Bathurst Street (Toronto)

Bathurst Streetis a main north–south arterial road inToronto, Ontario,Canada. It begins at an intersection of theQueens Quayroadway, just north of theLake Ontarioshoreline. It continues north through Toronto to the Toronto boundary atSteeles Avenue.It is a four-lane thoroughfare throughout Toronto. The roadway continues north intoYork Regionwhere it is known asYork Regional Road 38.

Bathurst Street

York Regional Road 38
Southward view of Bathurst Street fromCasa Loma
Bathurst within Toronto
Maintained by	City of Toronto York Region Town ofEast Gwillimbury
Length	57.4 km (35.7 mi)
Location	Toronto,Vaughan,Richmond Hill,King,Aurora,Newmarket,East Gwillimbury
South end	Queens Quay(Continues as Eireann Quay, which leads to the ferry dock for Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport)
Major junctions	Lake Shore Boulevard King Street Queen Street Dundas Street Bloor Street St. Clair Avenue Eglinton Avenue Lawrence Avenue Highway 401 Sheppard Avenue Finch Avenue Steeles Avenue Highway 407 Highway 7 Major Mackenzie Drive Teston Road/Elgin Mills Road Gamble Road/Kirby Road King-Vaughan Road Bloomington Road Wellington Street St. John’s Sideroad Mulock Drive Davis Drive Green Lane FormerHighway 11
North end	Holland Marsh
Nearby arterialroads in Toronto ←Dufferin Street Spadina Avenue Avenue Road Yonge Street→

Route description

Bathurst Street begins in the south at the intersection with Queens Quay. The southernmost part of Bathurst, south of theGardiner Expressway,was heavily industrialized until the 1970s. These factories are now gone; in their place, some residential development has occurred, including the extended Queen's Quay. South of the intersection, Eireann Quay, a former section of Bathurst Street, runs south to the ferry dock for theBilly Bishop Toronto City Airporton the island and the Western Gap channel which separates theToronto Islandsfrom the Toronto mainland.

North of the Gardiner isFort Yorkon the western side. TheSir Isaac Brock Bridgeconnects the section south of Fort York to the section north of the railways. The bridge was relocated here in 1916. It had been used as a railway bridge over theHumber River.North of the tracks, the area is a mix of small commercial and residential buildings on the western fringe of downtown. North of Queen Street, the eastern side of Bathurst is the edge of the Alexandria Park cluster of housing projects, while to the west is theTrinity-Bellwoodsresidential neighbourhood. North ofDundas Street,Bathurst is dominated byToronto Western Hospitalon the east. This part of the street continues to be a mix of small commercial establishments and residential housing, generally rental apartments.

North ofCollege Street,Bathurst becomes more residential, with the exception of certain areas, chiefly around the intersections withBloor Street,St. Clair Avenue,andEglinton Avenue.The portion of Bathurst Street north of Bloor Street is the western boundary ofThe Annexneighbourhood.

The University segment ofToronto Transit Commission(TTC)Line 1 Yonge–Universitycrosses underneath Bathurst north of St. Clair, with the St. Clair West station at St. Clair just east of Bathurst. North of Eglinton, the street continues as a four-lane arterial road into the former borough of North York. Development along both sides of the road is both residential and commercial, with shopping plazas at many intersections. The West Branch of the Don River crosses Bathurst Street north of Sheppard and Bathurst Park (Hinder Property) is on the east side of Bathurst Street.

Astreetcartravels south on Bathurst on the Sir Isaac Brock Bridge above the railway lands. The bridge was relocated from its previous location, spanning theHumber River.

North ofSteeles Avenue,Bathurst runs throughYork Region,and is also referred to as York Regional Road 38. At Steeles, Bathurst widens to become a six-lane arterial road. Bathurst Street loses two lanes as it passes the CN York subdivision. At Centre Street, a dedicatedbus rapid transitfacility with two bus lanes running down the centre of the street, used byViva Orange,which continues until Highway 7. Bathurst also widens to six lanes from the Highway 407 bridge before going back to four lanes at Autumn Hill Boulevard. Bathurst is flanked by residential subdivisions on both sides from Steeles until Elgin Mills, where then only the eastern side has residential, forming a sharp urban-rural divide. Bathurst continues this way for 20 km until meeting Green Lane, where it narrows to two lanes and is flanked by rural land on both sides. After meeting formerHighway 11(now York Regional Road 1), Bathurst Streets jogs for a bit until it enters Holland Landing, where it becomes a semi-rural residential road. Bathurst Street loses its Regional Road status at Queensville Sideroad, where it enters the Holland Marsh. It serves as the boundary betweenVaughanand Richmond Hill north ofHighway 407,and betweenKing TownshipandNewmarketandAurora.

Bathurst Street ends at theHolland Marsh,between Holland Landing (inEast Gwillimbury) andBradford,with the section north of Queensville Sideroad being maintained by the Town of East Gwillimbury. It was formerly interrupted for roughly 500 m due to rugged terrain north of Morning Sideroad, north of Newmarket, but the gap was closed in 2016 when a new link was completed, allowing traffic to access York Regional Road 1 from the south. Beyond a marina on theHolland River,it continues as a private driveway to a property along the Holland Marsh.

