# Royal York Road

Royal York Road, historically known as Church Street or New Church Street, is a north-south arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 5 concessions (10 km) west of Yonge Street, and runs through many residential neighbourhoods, most notably Mimico and the Kingsway. It is classified as a "minor arterial" road by the city of Toronto.
The road begins in the south near the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just south of Lake Shore Blvd. It then travels through the neighbourhoods of Mimico, the Queensway, Sunnylea, the Kingsway, and Humber Valley Village. It also serves as the boundary for two neighbourhoods north of Eglinton Avenue; Richview, and Humber Heights. The road crosses three creeks; Mimico Creek, and two tributaries of the Humber River; Humber Creek, and Silver Creek.
Royal York Road officially ends at Dixon Road, but its alignment continues further north as St. Phillips Road, which ends at Weston Road. Weston Road north of St. Phillips continues north on the same general alignment as Royal York, eventually leading into Vaughan.

## History

Royal York Road has a rich history that traces back to the late 19th century. Originally named Church Street in the village of Mimico, this road began as a dirt path north of the village. The transformation of Royal York Road started in the 1920s with the development of The Kingsway, an affluent residential area, and continued in the 1930s with the growth of Humber Valley Village. At that point, the road was paved up to Eglinton Avenue. By the 1950s, as more surrounding areas were developed, the entire length of Royal York Road was fully paved, creating a more accessible and connected thoroughfare.
In recent years, Royal York Road has undergone several infrastructure projects to improve its functionality. One of the more notable changes involved the addition of bike lanes, particularly the 1.25-meter-wide lanes between Mimico Creek and Usher Avenue. However, these lanes have faced criticism for being too narrow, not meeting the 1.5-meter minimum standard recommended by the Transportation Association of Canada, which the City of Toronto follows. Despite the improvements, concerns remain about the safety and design of these bike lanes.

## Public transit

The Toronto Transit Commission provides bus services along Royal York Road. Royal York subway station on the Bloor-Danforth line is the major transit terminal that these services feed into. North of Bloor, the main route is 73 Royal York, which also goes along Albion Road in the Rexdale area, and south of Bloor, the primary route is 76 Royal York South, which mainly carries commuters from Mimico. There are two additional routes that serve parts of Royal York because they use it to feed into the subway. These routes are; 48 Rathburn (which uses Royal York from Bloor to Anglesey), and 15 Evans (Bloor to Evans).
The Mimico GO Station on the Lakeshore West line provides commuter rail service to downtown, and other areas in the Greater Toronto Area, such as Hamilton, and Oakville.

## Landmarks

Local landmarks along Royal York Road (north to south):
* Sanctuary Park Cemetery
* Riverside Cemetery
* Royal York Plaza
* All Saints Catholic elementary school
* Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy
* Lambton Mills Cemetery
* Humbertown Shopping Centre
* Royal York subway station
* École Sainte-Marguerite d'Youville Catholic elementary school
* Bishop Allen Academy
* Etobicoke School of the Arts
* Mimico GO Station