Beach Boulevard is a Lower city street in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, east of the Hamilton Harbour on a thin piece of land that crosses over Lake Ontario and stretches from where Woodward Avenue becomes Eastport Drive in the south to near the Lift Bridge in the north at Eastport Drive (again). It runs parallel with the QEW and the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway Bridge.
The first aboriginals to settle in the Hamilton area called the bay Macassa, meaning "beautiful waters". [1] It was not until bridges were built, the marshes drained and a canal cut through the bar that Hamilton started to expand. Before that its chief importance was as a military station, guarding Burlington Heights and the head of the lake. [2]
One of the residences had served as one wing of the old Hamilton fort which had been used in the War of 1812. This building was moved around the time of the First World War by 16 teams of horses – a journey which took 6 weeks. The spot is about eight miles from the city and was reached by Steam or electric street cars or by boat. On May 24, 1877, the first "Beach Train" rolled along the strip, the Hamilton and North-Western Railway. Electrical Radial service began in 1905. After that, the Hamilton and North-Western Railway stopped carrying passengers along the beach strip. But it carried freight until the line was abandoned in 1982. [3]
In 1903 a Mr. H. Knapman formed the Canadian Amusement Company and opened up an amusement park, operating from 1903 to 1978 on Burlington Beach, which today is known as Hamilton Beach. It featured boats, boathouses, swings & slides, snack bars and a fun house named the Crazy House. Shortly thereafter carrousels and a ferris wheel were added and by the 1950s a small roller coaster and pony rides were included in the parks' inventory. [4] A wooden dance floor was installed for the Pier Ballroom with Sunday-evening talent contests with popular artists international performers appearing. In 1978 the City of Hamilton did not renew the Canal Amusement Park lease and the park was closed.
North of Beach Boulevard on Lakeshore Road is an historic lighthouse and the Joseph Brant Museum, a replica of the home of Joseph Brant. [5]
The Beach Strip is a 4-mile, (quarter mile wide), strip that stretches from Spencer Smith Park in Burlington to Confederation Park in Hamilton. This strip of land was known to the aboriginal people in the area as Daonasedao, which translates to "where the sand forms a bar". [6] Thousands of years ago, the beach was formed as a baymouth barrier bar from sand deposited by waves breaking in deep water offshore. As the process continued, a dune gradually developed and eventually a continuous strip of sand was formed, creating an embayment separated from Lake Ontario. Since then, the area has been altered considerably by fill used for construction of the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway, the Queen Elizabeth Way and the Canada Centre for Inland Waters. Hamilton's deep sea port is accessed by ship canal through the beach strip into the harbour and is traversed by two bridges, the QEW's Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway and the lower Burlington Canal Lift Bridge. [7]
While the township of Saltfleet and the City of Hamilton helped develop the Beach Strip in the 1800s, the community retained a certain practical independence from both. In 1907, the provincial government recognized its distinctive character by creating a special form of government to address local concerns. For the next 50 years, an appointed Beach Commission established and enforced local by-laws, collected taxes, and supervised the community's own police force. In 1957 the City of Hamilton successfully annexed the Beach Strip, south of the canal, arguing that the city could more efficiently look after the area. In 1964, the City of Burlington took over the administration of the section north of the canal. Beach residents nevertheless retained their strong sense of independence. During the late 1960s and 1970s they organized various groups, such as the Hamilton Beach Preservation Committee, to protect the distinctive interests of their community. [8]
Following a flooding in 1973, the City of Hamilton proposed to assist residents by buying their homes, as part of a long-term plan to tear the houses down and transform the residential area into a lakeside park. While some residents sold their homes, many others refused. They forced Hamilton politicians to revise their long-term plans for the area. [8]
The Trail in Hamilton splits into two sections: The Hamilton Waterfront Trail (west) and the Hamilton Recreation Beach Trail (east). Both trails are largely off-road, 6 metres wide, paved asphalt. [9]
The Hamilton Beach Recreation Trail follows the Lake Ontario shoreline for about 8 kilometres, from Burlington under the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge to the Hamilton Beach and Confederation Park and into Stoney Creek.
