Port Union, Ontario

Port Union is an upper middle class neighbourhood on the eastern border of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by the Rouge River on the east, Port Union Road on the west, Lake Ontario to the south, and Highway 401 to the north. The last eastern exit on the highway is located here. Most residents are commuters who travel downtown each day via the 401 or Kingston Road (Highway #2). Average commute times are 40-60 minutes depending on the level of congestion. Fact|date=October 2007

History

The original facility of Port Union was created in 1832 under the Statutes of Queen Victoria. Funding was raised by way of public shares in the "Scarborough Pickering Agincourt Markham Wharf Company". Mr. Adams came across from Oswego and built schooners for the local merchant farmers to trade into the US markets rather than having to deal with the merchants of old York (now Toronto). During the summer schooners and other vessels used a summer wharf and during the winter the schooners were sheltered up the deep waters of the mouth of the Rouge River. The port thrived until the arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway in the 1870s.

The railway was supposed to build a three span bridge, however due to little opposition from the locals the mouth of the Rouge River was filled in from the west bank side and only a single span was put in place. As a result of the landfill a marsh was formed, the west mouth of the Rouge became protected and the sandy beach was mostly washed away. The operations of schooners called "Stone Hookers", which took away the protective boulders along the beach area, vastly increased the rate of erosion along the Bluffs area. The extent of this environmental damage may never be reversed.

Port Union was part of Pickering until 1974, when municipal reforms in Ontario transferred the neighbourhood to Scarborough. Scarborough was merged with five other municipalities and a regional government to form the new "City of Toronto" in 1998. Old Port Union road leads north up through the farm lands of Pickering on into Scarborough, Agincourt and Markham.

Port Union is also known to have a relatively low crime rate in relation to the rest of Scarborough and Toronto.

Attractions

The only places of interest or note in Port Union are the eastern edge of the Scarborough Bluffs, Chesterton Shores-Rouge Beach and waterfront trail, and the Rouge Hill GO Transit commuter train station. Rouge Beach is bordered by a man made marsh which forms part of the Rouge Park reserve which extends north along the river watershed to the Oak Ridges Moraine. The marsh attracts thousands of geese and as a result an estimated 2 tons of bird droppings ooze out onto the beach area during the spring runoff and summer periods after local rains causing the beach to be closed to the public. Had the mouth of the Rouge River not been filled in, much of this "natural pollution" would not have been attracted to this area as geese do not nest near to rapidly flowing river delta areas.

Development and Regeneration

In 2001, the regeneration and restoration of the old harbour lands south of Port Union lands began by the TRCA with public funding. While the old winter harbour can not be restored, the summer harbour and the lands associated with it are being regenerated under a design concept called the "King's Harbour Marine Park" sponsored by the Nancy Griffon Foundation since 1976 for the restoration of "Olde Port Union" including the re-opening of the old "Adams Creek" as required under the Environmental Assessment which flowed from north of the current Hwy 401 into Lake Ontario. This time the Adams Creek will flow into the restored Port Union sailing harbour and marina. For further details on the development concept known as the "King's Harbour Marine Park" for the restoration of the olde village of Port Union and its sailing harbour refer to http://ca.geocities.com/[e-mail]

The area west of the GO Transit station has been developed, in recent years, as a community park on the site of old Port Union village. A pioneer hotel structure which was to have been part of the park was torched by vandals during the park construction work. Now surrounded by new residential development, the park is linked by tunnel to a bike trail and shoreline restoration which is part of a waterfront revitalization plan by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

Phase 3 of the Port Union regeneration planned project opened in October 2006, part of a waterfront bike trail which will eventually link the lakeshore parks and beaches through Scarborough and Pickering, including the re-opening of the old Indian trail up the west bank of the Rouge River from Port Union to the Metro Toronto Zoo.