Spadina/Bloor to York University: Best Driving Route?
 

Calling all Torontonians! Need your help driving from Spadina/Bloor to York U.
Leaving at 7:30AM or 8:30AM daily, Monday-Friday.

Mapquest tells me to go Bathurst/Eglinton/Allen. What do you think? Can you suggest an alternate route? And, how long will this drive take under "normal conditions"?

I don't like Mapquest's route.

I drive from Spadina and Bloor to Jane and Weston Road every Tuesday and Thursday at rush hour, and I've found the fastest route to be this:

Bloor Street west to Keele
Keele to Annette
Annette to Jane

Of course, you'd just have to go along Bloor to Keele and straight up Keele to York. Bloor is not as congested as you might think because there are no streetcars and no rush hour parking.

I would think the mornings would be even easier because most of the traffic is coming downtown. I think it takes us about 45 minutes but we're going farther. Map it out on mapquest and they'll give you the time.

Thanks, gtg! I never would have thought to take Bloor! Will try it. I am thinking it will take about 35 minutes. What do you think?

Are you getting ready to leave for London?

Bloor really surprised me too. Why don't you do a trial run and time it?

I'm getting ready and I'm getting nervous! There seems to be a lot to do still, especially getting organized for the young couple coming to live in our house. It probably seems more that it is, though.

OB, do you live near Spadina and Bloor?

GTG, Calm down. There's never enough time for something like this. And, the people moving into your house are probably so darned excited about living @ Spadina/Bloor that they are not even thinking about the things that are stressing you! B-)

No, I do not live @ S/B. Asking for somebody else who does.

No, I don't live there but I work there. I was going to suggest we meet for lunch.

I'm a big fan of Bloor Street... but it can get confusing once you get off Bloor and onto Keele. Google maps could help.

Keele starts and stops and bounces around and you need side streets to join the various parts of Keele

This would work:

Bloor west from Spadina to Bathurst (Honest Ed's store on the corner -- just a couple of blocks from Spadina

Right /North on Bathurst.

Stay on Bathurst a long time, underneath Highway 401, keep going to Finch Avenue.

Turn left / west for two major intersections. Now at Keele.

Turn right/north on Keele and very soon you'll be at York, on your left.

I'd allow at least 45 minutes from the time you get the car onto the road until you enter a parkinglot. Allow time to get to the courts. 3 to 10 minutes, as best as I remember.

The Bathurst Eglinton Allen Dufferin problem is just that it's easy to be in the wrong lane for turns onto and off of the big highway portions.

You could try three different routes.. and report back.

Thanks, Brian.

Brian,
What what are your thoughts on her doing the Bloor-to-Keele-to-Annette-to-Jane route (I'm just avoiding Bloor through Bloor West Village where it gets crowded) and going straight up Jane to the west side of the campus. She could then backtrack along Finch to Keele again and up a bit to the main entrance.

Is there an entrance to York U off Jane? There used to be one off Finch, leading to the grad res buildings but I'm not sure you can still get in that way.

Now I am confused!B-)

What about just doing Spadina/Eglinton/Allen?

Don't be confused. Try BAK's route. The reason I'd try to avoid the Allen is that while the road is pretty fast, getting on it is often a line-up.

Thanks, again!

Bloor Keele Annette Jane would work except it involves going extra-west, and then having to backtrack east.

There's a road into York from Jane, through some subdivision as best as I can tell, and then the tennis courts are almost all the way across the campus.

Don't know about construction anywhere, unfortunately.

But I think north on Bathurst may be even easier than west on Bloor before 9 a.m.

My advice up above in an earlier message is just designed to minimize turns

There's no short way to the Arctic campus of York University.

BAK

Not going to the courts, Brian.

Why the heck did they build that University way the heck up in the middle of nowhere??

Will try west on Bloor/North on Bathurst, etc

They built it when land up there cost about a sqillionth of a cent per acre. I met my SO there when he was a grad student and I worked there in Dec/70 and we lived in those married students' residence buildings. It was a vast wasteland in those days but I understand it's much more built-up now. My niece starts there in September.

gtg, it's still a wasteland! B-) I wonder what the land value is today as compared to downtown TO.