Royal York Road

Royal York Road, historically known as Church Street or New Church Street, is a north-south arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 5 concessions (10 km) west of Yonge Street, and runs through many residential neighbourhoods, most notably Mimico and the Kingsway. It is classified as a "minor arterial" road by the city of Toronto.[1]

Royal York Dr
Royal York Road in Mimico, immediately adjacent to Mimico GO Station
Route information
Maintained by City of Toronto government
Length11.2 km (7.0 mi)
Major junctions
South endLake Shore Boulevard
 
North endDixon Road
Highway system
Roads in Toronto
Nearby arterial roads
← Islington Avenue
Royal York Road
 Scarlett Road →
A sign for Royal York Road in Mimico, near its southern terminus.

The road begins in the south near the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just south of Lake Shore Blvd. It then travels through the neighbourhoods of Mimico, the Queensway, Sunnylea, the Kingsway, and Humber Valley Village. It also serves as the boundary for two neighbourhoods north of Eglinton Avenue; Richview, and Humber Heights. The road crosses three creeks; Mimico Creek, and two tributaries of the Humber River; Humber Creek, and Silver Creek.

Royal York Road officially ends at Dixon Road, but its alignment continues further north as St. Phillips Road, which ends at Weston Road. Weston Road continues north on the same concession as Royal York, eventually into Vaughan.

History

Royal York Road started out as a local street in Mimico called Church Street when the village was settled in the late 19th century. During this time, it was a dirt road north of there. This changed in the 1920s when The Kingsway was developed, and in the 1930s with the development of Humber Valley Village. At this point, the paved section extended up to Eglinton Avenue. The entire road would finally be paved by the 1950s when the remaining areas were developed.

Royal York Road has recently undergone several reconstruction projects.[2] The 1.25 metre wide bike lanes that were approved and painted during this process on the stretch between Mimico Creek and Usher Avenue have been criticized for being too narrow, and a violation of Transportation Association of Canada standards (which the city of Toronto follows), for not conforming to the 1.5 metre minimum.[3][4]

Public transit

The Toronto Transit Commission provides bus services along Royal York Road. Royal York subway station on the Bloor-Danforth line is the major transit terminal that these services feed into. North of Bloor, the main route is 73 Royal York, which also goes along Albion Road in the Rexdale area, and south of Bloor, the primary route is 76 Royal York South, which mainly carries commuters from Mimico. There are two additional routes that serve parts of Royal York because they use it to feed into the subway. These routes are; 48 Rathburn (which uses Royal York from Bloor to Anglesey), and 15 Evans (Bloor to Evans).

The Mimico GO Station on the Lakeshore West line provides commuter rail service to downtown, and other areas in the Greater Toronto Area, such as Hamilton, and Oakville.

Landmarks

Local landmarks along Royal York Road (north to south):

See also

Major streets in Toronto which intersect with Royal York (north to south):

References
  1. Royal York Road and Glenroy Avenue – Traffic Control Signals
  2. Royal York Road Reconstruction
  3. BikeToronto - Cyclists abandoned on Royal York Road by Works Committee
  4. BikeToronto - Council approves compromised bike lane for Royal York Road

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