Rockcliffe–Smythe

Rockcliffe-Smythe
Neighborhood
Location within Toronto
Coordinates: 43°40′31″N 79°29′19″W / 43.67528°N 79.48861°W / 43.67528; -79.48861Coordinates: 43°40′31″N 79°29′19″W / 43.67528°N 79.48861°W / 43.67528; -79.48861
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Toronto
Community	York
Changed Municipality	1998 Toronto from York
Government
• MP	Ahmed Hussen (York South—Weston)
• MPP	Laura Albanese (York South—Weston)
• Councillor	Frances Nunziata (Ward 11 York South-Weston)

Jane Street bridge over Black Creek at Smythe Park, 1949

Jane Park Plaza at Jane Street and Dalrymple Drive

Rockcliffe–Smythe is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was part of the former City of York before the amalgamation of Toronto in 1998. The boundaries are Eglinton Avenue West to the north, the Humber River and Jane Street to the west. It then proceeds south along Jane to Lambton, and follows Lambton past Weston Road to the north-south railway lines to the east. The boundary follows the railway south to the eastern boundary then veers south along neighbourhood streets until it reaches St. Clair Avenue West. The boundary then follows the railway line to the Humber River, and follows the Humber River north to Eglinton Avenue. It is in Ward 11 (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. Further to the east (beyond Hilldale road) is another pocket called Harwood. Harwood is bordered by creek in almost all directions.

Development

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.

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 ^[1] and the proposed SmartTrack Line.^[2] To the east of the neighbourhood the York Community Centre will be opening in early 2017. The centre is set to feature 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.^[3]

Character

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.

BlogTO has identified Rockcliffe–Smythe as one of the top 5 Toronto neighbourhoods on the rise in 2017.^[4] In December 2016, Airbnb listed it sixth in its top 17 neighbourhoods to visit in 2017,^[5] 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.^[6]

Schools

• Archbishop Romero Catholic Secondary School - A Catholic high school located on Humber Boulevard. Established in 1989 as the first Catholic high school in the City of York. It was previously called York Humber Secondary School. November 1992 marked the start of a $12-million construction project that transformed the original building into a state-of-the-art facility. At a special ceremony on May 7, 1995 the school was officially opened and blessed.
• Cordella Avenue Junior Public School - A public elementary school located at 175 Cordella Avenue, at the end of Black Creek Drive on the west side of Weston Road. It first opened in 1960 and was expanded in 1970 to include additional classroom space.
• George Syme Community School is a large public elementary school on Pritchard Avenue, near Jane Street and St. Clair Avenue. The original four-room George Syme School opened in 1909 and was replaced by the current building in 1970. It is a shared use facility, and is also home to adult ESL classes, the Syme-Woolner Neighbourhood and Family Centre, George Syme Daycare, International Language Programs and Escuela Pioneros de la Paz. The school celebrated its centennial in 2009.^[7]
• Harwood Public School is a public elementary school located on Leigh Street, off McCormack Street, west of Weston Road. It was founded in 1928.

Rockcliffe Middle School

• Rockcliffe Middle School is a middle school is a school for grade 6-8 students, on Rockcliffe Boulevard, close to the intersection of Jane Street and St. Clair.
• Roselands Junior Public School is a public elementary school located south of Eglinton Avenue on Jane Street. The school celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1997 and has gained a reputation for "Excellence in Education". The school is wheelchair accessible with handicapped parking spaces located close to the building.
• Santa Maria Catholic School is a Catholic elementary school located on Avon Avenue just west of Weston Road and south of Humber Boulevard.
• Our Lady of Victory Catholic School is a Catholic elementary school located on Guestville.

Demographics

In 2011, the top 11 languages used at home by residents of Rockcliffe–Smythe were:^[8]

1. English: 61.40%
2. Portuguese: 7.28%
3. Spanish: 6.83%
4. Vietnamese 3.91%
5. Italian 2.28%
6. Chinese 1.45%
7. Polish 1.16%
8. Ukrainian 1.03%
9. Tagalog 0.85%
10. Urdu 0.76%
11. Somali 0.63%

At 0.11%, French does not rank in the top 11.

Main Streets

The area is centered by Jane Street, a north-south four-lane arterial road. To the west, Scarlett Road is another arterial road running north-westerly from Dundas Street to Eglinton, the north-west 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 in a north-westerly direction.

The Stockyards

Stockyards Mall is an urban, mixed-use retail centre with over 554,000 square feet of retail and office space. It is located at the intersection of St. Clair Avenue West and Weston Road South. There is parking available and access via public transit on the St. Clair street car line (512). Major retailers include PetSmart and Winners.^[9] Historically, the area bounded by Gunns Road, St. Clair Avenue West, and Weston Road was once home to various meat packers including Canada Packers, now Maple Leaf Foods before being redeveloped into The Stockyards in 2009.^[10]

Transportation

The area is served by Toronto Transit Commission bus lines that connect to the bloor-danforth subway line. Main routes include the Route 35 along Jane Street to Jane subway station, route 71 and 79 Scarlett Road along Runnymede Road, and the Route 89 Weston bus line that runs along Weston Road to Keele subway station. Lastly, the 161 Rogers Road loops within the neighbourhood and goes to the east, meeting the subway at Ossington subway station.

New light rail transit routes are planned for both Jane and Eglinton.^[11] The area will also be within reach of the Mount Dennis and Smart Track subway line at Weston and Eglinton. The subway line will connect to the Eglinton-Crosstown Line at Mount Dennis where there will be transportation along Eglinton to Pearson International Airport and south to Union Station. ^{[12] [13]}

See also

• List of neighbourhoods in Toronto

References

External links

• City of Toronto demographic profile
• City of Toronto Ward 11 profile