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101-490: Exhibition Loop is located on the north side of Manitoba Drive, near Exhibition GO Station, under the Gardiner Expressway . Streetcar platforms are located on the south side of the loop, which can support unloading passengers at one platform while loading at another. The platform area can operate as a fare-paid zone. The loop has streetcar storage capacity to handle large crowds after a major event. Today's Exhibition Loop

202-612: A spur route . This then-terminus of the Gardiner was also where the provincial Highway 2 routing shifted back to Lake Shore Boulevard, until Highway 2 was decommissioned in 1998. This segment, built as part of the Queen Elizabeth Way by the Province of Ontario, was transferred to the City of Toronto in 1997, and designated as part of the Gardiner. The original QEW highway was built in

303-590: A Congressional bill in 1944, and included $ 125 million for urban highways. The lead agency, the Federal Public Roads Administration (PRA) worked with state engineer associations to develop planning and design criteria. The PRA's leaders, especially Thomas H. MacDonald and Herbert S. Fairbank , were especially concerned about urban highways. Design standards were issued, with some opposition, which were significant improvements over existing designs. For example, minimum lane width of 12 feet and with

404-534: A circular off-ramp to York Street northbound, and it was nicknamed the "Hot Wheels Ramp". This segment was completed in 1964. In the original proposal, the elevated segment would descend to ground level and meet the Don Valley Parkway at a clover-leaf interchange. It was instead constructed as an elevated section overhead of Lake Shore Boulevard and at its eastern end forks into a flyover of the Don River mouth and

505-403: A cost of CA$ 200,000 . The road bridge of Dowling Avenue over the Gardiner was demolished in the 2000s, replaced by a pedestrian bridge. The section between Jameson Avenue and Spadina Avenue was completed and opened on August 1, 1962 and the westbound lanes from York Street were opened on December 3, 1962. The eastbound lanes from Spadina to York opened in 1963. The elevated section starts from

606-614: A course of action would have left the Downtown without an east-west freeway for several years. In the end, city council voted to have the elevated section extensively rehabilitated and the elevated section in downtown Toronto was closed down for extensive repairs. On April 1, 1997, the stretch of the Queen Elizabeth Way between Highway 427 and the Humber River was downloaded from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario to Metropolitan Toronto and

707-427: A divider between westbound and eastbound traffic. At grade sections west of Bathurst Street use steel guard rails, but originally featured a narrow grass median. A public trail and activity space was built underneath the Gardiner, between Strachan and Spadina Avenue. Named after the Gardiner's main supports ( bents ), The Bentway uses bents to create 55 separate areas for a variety of activities. The first phase of

808-524: A double crossover was added to the loop. Also by this date, the Fleet Loop had been modified to allow streetcars from Exhibition Loop to turn back. Thus, after a streetcar discharged passengers at Exhibition Loop, it could go to the loop's storage tracks after turning at Fleet Loop. The second loop was closed to build the National Trade Centre (today's Enercare Centre) on its site. It was replaced by

909-512: A freeway, and amended the proposal to Gardiner Expressway. Metro Council approved the renaming in August 1957: After we had finished arguing with [The Board of Trade], Courtland Elliot, the president, made his annual report. In it, he suggested the road should be named the Gardiner Expressway. Before that, somebody had wanted to name an old man's home after me. Somebody else had wanted to name

1010-465: A master plan, which recommended that urban highways be "depressed or elevated". In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt submitted a follow-on report, Interregional Highways , which contained illustrations of the depressed and elevated designs. The elevated illustration, reminiscent of the Miller Highway and some of its descendants, featured partial left lane ramps, a highway running across the width

1111-497: A median of at least 4 feet (later standards would increase median sizing), minimal overpass heights were set at 14 feet, recommendations to acquire right of way sufficient for proper ramps of 3° great or less, right-side exit only and only to arterial connections. The Interstate standards have set the pace in the United States for optimal highway design, including those of elevated highways. Elevated expressways are now common around

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1212-498: A mix of high mast and low masts with shaded high pressure sodium lamps (similar to the Don Valley Parkway ), while the old steel guardrail in the median was replaced by an Ontario "tall-wall" concrete barrier in 2007. Worn-out bilingual provincial signage has received unilingual replacements, while billboards which the province had long prohibited have been erected in proximity of the now-municipal freeway. East of Grand Avenue,

1313-508: A new Humber bridge to connect the Queen Elizabeth Way and expand roads in the Sunnyside area, of which the city would pay CA$ 4.2 million and the province $ 4.7 million. At the same time Ontario was planning its Toronto Bypass north of the city and George Doucett , the Ontario minister of highways, pronounced the toll highway an "antiquated concept" and predicted that no-one would use it if it

