Birchmount Road
Birchmount Road is a north-south road in Scarborough, the eastern district of Toronto. One of the original concession roads, it begins near the Scarborough Bluffs at the lakeshore and ends in Markham north of 14th Avenue, at Royal Crest Court and is being expanded so it goes under Highway 407 and connects with Village Parkway which is currently ends at Highway 7. Like Warden Avenue, Birchmount Road is a mix of residential/light industrial development typical of bedroom communities in Toronto.
History
Birchmount began as a concession lines laid out by the surveyors of Upper Canada. For a long time, it remained a rural and little used route. In the 1920s, it was little more than a dirt path.[1]
The southern part of Birchmount was one of the first parts of Toronto to see suburban development. This development was in the years immediately before and after the Second World War, and was thus not reflective of the car-centred design of much of Scarborough. Birchmount is thus notable for being the terminus of what has so far been the only TTC streetcar to ever travel into Scarborough. The Birchmount Loop was for several decades the turning loop for the Kingston Road streetcar.[2] The first lines in the region were built by the Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company. They were taken over by the TTC which ran streetcars to Birchmount until 1954. The loop remained in place until 1985, when a condominium was built on the site.[3] There are no plans to restore the streetcar to Birchmount and Kingston Road, but the Transit City project will bring streetcar links to Birchmount at both Eglinton and Sheppard.
By the 1960s, Birchmount had been changed to its current role as one of the main arterial roads for Scarborough.[4] Since 1960, it has been served by the route 17 Birchmount bus along most of its length.
In the future, Birchmount Road is expected to extend north of Crown Steel Drive, pass Highway 407 with an underpass, then serve as a major artery in Downtown Markham, eventually meeting Highway 7. The road is planned to terminate there, but should continue north as Village Parkway, a collector road which extends north to 16th Avenue. In 2009, the Town of Markham will begin the first stage of the extension of the road to Enterprise Boulevard. The project is expected to completed within the year.
Landmarks
- Birchmount Stadium, used for city track and field events
- Scarborough Hospital, Grace Division, formerly Scarborough Grace, Salvation Army Hospital
- Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute
- Pine Hills Cemetery
- Clarke Young Park, Markham
- Lamoreaux Park
- Tam O'Shanter Golf Course (Toronto)
- Stephen Leacock Park and Arena
- Maidvale Parkette
- St Clair Ravine Park
- former Black Photography offices
- Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute
- Dorest Park (community)
- Laura Secord Chocolates plant
Routes
Bus routes served by the Toronto Transit Commission are:
- 17 Birchmount
- 69 Warden South via Birchmount
Notes
- ^ Toronto Archive Image
- ^ Toronto Archives - Birchmount Loop under construction
- ^ James Bow. Remembering Birchmount Loop Transit Toronto.
- ^ Birchmount in the 1960s
External links
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