Bayview Avenue

Bayview Avenue
Bayview within Toronto
Route information
Maintained by City of Toronto
Length:	17.5 km (10.9 mi)
Major junctions
South end:	Queen Street East
	River Street Eglinton Avenue Lawrence Avenue  Highway 401
North end:	Regional Road 34 / Steeles Avenue
Location
Major cities:	Toronto
Highway system
Roads in Ontario Nearby arterial roads ← Yonge Street Bayview Avenue Leslie Street →

Bayview Avenue

A Bayview Avenue sign in East York

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

History

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. In 1931, James Stanley McLean constructed Bay View overlooking the Don Valley on the edge of Moore Park.

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. This addition is frequently referred to as the Bayview Extension and is one of the few streets in Toronto with a speed limit of 70 km/h (43 mph).

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 which lie directly west of the new roadway.

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 recently constructed street south of the hospital carries the name Kilgour Road today.

Route description

The southern end of Bayview Avenue starts at River Street (under Queen Street East). For the first part of its route northward it runs through the Don Valley, on the east side of the river opposite the Don Valley Parkway. Along this stretch a steep cliff separates it from neighbourhoods such as Cabbagetown.

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 southern part of Bayview has no transit service, but runs parallel to the Richmond Hill GO Transit line. In Leaside the 11 Bayview bus route begins, connecting to the subway at Davisville Station. The 11 runs north to Steeles Avenue. At Sheppard Avenue it connects with the Bayview Station on the Sheppard Line.

In York Region the 91 Bayview runs from Steeles to Lake Wilcox. The 54 Bayview then serves the street through Newmarket and Aurora.

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
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 Valley
The Granite Club	Lawrence Ave E
The Crescent School	Lawrence Ave E
Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf	Lawrence Ave E
Trinity York Mills Presbyterian Church	Highway 401
Bayview Station	Sheppard Ave	On the Sheppard line
Bayview Village Shopping Centre	Sheppard Ave
United Synagogue Day School	Mckee Ave
St. Joseph's Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School	Cumner Ave
Shouldice Hernia Centre	John St
Thornlea Secondary School	Willowbrook Rd
Toronto Montessori Schools	Highway 7
Bayview Secondary School	Major Mackenzie Dr
Holy Trinity School	19th Ave
Wilcox Lake	Bethesda Side Road
Pickering College	Mulock Dr

See also

• Bayview Ghost