1414-562: A populated boulevard, almost building-to-building, a local traffic lanes underneath the highway. The report also includes a picture of the then-recently constructed Gowanus Parkway, and noted how it was thought to have been an appropriate placement that had a minimal effect on the community. (This was later disputed, and the Gowanus is also a case study for how elevated highways divide neighborhoods and contribute to urban blight.) The phrase Interregional Highways gave way to Interstate Highways in

1515-508: A separate connector to the east. The section between the Parkway and Yonge Street was built eight lanes wide. Known as "Gardiner East", this segment was elevated directly overhead of Lake Shore Boulevard, and opened in July 1966 without ceremony. This section had no access to the Don Valley Parkway, as westbound motorists had to continue underneath on Lake Shore Boulevard which met the Parkway on-ramp at

1616-466: A sewage plant after me. I didn't exactly like those ideas and so when the third one came along I accepted the honour. Fred Gardiner By 1963, the first rooftop billboards along the Expressway were built, targeting the daily 40,000 to 60,000 motorists. Companies paid up to $ 3,000 per month to locate their billboard. Today, there are dozens of neon signs, billboards and video boards in the proximity of

1717-456: A signalized intersection. Gardiner East ended just east of Leslie Street where eastbound traffic was forced to exit at an offramp descending to Lake Shore Boulevard (renamed from Keating Street) or a circular ramp to Leslie Street, while for westbound traffic entering the expressway there was a single lane onramp. The design left the eastern end open for a future connection with the proposed but never-built Scarborough Expressway, leaving this segment

1818-470: A toll road or built by private interests. A toll road was opposed by the Ontario Deputy Minister of Highways J. D. Millar, who suggested that "cars would be waiting for miles" to pay a three-cent tax. Millar stated that "the Ontario driver was taxed and taxed heavily and expected his roads will be paid for." Toronto at the time was not yet planning to fully build the highway, only planning to build

1919-580: A vehicle in the westbound lanes, killing three people. West of the Humber River, there was also a weaving problem on the westbound Gardiner due to an on-ramp from Lake Shore Boulevard followed by an off-ramp to Lake Shore Boulevard just before the CN rail underpass. As part of the Humber bridges replacement, the off-ramp (originally built in the 1960s as part of the QEW's widening) was extended and placed upon its own alignment with

2020-540: A westbound on-ramp from Bathurst Street directly over the fort. Opposition from historical societies and the City of Toronto came to a head when the city refused to transfer the land to Metro Toronto. Gardiner himself and George O. Grant, the Metro Roads Commissioner, at first opposed the re-routing of the highway around the fort as it would mean a "greater than six-degree curve" in the highway, necessitating drivers to slow down. Gardiner rescinded his opposition to

2121-587: Is built in a cut from Dowling Avenue to Dufferin Street and is below grade. From Dufferin to Strachan Avenue, the highway is flanked by light industry and a wall of residential towers in the Liberty Village neighbourhood to the north and the buildings of Exhibition Place on the south side. The highway becomes elevated at this point, rising at a gentle grade with a view of the Toronto skyline straight ahead. From east of

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2222-406: Is some combination of the following on the desired route: Alternatives to elevated highways are: Early engineering for elevated highways owes much to early elevated railway design, which preceded them. Elevated highways were first used to: In the late 19th century and early 20th century, railways and streetcars had frequent accidents where they traversed through population centers. These lead to

2323-404: Is supported by steel- reinforced concrete columns . The roadway itself was constructed on top of concrete slabs supported by steel girders. The height of the elevated section is higher than required to cross city streets and provide clearance underneath. The intent of this was to reduce traffic noise at ground level. The highest point of the elevated section is the eastbound ramp from the Gardiner to

2424-513: The Pulaski Skyway , and Moses' own Gowanus Parkway . At the start the 20th century, New York and New Jersey state officials realized that car traffic on ferries was increasing beyond the ability of the then-current ferry system. Planning for the Holland Tunnel started in 1919, and it was constructed from 1922 to 1927. As construction started, New Jersey began planning traffic flows between

2525-486: The Road Emergency Services Communications Unit system (found also on the Don Valley Parkway and Allen Road). Locations with two cameras have one on the elevated portion and one on the underside along Lake Shore Boulevard. Some cameras are off the Gardiner on Lake Shore Boulevard. Multi piece vertical blade delineators have been installed upon portions of the concrete median barriers separating

2626-506: The "highway wall" effect that could divide communities, were all improved in the 1940s through 1970s, partially by examining the deficiencies of this early elevated highway. In the mid-1930s, US Federal Highway legislation allocated budget for surveying and planning of roads, including "superhighways", across the nation, and ordered the chief of the Bureau of Public Roads to report findings and recommendations. The report, submitted in 1939, included

