Junction Triangle | |
---|---|
Neighbourhood | |
Coordinates: 43°39′32″N79°26′46″W / 43.659°N 79.446°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
City | Toronto |
Government | |
• MP | Julie Dzerowicz (Davenport) |
• MPP | Marit Stiles (Davenport) |
• Councillor | Alejandra Bravo (Ward 9 Davenport) |
Junction Triangle is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the city's west end, just west of Lansdowne Avenue. The area is a triangle surrounded on all three sides by railway lines: the CNR/CPR mainline to the west, Metrolinx GO Transit Barrie line to the east, and the CPR east-west railway lines to the north. Bloor Street cuts across the middle of the neighbourhood, Dupont Street runs close to the northern edge, and Dundas Street is close to the southern boundary. By some accounts, the recent residential developments of Davenport Village and Foundry Lofts, built on former factory lands north of the CP Rail line, west of Lansdowne, south of Davenport and east of the GO Transit Bradford/Newmarket/Barrie line, also belong in this neighbourhood, but they are actually in the old village of Davenport.
When a portion of farmland north of Bloor Street went up for sale in 1887 by the Toronto Land and Investment Corporation, it was in a unique triangular shape and since it was close enough to the West Toronto Junction, people referred to it as the Junction Triangle years later especially when people living in the area wanted to identify with their neighbourhood but it was never an official name or village, or had any official boundaries.
In 2009, an effort was launched by locals in the community to find a name. "Junction Triangle" had been used by the city for the area since the 1970s. For demographics purposes the area is part of the Dovercourt-Wallace-Emerson-Junction district. A local residents association was called the South Junction Triangle Residents Association. One issue is that it is based on the nearby and much better known neighbourhood The Junction, and leads to frequent confusion. The area was also never part of the historic town of West Toronto Junction, but was called the Town of West Toronto, before annexation. [1]
The Fuzzy Boundaries project was created to try to find a new name. A vote was held in March 2010. Some 230 options were submitted originally, and after a narrowing process the vote was between ten options. The final vote was:
Historically the area was a centre for industry. The thin wedge of the triangle south of Bloor Street was almost entirely industrial lands, and industrial areas also lined the railway tracks that surround the neighbourhood. Factories made paint, ceramics, and chemicals in the area. The Ontario Stock Yards were also nearby. The area became home to the workers in the factories; by the 1950s this was a multicultural group of mainly Italian, Polish, and Macedonian immigrants. Later, the area became predominantly Portuguese with mass immigration from the Azores and the exodus of better-off Italian families to the northern suburbs such as Vaughan.
Beginning in the 1970s, local residents became concerned by pollution in the area. The proximity of homes and schools to heavy industry led to a long battle between residents and factory owners. The fumes from the plants were clearly detectable, and studies found elevated levels of a number of organic chemicals in the area's air. In July 1988 an explosion at a glue factory showered the neighbourhood with a yellow chemical rain. [2] Residents blamed a series of ailments on the pollution, though studies found that cancer rates were normal. [3]
In response, the city and other levels of government began fining firms that violated environmental regulations, and zoning restrictions were put in place to prevent factories from expanding. Beginning in the 1990s these policies, combined with the general deindustrialization of North America, saw many of the factories in the area close, especially the most polluting ones. Former plants have been converted to lofts, and others have been demolished, leaving large brownfields. Some major factories do remain, notably the Nestlé factory at 72 Sterling Road (second largest Smarties production facility outside of Germany) that some days gives a strong chocolate smell to the area. The character of the neighbourhood has also started to change, as increasingly young downtown professionals taking full advantage of the area's multitude of public-transit and other social amenities (cycling paths) are replacing the retired factory workers of previous years. However, Portuguese community influence remains strong, and to a lesser extent Italian.
The character of the area is gaining in popularity as more young families discover this neighbourhood tucked between more well-known areas as Roncesvalles and Brockton. The area is attracting a lot of attention as a hidden gem with artists and other creative types, [4] young professionals and first time buyers looking for a family-friendly area, close to the subway and other rapid-transit and within walking distance to other more established shopping areas.
It's been considered 'Junction Triangle the next Liberty Village' but concluded it's much more family friendly with a large portion of family homes to balance the future brownfield developments that are rapidly coming, the area residents are very actively involved with the planning processes to ensure the charm of area remains with the influx of development.[ clarification needed ]
Census tract 0098.00 of the 2006 Canadian census overlaps exactly with the residential portion of Junction Triangle. According to that census, the neighbourhood has 6,666 residents. Average income is 28,067, a good deal below the Toronto average. The ten most common language spoken at home are:
The Junction Triangle contains Campbell Park and Campbell Rink located just west of Lansdowne, north of Wallace at 255 Campbell Avenue. The Rink has a single pad, and is one of several outdoor compressor-cooled rinks in Toronto, with programming provided through Toronto's Parks and Recreation department. There is a clubhouse with a community kitchen, pay-what-you-can snack bar run by city staff, a skating lending program. In spring the park has community events including community campfires run by staff during the skating season, and in the summer local children can use the wading pool with qualified staff providing first aid. [5]
The West Toronto Railpath presently runs through the Junction Triangle and GO Transit is about to start the construction of a MobilityHub at Bloor St and the western border of neighbourhood. Toronto Life magazine has named this extended area one BuyNow neighbourhood due to its price affordability and proximity to downtown & transit. [6] [7]
The Annex is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road. The City of Toronto recognizes a broader neighbourhood definition that includes the adjacent Seaton Village and Yorkville areas.
