known as East York Avenue, a reference to the division it formed between the city of Toronto and the township of East York.[2] In 1931, James Stanley McLean constructed "Bay View" (now known as McLean House), a house overlooking the Don Valley with a view south down to Toronto Bay, on the edge of Moore Park[3] and ultimately this led to the road becoming known as Bayview Avenue. On August 17, 1959, Bayview was extended south from Moore Avenue in Leaside to Front Street. The northern section of this extension was routed alongside Pottery Road to Nesbitt Drive. South of this, it wraps around a hill and descends into the Lower Don Valley, travelling parallel to the route of the Don Valley Parkway.[4]

Bloor Street Viaduct looking from east side of Don Valley to west. To right of viaduct is "Sugarloaf Hill", which was removed to build the Bayview Extension.

This addition is frequently referred to as the Bayview Extension. It was constructed as part of the Don Valley Parkway project, and necessitated the removal of "Sugarloaf Hill" directly north of the Bloor Street Viaduct. The extension fulfilled the "central spoke" in the building of the "Don Valley Roadway" as proposed in the 1940s. A route through the ravine to St. Clair Avenue was replaced with the present route which stays within the Don Valley proper. With the creations of the Corktown Common in 2013, the southern end of the Bayview Avenue Extension now terminates at Mill Street.

The list of streets removed or used to create the extension included:

  • Don Roadway West – from Front Street to Winchester Street
  • Marriott – from north of Bloor Street beginning at Park Drive (now Park Drive Reservation Trail)

In the late 1990s, York Region conducted several road needs studies near Lake Wilcox, which determined that the disjointed and disconnected Bayview Avenue should be connected from Stouffville Road in the south to Bloomington Road in the north. A lengthy battle ensued between environmentalists, upset over continuing construction in the supposedly protected Oak Ridges Moraine. The discovery of Jefferson salamanders in the study area resulted in several modifications to the design of the route, including a 70 m (230 ft) structure over a dry ravine, as well as five amphibian tunnels. On November 17, 2002, the new extension was opened, including a widened intersection at Stouffville Road. The former route of Bayview was turned into several short streets (Olde Bayview Avenue, Sunset Beach Road and Bayview Park Lane), which lie directly west of the new roadway.[5]

Bayview Avenue was once proposed to be renamed Kilgour Avenue by the town of Leaside, after Joseph Kilgour, whose widow sold his farm, Sunnybrook, to the city of Toronto on the condition that it never be developed. Today, Sunnybrook Hospital and Sunnybrook Park occupy those lands. While Bayview was never renamed, a side street south of the hospital carries the name Kilgour Road today.

Route description

The southern end of Bayview Avenue starts at Mill Street in Toronto’s Corktown Common. For the first part of its route northward it runs through the Don Valley, on the West side of the river opposite the Don Valley Parkway. Along this stretch a steep cliff separates it from neighbourhoods such as Cabbagetown.

Bayview Avenue looking north from Sunnydene Park
View of the west side of Bayview Avenue at Millwood Road in 2023

Bayview exits the Don Valley, passing through the Governor's Bridge neighbourhood and entering Leaside. It is the major commercial street for Leaside, home to many small shops and restaurants. North of Leaside Bayview runs across several tributaries of the Don River and is carried over one of them by the six-lane Bayview Bridge. This is the western portion of the wealthy Lawrence Park neighbourhood, and just to the east is the Bridle Path, the single wealthiest area of Toronto. A number of major institutions are found in this area including Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Glendon College, Toronto French School, The Granite Club, The Crescent School, and the Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf.

North of York Mills Avenue Bayview becomes one of the major north-south arterials for suburban North York. It passes through the neighbourhoods of Bayview Village, Bayview Woods, Willowdale, and Newtonbrook.

It runs north beyond Steeles Avenue, Toronto’s northern city limit, and continues north through York Region, where it is formally identified as York Regional Road 34. It is one of the main arterial roads for Thornhill and Richmond Hill. It then passes through the Oak Ridges Moraine, passing a number of parks and conservation areas. North of the moraine the street again enters urban areas, passing through Aurora and Newmarket. It ends in Newmarket where it turns into Prospect Street.

