Yonge Street
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Yonge Street (pronounced "young") is a major arterial street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and its northern suburbs. It has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world, and is a national historic site.
Yonge Street is home or close to many attractions in Toronto, including street and theatre performances, the Eaton Centre, Dundas Square, the Hockey Hall of Fame, Sam the Record Man, and–at the very start of the road–'One Yonge Street', the offices of the Toronto Star. The Yonge Line of the Toronto Subway runs under and in open cuts beside Yonge Street from south of King Street to Finch Avenue. The Viva Blue BRT line continues along Yonge from Finch to Newmarket Terminal.
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[edit] History and significance
Yonge Street was originally a military trail linking Lake Ontario with the northern Great Lakes. For this reason, it is unusually long and straight. It was founded by John Graves Simcoe, the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario) in 1793.
Simcoe chose its beginning and end points based on a historical trail created by Huron Indians. The trail was used by numerous European explorers, such as Samuel de Champlain in 1615. Simcoe named the street after Sir George Yonge, the British Secretary of War at the time.
Because of fears of U.S. aggression, Simcoe wanted to move the capital of Upper Canada from Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to a more defensible position. He chose Yonge Street to be the site of the new capital. Hence, Yonge Street became the first street of the city that would become Toronto.
Yonge Street was fundamental in the planning and layout of Toronto and Ontario. It was used as the basis for concession roads in Ontario. It was also the site of Toronto's first subway line. It also serves as the dividing line between the east and west parts of east–west roads in Toronto and York Region. (Yonge is the zero-numbering point for those east–west streets; building numbers on such streets increase as one moves further away from Yonge.)
[edit] Evolution of Yonge Street
John Graves Simcoe used the Queen's Rangers to survey and build the road as well as established lots along it so that settlers would further clear and improve it. By the early part of the 19th century, Yonge Street ran from Lake Ontario to Holland Landing, providing a link between the lower and upper Great Lakes through Holland River and Lake Simcoe. Yonge Street became the baseline around which the other concession lines of York County were drawn. The lot numbers on this street reach into the 21000s.
In 1824, work began to extend Yonge Street to Kempenfelt Bay near Barrie. A northwestern extension branched off the original Yonge Street in Holland Landing and ran into the new settlement of Bradford before turning north towards Barrie. Work was completed by 1827. The road was further extended to Penetanguishene on the shores of Georgian Bay, serving a naval base. This section of road was referred to not as Yonge Street but Penetanguishene Road.
The decision was made to withdraw the military garrison in Penetanguishene in 1852. Settlers by and large avoided the road, preferring to follow the line of the railway, established a few years before, between Barrie and Collingwood. Confederation and the construction of the national transcontinental railroad further diminished the importance of Yonge Street, as the new Dominion of Canada heralded the construction of east-west trade routes from sea to sea. By the 1870s, Dr. Scadding, historian of Toronto of Old, declared that Penetanguishene did not have the importance to need an approach such as the "extension of the Yonge Street Road". Roads and railroads pushed settlement northeast along the shores of Lake Simcoe and north up the shores of Georgian Bay to North Bay.
In the 1920s, looking to support the rapidly developing mining and agricultural communities in northern Ontario, the government of Ontario sought to connect these communities to the south by commissioning a highway between North Bay and Cochrane. After construction crews pushed through the dense Temagami forest, the road was officially opened on July 2, 1927, and named the Ferguson Highway after the Hon. G. Howard Ferguson, the premier of Ontario and longtime supporter of northern development. The Ferguson Highway, as well as other roads leading to Barrie and Yonge Street itself were incorporated into Kings Highway 11 in the 1930s. The northern stretch of Highway 11 became part of the Trans Canada Highway and, by 1965, Highway 11 extended from the foot of Yonge Street on the shores of Lake Ontario to Rainy River, on the border between Ontario and Minnesota.
