Allen (Spadina) Expressway

With the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway proceeding as planned in the early 1960's, Metro began to plan for its next expressway link. This would be the Spadina Expressway which would run from Wilson Avenue, north of Highway 401, south to join Spadina Avenue at Harbord Street south of Bloor Street in downtown Toronto. It was this expressway that would bring the first signs of major controversy. Unlike the Gardiner and Parkway, the Spadina would involve much land acquisition and the demolition of many homes. Only north of Lawrence Avenue could be built easily since that section would be through open space. Opposition to the expressway already existed at the south end of the proposed route from areas such as Forest Hill and the Annex. Rosedale residents were already organized to oppose the Crosstown Expressway to eventually be built at the Spadina's south end. However, North York endorsed the Spadina and the builders of the Yorkdale Shopping Plaza insisted that the Spadina Expressway must go through or there would be no plaza built. Therefore, opponents and supporters of the Spadina were of equal numbers at opposite ends of the route. Metro felt that the Yorkdale Plaza was very much needed, so therefore, the expressway would have to be built. Much debate over the route engulfed Metro Council in 1961 and it was decided to compromise for the time being and just build the first section from Wilson Avenue to Lawrence Avenue in order to satisfy the builders of Yorkdale. The short 3 km (2 mile) first section was nicknamed "the Baby Expressway" due to its short length.

Construction Begins

By 1962, the expressway route was approved, only now it would also provide for a subway line to be built in the expressway's median. Construction began on the first phase from Wilson Heights Boulevard, north of Highway 401, south to Lawrence Avenue in January 1963. The Province would construct the interchange with Highway 401 which would also connect to Yorkdale. This would be built with the reconstruction of Highway 401 from a four lane to a twelve lane highway. Four lanes of the Spadina Expressway were opened to traffic from Lawrence Avenue to Yorkdale Road in 1964 to provide access to the new Yorkdale Plaza which had just opened. The full six lane section from Wilson Heights Boulevard to Lawrence Avenue, including the Highway 401 interchange opened in December 1966. Allowance for a future subway was made in the expressway's median strip. The Province retained control of the 401-Spadina-Yorkdale interchange, including the piece of the Spadina through the interchange. In 1967, Metro gave approval for plans to be drawn up for the rest of the expressway from Lawrence Avenue south into downtown Toronto. The route would curve southeasterly through the Cedarvale Ravine and go south on Spadina Road to south of Bloor Street. Spadina Avenue would then be widened south to the lakeshore. The route would tunnel under Cedarvale Ravine and Casa Loma north of Davenport Road. This would push up the cost of the expressway. The Spadina would also eventually be extended north through Downsview Airport to Dufferin Street at Sheppard Avenue. Dufferin Street would then be widened north to Highway 7. The completion date for the Spadina Expressway was set at 1975.

The next section of the expressway south from Lawrence Avenue to Eglinton Avenue was cleared of homes and a huge ditch was dug for the expressway structure. Overpasses were built and grading was done. By 1969, this section was ready for pavement. In that year, Phillips Electronics offered to install new lighting on the existing section of the expressway as an experiment. Metro had used white fluorescent lamps on 10 metre (30 foot) poles on all of its expressways, but Phillips offered to install new yellow-orange low pressure sodium lamps, which were more efficient, on the Spadina Expressway. If Metro liked the new lights, they could purchase them and keep them permanently. The low pressure sodium lights were installed just on the expressway, not on the ramps, from Wilson Avenue to Lawrence Avenue. In 1970, Metro decided to purchase the new lights as they were happy with their performance. In 1975, Metro installed low pressure sodium lights on existing poles on the Don Valley, the Gardiner and the Spadina ramps.
 



Name change

In 1969, Metro decided to rename the Spadina Expressway as the William R. Allen Expressway, after Metro's second chairman, who was about to retire. The construction of the expressway so far had taken place during his term of office (1962-1969), so it was felt that renaming the expressway after him was a fitting honour. Little did he know that it was about to become the most controversial route in Toronto's history.

