Avenue Road

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Avenue Road is a major north-south street in Toronto, Ontario. The road is a continuation of University Avenue, linked to it via Queen's Park and Queen's Park Circle East and West to form a single through route. The two roads were formerly designated Highway 11A until January 1, 1998.

Avenue Road, the western limit of the former town of Yorkville, officially begins at Bloor Street and ends just north of Highway 401. At its southern terminus, it runs between two of Toronto's major hotels, the Park Hyatt (on the northwest corner of Bloor and Avenue Road) and the Four Seasons Hotel. On the northeast corner of the intersection with Bloor is the Church of the Redeemer. For much of its length the road is fairly residential, with a mix of small businesses, as well as a few large schools and churches. A notable site along this "lower section" is the Hare Krishna Temple, formerly the Avenue Road Church, opposite Dupont Street and across the street from the Anglican Church of The Messiah. Just north of St. Clair Avenue, Avenue Road is interrupted by Upper Canada College, ending at Lonsdale Road and resuming again at Kilbarry Road. The primary traffic route runs east of the school, following widened sections of Lonsdale Road and Oriole Parkway and returning to Avenue Road via Oxton Avenue. (The short section of Avenue Road from Kilbarry to Oxton is an ordinary two-lane side street.). There is a joke about how Avenue Road got its name. According to local legend, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe was surveying the old town of York and came to a spot on Bloor Street and pointed north. He said (in an English accent), "Let's 'av a new road!"

However, Avenue Road is a common street name elsewhere, notably London, where at least 40 streets bear this name. The word Avenue in British-English means a row of trees, hence Avenue Road meaning a street lined with trees. In Canadian English Avenue is synonymous with street, and does not necessarily connote trees.

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Category:Streets in Toronto