The Dieppe Veterans' Memorial Park is dedicated by the City of Hamilton to the young men of Hamilton and surrounding communities who died on the stormy beaches of the Port Dieppe, France, on 19 August 1942. A total of 913 Canadian sailors, soldiers and airmen were killed during this raid. The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment) lost 197 soldiers during this battle. Their names appear here along with other Hamiltonians who died while serving with other Canadian units in Dieppe. [10]
The Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway, originally called the Burlington Bay Skyway, is a pair of high-level freeway bridges located in Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The Skyway, as it locally known, is part of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) highway linking Fort Erie with Toronto. The first bridge was completed in 1958 and officially opened 30 October 1958, [11] crossing the narrow bar separating Burlington Bay from Lake Ontario. This allows for Great Lakes ship traffic to flow underneath while four lanes of Golden Horseshoe road traffic may flow on top of it, neither disturbing the other. The bridge was designed by John Turner Bell. The bridge had tolls when constructed, but these were removed 28 December 1973 [11] after they were found to heavily impede traffic flow. Truck drivers in particular had refused to take the tolled bridge since they were not only charged the full toll, but it also took them extra fuel to ascend the Skyway. Several Beach Strip children were killed by tractor trailers, which led to a large group of local women setting up a barricade with baby strollers to put a stop to the tractor trailer traffic being allowed on the beach strip – forcing them to use the skyway bridge. With the lifting of tolls on the bridge, trucks were banned from using Beach Boulevard.
Note: Listing of Landmarks from West to East.
Note: Only one neighbourhood on this thin stretch of land that crosses over Lake Ontario. [12]
Burlington is a city in the Regional Municipality of Halton at the west end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada. Located approximately halfway between Toronto and Niagara Falls, it is part of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and Hamilton metropolitan census area.
The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The freeway begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels 139.1 kilometres (86.4 mi) around the western end of Lake Ontario, ending at Highway 427 in Toronto. The physical highway, however, continues as the Gardiner Expressway into downtown Toronto. The QEW is one of Ontario's busiest highways, with an average of close to 200,000 vehicles per day on some sections. Major highway junctions are at Highway 420 in Niagara Falls, Highway 405 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Highway 406 in St. Catharines, the Red Hill Valley Parkway in Hamilton, Highway 403 and Highway 407 in Burlington, Highway 403 at the Oakville–Mississauga boundary, and Highway 427 in Etobicoke. Within the Regional Municipality of Halton the QEW is signed concurrently with Highway 403. The speed limit is 100 km/h (62 mph) throughout most of its length, with the exceptions being between Hamilton and St. Catharines where the posted limit is 110 km/h (68 mph).
The Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway, originally called the Burlington Bay Skyway and simply known as the Burlington Skyway, is a pair of high-level freeway bridges spanning the Burlington Bay Canal. The Skyway, as it is locally known, is located in Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) highway linking Fort Erie with Toronto.
The Garden City Skyway is a major high-level bridge located in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, that allows the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) to cross the Welland Canal without the interruption of a lift bridge. Six lanes of traffic are carried across the bridge, which is 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) in length and 40 metres (130 ft) at its tallest point.
Sunnyside is a lakefront district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It includes a beach and park area along Lake Ontario's Humber Bay, from west of Exhibition Place to the mouth of the Humber River. The area has several recreation uses, including rowing clubs, sports clubs, picnic areas, playgrounds, a nightclub, a bathing pavilion and public pool. The area is a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long strip along the lakeshore, bounded by the Gardiner Expressway and rail lines, which separate it from the Parkdale, Roncesvalles and Swansea neighbourhoods to the north. The name originates in a local farm owned by John Howard, which was situated just to the north, on the location of the current St. Joseph's Health Centre hospital.
King's Highway 20, commonly referred to as Highway 20, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Presently, it is a short 1.9 km (1.2 mi) stub between Highway 58 and Niagara Regional Road 70 in the City of Thorold, but until 1997 it connected Hamilton to Niagara Falls, serving several towns atop the Niagara Escarpment en route.