[edit] Yonge Street today
Today, Yonge Street exists in name as two segments and a branch. The current road runs from Lake Ontario through Toronto and the York Region to the north of Newmarket before breaking from the baseline and heading northwest along the Holland Landing bypass (constructed 1959) into Bradford. At the Holland River, Yonge Street changes its name to Bridge Street 56 kilometres north of Lake Ontario, and then changes its name to Holland Street a few blocks later. To follow the old Highway 11 one must turn right onto Barrie Street and drive out of Bradford where the Yonge Street name is picked up again. The name disappears in south Barrie just over 100 kilometres north of Lake Ontario, changing to Burton Avenue at a midblock location, and the road itself ends a few blocks later at a T-intersection with Essa Road. The original baseline road continues through Holland Landing, petering out roughly 56 kilometres north of Lake Ontario, as it approaches Cook's Bay on Lake Simcoe.
Penetanguishene Road continues to exist. It was incorporated into the Kings Highway network as Highway 93. The modern Penetanguishene Road deviates from the original alignment somewhat and is not as straight, but the original can still be seen in some places, labelled as "Old Penetanguishene Road".
There is also a Yonge Street in Midland, Ontario which runs from Penetanguishene Road to the Midland Bay. Another Yonge Street can be found in Elmvale, Ontario.
[edit] Yonge Street as the "Longest Street in the World"
Yonge Street was a part of Ontario Provincial Highway 11, which led to claims that Yonge Street was the longest street in the world. Running from the shores of Lake Ontario, through central and northern Ontario to the Ontario-Minnesota border at Rainy River, Highway 11 was over 1,896 kilometres long. But Yonge Street could only be called the longest street in the world if "Highway 11" and "Yonge Street" were synonymous, which was debatable. However, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized this claim as late as 1998.
Changes in provincial responsibility separated the now locally-funded and controlled Yonge Street from Highway 11 during the 1990s. As a result, Provincial Highway 11 does not start until after the city of Barrie (or Crown Hill), just north of where the name "Yonge Street" ends. The Guinness Book of World Records no longer lists Yonge as the longest street in the world, citing instead the Pan-American Highway as the world's longest "motorable road".
This has not stopped Torontonians from clinging to the claim. Although current tourist campaigns do not make much of it, its status as an urban myth is bolstered by an art installation at the foot of Yonge Street, and a map of its length laid out into the sidewalk in bronze at the southwest corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets.
[edit] Configuration
South of the former Toronto – North York city limit at Yonge Boulevard, Yonge Street is a four-lane historic urban arterial with heavy pedestrian traffic, passing through commercial and residential areas. Between Yonge Boulevard and Highway 401 (exit 369), Yonge opens up somewhat into parkland of the West Don Valley (Hoggs Hollow) and lower-density residential areas. Between Highways 401 and 407 (exit 77), densities and traffic increase as Yonge becomes a six-lane principal urban arterial road through North York Civic Centre and an older section of Thornhill. Beyond Highway 407 (remaining a principal arterial road), Yonge is a suburban commercial strip (with several exceptions in historic areas), with sections of residential and still-undeveloped land through Newmarket.
The speed limits are generally 50 km/h (30 mph) in most of the city of Toronto and through Thornhill, 60 km/h (35 mph) on a short section through the West Don Valley and again in most of the suburban sections north of the 407 (dropping back to 50 at times in some historic areas), and 70-80 km/h (45-50 mph) in undeveloped or lightly developed areas in the northern sections.
North of Steeles, Yonge Street is signed as York Regional Road 1 in York Region (except in Holland Landing, where it is York Regional Road 51); and Simcoe County Road 4 in Simcoe County.
[edit] Cultural significance
Yonge Street is frequently considered to be Toronto's main street, because of its position dividing the city east and west, and the presence of the Yonge subway line. As a result, it is the traditional gathering place for public celebrations.
When the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992 and 1993 it was estimated that 1,000,000 people gathered in the vicinity of the intersection of Yonge and Dundas, and for many blocks north and south[citation needed]. A similar gathering occurred in 2002, when the Canadian Olympic mens' hockey team defeated the United States for the gold medal.
