Exhibition Loop
Exhibition Loop | |||||||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||||||
Location | Manitoba Drive, Toronto, Ontario Canada | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 43°38′10″N 79°24′59″W / 43.63611°N 79.41639°W | ||||||||||||||
Platforms | Side | ||||||||||||||
Connections | Exhibition GO Station | ||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||
Structure type | At grade | ||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||
Opened | 1916 | ||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1923, 1996 | ||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||
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Exhibition Loop is the terminus for the 509 Harbourfront and 511 Bathurst streetcar routes,[1] the 174 Ontario Place-Exhibition, and the 307 Blue Night Bathurst bus routes.[2] Exhibition Loop serves Exhibition Place, Coca-Cola Coliseum, BMO Field and connects with GO Transit at the Exhibition GO Station.
Description
Exhibition Loop is located on the north side of Manitoba Drive, near Exhibition GO Station, under the Gardiner Expressway.[3] Streetcar platforms are located on the south side of the loop,[1] which can support unloading passengers at one platform while loading at another. The platform area can operate as a fare-paid zone. The loop has streetcar storage capacity to handle large crowds after a major event.[3]
History
Infrastructure
Today's Exhibition Loop was the third to serve Exhibition Place with streetcars arriving from Bathurst Street.[4]
The first Exhibition Loop opened on August 25, 1916; streetcars connected to the loop between Bathurst Street and Strachan Avenue by passing through Fort York. By August 20, 1923, the loop facility was modified to an inner-outer loop configuration, whereby streetcars could enter either the inner or outer loop upon arrival. If entering the inner loop, the streetcar could make one lap around before being forced onto the outer loop. Streetcars on the outer loop could not access the inner loop. In 1931, access to Exhibition Loop from Bathurst Street was shifted to Fleet Street instead of via Fort York.[4]
On July 31, 1933, the second Exhibition Loop opened at the site of today's
The second loop was closed to build the National Trade Centre (today's Enercare Centre) on its site. It was replaced by the current loop which opened on June 11, 1996.
Service
Initially from 1916, streetcar service to Exhibition Loop was operated during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) season or for special events at Exhibition Place. On June 22, 1931, after replacing the Fort York tracks with tracks on Fleet Street, the Toronto Transportation Commission started the "Fleet" streetcar route (renamed to "Fort" after one month). The Fort route initially ran from Wolseley Loop via Bathurst Street and Fleet Street to Fleet Loop. During World War II, the Fort route was extended to Exhibition Loop to serve military personnel billeted at Exhibition Place (which had formerly been part of the grounds of New Fort York). On February 26, 1966, the Bloor–Danforth subway (today Line 2 Bloor–Danforth) opened, and the Fort route was replaced by the Bathurst streetcar (today's 511 Bathurst) running south from Bathurst station to Exhibition Loop.[5][6]
On July 21, 2000, a second streetcar route,
The last seasonal streetcar route to serve the CNE at Exhibition Loop was the 521 Exhibition East. The 521 route was to be discontinued after the 1999 CNE due to declining CNE attendance and the upcoming opening of the 509 Harbourfront route. However, the last 521 runs were during the 2013 CNE season when the 509 route was shut down for track repairs. At that time, the 521 route ran from an on-street loop near Church and King streets, via King to Bathurst Street, Fleet Street and Exhibition Loop.[6]
Future
In April 2019, the
- Change the direction of the inner siding on the south side of the present loop from eastbound to westbound.
- Build a new westbound track to run diagonally from the north side of the loop to its south side.
- Build new tracks at the south-west side of the loop, extending westward to Dufferin Street and then north to Dufferin Gate Loop.
Bus connections
The following bus routes serve or pass by Exhibition Loop:[2]
- 29C Dufferin between Wilson station and Princes' Gates
- 307 Bathurst (Blue Night) to Steeles Avenue
See also
References
- ^ a b Forman, Roman. "Streetcar Track Map March 2011". Transit Toronto. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ a b "TTC System Map" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Site of New TTC Exhibition Streetcar Loop Officially Open". Transit Toronto. June 14, 1996. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c d James Bow (June 25, 2015). "Exhibition Loop and Fleet Loop". Transit Toronto. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ a b Bow, James (June 25, 2015). "Route 511 - The Bathurst Streetcars". Transit Toronto. Archived from the original on 2018-01-29. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
- ^ a b James Bow. "A History of Transit Service to Exhibition Place". Transit Toronto. Archived from the original on 2019-04-27. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- City of Toronto government. April 3, 2019. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- City of Toronto government. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved May 7, 2019.