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The Junction is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is near the West Toronto Diamond, a junction of four railway lines in the area. The neighbourhood was previously an independent city called West Toronto, that was also its own federal electoral district until amalgamating with the city of Toronto in 1909. The main intersection of the area is Dundas Street West and Keele Street. The Stockyards is the northeastern quadrant of the neighbourhood.
Swansea is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, bounded on the west by the Humber River, on the north by Bloor Street, on the east by High Park and on the south by Lake Ontario. The neighbourhood was originally a separate municipality, the Village of Swansea, which became part of Metropolitan Toronto in 1953.
Roncesvalles, also known as or Roncesvalles Village or Roncy Village, is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, centred on Roncesvalles Avenue, a north–south street leading from the intersection of King and Queen Streets to the south, north to Dundas Street West, a distance of roughly 1.7 kilometres. It is located east of High Park, north of Lake Ontario, in the Parkdale–High Park provincial and federal ridings and the municipal Ward 4. Its informal boundaries are High Park to the west, Bloor Street West to the north, Lake Ontario/Queen Street West to the south and Lansdowne Avenue/rail corridor to the east. Originally known as "Howard Park", most of this area was formerly within the boundaries of Parkdale and Brockton villages and was annexed into Toronto in the 1880s.
Toronto—St. Paul's is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Before the 2015 election, the riding was known as St. Paul's.
Lansdowne is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The main station entrance is located just north of Bloor Street on Lansdowne Avenue, with a secondary unstaffed entrance on Emerson Avenue. Opened in 1966, the station lies approximately 561 metres from its nearest station to the west, Dundas West. The station is in the Dovercourt-Wallace Emerson-Junction neighbourhood on the edge of the Bloordale Village strip. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.
Dovercourt Park or Dovercourt Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada situated north of Bloor Street between Christie Street to the east, the CPR railway lines to the north, and Dufferin Street to the west.
Toronto Civic Railways (TCR) was a streetcar operator created and owned by the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to serve newly annexed areas of the city that the private operator Toronto Railway Company refused to serve. When the Toronto Railway Company's franchise expired in 1921, its services were combined with those of the Toronto Civic Railways, and are now assumed by the new Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC). The first route of the TCR started operation on December 18, 1912.
Keele Street is a north–south road in Toronto, Vaughan and King in Ontario, Canada. It stretches 47 kilometres (29 mi), running from Bloor Street in Toronto to the Holland Marsh. South of Bloor Street, the roadway is today known as Parkside Drive, but was originally part of Keele Street. It was renamed in 1921 by the City of Toronto.
Dufferin Street is a major north–south street in Toronto, Vaughan and King, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions (4 km) west of Yonge Street. The street starts at Exhibition Place, continues north to Toronto's northern boundary at Steeles Avenue with some discontinuities and continues into Vaughan, where it is designated York Regional Road 53. The street is named for Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, who served as Governor General of Canada from 1872 to 1878. Prior to 1878, the street was labelled as Western City Limits or Sideline Road south off Bloor. In 2003 and 2007, it was voted as one of "Ontario's Worst 20 Roads" in the Ontario's Worst Roads poll organized by the Canadian Automobile Association.
The West Toronto Railpath is a multi-use trail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, running from The Junction neighbourhood toward downtown Toronto. The Railpath was developed by the City of Toronto for bicycle and pedestrian use. Like Toronto's Beltline and Don Mills trails, it is an urban rail-to-trail project. Phase 1 of the path opened in 2009. Phase 2, an extension south from Dundas Street West to Liberty Village, was approved and proceeding with detailed design as of September 2020 with funding of $2.9 million jointly from the City and the Government of Canada. Construction of Phase 2 is expected to begin in 2023.
Parliament Street is a north–south street in the eastern part of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street runs from Bloor Street to Queens Quay and is the first major street west of the Don River.
High Park North, or often simply High Park, after the park, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the south by Bloor Street, on the west by Runnymede Road, on the north by Annette Street, and on the east by the GO Transit Weston Subdivision rail tracks. It is located in the Parkdale—High Park provincial and federal electoral districts. The area east of Keele Street is also known informally as the "West Bend" neighbourhood.
Carleton Village is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centered along Davenport Road, south of St. Clair Avenue West and surrounded on the other three sides by railway lines. The CNR/CPR mainline to the west, the CNR railway lines to the east, and the CPR east–west railway lines to the south.
Little Portugal is a neighbourhood and ethnic enclave in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located west of downtown in the "Old" City of Toronto. It is bound on the west by Lansdowne Avenue, on the north by College Street, on the east by Ossington Avenue and on the south by the GO Transit and Union Pearson Express railway tracks. The area is mainly residential, with Portuguese businesses along Dundas Street West and College Street. The area west of Dufferin Street was a part of the former Town of Brockton. The area to the east of Dufferin and south of Dundas Street is also known as "Beaconsfield Village" dating back to the days of the sub-division of lots in the area around Beaconsfield Avenue.
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Wallace Emerson is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada situated north of Bloor Street between Dufferin Street to the east, the CPR railway lines to the north and the CPR railway lines to the west.
Parkdale was a provincial riding electing Members of Provincial Parliament (MPP) to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The riding was created from the western part of Toronto West riding in 1914 and abolished in 1996 and redistributed into the Parkdale—High Park, Davenport and Trinity—Spadina ridings for the 1999 Ontario general election.