The estimated cost of building the expressway was $73 Million. However, by 1969, the cost of the expressway had escalated to $129 Million and Metro needed to borrow more funds to complete it. Most of the original funding had been spent on the first section to Lawrence Avenue and the construction work on the still incomplete section to Eglinton Avenue. Between Lawrence and Eglinton Avenues, many homes had been demolished, two whole streets had to be removed and a park split in two. The beautiful Cedarvale Ravine and Annex homes further south faced the oncoming expressway and this was not acceptable to many people. Opposition to the expressway began to get organized and the Allen Expressway was made the main issue of the November 1969 municipal election. Municipal reformers, such as Colin Vaughan and John Sewell, who favoured public transit over expressways, were elected. The future of the Allen Expressway, and even the whole proposed expressway system, was now in question. Metro responded to the concerns of the citizen groups by ordering a halt to farther construction on the Allen in September 1969, before paving the section from Lawrence to Eglinton. The Ontario Municipal Board would be asked to review the project. Metro's age of building expressways was now over as major controversy had begun.

Site of Spadina (Allen) Expressway looking north from Lawrence Avenue in 1949. This section of the route was mostly open space.

 
Route of the Spadina Expressway in 1959                  Plan for the Spadina (Allen) Expressway in 1970
                                                                                South is at the top

The Spadina (Allen) Expressway under construction north from Lawrence Avenue in 1963

The Spadina (Allen) Expressway under construction looking south from Wilson Avenue in 1965. The interchange with Highway 401 is being built. Yorkdale Plaza has just opened the year before.

Looking west along Lawrence Avenue across the bridge over the Spadina (Allen) Expressway while it is still being built north from Lawrence in 1963. The ramp to the under construction expressway is on the right. The Simpsons warehouse in the back on the right side of the picture is now Lawrence Square Plaza. Note the houses on the left side on the south side of Lawrence Avenue that would face demolition for the extension of the expressway in 1968.

Second Metro Chairman William R. Allen (left) whom the Spadina Expressway was renamed after with first Metro Chairman Frederick G. Gardiner (right) whom the lakeshore expressway was renamed after


Temporary four lanes of the Spadina Expressway were opened from Yorkdale to Lawrence Avenue in 1965. These existed on the west side of the expressway which became the southbound lanes when it opened in 1966.


The Spadina Expressway looking south from near Yorkdale to Lawrence Avenue in August 1966. It is nearing completion.


The Spadina Expressway approaching Lawrence Avenue in 1966. There are two ramps to Lawrence Avenue. The permanent ramp to westbound Lawrence on the right and a separate temporary ramp to eastbound Lawrence on the left. This temporary ramp to eastbound Lawrence remained in operation until the expressway was extended to Eglinton in 1976. Note that south of Lawrence there are houses which were demolished when construction of the expressway south of Lawrence to Eglinton began in 1968.

The Spadina (Allen) Expressway in 1969. It is completed to Lawrence Avenue and under construction to Eglinton Avenue.

 
Signs on Highway 401 pointed to the Spadina Expressway in 1969. Today, they point to the Allen Road

Photo on right courtesy of Michael Sgambelluri - Vintage Kings Highways

http://www.vintagekingshighways.com/401/1989/401_1989_North_York.html

The completed Spadina (Allen) Expressway looking north from Lawrence Avenue in 1969 with original fluorescent lighting. Space is left open in the centre median of the expressway for a future subway

Construction of the Spadina (Allen) Expressway south of Lawrence Avenue in 1968
The route has been cleared of homes and the ditch is being dug

The Spadina (Allen) Expressway under construction south from Lawrence Avenue in 1969
The ditch structure had been excavated and the roadbed created down to Eglinton Avenue
All work was halted at this point pending a review due to the growing opposition to the project

The Cedarvale Ravine between Eglinton and St. Clair Avenues, crossing Bathurst Street. The Spadina (Allen) Expressway was planned to continue south through this ravine and then along Spadina Road into downtown Toronto. Today, the Spadina Subway passes underneath

Spadina Road looking south across Bloor Street West today. The Spadina (Allen) Expressway would have come through here and terminated just south of this location

Detailed design plans for the rest of the Spadina (Allen) Expressway from Lawrence Avenue West to south of Bloor Street West - Original 1959 Plan

