Long Branch Loop | |
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General information | |
Location | Lake Shore Boulevard West, Toronto, Ontario Canada |
Coordinates | 43°35′30″N79°32′40″W / 43.59167°N 79.54444°W |
Owned by | Toronto Transit Commission |
Line(s) | 501 507 508 |
Connections | |
History | |
Opened | December 28, 1928 |
Rebuilt | 1950s |
Long Branch Loop is the westernmost streetcar stop within the Toronto streetcar system, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). [1] It is located in the Long Branch neighbourhood in southwestern Toronto, close to the boundary with Mississauga. Long Branch Loop is the western terminus for four streetcar routes but is principally served by the 507 Long Branch route. [2] Several TTC and MiWay bus routes terminate at the loop.
Westbound streetcars enter the turning loop from Lake Shore Boulevard and turn counter-clockwise to face east on the north side of the platform. Bus bays are on the opposite south side of the platform with a shelter building in the centre, which once provided washrooms and a waiting room for the public.
The Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company operated radial railway service along Lake Shore Boulevard originally as a single track line, with sidings to allow vehicles going in opposite directions to pass each other. [3] The TTC double-tracked the route, and first operated a loop at Long Branch on December 28, 1928. [4]
The TTC has used the loop as an interchange point with buses since at least 1935, when the widening of Lakeshore Road west of Etobicoke Creek required the removal of the single-track service to Port Credit. The TTC replaced the streetcar route with the 74 Port Credit bus route, which ran until 1976, when the service was taken over by the newly created Mississauga Transit. [5] Other historic TTC bus routes that terminated at the Long Branch loop included 69 Queensway [6] and 87 West Mall.
In 1967, Long Branch GO Station was opened on the adjacent Lakeshore West railway line; service is available as far west as Hamilton or east to the downtown Union Station hub.
On January 6, 1992, the TTC started the 508 Lake Shore rush-hour route running from Long Branch Loop to downtown Toronto via Lake Shore Boulevard, the Queensway and King Street. [7]
The TTC operated a separate Long Branch line (which became route 507 Long Branch), running between Long Branch Loop and Humber Loop, until 1996, when that route was merged with the 501 Queen route. [8] A 2012 National Post article described the extended 501 Queen as the longest streetcar line in North America. [9]
In 2011, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast a 14-minute semi-autobiographical short film entitled Long Branch. [10] The film shows two strangers, who were about to share a one-night stand, have their plans fall apart as the distance to the Long Branch loop was too far, and they had too much time to talk to each other first. The filmmakers were a couple, and one member of the film-making couple lived at the Long Branch loop and said his partner routinely declined to come home with him because of the distance.
In early 2016, the 501 Queen route was split at Humber Loop requiring through-riders to change streetcars there. The section between Humber and Long Branch Loops was still branded as 501 Queen even though the section operated like the former 507 Long Branch. In late 2023, after a closure for construction, the section west of Humber Loop was reopened as 507 Long Branch. [8]
As of November 19,2023 [update] , the TTC streetcar and bus routes serving Long Branch Loop are: [11] [2]
Route | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
501 Queen | EB | To Neville Park Loop | Late evening service only |
507 Long Branch | EB | To Humber Loop | No late evening service |
508 Lake Shore | EB | To Broadview station | Rush hours only |
301 Queen | EB | To Neville Park Loop | Blue Night service replacing 501 streetcar |
110A Islington South | NB | To Islington station | Bus via 30th Street and Horner Avenue |
110B Islington South | NB | To Islington station | Bus via Brown's Line and Horner Avenue (rush hour service) |
123B Sherway | NB | To Kipling station | Bus via Browns Line, Sherway Gardens, the East Mall and Shorncliffe |
123C Sherway | NB | To Kipling station | Bus via Sherway Gardens and North Queen Street |
MiWay (Mississauga) bus routes serving Long Branch Loop are: [12]
Route | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
5 Dixie | NB | To Lorimar Drive/Cardiff Boulevard | Near Derry Road, northwest of Toronto Pearson International Airport |
23 Lakeshore | WB | To Clarkson GO Station |
Brampton Transit (BT) is a public transport bus operator for the City of Brampton in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Ontario, Canada. Brampton Transit began operations in 1974. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 49,200,800, or about 226,500 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Lake Shore Boulevard is a major arterial road running along more than half of the Lake Ontario waterfront in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Prior to 1998, two segments of Lake Shore Boulevard were designated as part of Highway 2, with the highway following the Gardiner Expressway between these two sections.