2727-403: The 1930s and connected to the Gardiner in the 1950s. This section of the QEW between the recently expanded Highway 27 (which would be renumbered as Highway 427 on December 4, 1971) and Lake Shore Boulevard was reconstructed in the late 1960s to 8-10 lanes which included a short collector-express system between Kipling Avenue and Royal York Road. The Humber River was the western border of

2828-461: The 1950s, were removed and replaced by new structures from 1998-1999, at a cost of CA$ 100 (equivalent to $ 169.11 in 2023) million. The old bridge pillars, which were resting on soil, not on bedrock, had sunk by a metre, giving the eastbound Gardiner a roller-coaster ride or "Humber hump". Fatal collisions had occurred at the location, including an August 13, 1995, incident where a speeding automobile going eastbound became airborne and collided with

2929-486: The 1990s, while Metro installed distinctive cobra-neck 30-foot (9.1 m) poles with fluorescent tubes that were since swapped for orange low-pressure sodium lamps in 1978). East of Brookers Lane, the route geometry of Lake Shore becomes complicated due to the interchange with the parallel Gardiner Expressway; as the two routes run right next to each other to the north near the Humber River crossing: The westbound lanes cross

3030-429: The 20th century. Concurrently, the increase of automobile and truck traffic early in the 20th century exacerbated many of the safety and free flow issues the railways already presented - and in fact, created additional hazards with railways. The increase in traffic also meant that for the first time, there was a need to develop new and improved roads between cities. By the 1920s, truck traffic in warehouse and dock areas

3131-510: The 521 route ran from an on-street loop near Church and King streets, via King to Bathurst Street, Fleet Street and Exhibition Loop. In April 2019, the City of Toronto decided to proceed with procurement and construction for a streetcar connection between Exhibition Loop and Dufferin Gate Loop to serve as the first part of a future Waterfront West LRT (a proposed streetcar route). At Exhibition Loop,

Exhibition Loop - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-541: The Bay-Adelaide office complex and other development downtown to proceed. The Province did approve the Front Street extension, but the then-City of Toronto Council voted against it. The Front Street extension proposal was later resurrected as part of proposals to redevelop or dismantle the central section of the Gardiner. The old Gardiner and Lake Shore Boulevard bridges over the Humber River, which had been in service since

3333-463: The Board of Control. In December 1947, the Board of Control abandoned the plan, on advice that the bridges for the highway would not be built due to a shortage of steel. By 1952, the lake shore highway plan cost had escalated to an estimated $ 30 million. Toronto's Mayor Allan A. Lamport objected to the cost being borne solely by the City of Toronto. Lamport suggested that the road could be built either as

3434-588: The CNE grounds followed a Hydro-electric right-of-way beside the railway tracks to the north of the Exhibition, using approximately 10 acres (40,000 m ) of CNE land, and requiring the removal of the original Dufferin Gate and the demolition of two other CNE buildings. To make up for the loss of lands, Metro infilled into Lake Ontario to the breakwater. East of the CNE grounds, the inland route proposed to fly over Fort York with

3535-573: The CNE to downtown segment. Alternative route proposals emerged in 1954 from the Toronto Harbour Commission, which wanted the route moved further north, and planner Edwin Kay, who proposed a tunnel through downtown. The decision was then made to proceed with the non-contentious parts of the original Margison plan, to build a new Humber bridge to connect with the QEW, the Queen Street extension, and

3636-573: The CNE, others sold off or just destroyed. The carousel was moved to the newly built Disneyland . The Amusement Park lands were subsumed by the Lake Shore Boulevard expansion to six lanes. Only the Palais Royale hall, Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion and Sunnyside Pool were not demolished. A pedestrian bridge crossing was built from the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue to the Palais Royale site. To

3737-538: The City of Toronto until the amalgamation of all Metropolitan Toronto municipalities into one Toronto. On July 29, 1957, while still under construction, the Metro Toronto Roads and Traffic Committee, on the suggestion of Weston Mayor Harry Clark, (the committee chairman) renamed the Lakeshore Expressway to the F. G. Gardiner Freeway. Clark later suggested that the road had too many interchanges to be called

3838-411: The Don River was demolished in 2001, while in 2018, the off-ramp to York/Bay/Yonge Streets was replaced by an off-ramp to Lower Simcoe Street, and the eastern terminus to Lake Shore Boulevard was demolished the following year. In November 2023, the municipal and provincial governments announced a tentative deal which will see responsibility for the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway transferred to