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Detailed design plans for the rest of the Spadina (Allen) Expressway from Lawrence Avenue West to south of Bloor Street West - Revised 1961 Plan approved for construction in 1962

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Drawing of proposed Allen Expressway interchange with Bathurst Street looking north

Drawing of proposed Allen Expressway at Davenport Road and Casa Loma looking north

Drawing of proposed Allen Expressway at Dupont Street looking north

Drawing of proposed Allen Expressway at Bloor Street looking south

Drawing of proposed Allen Expressway at Harbord Street, north of College Street, looking south

Views of the progress of construction of the Spadina (Allen) Expressway 1963 to 1969

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Click on the image below for a mosaic of construction of the Spadina Expressway and Allen Road from 1964 to 1983



Cancellation of construction

The cost of the Spadina Expressway, (officially W.R. Allen Expressway as of October 1969), was estimated at $73 million, but most of this had been spent when construction got only as far as Eglinton Avenue. By 1969, Metro needed to reassess the cost of the expressway and borrow more funds to complete it. Therefore, Metro would have to apply to the Ontario Municipal Board, a Provincial body which approved funding for Municipal projects, to get permission to borrow the funds needed to complete the project. At this point, opponents of the expressway who were still determined to stop the Spadina were getting organized. They were not happy about the number of homes to be taken for the route and the increasing cost of the expressway. They founded the Stop Spadina And Save Our City group (SSSOC) to raise funds for their cause and to protest. This group was led by urban sociologist Jane Jacobs, author of "Death and Life of Great American Cities", and urban activists David and Nadine Nowlan. They believed a yet unproven notion that the centres of American cities had decayed due to the existence of expressways, and they did not want this to happen to Toronto. They were also caught up in the fervour of the anti-Vietnam war protests of the time. The Stop Spadina group decided to take this opportunity to force the Board to order a review of the route before allowing any more funding to be spent on it.

In September 1969, Metro stopped all work on the expressway and conducted a review of the route. By then, the expressway was completed north from Lawrence Avenue and unfinished between Lawrence and Eglinton Avenues. In 1970, the results of the review recommended the completion of the expressway and the tunnel under the Cedarvale ravine. Metro then went to the Ontario Municipal Board to ask for the funding to complete the project. In a 2 to 1 decision, approval was then given. Stop Spadina people looked for another course of action to prevent this. Their lawyers advised them that Ontario Municipal Board decisions could be appealed to the Ontario Cabinet. However, Metro was eager to restart construction of the expressway, but agreed to wait until after this appeal and for the Cabinet to make a final decision. The expressway was now falling behind schedule and its completion date was set back from 1975 to 1977. Meanwhile, unemployed construction workers demonstrated at Toronto City Hall for construction of the expressway in order to get jobs. Metro also put land acquisitions for the Scarborough Expressway on hold depending on the future of the Spadina. This was left to the Ontario Municipal Board to handle. In 1971, Ontario Premier John Robarts retired and William Davis took over the Premiership. He agreed to hear the appeal and would make a final decision on the matter that would settle it permanently before the Provincial election planned for October of that year. Both Metro and the Stop Spadina group could not anticipate how the decision would go.

