Morningside Avenue (Toronto)

Not to be confused with the New York City street of the same name

Morningside Avenue
Route information
Maintained by City of Toronto
Major junctions
South end:	Guildwood Parkway
	Lawrence Avenue East Kingston Road Ellesmere Road  Highway 401 Sheppard Avenue East
To:	McNicoll Avenue
Location
Major cities:	Toronto
Highway system
Roads in Ontario Nearby arterial roads ← Markham Road Morningside Avenue Meadowvale Road →

Morningside Avenue is a suburban arterial road in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada, running north by north-west from the Scarborough Bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario to the eastern terminus of McNicoll Avenue near the Rouge River valley. Morningside Avenue is entirely within the Scarborough district of Toronto.

Morningside Avenue is also the name of a minor residential road in the Swansea district of western Toronto.

Route description

The foot of Morningside is located at Guildwood Parkway on the shores of Lake Ontario, and traces the original Scarborough Township Lot 10 line north-east toward the commercial centre of the West Hill neighbourhood at Kingston Road. West Hill takes its name from its position above the broad valley of Highland Creek. The valley is the site of Morningside Park, one of Toronto's largest. Within the valley at the intersection of Ellesmere Road is the Morningside Campus of Centennial College and the Scarborough campus of the University of Toronto in which Morningside Avenue forms the western boundary of. Beyond the valley, which was the former northern terminus, the present route was named "Littles Road" after an early family in the area. Between Sheppard and Finch Avenues, Morningside serves as the eastern boundary of the Malvern neighbourhood. The route veers to the north-west north of Sheppard Avenue, skirting the ravine of Morningside Creek and Rouge Park.

Communities lining the northern reaches of the street, and those nearby across the city boundary in Markham, are constrained by the topographic and legislative boundaries of Rouge Park. A northern extension to Morningside Avenue was proposed, traversing the Brookside and Morningside Heights neighbourhoods to connect with the exurban community of Box Grove. These plans have since been canceled due to concerns that the extension would necessitate construction in a sensitive section of Rouge Park.

The low 3.7 m (12.1 ft), narrow, one-lane railroad underpass at Finch Avenue, dating back to when it was a rural road, was replaced in 2009, allowing 4 lanes of traffic to pass below uninterrupted. McNicoll Avenue was later extended east terminating at a newly built extension of Morningside Avenue, while Oasis Blvd continues east of Morningside Avenue as a residential neighbourhood.

Attractions and points of interest

• West Hill Collegiate Institute
• Morningside Park
• Centennial HP Science and Technology Centre
• University of Toronto Scarborough on nearby Military Trail

External links

• Morningside Avenue at Google Maps
• Transportation Improvements in the Markham Bypass Corridor South of Highway 407 (York Region)