Old Bathurst Street runs north of St John's Sideroad to 19th Sideroad where Bathurst Street was re-routed. Another un-signed road continues slightly east from 19th Sideroad into Koffler Scientific Reserve and intersects with the current section of Bathurst south of Sykes Road.

History

Located across from Bathurst subway station,St. Peter's Catholic Churchis a landmark on Bathurst Street

Bathurst Street in 1915, just north of the contemporary Lonsmount Drive

The street was named forHenry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst,who organized migration from the British Isles to Canada after the War of 1812, granted the charter toKing's College,and never visited Canada.

The original Bathurst Street was between Government Wharf andQueen Street,and the section to the north was called Crookshank's Lane, a semi-private lane named after George Crookshank.The intersection with Davenport was the site of Toll Gate #3 along Davenport. The tollkeeper's cottage, which was built in 1835, still exists, restored to its original appearance and is located at the north-west corner of the intersection. In 1870, Crookshank's Lane was renamed "Bathurst Street". North of Bloor, Bathurst Street was a muddy trail.

Prior to the late 1980s, the section of Bathurst St. between Centre Street andLangstaff Road/York Regional Road 7(the latter formerlyHighway 7), was a part of Highway 7, which followed it as the highway jogged betweenconcession roads.The jog along Bathurst was eliminated when a diagonal connector was built to the west to join the two sections of the highway as a single roadway.

Bathurst Street has finished in the top 10 inCanadian Automobile Association's "Ontario's Worst Roads" poll in every year from 2004 to 2007.

Jewish community

Bathurst Street has been the heart of theJewish community of Torontofor decades.From the early part of the twentieth century, many Jews lived around Bathurst Street south of Bloor Street east toSpadina Avenue(and particularlyKensington Market) and west to pastChristie Pits.After World War II, as the community became more middle class, it moved north along Bathurst Street, with wealthier members of the community moving toForest Hill.Some other members moved to the area around Bathurst andSt. Clair Avenueor Bathurst andEglinton Avenue.

The community continued to move north along Bathurst and today, much of the Jewish community resides along the street from north ofSt. Clair Avenueand, in higher concentrations just south ofLawrence Avenueto beyond the city limits at Steeles Avenue, and extending further until aboutElgin Mills RoadinRichmond Hill.Manysynagoguesand other Jewish community institutions are on Bathurst.

The northern stretch of Bathurst, north ofSheppard AvenueWest, has become one of the centres of Toronto's Russian community. Many Russian Jewish immigrants began to settle in the area's apartment buildings (many are around the Bathurst/Sheppard intersection, and along Bathurst betweenFinch AvenueWest and Steeles Avenue West),starting from early 1970s to get easier access to services provided by theJewish Immigrant Aid Society.After the breakup of theSoviet Union,many Russian immigrants to Canada settled there. Many are affiliated with the Jewish Russian Community Centre.The electoral district ofYork Centre,which includes Bathurst from Wilson Ave. to Steeles Ave. West, has the largest number ofRussian Canadianvoters in Canada. Numerous Russian delicatessens, restaurants, and book and clothing stores have earned the neighborhood the unofficial moniker "Little Moscow".

Public transit

Bathurst Stationis aToronto Transit Commissionsubway station at Bathurst Street andBloor StreetalongLine 2 Bloor–Danforth.The511 Bathurststreetcar routeruns from Bloor to Fleet Street, where it turns to connect toExhibition Place.

North of Bathurst Station, public transit is provided by two bus routes: route 7 Bathurst from Bathurst Station up toSteeles AvenueWest, and 160 Bathurst North fromWilson Avenueup to New Westminster Drive and Atkinson Avenue inVaughan.During overnight hours when the subway is closed, the bus route 307 BathurstBlue Nightcovers the entire length of Bathurst within the city of Toronto.

Within Vaughan,York Region Transitruns several routes along Bathurst Street, including the 88 Bathurst fromFinch Bus TerminaltoSeneca CollegeKing Campus,part ofViva Orange,and other connections at thePromenade Terminal.

Points of interest

For many years, the most notable attraction on Bathurst Street was the now-demolished bargain goods emporiumHonest Ed'satBloor Street.Other landmarks along Bathurst include:

• Toronto Island AirportFerry Terminal
• Bathurst Bowlerama (demolished)
• Bathurst Glen Golf Course
• Bathurst station
• Sir Isaac Brock Bridge
• The Tollkeeper's Cottage
• Toronto Public Library- Wychwood Branch
• Baycrest Geriatric Centre
• Cedarvale Park
• Central Technical School
• Cineforum
• College Street United Church
• Earl Bales Park
• École Secondaire Catholique Renaissance
• Esther Shiner Stadium
• The Hemingway Apartments. From 1923 to 1924, novelistErnest Hemingwayrented an apartment on Bathurst Street north of St. Clair Avenue while employed as a reporter for theToronto Star.A historic plaque was placed on the building by theToronto Historical Board.
• Lawrence Manor
• Lawrence Plaza
• Little Norway Park
• North York Branson Hospital
• Randolph Theatre(formerly Bathurst Street Theatre)
• Richmond Hill Golf Club
• Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre
• St. Clair West station
• St. Michael's College School
• Promenade shopping centre
• Toronto Waldorf School
• Toronto Western Hospital
• Toronto Transit Commission-Hillcrest Complex
• Raoul Wallenberg Road
• Westmount Collegiate Institute

External links

• Bathurst StreetatGoogle Maps