On June 2, 1971, Premier William Davis stood up in the Provincial Legislature and announced that he had reached a decision which would be final and could not be appealed. He agreed with the Stop Spadina group, so therefore the expressway would be stopped at Lawrence Avenue. His famous statement was that "Cities were built for people and not cars. If we were building a transportation system for the automobile, the Spadina Expressway would be a good place to start, but if we are going to build a transportation system for people, the Spadina Expressway is a good place to stop". The Premier approved the construction of the Spadina subway line, which would be completed into downtown Toronto with 75% Provincial funding. It would have parking garages at Wilson, Yorkdale, Lawrence, Glencairn and Eglinton stations. Expressway opponents had argued that the city should promote public transit instead of roads in order to reduce car use to save neighbourhoods and reduce pollution. The Spadina cancellation helped to elect David Crombie, one of these pro-transit urban reformers, as mayor of the City of Toronto in 1972, along with a number of reformer Councillors elected in the downtown core. This provided the political strength to put these policies into practice. Metro was infuriated over the Provincial decision on Spadina. They felt that they had been betrayed and were even considering suing the Province for breach of the 1963 contract to build the expressway. However, this did not happen. Metro was now left with a partially-built expressway which went nowhere. A 3 km (2 mile) completed section of the Allen Expressway north from Lawrence Avenue which was so short that it did not serve a major purpose, and an incomplete 2 km (1 1/4 mile) section south from Lawrence to Eglinton that people nicknamed the "Spadina Ditch" or the "Davis Ditch" as a joke about the Premier who had stopped it. It was all prepared with overpasses and space for ramps, but it was not paved. Many suggestions were made as to what to do with this site. They included housing, an arterial street, a park or a parking garage for the subway. Urban designer Buckminster Fuller was commissioned to come up with a development for the ditch site. He prepared an elaborate plan for shops and residential units in climate-controlled pyramid-shaped buildings. This was known as 'Project Spadina'. However, nothing ever came of these plans and the ditch sat empty for several years, except for snow collected from streets, which was dumped there in the winters. 

Click on this link to read a 1971 article from the old Toronto Telegram about 'Project Spadina'

In 1972, Metro carried out a study of feasible uses for the Spadina Ditch. In addition to the approved subway line, they included an arterial roadway to Eglinton Avenue, a parking garage, or possibly closing the completed Allen Expressway south of Highway 401. The idea of closing the expressway was rejected as not feasible from a traffic point of view and would reduce access to the Yorkdale Plaza. The report finally recommended that the Spadina Ditch be completed as a four lane arterial road from the south end of the completed expressway at Lawrence Avenue south to Eglinton Avenue. It also recommended that parking garages be built at the proposed Lawrence, Glencairn and Eglinton subway stations. Metro Council approved the arterial road recommendation only. Some councillors even wanted to call it Wilson Heights Boulevard, as it was directly south of the existing Wilson Heights Boulevard. However, the arterial recommendation was rejected by the Province, which saw it as a southward extension of the expressway, which they had prevented. All ideas for feasible uses of the Spadina Ditch were rejected as not workable, so the site would remain empty for now. The expressway was stopped from going south, but a northern extension was still possible, depending on the future of the Downsview Airport. Without the rest of the Spadina Expressway into downtown, Metro felt that the proposed Crosstown Expressway would no longer be needed, so it was scrapped, eliminating the downtown portion of the proposed expressway system. In 1973, Metro considered reserving two lanes on all three of its expressways for express buses and car pools. It also considered paving two lanes along the Spadina Ditch also for this purpose. However, this plan went nowhere due to disagreement among Metro politicians.


Protests against construction of the Spadina (Allen) Expressway at the University of Toronto in 1970 


Protests against construction of the Spadina (Allen) Expressway at Toronto City Hall in 1970

Stop Spadina and Save Our City (SSSOC) staging a protest following the expressway route past Casa Loma in March 1970. They used horses to show their opposition to cars.

Stop Spadina and Save Our City (SSSOC) staging a protest following the expressway route on Spadina Avenue at Bloor Street in March 1970. They used horses to show their opposition to cars. The expressway would have come through here

Protesting the Allen (Spadina) Expressway became fashionable that even young children from the Annex area protested. Signs such as 'Love Not Expressways' showed the 1960's hippie influence

Anti-expressway protestors plant trees in the uncompleted section of the Allen Expressway south of Lawrence Avenue on Earth Day, April 22, 1970, calling it "W.R. Allen Park". This did not last.

Click on this newspaper below to enlarge it

Toronto newspaper from June 4, 1971 announcing the cabinet decision to cancel construction of the Allen (Spadina) Expressway, but build the Spadina Subway line. The decision was actually made two days earlier

The Allen Expressway looking north from Eglinton Avenue after cancellation of construction south of Lawrence Avenue in 1971. The expressway is completed north of Lawrence Avenue and unfinished between Lawrence and Eglinton Avenues (the 'Spadina Ditch')

The completed Allen Expressway looking north from Lawrence Avenue in 1971. It has Toronto's first installation of low pressure sodium lighting.

The unfinished 'Spadina Ditch' looking south from Lawrence Avenue after cancellation of construction in 1971

The unfinished 'Spadina Ditch' looking south between Lawrence and Eglinton Avenues in 1972, where Glencairn subway station is located today. The ditch is deteriorating and weeds are beginning to grow in it. It was used to dump snow from city streets in the winter and people often threw garbage in it.



Protests in favour of completing the Allen Expressway in 1974 in the Spadina Ditch


Protests in favour of completing the Allen Expressway in 1974 at the Lawrence ramps to the Allen Expressway

Paving the Ditch

Supporters of the Spadina were not going to give up. They formed a group known as Go Spadina and fought for completion of the route. Local resident Esther Shiner led them. They placed their emphasis on traffic congestion on their local streets caused by the abrupt end of the completed Allen Expressway at Lawrence Avenue. They knew that they had an uphill battle to convince Provincial politicians to change their minds, but their were determined to do it. The political situation had made it difficult for Metro to build other expressways in the same area as the Spadina, so Metro turned its attention to building an eastern extension of the Gardiner Expressway. A Metropolitan Toronto Transportation Plan Review was set up in 1972 to draw up a new Metro transportation plan in the wake of the Spadina cancellation. Construction of the Spadina subway in the Allen Expressway's median began in 1974.

In 1972, Metro approved a plan to pave the Spadina Ditch as a four lane arterial roadway to Eglinton Avenue. However, it took another three years for the Province to agree. By then, the leader of the Go Spadina group, Esther Shiner, had been elected to North York Council and had gained the support of that Council for the completion of the expressway further south. By 1975, another Provincial election was called, and the Spadina Expressway would be made an issue again. In that year, the Transportation Plan Review group presented its final report, called "Choices For The Future", in which it published its recommendations. Six alternate plans were offered. Four contained no new expressway development, one contained new expressways only in the northwest, and one retained the original system approved in 1966. The report stated that there was a severe deficiency of roads in Metro's northwest. It stated that if Metro wanted a new expressway in the northwest, the Highway 400 Extension to the Gardiner Expressway, or at least to St. Clair Avenue (the only proposed Metro expressway where no decision had yet been taken) would do a better job than completion of the Allen Expressway because it was further west and did not penetrate downtown Toronto. Therefore, the 400 Extension, possibly with the Richview Expressway as a westerly arm of it, could be given serious consideration. This report verified that stopping the southward extension of the Spadina was the right thing to do as it preferred the Highway 400 Extension for a northwest expressway route.

The 1975 report recommended that Metro do a detailed study of the 400 Extension. However, the report also stated that it was not necessarily the best option and that northwest traffic was not downtown oriented. Due to opposition to expressways, particularly in the northwest, the report also recommended, as an alternative, that serious consideration should be given to paving the Spadina Ditch as a four lane arterial road from Lawrence Avenue to Eglinton Avenue, with single lane ramps at Eglinton. Additionally, Highway 400 could also be extended as a four lane arterial road south along the Provincially protected right of way and further to St. Clair Avenue, where existing streets would connect it to the lakeshore. It also suggested extending the Allen Expressway north to the proposed Highway 407, north of Metro, making use of the Allen as a northern route instead of a downtown route. Dr. Richard Soberman, head of the plan review group, stated that while he understood the environmental concerns of the anti-expressway groups, he also believed that traffic congestion on expressways proved for some people that expressways work better than other forms of transportation. This is because the expressway is being heavily used and drivers tolerate that congestion. Even though Dr. Soberman's report recommended more road improvements in Metro's northwest, it also confirmed its 1974 recommendation against construction of the Scarborough Expressway in the east, which was seen as unnecessary at that time.

