Woodbine Avenue

Woodbine Avenue
Maintained by:	Toronto and York Region
South end:	Lake OntarioLake Shore Boulevard
North end:	Lake SimcoeLake Drive East
East:	Main Street
West:	Coxwell Avenue

Woodbine Avenue consists of two north-south road sections in central Ontario:

1. The southern section in Toronto begins near Ashbridges Bay on the shore of Lake Ontario, at Lake Shore Boulevard. Woodbine then continues north to O'Connor Drive.
2. The northern section runs from Steeles Avenue at the Toronto-Markham border to the shore of Lake Simcoe, ending at Lake Drive in Georgina.

York Region designates this section as an arterial road. It runs parallel to Highway 404 as York Regional Road 8.

History

In Toronto, the portion of Woodbine Avenue north of Eglinton Avenue to Highway 401 was removed when the Don Valley Parkway was constructed in the 1960s. Woodbine was a single land concession (#3) from Steeles to York Mills Road and an open allowance southwards to Lawrence Avenue East. Another section from Highway 401 to Steeles Avenue was lost when Highway 404 was built in the 1970s, although the Parclo A4 interchange with Steeles included a Y-junction modification to accommodate Woodbine traffic. Victoria Park Avenue, a major north-south arterial in the City of Toronto, terminates shortly after the intersection with Steeles, so Woodbine Avenue takes up most of the traffic.

Woodbine Avenue is presently six lanes from Steeles Avenue to Highway 7, and four lanes between Highway 7 and Major Mackenzie Drive, plus there is a centre turning lane. North of Major Mackenzie Drive, Woodbine narrows to a two-lane rural road, though with occasional left-turn lane. Recent housing developments since the early 2000s have necessitated the widening of Woodbine to cope with increased traffic levels. However, due to existing properties around Victoria Square, the intersection of Woodbine Avenue and Elgin Mills Road, was realigned. The Woodbine Avenue By-Pass opened on November 15, 2010. Woodbine Avenue By-Pass cuts through the new home development area known as Cathedraltown. It is requested by the Town of Markham that the by-passed Woodbine Avenue would be renamed Victoria Square Boulevard to reflect the geographical location of the road—within the area of Victoria Square. However, the Woodbine Avenue By-Pass will retain the By-Pass even after the renaming of the by-passed Woodbine Avenue. Victoria Square Boulevard will be transferred under the jurisdiction of the Town of Markham and will no longer serve as a regional road, Woodbine Avenue By-Pass will serve as the regional road instead.

On Christmas Eve, in 2001, the Woodbine Building Supply fire occurred. The store was located at the intersection of Danforth and Woodbine. It was one of the biggest fires in Toronto's history, as 170 firefighters were required to bring the six-alarm blaze under control. The building was less than 50 metres from residences in the neighborhood and more than 50 families had to evacuate their homes on Christmas morning. One person was killed and another was severely disfigured. Police and insurance quickly suspected arson and several people have been convicted.

Distinction from Woodbine Racetrack

Woodbine Racetrack is in Etobicoke, and not anywhere close to Woodbine Avenue. Greenwood Race Track used to be located at the south end of Woodbine Avenue until it was demolished in 1994. Greenwood Race Track was the original Woodbine Racetrack until the construction of the current Woodbine Racetrack in 1956. The name was then transferred to the new facility. Known as "Old Woodbine Race Track" for several years, the facility changed its name to Greenwood Race Track after nearby Greenwood Avenue.

Transportation

Woodbine south of Danforth is served by the 92 Woodbine South Bus. Transit service along Woodbine only began in the 1950s, before then it was assumed that anyone along Woodbine could walk to one of the many east-west streetcar lines. The opening of Woodbine subway station in 1966 changed transit patterns, as many residents now needed to get all the way north to Danforth. The northern part of the route, from Danforth to O'Connor is served by the 91 Woodbine North.

The portion of Woodbine in York region is served by the 24 and 224 Victoria Park North TTC routes. The far north of the road, through the town of Keswick is served by York Region Transit's 51 Keswick Local.

Landmarks

Landmarks and notable sites along Woodbine from south to north

Southern section

Landmark	Cross street	Notes	Image
Woodbine Beach	Lake Ontario	part of The Beaches
Greenwood Raceway	Queen St	Racetrack demolished in the 1990s
St. John's Cemetery Norway	Kingston Road
St. John the Baptist, Norway Anglican Church	Kingston Road
Woodbine subway station	Danforth Ave
Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church	Danforth	Formerly Rogers Memorial Presbyterian

Northern section

Landmark	Cross street	Notes	Image
Buttonville	16th Ave	Former village
Cathedral of the Transfiguration	Major Mackenzie
Victoria Square	Elgin Mills Rd	Unincorporated Village
Fletcher's Fields	19th Ave	Rugby Statdium
Gormley	Stouffville Rd	Village
Preston Lake	Bloomington Rd	Village and lake
Vandorf	Vandorf Side Road	Village
Wesley Corners	Aurora Road	Village
Pleasantville	Vivian Road	Village