Ellesmere Road, 1952-2009

[Ross W]

Correction of date CPR overpass was built at Warden/Ellesmere

I am wondering if anyone has photos of the Warden-Ellesmere intersection under construction around 1966-1968.This is the dual CPR overpass bridges that corrected a terrible traffic problem when trains came to cross the intersection.This must have been voted the worst intersection in Metro Toronto before the new bridges for traffic congestion.I have 2 photos of the intersection before the bridges were built.Both photos are from the Scarborough Archives.In the first photo,I have marked which road is which because looking at the photo without the identification of each, is confusing seeing it for the first time.The actual track crossing is shared by both roads.
I'm sure the Toronto archives have all the photos,contractors etc,but I couldn't find where to start looking for the right section.
The new dual bridge overpass dated on the N/E wall is 1968.
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I went to Home Depot today and and passing under the bridge,I noticed the date in the concrete was 1962,not 1968.I must confused the date with the CNR bridge at Finch Ave.E. just west of Leslie St.which was marked 1968.I use Finch Ave more often,so I mixed up the dates.
Now,I'll do some more searching for anything that happened there from 1959 to 1964.
-Ross

 

[Anna]

I went to Home Depot today and and passing under the bridge,I noticed the date in the concrete was 1962,not 1968...
-Ross

Now I know why I couldn`t remember that intersection being under construction.
Also, it was a Scarborough responsibility, not Metro, which might explain why there aren`t any construction photos at the Toronto Archives, as there are for the Sheppard underpass in Agincourt.

Apr 6 1960

9 Feb 1961

27 Sep 1961

22 Nov 1961

5 Apr 1962

 

[Ross W]

Warden Ellesmere news clips 1960-1962

Thanks so much for this info.I always thought this would be part of Metro Toronto's responsibility because it was such a huge project.What thread of Urban Toronto did you find these in?
A lady responded to me from Toronto Archives and she found nothing other than giving me 2 sites to investigate.
I took screenshots of all of these.Should I/Can I send them to her to add them to their appropriate Scarborough section?

Now I know why I couldn`t remember that intersection being under construction.
Also, it was a Scarborough responsibility, not Metro, which might explain why there aren`t any construction photos at the Toronto Archives, as there are for the Sheppard underpass in Agincourt.

Apr 6 1960
View attachment 13684
9 Feb 1961
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27 Sep 1961
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22 Nov 1961
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5 Apr 1962
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[Johnny Au]

I found it interesting that the Toronto Star in 1961 spells "favour" as "favor" as shown in the Mimico Five-City Plan headline.

 

[Anna]

Thanks so much for this info.I always thought this would be part of Metro Toronto's responsibility because it was such a huge project.What thread of Urban Toronto did you find these in?
A lady responded to me from Toronto Archives and she found nothing other than giving me 2 sites to investigate.
I took screenshots of all of these.Should I/Can I send them to her to add them to their appropriate Scarborough section?

They come from the Toronto Star Archives - if you have a Toronto Public Library card you can get access to them for free. Sign into the TPL website and then search for Toronto Star Pages of the Past. I just searched on warden/ellesmere/underpass (or overpass, can't remember). http://pagesofthepast.ca/ for the paid site.

You can also access the Globe and Mail archives on the TPL website - I didn't check it.

 

[Goldie]

Here's an aerial photo (1954-55) that clearly shows that oddly configured intersection … Ellesmere-Warden.
Also evident is the spur-line traveling east, then south.

 

[CityPlaceN1]

Also shows how close civilization was to this "rural" area. Great photo.

 

[Anna]

Here's an aerial photo (1954-55) that clearly shows that oddly configured intersection … Ellesmere-Warden.
Also evident is the spur-line traveling east, then south.

View attachment 13696

It also shows a few of the misaligned north-south intersections in Scarborough - Pharmacy, Warden, & Birchmount at Ellesmere.

 

[Goldie]

It also shows a few of the misaligned north-south intersections in Scarborough - Pharmacy, Warden, & Birchmount at Ellesmere.

Many aerial photos on this site show the abundance of misaligned roads: http://library.mcmaster.ca/maps/airphotos/1954_55.htm

 

[Lone Primate]

View attachment 13621View attachment 13622

Man! I have always wondered what that looked like! I figured it was a mess, but aside from some high aerials, I could only imagine. Mind you, it's still one of the more dangerous intersections in town. I'm always on my guard when I approach it.

 

[Uncle Teddy]

It also shows a few of the misaligned north-south intersections in Scarborough - Pharmacy, Warden, & Birchmount at Ellesmere.

Why is this the case? Seems odd to layout the roads like this.

 

[Goldie]

Many roads like that all over southern Ontario.
Something to do with surveyors' methods in the 18-19th century.
Good subject for some interesting research!

 

[Anna]

----
Roads, Surveys and the Passmore Affair

 

[Conrad Black]

Interesting.

 

[Lone Primate]

Why is this the case? Seems odd to layout the roads like this.

It's to ensure that everyone gets the same-size lot. The closer you get to either pole, the more lines of latitude converge; a vice-versa as you approach the equator. In Canada what that means is that if you start at, say, Eglinton and draw two lines due north, by the time you reach Lawrence, they're slightly closer to one another than they were a at Eglinton. It may not seem like much but it does add up and it's not long before you're short-changing people a quarter of an acre. So, periodically, little adjustments are made in the concession roads so that the distances, and thus the lots that they define, remain constant. In the days of horse-drawn carts or a handful of cars an hour, doglegs like this aren't all that bothersome. You'll still find them if you drive far enough up in York Region. But as you get to the point that several cars a minute have to negotiate these turns, that's when municipalities tend to smooth them out. Drive north in Scarborough or North York and you'll notice broad sweeping curves as you approach major east-west streets like Sheppard and Finch (for example). When you do, you'll know you've reached one of those former doglegs.

They do happen on east-west streets, but less often. In those cases they usually represent different surveys, or a kludge around some other anomalously in trying to create fair and equal lot sizes.