3939-463: The Don River. The highway proceeded at grade from that point eastward, ending at Coxwell Avenue and Queen Street East . Interchanges were proposed for Jameson Avenue , Strachan Avenue, Spadina Avenue, York Street, Jarvis Street, Don Roadway, Carlaw Avenue, Keating Avenue (the present Lake Shore Boulevard East) and Coxwell Avenue. The cost was then estimated at $ 50 million. The plan also proposed extending Queen Street westwards through High Park to west of

4040-423: The Don Valley Parkway which goes up and over the westbound lanes, then drops to ground level. A tall wall concrete barrier topped with green metal blades is installed in the median of the elevated segment. The blades act to reduce the glare of oncoming headlights from the opposing direction of traffic. During the original construction concrete parapet walls with metal railings were used in the outer sections as well as

4141-475: The Exhibition Place streetcar loop and just west of Strachan Avenue, the space below the elevated sections of the highway was enclosed for use as storage space. Bricked sections with windows can be seen when driving along Manitoba Drive or taking the streetcar in or out of Exhibition Place. GO Transit 's Exhibition train station is located under the Gardiner Expressway with tracks located on the north side of

Exhibition Loop - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-565: The Expressway, mostly in the sections between Roncesvalles Avenue to Spadina Avenue and east of Jarvis Street. In 1965, 62 yellow 'call boxes', containing phones for emergency assistance, installed by the Ontario Motor League, were fixed to poles on the shoulders. These remained in operation until the 1990s. In 1994, the Road Emergency Services Communications Unit traffic management system began operation on

4343-601: The Fort York tracks with tracks on Fleet Street, the Toronto Transportation Commission started the "Fleet" streetcar route (renamed to "Fort" after one month). The Fort route initially ran from Wolseley Loop via Bathurst Street and Fleet Street to Fleet Loop. During World War II , the Fort route was extended to Exhibition Loop to serve military personnel billeted at Exhibition Place (which had formerly been part of

4444-401: The Gardiner (running along the north side of it) and are intertwined with the ramp from the westbound expressway which meets the street opposite Brookers Lane after crossing back to the south side; although Lake Shore still has an overlapping two-way section east of this point entirely south of the Gardiner. The Lake Shore streetcar line runs along this segment for a short distance before leaving

4545-532: The Gardiner and Lake Shore Boulevard and stranded motorists became quickly detected by the CCTV cameras and operators quickly dispatch assistance. By 1966, rush hour traffic and collisions in the Jameson area meant that the Jameson westbound on-ramp was closed permanently during rush hours. That same year, after criticism of the safety of the expressway by Toronto coroner Morton Shulman , Metro started installing guardrails on

4646-560: The Gardiner curves along Humber Bay , passing to the south of the Swansea neighbourhood, before passing the Sunnyside waterfront on the south and High Park and the Roncesvalles neighbourhood on the north side. Along the north side from Roncesvalles to Exhibition Place is the neighbourhood of Parkdale . Like the rail lines which run parallel to the Gardiner along its north side, the Gardiner

4747-630: The Gardiner on the north side, and to the north of the rail lines is the low-rise residential development of the St. Lawrence neighbourhood, the Distillery District and the West Don Lands . To the south of the highway, the land use is light industrial and waterfront lands in transition. The highway crosses the Don River where there are connecting ramps to the Don Valley Parkway. From 2002 to September 2021,

4848-516: The Gardiner. To the east of Strachan Avenue, the highway is entirely elevated mostly overhead of Lake Shore Boulevard. Just east of Strachan, the highway passes historic Fort York on the north side and Coronation Park to the south. From Bathurst Street eastward to Spadina Avenue , it passes through CityPlace and immediately after passes south of the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre and north of

4949-404: The Humber River to Dowling section, demolishing Sunnyside Park and South Parkdale. Metro also approved the eastern section of the expressway from Sherbourne Street to the east, but the central, elevated section was left for further deliberation. Metro approved $ 33 million for the eastern and western sections in its 1955 budget, but omitted the Humber River bridge. The route to the north of

5050-529: The Humber River to connect with the Queensway and extending Keating Avenue east to Woodbine Avenue. The shoreline route was opposed by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Harbour Commission , and Margison was tasked with plotting a route north of the CNE grounds. This plan was delivered in July 1954. The change to an inland route north of the CNE grounds was estimated to cost another $ 11 million as

5151-572: The Humber to the Don River. In November 1947, the City's works committee approved a four-lane highway, following a path beside the rail lines along the north of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) grounds, ending at Fleet Street to the East at a cost of CA$ 6 million , to be approved by a plebiscite. The Toronto Board of Control approved the plan, but City Council voted against the plan after 11 hours of deliberation, sending it back to