The Queensway–Humber Bay, known officially as Stonegate–Queensway, is a neighbourhood in the southwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the southeast area of the former City of Etobicoke.
Transport in Hamilton, Ontario consists of a variety of modes.
Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around the westernmost part of the Lake Ontario. Most of the city including the downtown section lies along the south shore. Situated in the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe, it lies roughly midway between Toronto and Buffalo. The two major physical features are Hamilton Harbour marking the northern limit of the city and the Niagara Escarpment running through the middle of the city across its entire breadth, bisecting the city into 'upper' and 'lower' parts.
Below is a timeline of events in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Bay Street is a lower city arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts at Inglewood Drive, just South of Aberdeen Avenue, as a collector road with only two lanes, then eventually becomes a six lane thoroughfare at its peak. Bay Street also passes through downtown Hamilton, where many high-rise buildings are found. Bay Street is a one-way street from Aberdeen Avenue to Cannon Street West. Bay Street continues as an arterial route to Strachan Street, where it is downgraded to a neighbourhood collector and eventually ends at a curb at Pier 4 Park at Burlington Street in the city's North End.
Burlington Street is a partially at grade and elevated roadway in Hamilton, Ontario, stretching along the south shore of Hamilton Harbour in Lake Ontario. Burlington Street has four different statuses along the route. In its western terminus, it is a collector route ending at Bay Street North. Upon the intersection at Wellington Street, the road becomes an arterial route with four lanes. The Street ends at Parkdale Avenue. On October 14, 2015, city council approved the renaming of the upper portion of Burlington Street from 165 meters east of Ottawa St to the QEW to Nikola Tesla Boulevard.
Centennial Parkway is an arterial road in southeastern Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is best known as the western terminus of the former King's Highway 20, now maintained by the City of Hamilton. It starts off as Upper Centennial Parkway, a mountain-access road in the City right before the Canadian Pacific Railway line at the backend of Battlefield Park, and is a two-way street throughout that extends north over the Queen Elizabeth Way and ends at Beach Boulevard/Van Wagners Beach Road in front of Confederation Park.
York Boulevard is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Formerly known as Highway 2 and Highway 6, it starts in Burlington, Ontario at Plains Road West as a two-way arterial road that wraps around and over Hamilton Harbour, enters the city of Hamilton in the west end at Dundurn Park, and ends at James Street North. It has a one-way section from Queen Street to Bay Street North, and continues east of James Street North as Wilson Street.)
The Martin Goodman Trail is a 56 km (35 mi) multi-use path along the waterfront in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It traverses the entire lake shore from one end of the city to the other, from Humber Bay Arch Bridge in the west to the Rouge River in the east. The Martin Goodman Trail is part of the 730 km Waterfront Trail around Lake Ontario.
Burlington Canal Lift Bridge is a vertical lift bridge located to the north side of the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway in Burlington, Ontario.
The Hamilton and North-Western Railway (H&NW) is a former railway in Ontario, Canada. It ran north from Hamilton on the western end of Lake Ontario to Collingwood on Georgian Bay and Barrie on Lake Simcoe. Through the purchase of the Hamilton and Lake Erie Railway, the route continued south from Hamilton to Port Dover on Lake Erie.
Lakeshore Road is a historic roadway in the Canadian province of Ontario, running through the city of Burlington and the town of Oakville in Halton Region, as well as the city of Mississauga in Peel Region. As its name implies, the road closely follows the shoreline of Lake Ontario, although the lake itself is not visible from the road in most areas. Lakeshore Road was once a key section of the historic Highway 2, which traversed the province, but has since been downloaded to local municipalities. Despite this historical role as a major route, however, most of the road is a lower-capacity picturesque residential and historic commercial street with only two through lanes until it becomes a four-lane, higher-volume artery after it enters Mississauga and jogs to the north.
The Hamilton Radial Electric Railway (HRER) was an interurban electric railway which at its maximum extent operated between Hamilton and Oakville in Ontario, Canada.
