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Eglinton West Village
The commercial district on Eglinton Avenue West between Bathurst Street and the Allen Road is called "Eglinton West Village". The term "Village" seems a popular add-on to community names in Toronto, whether or not the area actually resembles a village.
This is where the Allen Road empties its traffic onto city streets. At one time, the plan was to build the Allen Expressway south through Cedarvale Park all the way to Dupont Street and Spadina Road. But a sensible provincial government nixed the full plan in 1971. In 1976, the last stretch of the Allen Road opened between Lawrence Avenue and Eglinton Avenue.
The less sensible Conservative government of Mike Harris cancelled construction of the Eglinton West subway line in 1995 after tens of millions of dollars had already been spent on tunnel construction. Only one new subway construction project survived the brutal program cuts, a new line on Shephard Avenue East. But considering the amount of traffic here, the Eglinton West line is the one that should have been completed.
One important element of the original 1960's Allen Expressway plan was kept - a subway line extending north to Downsview. Originally, the line extended as far as Wilson Avenue. Later, a new station was added at Shephard Avenue West. Now, the TTC is looking for funding to extend the line further north to York University and beyond.
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