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5252-605: The Lake Shore Boulevard and Queen and King Streets in the Parkdale and High Park areas were apparently notorious for this.) Another reason for the proposal to build the lake shore highway was the expected opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the need for adequate roadways to serve the expanded port facilities. In May 1947, the Toronto City Planning Board proposed building a four-lane "Waterfront Highway" from

5353-431: The Miller Highway, it included left lane exits and entrances, narrow lanes, and local surface lanes underneath the highway. The Miller Highway, through immature design and resulting problems, became a case study for highway engineering improvements. Engineering of paving, exit orientation, turn radius, drainage, curb height, ramp length, speed optimization, shoulders, maintenance procedures, noise abatement, and minimizing

5454-449: The QEW until it was transferred to Metro Toronto in 1997. Often described as "an out-of-date, crumbling and frequently traffic-jammed freeway", the Gardiner is now the focus of a major rehabilitation project that is expected to last at least until 2030. The condition of the elevated section has deteriorated over the years, necessitating much of its replacement. Parts of the expressway have been demolished or re-designed. A section east of

5555-525: The Royal York Road overpass this also marks the start of the lengthy off-ramp to Park Lawn Road. From Highway 427 to Grand Avenue the highway passes through an area of residential, commercial and light industry. To the south are the neighbourhoods of Alderwood and Mimico . After the 1997 provincial downloading to Metro (which became the "Megacity" of Toronto in 1998), much of this former QEW has remained largely unchanged though some segments have received

5656-422: The Sunnyside area on the north side of the Gardiner from Roncesvalles Avenue to Wilson Park Avenue was cleaned up and planted with floral logos, with 26 tonnes (29 short tons) of garbage removed in the process. The advertising, which pays for the maintenance and cleaning of the hillside, permits no slogans and no alcohol or tobacco logos. The logos are planted yew bushes and are maintained by an independent company on

5757-522: The TTC proposed to: The following bus routes serve or pass by Exhibition Loop: Gardiner Expressway The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway , commonly known as the Gardiner Expressway or simply the Gardiner , is a partially at grade and elevated municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario , Canada. Running close to the shore of Lake Ontario , it extends from the foot of the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) in

5858-478: The West Side Line whose tracks were on 11th Avenue), and others worked on various plans to take the railroad and passenger cars off the street, eliminating the major conflicts that led to injury, death, property damage, traffic jams, and delays in service. The Miller Highway , named after its chief proponent, Borough President Julius Miller , was constructed in sections, primarily from 1929 through 1937, and became

5959-446: The building of the Expressway. The section between Humber River and Jameson Avenue was completed in 1958. The expressway, by then named the Gardiner Expressway, was officially opened by Gardiner himself and Ontario Premier Leslie Frost on August 8, 1958. When this section opened, it opened without guard-rails on the median dividing the different directions. Steel guard-rails and a 'glare shield' were approved for this section in 1965 at

6060-486: The change in March 1958 after visiting the site with a delegation from the City and historical societies. In 1959, Fort York was again under threat. A proposal was published to link Highway 400 to the Gardiner to meet in the vicinity of the fort. Gardiner proposed that Metro Toronto and the City share the costs of relocating the fort to the waterfront. In the end, the fort was not moved, the westbound on-ramp from Bathurst Street

6161-518: The current loop which opened on June 11, 1996. When it opened, the current loop was designed to store 16 Articulated Light Rail Vehicles and 30 buses. On busy days, the loop was expected to handle 60,000 customer trips per day with 6,500 trips at the peak hour. The loop cost about $ 12.3 million to build. Initially from 1916, streetcar service to Exhibition Loop was operated during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) season or for special events at Exhibition Place. On June 22, 1931, after replacing

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6262-438: The east and westbound lanes. The Gardiner Expressway was one of the first projects undertaken by the newly formed government of Metro Toronto . The route of the Expressway necessitated the paving over of parkland, demolition of residences and a popular amusement park , and a long elevated section to get through the downtown area. Planning was done stage-by-stage, from the Humber River east through downtown. The Humber Bay section

6363-415: The east of Sunnyside, the 1800s-era 'South Parkdale' residential neighbourhood at the foot of Jameson Avenue was demolished in 1957. The expressway, like the railway just to the north, was cut through the area at lake shore level. An interchange was built at Jameson with on and off ramps to Lake Shore Boulevard, and Lake Shore Boulevard was expanded to six lanes in the area. This created a pedestrian barrier to

6464-477: The east, just past the mouth of the Don River , to the junction of Highway 427 and the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) in the west, for a total length of 18.0 kilometres (11.2 mi). East of Dufferin Street to just east of the Don River, the roadway is elevated for a length of 6.8 kilometres (4.2 mi), unofficially making it the longest bridge in Ontario. The Gardiner is named after the first chair of

