Bathurst Street (Toronto)

Bathurst Street begins in the south at the intersection with Queens Quay. The southernmost part of Bathurst, south of the Gardiner 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 the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the island and the Western Gap channel which separates the Toronto Islands from the Toronto mainland.

North of the Gardiner is Fort York on the western side. The Sir Isaac Brock Bridge connects 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 the Humber 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 the Trinity-Bellwoods residential neighbourhood. North of Dundas Street, Bathurst is dominated by Toronto Western Hospital on the east. This part of the street continues to be a mix of small commercial establishments and residential housing, generally rental apartments.

North of College Street, Bathurst becomes more residential, with the exception of certain areas, chiefly around the intersections with Bloor Street, St. Clair Avenue, and Eglinton Avenue. The portion of Bathurst Street north of Bloor Street is the western boundary of The Annex neighbourhood.

The University segment of Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Line 1 Yonge–University crosses 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.

 

North of Steeles Avenue, Bathurst runs through York 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 dedicated bus rapid transit facility with two bus lanes running down the centre of the street, used by Viva 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 former Highway 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 between Vaughan and Richmond Hill north of Highway 407, and between King Township and Newmarket and Aurora.

Bathurst Street ends at the Holland Marsh, between Holland Landing (in East Gwillimbury) and Bradford, 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 the Holland 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.

 

 

The street was named for Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, who organized migration from the British Isles to Canada after the War of 1812, granted the charter to University of Toronto (then known as King's College). He also never visited Canada.^[3]

The original Bathurst Street was between Government Wharf and Queen Street, and the section to the north was called Crookshank's Lane, a semi-private lane named after George Crookshank.^[4] 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.^[3]

Prior to the late 1980s, the section of Bathurst St. between Centre Street and Langstaff Road/York Regional Road 7 (the latter formerly Highway 7), was a part of Highway 7, which followed it as the highway jogged between concession 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 finished in the top 10 in Canadian Automobile Association's "Ontario's Worst Roads" poll in every year from 2004 to 2007.^[5][6]

Bathurst Street has been the heart of the Jewish community of Toronto for decades.^[7] From the early part of the twentieth century, many Jews lived around Bathurst Street south of Bloor Street east to Spadina Avenue (and particularly Kensington Market) and west to past Christie 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 to Forest Hill. Some other members moved to the area around Bathurst and St. Clair Avenue or Bathurst and Eglinton Avenue.^[8]

The community continued to move north along Bathurst and today, much of the Jewish community resides along the street from north of St. Clair Avenue and, in higher concentrations just south of Lawrence Avenue to beyond the city limits at Steeles Avenue, and extending further until about Elgin Mills Road in Richmond Hill.^[9] Many synagogues and other Jewish community institutions are on Bathurst.

The northern stretch of Bathurst, north of Sheppard Avenue West, 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 between Finch Avenue West and Steeles Avenue West),^[10] starting from early 1970s to get easier access to services provided by the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, many Russian immigrants to Canada settled there. Many are affiliated with the Jewish Russian Community Centre.^[11] The electoral district of York Centre, which includes Bathurst from Wilson Ave. to Steeles Ave. West, has the largest number of Russian Canadian voters in Canada. Numerous Russian delicatessens, restaurants, and book and clothing stores have earned the neighborhood the unofficial moniker "Little Moscow".^[12]

Bathurst Station is a Toronto Transit Commission subway station at Bathurst Street and Bloor Street along Line 2 Bloor–Danforth. The 511 Bathurst streetcar route runs from Bloor to Fleet Street, where it turns to connect to Exhibition Place.^[13]

North of Bathurst Station, public transit is provided by two bus routes: route 7 Bathurst from Bathurst Station up to Steeles Avenue West, and 160 Bathurst North from Wilson Avenue up to New Westminster Drive and Atkinson Avenue in Vaughan. During overnight hours when the subway is closed, the bus route 307 Bathurst Blue Night covers the entire length of Bathurst within the city of Toronto.

Within Vaughan, York Region Transit runs several routes along Bathurst Street, including the 88 Bathurst from Finch Bus Terminal to Seneca College King Campus,^[14] part of Viva Orange, and other connections at the Promenade Terminal.

For many years, the most notable attraction on Bathurst Street was the now-demolished bargain goods emporium Honest Ed's at Bloor Street. Other landmarks along Bathurst include:

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bathurst Street, Toronto.

• Bathurst Street at Google Maps

43°40′27″N 79°24′53″W / 43.6742°N 79.4147°W / 43.6742; -79.4147