During lesser celebrations, like Stanley Cup playoff victories by the Toronto Maple Leafs, motorists drive up and down the street honking their horns and flying flags. It is predicted that if the Leafs were to win the Stanley Cup, something not achieved since 1967, Yonge Street would be home to the greatest party in sports history.
Sections of the street are often closed for other events, such as an annual street festival. The intersection of Yonge and Dundas, centred on the plaza at Dundas Square, has been closed on occasion to host free concerts, with a major one being a free concert put on by R.E.M. on May 17, 2001, attended by 20,000 people. In 2006, Beyoncé and John Mayer performed at the Square on September 15 and 16 respectively. Toronto's annual Gay Pride and Santa Claus parades also use Yonge Street for a significant portion of their routes.
In 1998, the album A Painter Passing Through, Gordon Lightfoot featured "On Yonge Street". This song describes the street and its connection to the Canadian people, specifically those in Toronto. It includes a lyric referencing its position as "longest street in the world, they say".
[edit] Attractions and points of interest
- BCE Place
- Hockey Hall of Fame
- Eaton Centre
- Dundas Square
- College Park
- Mel Lastman Square
- Sheppard Centre
- Empress Walk
- Toronto Star Building at One Yonge Street
- Yonge Street marker at the foot of Yonge at Queen's Quay
- Canon Theatre for the performing arts
- Elgin and Winter Garden theatres
- Toronto Centre for the Arts
[edit] See also
Yonge Street is also referred to as:
York Regional Road 1 in York Region, Ontario.
York Regional Road 51 in Holland Landing, Ontario.
Simcoe County Road 4 in Simcoe County, Ontario.
Highway 11 from Barrie, Ontario to Rainy River, Ontario.
Major streets in Toronto which intersect with Yonge (south to north):
- Queen's Quay
- Lake Shore Boulevard
Front Street- King Street
- Queen Street
- Dundas Street
- Gerrard Street
- Carlton Street / College Street
- Bloor Street
- St. Clair Avenue
- Eglinton Avenue
- Lawrence Avenue
- York Mills Road / Wilson Avenue
- Sheppard Avenue
- Finch Avenue
Steeles Avenue
Major highways in Toronto which interchange with Yonge:
- Gardiner Expressway (between Front Street and Lakeshore Boulevard)
Highway 401 (between York Mills Road / Wilson Avenue and Sheppard Avenue)
[edit] References
- History of King's Highway 11 (Toronto - North Bay)
- The Yonge Street Story (1793-1860), by F. R. Berchem, Natural Heritage Books, Toronto, 1977
[edit] External links
- Globe and Mail article on Yonge Street
- A page which argues against Yonge Street's claim as the world's longest street
- Portrait of Sir George Yonge
- A Yahoo! page that explains why Yonge Street is the longest street in the world
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- Blog series on the southern section of Yonge Street
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| North-South streets: | Albion • Avenue • Browns • Bathurst • Bay • Bayview • Birchmount • Bridle Path • Brimley • Broadview • De Grassi • Don Mills • Dufferin • Homewood • Islington • Jane • John • Keele • Kennedy • Kipling • Leslie • Markham • McCaul • McCowan • Morningside • Oakwood • Palmerston • Roncesvalles • Spadina • University • Vaughan • Victoria Park • Warden • Weston • Woodbine • Yonge |
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| East-West streets: | Bloor • Carlton • College • Danforth • Dundas • Eglinton • Ellesmere • Finch • Front • Gerrard • King • Kingston • Lake Shore • Lawrence • Parkwoods Village • Pemberton • Queen West • Queen's Quay • Queensway • Sheppard • St.Clair • Steeles • Wilson • York Mills | |
| Expressways and highways: | 2A • 27 • 400 • 401 • 404 • 427 • Allen Road • Black Creek Drive • Don Valley Parkway • Gardiner | |
| Defunct expressways: | Crosstown • Richview • Spadina Expressway • Scarborough Expressway | |