6565-436: The end of 2003, the conventional truss lighting poles that the province installed on the QEW segment in the late 1960s have been removed west of Kipling Avenue and east of Royal York Road, being replaced with shaded high-mast lighting like that used on the Don Valley Parkway. On August 11, 1958, three days after the road opened, the Gardiner Expressway's first collision happened. The expressway has 28 cameras that are part of

6666-404: The exit shifted to before the Humber River, separating traffic from the on-ramp's entry point. In the 1990s, after 30 years of usage, the City found that the central elevated section needed extensive repairs, and the ongoing maintenance was expensive. Proposals started to be floated for the demolition of the elevated segment with its replacement to be buried underground in a tunnel, although such

6767-464: The first " death avenues ", such as 11th Avenue in New York City . Aside from safety, carts and pedestrians crossing trains' paths slowed service. In addition, it became difficult to lay down rail lines, as the construction process was disruptive to normal traffic flow. The existing street grid also made it difficult to lay some railroad lines, as the trains required a wide turn radius. This led to

6868-593: The first elevated railways in the late 19th century. The elevated rails, being grade-separated, prevented almost all pedestrian/vehicle accidents, and could allow track bends above existing structures. Their construction could still be disruptive, but was usually less so, as pier construction to support their elevated structures did not necessarily close an entire roadway or long stretches of roadway for an extended period. However, conversion from at grade railways to elevated (or below ground) did not always take place, and many lines continued to be at grade in urban areas well into

6969-499: The first part of the actual Expressway started in 1956 with the Humber River bridge, followed by the Humber to Jameson segment. Max Tanenbaum's York Steel supplied the iron girder sections that supported the road deck on the elevated sections. The route of the expressway around Humber Bay necessitated the demolition of the Sunnyside Amusement Park on the lakeshore, which had existed since 1925. Some amusements were moved to

7070-552: The formation of Metro Toronto, the Metropolitan Executive Committee, chaired by Fred Gardiner, ordered the planning of the Lakeshore Expressway as a four-lane or six-lane expressway from the Humber in the west to Woodbine Avenue in the east. The cost was estimated at CA$ 20 million . Route planning was given to the engineering firm Margison Babcock and Associates, with the proviso that an American firm expert in expressway building would be involved. Margison's plan

7171-603: The freeway crosses Park Lawn Road and a CN rail line, then it curves as it passes the residential condominium towers of The Queensway – Humber Bay neighbourhood along the waterfront, the Mr. Christie cookie factory (which later became a part of Mondelēz International ) and the Ontario Food Terminal on the north side. Two eastbound lanes exit to Lake Shore Boulevard as the eastbound carriageway narrows to three lanes, followed shortly by an onramp from Lake Shore Boulevard (which

7272-400: The full length of the Gardiner and Don Valley expressways. In 1968, the speed limit was proposed to be raised from 50 mph (80 km/h) to 55 mph (89 km/h) (today it is 90 km/h (56 mph). Journalists openly questioned whether anyone could reach that top speed with the "horrendous volume of traffic" during peak rush times. In 1988, the unmaintained grassy hillside in

7373-524: The grounds of New Fort York ). On February 26, 1966, the Bloor–Danforth subway (today Line 2 Bloor–Danforth ) opened, and the Fort route was replaced by the Bathurst streetcar (today's 511 Bathurst ) running south from Bathurst station to Exhibition Loop. On July 21, 2000, a second streetcar route, 509 Harbourfront , started to serve Exhibition Loop running from Union station via Queens Quay. It shares

7474-465: The highway's elevated section descends to ground level via the Logan Avenue Ramp where it merges with Lake Shore Boulevard before a signalized intersection with Bouchette Street. Due to the ongoing realigment of the highway's eastern end as of September 2021, with the demolition of the Don River crossing and Logan Avenue Ramp, traffic defaults to the Don Valley Parkway ramp. The elevated section

7575-401: The highway, first named the Lakeshore Expressway, were first developed prior to the formation of Metro Toronto. In the post-war period, the population of greater Toronto was growing at a rate of 50,000 persons per year, the ownership of private automobiles was growing, and the traffic between downtown Toronto and the western suburbs was regularly stuck in 'traffic jams.' (The Sunnyside stretch of

7676-583: The homes to the west of the CNE grounds would have to be purchased and demolished. This change moved the route from the Humber to the Ontario Hydro right-of-way next to the railway tracks, saving 11 acres (45,000 m ) of waterfront. The expressway was moved to the north of Lake Shore Boulevard in the Sunnyside segment and the Jameson Avenue area. The inland route, while not opposed in the Sunnyside and Jameson areas, faced opposition in its proposed route in

