Queen's Quay (Toronto)

Queen's Quay is a prominent street that skirts along Toronto's downtown waterfront area. The street was originally commercial in nature due to the many working piers along the waterfront. It has been extensively rebuilt in the past two decades with high-rise condominium, retail and institutional development.

The road supplanted both Front Street and Lake Shore Boulevard as the most southerly east-west route in the city when created from fill in the inner harbour. It is currently a four-lane boulevard, with a streetcar right-of-way running in the median from Bay Street to Bathurst Street.

Queen's Quay is served by two streetcar lines, operating on a dedicated right-of-way. The 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina both terminate at Union Station and run along Queen's Quay from Bay Street, westward. At Spadina Avenue, the 510 heads north to Spadina Station, and the 509 continues west, bound for the Exhibition Loop. Plans to add a streetcar line on the eastern end on Queen's Quay are currently (as of February 2007) the subject of a class environmental assessment. [http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/ea/english/ToRs/ttc_eastbayfront_tor.htm] Various bus routes currently serve portions of the eastern portion of Queen's Quay: the 6 Bay operates from Bay Street to Jarvis Street, the 75 Sherbourne operates from Jarvis Street to Sherbourne Street, and the 97 Yonge and 320 Yonge Blue Night buses operate from Bay Street to Yonge Street.

The [http://towaterfront.ca/ Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation] has advocated converting it into a two-lane avenue north of the tracks; the southern portion will be repurposed into pedestrian and bicycle use, including the completion of the waterfront trail. A nine-day demonstration of how the completed project will work was opened on August 11, 2006. [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1155333028140&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home]

Attractions along this road include:

* Queen's Quay Terminal - a converted cold storage terminal, now a shopping mall and residential/office complex
* Harbourfront Centre - a cultural centre built by the federal government as part of the Harbourfront Park development
* Toronto Police Marine Headquarters
* Toronto Island ferry docks
* Redpath Sugar - factory and museum
* Captain John's floating restaurant
* Music Garden

Notable Buildings

* One Yonge Street - Home of the "Toronto Star" newspaper.
* Toronto Port Authority Office - formerly Toronto Harbour Commission

Quays/Slips along Queen's Quay (from west to east)

* Bathurst Quay
* Spadina Quay
* Peter St. Slip
* Maple Leaf Quays
* Rees St. Slip
* John Quay
* Simcoe St. Slip
* York Quay
* York St. Slip
* Harbour Square
* Yonge St. Slip
* Jarvis St. Slip
* Parliament St. Slip