Bayview Avenue is also home to major places of worship of almost every major religious tradition including synagogues, an Islamic mosque, the city’s largest evangelical churches, Canada’s largest Buddhist Temple, Toronto’s largest Eastern Orthodox cathedral, and Canada’s only Zoroastrian Temple. These can all be found along a 15-kilometre section of the road.

Transit

The TTC bus route that services most of the length of Bayview Avenue within Toronto is the 11 Bayview, with the 28 Bayview South running south of it. Route 28 had originally been 28 Davisville, but it was modified in 2014. It now has full albeit less frequent service than the 11 Bayview route. From 2008-2014, the route ran its rush hour route on weekdays, then to the Brick Works during the day on weekends.[6] In York Region, YRT runs Routes 54 and 91, with Route 91 and its branch routes serving the portion of Bayview south of Oak Ridges, and Route 54 serving Aurora and Newmarket. Within the Don River valley, much of Bayview runs parallel to the Richmond Hill GO Transit line.

The routes mainly serving Bayview Avenue are:

Toronto (TTC):

Route Direction and Termini
11A
Bayview[7] SB To Davisville station NB To Steeles Avenue
11C
Bayview[7] SB To Davisville station NB To Sunnybrook
28
Bayview South[8] SB To Davisville station NB To Don Valley Brick Works

York Region (YRT):

Route Direction and Termini
54
Bayview[9] SB To Yonge and Wellington NB To East Gwillimbury GO Station
91
Bayview[10] SB To Finch GO Bus Terminal NB To Taylor Mills Drive (south of Elgin Mills Road)
91A
Bayview[10] SB To Finch GO Bus Terminal NB To Subrisco Ave. (South of 19th Ave.)
91B
Bayview[10] SB To Richmond Hill Centre Terminal NB To Oak Ridges
91E
Bayview Express[10] SB To Finch GO Bus Terminal NB Subrisco Ave.
91E only operates southbound during AM peak hours

Landmarks

Landmark Cross street Notes Image
Queen Street Viaduct Queen St E
Prince Edward Viaduct Bloor St Bayview runs under the viaduct
Don Valley Brick Works Pottery Road
Crothers Woods Nesbitt Dr
Mount Pleasant Cemetery Moore Ave Bayview forms the eastern boundary of Canada's largest cemetery
St Cuthbert's Anglican Church McRae Dr
St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Broadway Ave
Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery Kilgour Rd
CNIB Kilgour Rd
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Blythwood Rd
Lawrence Park Community Church Dawlish Ave
Glendon College Lawrence Ave E Campus of York University
Toronto French School Lawrence Ave E
Bayview Bridge Lawrence Ave E Carries Bayview across the Don River (West Branch)
The Granite Club Lawrence Ave
The Crescent School Lawrence Ave
Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf Post Rd
Canadian Film Centre Country Lane
Trinity York Mills Presbyterian Church Truman Rd
Bayview station Sheppard Ave On the Sheppard line
Bayview Village Shopping Centre Sheppard Ave
All Saints Greek Orthodox Church Byng Ave
Blessed Trinity Parish Finch Ave
St. Joseph's Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School/Tyndale University College and Seminary Cummer Ave
Thornhill Community Centre John St
Shouldice Hernia Centre Green Lane
Thornlea Secondary School Willowbrook Rd
Toronto Montessori Schools Highway 7
Bayview Secondary School Major Mackenzie Dr
Jean Vanier Catholic High School Crosby Ave/Redstone Rd
Holy Trinity School 19th Ave
Wilcox Lake Bethesda Side Road
Pickering College Mulock Dr

See also

References

  1. "Google Maps showing the entire length of Bayview Avenue within Toronto". Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  2. Filey, Mike (2004). "Origins of the Sheppard Subway Line". Toronto Sketches 8: The way we were. Dundurn Press. pp. 319–320. ISBN 1-55002-527-9.
  3. City of Toronto Archives
  4. Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. Ontario Department of Highways. 1959. § Toronto inset.
  5. Ferenc, Leslie (November 19, 2002). "Only memories left standing". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012.
  6. "28 Davisville (1934-2014)". Transit Toronto.
  7. 1 2 "11 Bayview Route Description". ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  8. "28 Bayview South Route Description". ttc.ca. Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  9. "54 Bayview Ful Schedule" (PDF). yrt.ca. York Region Transit. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "91 Bayview Full Schedule" (PDF). yrt.ca. York Region Transit. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
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