7777-472: The inner loop, the streetcar could make one lap around before being forced onto the outer loop. Streetcars on the outer loop could not access the inner loop. In 1931, access to Exhibition Loop from Bathurst Street was shifted to Fleet Street instead of via Fort York. On July 31, 1933, the second Exhibition Loop opened at the site of today's Enercare Centre . The second Exhibition Loop provided more streetcar storage capacity to handle CNE crowds. By July 15, 1982,

7878-468: The lake shore for Parkdale neighbourhood residents to the north. Efforts made by community groups over the next 20 years to restore access to the lake shore, including plans to cover the section of the Expressway and railway line, did not come to fruition. A pedestrian bridge over Lake Shore Boulevard at the foot of Jameson Avenue was eventually built. Jameson Avenue, which had previously been a street of mansions, saw intense apartment building development after

7979-496: The land, which is owned by the Canadian National Railway. In the late 1980s, Metro Toronto proposed to widen the Gardiner to eight lanes from Strachan Avenue to the Humber, and extend Front Street from Bathurst Street west to connect with the highway. The widening proposal was never implemented as it depended on provincial funding which never materialized. Metro had planned the Front Street extension as part of allowing

8080-425: The north-east corner of the CNE. The route to the east of the CNE was modified to avoid passing over historic Old Fort York. The Gardiner passes over some of the fort's property, and it is extra high to allow for possible multiple interchanges. East of Fort York, the Gardiner was built entirely as an elevated route, through a predominantly industrial area, to the south of railway lands to reach downtown. The roadway

8181-514: The now-defunct Metro Council , Frederick G. Gardiner . The six-lane section east of the Humber River was built in segments from 1955 until 1964 by the Metropolitan Toronto government with provincial highway funds, and upon completion the Gardiner also received the Highway 2 provincial route numbering until 1998. The ten-lane section west of the Humber was formerly the eastern-most section of

8282-404: The project was completed on January 6, 2018. The Gardiner, along with the Don Valley Parkway and Allen Road, were fitted with distinct cobra-neck 30-foot (9.1 m) lamp poles . They were first fitted with fluorescent tubes in the 1960s, which was changed to the orange low-pressure sodium-vapor lamps (LPS) in 1978. (A 1960s experiment of installing lights on the elevated Gardiner's parapets

8383-414: The provincial government, with the two highways to be maintained as provincial highways. From the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and Highway 427 interchange, east to the Humber River, the Gardiner is straight, eight-to-ten lanes wide. A continuation of the QEW, municipal control of the freeway starts shortly after an onramp from Highway 427. Due to its status as a former Ontario 400-series highway when it

8484-646: The residential condominiums of the western end of the Harbourfront neighbourhood. Between York and Yonge Streets, the highway is flanked by the downtown skyscrapers of the South Core and eastern Harbourfront area, and passes the Scotiabank Arena . North along Bay Street are the office towers of the Toronto Financial District . From Yonge east to the Don Valley Parkway, the rail lines run parallel to

8585-436: The street to enter Humber Loop via a short tunnel under the Gardiner. Lake Shore then briefly downgrades to a two-lane local street and then becomes one lane (and one way) eastbound as it merges with the eastbound offramp from the Gardiner (which provides the large majority of the traffic along Lake Shore east of this point). on the Humber River bridge. East of the Humber River bridges the speed limit lowers to 90 km/h as

8686-417: The tracks on Fleet Street with 511 Bathurst. The last seasonal streetcar route to serve the CNE at Exhibition Loop was the 521 Exhibition East . The 521 route was to be discontinued after the 1999 CNE due to declining CNE attendance and the upcoming opening of the 509 Harbourfront route. However, the last 521 runs were during the 2013 CNE season when the 509 route was shut down for track repairs. At that time,

8787-409: The tunnel and nearby cities. The legislature passed a bill to extend existing highway Route 1 east through Newark and Jersey City . Due to local opposition to having new highways disrupt local traffic patterns, the engineers elected to use a viaduct, which became the Pulaski Skyway for the eastern portions of the new route (until close to the entrance of the tunnel). It opened in 1933. Like

8888-477: The west bank of the Humber River this marks the QEW's old eastern terminus and the beginning of the Metro Toronto-built segment. This old demarcation line was quite visible on the highway as a change in pavement quality and the use of different guardrail and lighting (since the late 1960s the province used truss poles originally fitted with mercury halide lamps before being replaced by high-pressure sodium in

8989-480: The world's first elevated, controlled access highway. After an interruption for World War II , several extensions were built from 1947 to 1951, under the leadership of urban planner Robert Moses , primarily connecting it to his other projects, such as the Henry Hudson Parkway and Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel . The Miller Highway influenced many other subsequent projects, such as Boston's Central Artery and