Both sides of the Spadina battle lined up to debate these recommendations. However, this time, the City of Toronto sided with the anti-expressway forces against any road improvements as sympathizers of this opinion had been elected to Toronto City Council. Nevertheless, Metro, which was considering the 400 Extension at that time, but reluctant to face another northwest expressway battle, eagerly passed the Spadina and 400 Extension arterial roads recommendation which it saw as a good compromise, as in 1972. Dr. Soberman, however, was less enthusiastic about the proposal. He stated that he wanted Metro to choose a transportation system and policies before proceeding with any specific plans. He felt that Metro was just lifting a suggested option out of his report without choosing policies first. However, Metro had chosen Plan Number One which eliminated the proposed Metro expressways south of Highway 401 and included new cross-town transit lines. This plan was not inconsistent with the recommended road improvements in the northwest. Metro wanted to proceed with the new arterials because it agreed that roads were needed in the northwest and that to pursue a 400 Extension as an expressway would be futile due to massive opposition that would occur, similar to the Spadina battle. The Go Spadina group also argued strongly for the new roadways. Anti-road activitsts saw this plan as a betrayal of the 1971 agreement to stop the Spadina and appealed to Premier Davis to stick to his 1971 statement that the expressway would not go through.

However, the Premier was convinced that this was to be an arterial road and not an expressway, so to the delight of Go Spadina, he approved the plan. The Premier had great respect for Dr. Soberman and accepted his suggestions openly. The Premier was not allowing the extension of the expressway, but allowing the construction of a new and smaller road, something different. The Premier also promised to keep to his earlier conviction that the Spadina would not be extended into the downtown area. Dufferin Street, north of Sheppard Avenue, would be widened and connected to the north end of the Allen Expressway, as a northern arterial extension of the Allen. This would be done instead of extending the expressway north to the future 407 because land acquisition for it would be difficult north of Sheppard Avenue. Construction of the new arterial roads would be very easy since no land expropriation had to take place. They would be built across open space rights-of-way that already existed and were in public ownership. The Spadina Ditch was an existing grade-separated expressway structure, with provision for ramps at both Lawrence and Eglinton. The northern extension would be built across the Downsview Airport, requiring only the shortening of a runway. The 400 Extension would be constructed in an open right-of-way already owned by the Province. There should be no major opposition to these projects in their immediate vicinities and costs would be low due to no land having to be acquired. This was much easier than the expropriation Metro had had to carry out previously for the Spadina and Scarborough Expressways.

The Allen Road

In July 1976, the Allen arterial road was opened from Lawrence Avenue to Eglinton Avenue after paving the existing structure. In 1977, the Spadina Subway line opened, but there were no parking garages constructed south of Yorkdale Plaza, as had been previously recommended. The Spadina route was now officially the Allen Expressway north from Lawrence Avenue and the Allen Road south from Lawrence to Eglinton Avenue. The southern arterial road from Lawrence to Eglinton was constructed in the original expressway structure, so it was completely grade-separated. It included double lane ramps which came to a T-junction at Eglinton Avenue. No lighting had been installed on this new road because Metro could not decide whether it qualified for expressway lighting or just regular street lighting. In 1978, the speed limit on this section was raised to the same as that on the six lane expressway section north of Lawrence Avenue, and low pressure sodium expressway lighting, the same as that on the expressway, was installed. This was the only initial installment of low pressure sodium lighting that had not been converted from fluorescent lighting. The Allen Expressway from Wilson Heights to Lawrence would now stretch to Eglinton as the new arterial to the south was absorbed into the expressway. In 1980, construction began on the northern extension, from Wilson Heights to join Dufferin Street near Finch Avenue, to be built as a six lane arterial road. It opened in 1982. Metro was now going to consider the Allen to be all one roadway. It was decided in 1980 to put all of the route under one name. Since it was a very short expressway that would never be a major through route and the new northern extension was a road, it was recommended to name all of it as the Allen Road, to reflect these situations, from Eglinton Avenue to near Finch Avenue. A new Official Plan adopted in 1980 showed the permanently truncated status of the Spadina, which was now just a short local highway. The new sections of the Allen would be the only expressway extensions built by Metro after 1971. 


The unfinished Spadina Ditch (left) about 1974 and after its completion as the Allen Road with the Spadina Subway in the median (right) 

   
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The completed Allen Road in the former Spadina Ditch from Lawrence Avenue to Eglinton Avenue after opening in 1976. The subway in the expressway's median had also been built


North York Mayor Mel Lastman and Deputy North Mayor Esther Shiner (leader of the Go Spadina committee) driving the first car down the completed Allen Road in July 1976