Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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Spadina Expressway

Photo by the City of Toronto - Posted September, 2011

Photo and transcription by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted September, 2011

Attached to this westbound St. Clair Avenue West transit shelter at Spadina Avenue is this City of Toronto plaque. Here's what it says:

Coordinates: 43.684581 -79.411513

The Spadina Expressway was planned to run from Wilson Avenue in the north, through the Cedarvale-Nordheimer Ravine and the Casa Loma escarpment to Bloor Street in the south. It was designed in the 1940s as a commuter facility in an era when people were expected to live in the suburbs and work downtown, and it was controversial from the beginning. It was completed south to Lawrence Avenue by 1966. By the late 1960s, opposition became so intense that "Stop Spadina" became a rallying cry. The effective end of the Spadina came on June 3rd 1971 when the Hon William G. Davis, then Premier of Ontario, announced in the legislature that "If we are building a transportation system to serve the automobile, the Spadina Expressway would be a good place to start. But if we are building a transportation system to serve people, the Spadina Expressway is a good place to stop."

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