The Queensway is a major street in the municipalities of Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is a western continuation of Queen Street, after it crosses Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in Toronto. The Queensway is a divided roadway from Roncevalles westerly until 600 metres of the South Kingsway with its centre median dedicated to streetcar service. The road continues undivided west from there to Etobicoke Creek as a four- or six-lane thoroughfare.
The Toronto streetcar system is a network of eleven streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is the third busiest light-rail system in North America. The network is concentrated primarily in Downtown Toronto and in proximity to the city's waterfront. Much of the streetcar route network dates from the 19th century. Three streetcar routes operate in their own right-of-way, one in a partial right-of-way, and six operate on street trackage shared with vehicular traffic with streetcars stopping on demand at frequent stops like buses. Since 2019, the network has used low-floor streetcars, making it fully accessible.
Long Branch is a GO Transit railway station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the Lakeshore West line stations, serving the Long Branch neighbourhood.
501 Queen is an east–west Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It stretches from Neville Park Loop in the east, running along Queen Street and in a reserved right-of-way within the median of the Queensway to Humber Loop in the west. In the late evenings, the 501 Queen route is extended west from Humber Loop, running on Lake Shore Boulevard to Long Branch Loop, replacing route 507 Long Branch. This route operates as part of the TTC's Blue Night Network service, operating in the early morning hours as the 301 Queen.
504 King is an east–west Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada. It serves King Street in Downtown Toronto as well as Broadview Avenue on the east end and Roncesvalles Avenue on the west end of the line. The route consists of two overlapping branches: 504A between Line 2 Bloor–Danforth's Dundas West station and Distillery Loop, and 504B between Broadview station – also on Line 2 – and Dufferin Gate Loop. The two branches overlap on King Street between Dufferin and Sumach streets, both passing St. Andrew station and King station on subway Line 1 Yonge–University.
The 508 Lake Shore is an east–west streetcar route in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The route serves the downtown financial district operating between the western limit of the city, and the western edge of Toronto's east end. The route is a weekday rush-hour service.
The Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company was incorporated in 1890, and operated the Mimico radial line in the Toronto area. The line started operation in 1892 as a short suburban line that later was extended to Port Credit. In 1904, the railway was acquired by the Toronto and York Radial Railway (T&YRR) and became the T&YRR Mimico Division. In 1922, the City of Toronto acquired the T&YRR and contracted Ontario Hydro to manage the four T&YRR lines including the Mimico line. In 1927, the TTC took over the operation of the Mimico line and extended its service eastward to Roncesvalles Avenue. In 1928, the TTC double-tracked the line from Humber to Long Branch and made that portion part of the Lake Shore streetcar line. The portion beyond Long Branch to Port Credit became the Port Credit line, and continued operation as a single-track radial line until its closure on February 9, 1935.
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.
The Waterfront West LRT (WWLRT) is a proposed streetcar line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The WWLRT is currently part of a City project called the Waterfront Transit Reset which also includes the East Bayfront LRT. The WWLRT was initially proposed as part of the Transit City plan to expand transit services offered by the Toronto Transit Commission that was announced March 16, 2007. The new line was to use existing parts of the Toronto streetcar system, extending from Union station to Long Branch Loop via Exhibition Place.
Turning loops of the Toronto streetcar system serve as termini and turnback points for streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The single-ended streetcars require track loops in order to reverse direction. Besides short off-street track loops these can also be larger interchange points, having shelters and driver facilities, or be part of a subway station structure for convenient passenger interchange.