9090-411: Was also the point where the Gardiner previously assumed the provincial Highway 2 concurrency from Lake Shore Boulevard, until 1998 when the province downloaded most of Highway 2 which left both Lake Shore Boulevard and the Gardiner without a provincial route number). The westbound carriageway widens to four lanes thanks to the onramp from Lake Shore Boulevard becoming a continuous lane. As the route meets

9191-403: Was built according to initial plans. The route in the Exhibition Place area changed over time from one along the lake shore into downtown, to one aligned along the railway north of Exhibition Place. The initial route east of Exhibition Place would have necessitated the moving or removal of Old Fort York, but was moved to a more southerly alignment after protest. The elevated section through downtown

9292-405: Was built directly overhead of Fleet Street (Fleet is now Lake Shore Boulevard West east of Bathurst but Fleet exists as parallel roadway on the north side from Bathurst to Strachan Avenue) through much of this section. The expressway off-ramp to York/Bay/Yonge Streets was developed as a two-lane eastbound 'finger' flying over Harbour Street, south of the main roadway, descending to Harbour Street with

9393-574: Was cancelled, no interchange was built in the area and the Highway 400 extension was never approved. Construction on the expressway began in 1955 with the building of The Queensway and the Keating Avenue (now Lake Shore Boulevard East) extension to the foot of Woodbine Avenue. The Gardiner was built in segments, with the final section being completed in 1966. The cost was approximately CA$ 110  million ($ 987 million in 2023 dollars) . Construction of

9494-538: Was delivered in April 1954. The roadway was to be constructed in the Sunnyside area and CNE grounds to the south of the present Lake Shore Boulevard. South of the CNE grounds, the route would be on lands created from infilling of the shoreline to the breakwaters and an interchange was proposed in front of the Prince's Gate. East of the CNE grounds, the highway would be an elevated roadway above the existing Fleet Street, to just west of

9595-609: Was high enough that there was frequent congestion and frequent accidents. In 1924, New York City began looking for ways to relieve the problems of the combination of trucks, cars, trains, and pedestrians on 11th Avenue, which had been known as Death Avenue even before the advent of the car and truck. The mayor, the Manhattan borough president, the police commissioner, the Port Authority, the New York Central Railroad (owner of

9696-545: Was previously the eastern segment of the QEW, and because of its more recent design (rebuilt in the late 1960s), this section was built to higher standards than the Metro-constructed Gardiner and has a speed limit of 100 km/h. A system of collector and express lanes serves the Parclo interchanges with Kipling Avenue and Islington Avenue , and as the eastbound collector lanes merge into the express lanes approaching

9797-577: Was quickly shelved.) In the late 1990s, the low pressure sodium lighting was failing and most of the cobra-neck conventional poles were replaced in favour of shaded high-mast lighting, with high-pressure sodium-vapor lamps (HPS); however the elevated Gardiner still retained the LPS cobra-neck poles for seven more years, while the section immediately west of Dufferin Street still contains several with HPS lamps. The last remaining LPS lamps, which were no longer being produced, were all replaced by HPS in early 2006. Since

9898-494: Was redesignated as part of the Gardiner. Portions of the former QEW had parallel service roads along the roadway: Elevated highway An elevated highway is a controlled-access highway that is raised above grade for its entire length. Elevation is usually constructed as viaducts , typically a long pier bridge . Technically, the entire highway is a single bridge. Elevated highways are more expensive to build than at-grade highways, and are usually only used where there

9999-431: Was the third to serve Exhibition Place with streetcars arriving from Bathurst Street. The first Exhibition Loop opened on August 25, 1916; streetcars connected to the loop between Bathurst Street and Strachan Avenue by passing through Fort York . By August 20, 1923, the loop facility was modified to an inner-outer loop configuration, whereby streetcars could enter either the inner or outer loop upon arrival. If entering

10100-448: Was then aligned over the existing Lake Shore Boulevard in the area. East of downtown, the initial plans were for a ground-level route east to Woodbine, but this was changed in conjunction with the planning of the interchange of the Don Valley Parkway into downtown from the north to an elevated section east to Leslie Street. Various routes to the east were proposed, but never progressed beyond planning studies due to public protest. Plans for

10201-448: Was tolled and instead would use the bypass instead. H. M. Bishop of the Ontario Motor League also criticized the toll highway saying if it was tolled it would "hardly see a car all day long. The net result would be to increase, not decrease, congestion on city streets." Toronto Board of Control abandoned the project in July 1952, stating that it would need additional funds not forthcoming from the Ontario government. In July 1953, prior to

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