 Vaughan Road is aligned northwest–southeast between Bathurst and St. Clair. Note the singlestreetcar track in the Old Toronto segment. | |
 | |
| Maintained by | City of Toronto government |
|---|---|
| Location | Toronto |
| Northwest end | NearEglinton Avenue |
| Major junctions | |
| Southeast end | Bathurst Street |
Vaughan Road is a road inToronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a contourcollector road that is parallel to aburiedcreek to the north calledCastle Frank Brook. Vaughan Road begins onBathurst Street south ofSt. Clair Avenue West, then it becomes a north–south street, hence its address numbering system, then it becomes a northwest–southeast street. Finally, Vaughan Road ends in adead-end near Fairbank station at the intersection ofEglinton Avenue andDufferin Street.Vaughan Road Academy is named after this road.
Vaughan Road was built as early as 1850. Before then, it was a trail used by theFirst Nations. Its original alignment began atYonge Street, followedDavenport Road to Bathurst Street, then along the current alignment of Vaughan Road into Dufferin Street; in fact, there is still a curve in Dufferin Street at the intersection with Eglinton Avenue, where Vaughan Road connected. By the 1960s, Vaughan Road was closed before it could connect with Eglinton; anEsso gas station and parkette later occupied the former right of way and intersection, but demolished in the mid-2010s to accommodateFairbank station ofLine 5 Eglinton, scheduled to open in 2022.[1] Vaughan Road was then extended north along what is now Dufferin Street into Vaughan Township, which later became theCity of Vaughan. Therefore, Vaughan Road is named after the township, which itself is named afterBenjamin Vaughan, aBritish commissioner who signed a peace treaty with theUnited States in 1783.
This road was popular withstreet racers in the 1950s due to its many curves from being parallel to a creek. Since 2000, Vaughan Road had undergone the early stages ofgentrification, especially at the corner of Oakwood and Vaughan, as well as the former City of Toronto stretch of Vaughan Road.
The name was a subject of controversy in recent years. Following themurder of George Floyd in 2020, the city will consider to rename Vaughan Road in the future, although the former Vaughan Secondary School was renamed toHodan Nalayeh Secondary School in 2021.[2]
The road passes through the communities ofHumewood–Cedarvale andOakwood–Vaughan. TheToronto Transit Commissionbus route 90 Vaughan serves these communities. The terminus of the route areSt. Clair West andCedarvale stations. There is also a stop at Vaughan Road on the512 St. Clairstreetcar route. The Old City of Toronto segment of the road features an active southbound streetcar track; this formed part of the loop used by Bathurst streetcars to return south, until the route was truncated to Bathurst Station. The track still serves an important role, being the only route by which St. Clair streetcars can leave St. Clair Avenue to connect to the rest of the system for storage and maintenance; although unmarked on transit maps, passengers are generally permitted on streetcars headed south along Bathurst Street via this connector.
43°41′20″N79°25′57″W / 43.6889°N 79.4325°W /43.6889; -79.4325
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