Neville Park Loop is the eastern terminus of the 301/501 Queen streetcar line, the longest streetcar route of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is also the terminus of the 143 Beaches/Downtown express bus service. It is located at the southwest corner of Queen Street East and Nursewood Road in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto. It is named after the street which is just west of the loop.
Humber Loop is a multimodal transit station and a hub for streetcar routes. It consists of two streetcar turning loops and one bus loop. Humber Loop is located between the Gardiner Expressway and the Queensway just west of the Humber River in Toronto. The loop is accessed by a private right-of-way along the Queensway on the east side of the loop and by Lake Shore Boulevard on its west side. As of November 19, 2023, four Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar routes either pass through or terminate at Humber Loop.
Dufferin Gate Loop, also known as Dufferin Loop, is a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) bus station and turning loop for streetcars near the southern end of Dufferin Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), the loop becomes a primary access point for visitors entering Exhibition Place via the Dufferin Gates. This west entrance to the CNE can be reached by the Dufferin Street bridges across the Lakeshore West railway corridor and Gardiner Expressway.
The Roncesvalles Carhouse is a storage and maintenance facility for the streetcar network of the Toronto Transit Commission. Located at the northwest corner of the Queensway and Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, west of its downtown core, it is the oldest of the TTC's three active carhouses. The carhouse serves vehicles on routes 501 Queen, 504 King, 505 Dundas, 506 Carlton, 511 Bathurst, and 512 St. Clair.
The Toronto Transit Commission operated a separate Spadina streetcar line on Spadina Avenue, from 1923 to 1948. Spadina Avenue is a major north–south road in downtown Toronto.
The Toronto Railway Company Belt Line was a streetcar route that operated in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The route was created by the Toronto Railway Company in 1891 and taken over by the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1921, which cancelled the route in 1923 as part of its reorganization of streetcar routes.
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.
507 Long Branch is an east–west Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It runs along Lake Shore Boulevard between Humber Loop and Long Branch Loop. It operates entirely within Toronto's Etobicoke district. After 10 pm, 507 Long Branch is replaced by a westward extension of the 501 Queen from Humber Loop to Long Branch Loop. Overnight, 301 Queen, part of the TTC's Blue Night Network service, replaces both 501 Queen and 507 Long Branch, operating from approximately 1 am to 5 am between Neville Park Loop and Long Branch loop. The rush-hour 508 Lake Shore route overlaps 507 Long Branch west of Humber Loop.
It is only important to note that tracks reached Etobicoke Creek and the present site of today's Long Branch Loop in 1895. It would be another thirty-three years before the loop would come into being. Long Branch Loop came into being in on December 8, 1928, when the TTC extended 'city' tracks from the Humber River along Lake Shore Boulevard to this site.
In 1920 Toronto purchased this and other privately owned electric radial lines operating outside the city and turned their operations over to Ontario Hydro. Eventually, these lines became part of the recently organized Toronto Transportation Commission. The Commission's streetcar route along Lakeshore Road was soon double-tracked all the way west to the site of the present Long Branch loop, while the roadway itself was widened considerably.
Due to highway widening, the PORT CREDIT radial car line was discontinued after the last trip on February 9. New PORT CREDIT bus route starts operating between Long Branch Loop via Lakeshore Road to Mississauga Road, wyeing and returning.
Service extended west on the Queensway and then south on Brown's Line to Long Branch loop.
The loop here is slightly more interesting than its Neville and Humber counterparts — there's a colourful streetcar mural on a wall, a proper TTC sign that says Long Branch, washrooms and a Legion Hall nearby.
It's the story of Lynn, a young woman who tries to go home with a guy for a one-night stand, only to find out, after she's already hopped transit with him, that he lives in Long Branch, where subways fear to tread. The pair have no choice but to talk to each other during the agonizingly long ride. And talking, as Lynn points out repeatedly, is not what one-night stands are about.