Rockcliffe–Smythe

Coordinates: 43°40′31″N 79°29′19″W / 43.67528°N 79.48861°W / 43.67528; -79.48861
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Rockcliffe–Smythe
Neighbourhood
York South-Weston
)

Rockcliffe–Smythe is a neighbourhood in

York Township
. It is in Ward 5 (York-South Weston) in the City of Toronto.

As with many neighbourhoods defined by the city, there are often more traditional names for pockets of the city. Directly north-east of Jane Street and St. Clair West is an area called Syme, named after George Syme Reeve of York West. Further to the east (beyond Hilldale road) is another pocket called Harwood. Harwood is bordered by creek in almost all directions.

Character

The area is predominantly residential in nature, made up of single-family detached homes.

The area is predominately residential in nature, mostly made up of single-family detached homes. There are apartment buildings along Jane Street, Scarlett Road, and Humber Boulevard. Rockcliffe–Smythe is known for having large amounts of green space including the centrally located Smythe Park. The entire western boundary is green space which includes Lambton Park and Scarlett Woods golf courses. Black Creek meets the Humber in the neighbourhood. The Black Creek enters the neighbourhood from the north-east, travelling through a concrete culvert in the center of Humber Boulevard and through concrete through parks and to the Humber.

In December 2016, Airbnb listed it sixth in its top 17 neighbourhoods to visit in 2017,[1] based on a 497 per cent increase in bookings in 2016. In April, 2015, Toronto Life listed Rockcliffe–Smythe as one of the top three neighbourhoods in Toronto for first time home buyers. “In the last 10 years there have been significant changes.” New retail development, like the Stockyards outdoor mall at the neighbourhood's southeastern corner, has revived some formerly barren lots, and the Junction's hot retail strip is just a short walk south.[2]

Boundary

Zigzagging from the north-west corner, where the Humber River and Eglinton Avenue West intersect:

Main streets

View of Jane Street Plaza on Jane Street, a major north–south four lane arterial road in the neighbourhood.

The area is centered by

Dundas Street to Eglinton, the northwest corner of the neighbourhood. The central east–west artery from Jane to Weston is Alliance Avenue and Lambton Avenue. To the east, Weston Road
is a major four-lane arterial road that runs northwest.

History

Rockcliffe–Smythe was mostly farm land during the 1800s. One of the first large-scale developments in the area was the opening of the Smythe gravel pit in the 1920s, by Conn Smythe. After World War II the gravel pit was used up. This led to the residential development of the surrounding area. Smythe made homes available to returning servicemen and families, losing money on each. The neighbourhood has retained the Smythe name ever since. Smythe Park exists today on the site of the pit and is the site of the Smythe Park Recreation and Community Centre.

View of Smythe Park during the winter. The park was formerly the home of Smythe's gravel pit.

More recently, Rockcliffe Smythe is re-asserting itself with a spate of new infrastructure developments. The northern part of the area will be within walking distance to Mount Dennis station on the Eglinton Crosstown [3] and the proposed SmartTrack Line.[4] To the east of the neighbourhood is the York Community Centre, opened in 2017. The centre features a double gymnasium, a running/walking track, a six-lane 25-metre indoor training pool, an indoor leisure pool, two multi-purpose rooms, and weight, aerobic and dance rooms.[5]

Demographics

In 2016 there was a total population of 22,246 people. Of which 51.7% were female and 48.3% were male; having an average age of 41.1 years.:[6]

The top 11 languages used at home by residents of Rockcliffe–Smythe were:[6]

  1. English: 50%
  2. Portuguese: 17.4%
  3. Spanish: 12.5%
  4. Vietnamese 6.3%
  5. Italian 3.8%
  6. Tagalog 2.5%
  7. Chinese 2.1%
  8. Polish 2.1%
  9. Somali 1.8%
  10. French 1.3%
  11. Ukrainian 1.3%

Education

.

The

public school board that serves the City of Toronto, as well as the Rockcliffe–Smythe. The school board operates a number of institutions that provides primary and secondary education
in the area including:

Toronto District Catholic School Board
.

The

Toronto District Catholic School Board (TDCSB) is a public English separate school board that serves the City of Toronto, as well as the Rockcliffe–Smythe. The school board operates a number of institutions that provides primary and secondary education
in the area including:

In addition to TDSB and TDCSB, two

Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud
is a French separate public school board. However, the two French school boards operate a school in the Rockcliffe–Smythe neighbourhood.

Transportation

The area is served by

Ossington subway station
.

New

Smart Track subway line at Weston and Eglinton. The subway line will connect to Line 5 Eglinton at Mount Dennis where there will be transportation along Eglinton to Pearson International Airport and south to Union Station.[9][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The 17 Hottest Neighborhoods to Visit in 2017, According to Airbnb". 14 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Where to Buy Now 2015: Three Toronto neighbourhoods that won't bankrupt first-time buyers". 7 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Mount Dennis Station + Maintenance and Storage Facility | Crosstown".
  4. ^ "John Tory's SmartTracker".
  5. ^ "Community celebrates official opening of York Recreation Centre". 24 April 2017.
  6. ^ a b "2016 Neighbourhood Profile. Rockcliffe-Smythe" (PDF). toronto.ca. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  7. ^ "George Syme celebrates 100 years". InsideToronto.com. 12 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Transit City". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on 2009-01-17.
  9. ^ "John Tory's SmartTracker".
  10. ^ "SmartTrack - Transit TO: Transit Expansion - City Manager's Office | City of Toronto". Archived from the original on 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2017-01-09.

External links