Jane Street (Toronto)

Jane Street is a major north-south thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 5th concession west of Yonge Street, the road begins at Bloor Street and continues north into York Region, before ending in the Holland Marsh in King Township. The street passes through several neighbourhoods and landmarks; such as Bloor West Village, Jane and Finch, Vaughan Mills, and Canada's Wonderland. Jane Street is one of the most congested roads in the Greater Toronto Area, with the Toronto Transit Commission bus routes serving the street being among the system's busiest.

The most infamous place on Jane Street would be the Jane and Finch area, known for its high crime rate and being one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Toronto. The title character of the Barenaked Ladies song "Jane" is Jane St. Clair, and is named after the intersection of Jane and St. Clair Avenue. Steven Page recalls that co-writer Stephen Duffy saw the intersection on a map and remarked that it sounded like the most beautiful intersection in the world; "I didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't".

Route description
Jane Street is an urban four-lane road until reaching Teston Road in the suburban City of Vaughan (a distance of nearly 25 km), and has a median lane for most of that stretch north of Eglinton Avenue.

The street begins at Bloor Street West, with Jane station on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth being situated immediately north of Bloor St. West. Jane Street is practically a northward continuation of South Kingsway, a semi-major road one block to the west, though the intended continuation of South Kingsway was originally The Kingsway (the latter meeting Bloor Street west of the Humber River). In Toronto, it primarily passes through residential areas, including the infamous intersection and neighbourhood of Jane and Finch, known for having a high crime rate.

Passing Steeles and entering the City of Vaughan in York Region, Jane Street is designated as York Regional Road 55, as part of its numbered regional road system. The Line 1 Yonge–University subway line's western branch parallels Jane for two kilometres until that line reaches its terminus at Highway 7. The street becomes a mixed commercial and highrise residential road after passing Highway 407 and entering Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, Vaughan's planned downtown core, then runs alongside Vaughan Mills and Canada's Wonderland.

At Teston Road, finally becomes rural and narrows down to two lanes until reaching Davis Drive (formerly Highway 9). After jogging to the west it resumes through the Holland Marsh, and jogs west a second time at Woodchoppers Lane, before reaching its northern terminus at Edward Avenue, a minor rural road.

History
The street was named after Jane Barr by her husband, James. They immigrated from Glasgow in 1907, and a few years later James became a real estate developer in the region north of Toronto (then called York). Numerous streets in James' developments were named after his children, but the most important was named after his wife Jane.

Originally, Jane Street continued south to Lake Ontario with a sinuous course, but that section was redesignated as South Kingsway after Bloor Street was extended west across the Humber River (where it originally ended) by being realigned into a reverse curve which incorporated a short length of the southern segment of Jane, severing it from the section north of Bloor. South Kingsway itself was originally intended connect to "The Kingsway" road which lies west of the Humber River on the north side of Bloor Street, but that right-of-way was instead used for the Bloor Street extension that crossed the Humber.

Until the early 1970's Jane Street had a break through the valley of the Humber River, near what is today Eglinton Avenue, which itself ended at the river on the east side. The two sections of Jane were joined by bridging the river in a combined project which included extending Eglinton across the valley by linking up with the Richview Side Road on its west side in Etobicoke.

In 2007, there was a proposal for a Jane LRT to be developed, which would run in the centre median of Jane Street. However, the proposal was canceled in 2010, after Rob Ford had become Mayor of Toronto.

Public Transit
There are 4 subway stations situated either directly on (or close to) Jane Street, from north to south:

on Line 1:


 * Vaughan Metropolitan Centre


 * Highway 407


 * Pioneer Village

on Line 2:


 * Jane

In the city of Toronto, TTC route 35 Jane operates from Jane station to Pioneer Village station, with a branch (35B Jane) going via Hullmar Drive between Finch Avenue West and Steeles Avenue West to serve the Black Creek neighbourhood. The 935 Jane Express is an express route that follows the same routing as the main 35A branch. There is also a blue night route that operates daily after the subway closes, the 335 Jane. During rush hours, the 35/935 can be notoriously slow as a result of traffic congestion.

In York Region, YRT route 20 Jane operates from Pioneer Village station to Teston Road. The route also makes intermediate connections with Highway 407 station, as well as Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station.

The University portion of Line 1 Yonge-University parallels Jane Street between Pioneer Village station and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station at Highway 7.

History
Before 1971, Jane Street split at Eglinton Avenue. The 35 Jane would turn at Lambton, and past route 83 Tretheway to run north of Trethewey Drive to Steeles.

In 2010, the 195 Jane Rocket was designated as an express route on Jane St, connecting Jane station in the south with York University in the north. On December 17, 2017, both the 35 and 195 were changed at the northern end to serve Pioneer Village station, with service around York University being replaced by York University station and the Line 1 extension. In 2018, the 195 Jane rocket was renumbered and renamed to the 935 Jane Express as part of the TTC's rebranding of express bus routes.

Future
In Toronto, there are proposals to put RapidTO bus lanes from Eglinton to Steeles. Once Line 5 Eglinton begins operations, the TTC is expecting the 35 to split at Eglinton. The 35 Jane would serve Jane Street north of Eglinton, and a new 27 Jane South route would be created to replace service south of Eglinton. Additionally, once the Line 6 Finch West LRT begins operations, there will be a stop at Jane and Finch. With the Line 5 West Extension, there will be a new station at the intersection of Jane and Eglinton.

There were, and still are, proposals for a Jane LRT. However, plans for the LRT have fallen through in recent times, as focus was made to other transit projects, including the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRTs.