Exhibition Loop (TTC)
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Exhibition Loop is the terminus for the
509 Harbourfront 509 Harbourfront is a Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission and connecting Union Station with Exhibition Loop. History 1990–2012 The 509 Harbourfront began service in 1990 as the "604 Harbourf ...
and
511 Bathurst The 511 Bathurst is a Toronto streetcar route operated by the Toronto Transit Commission in Ontario, Canada. Route The 511 Bathurst operates between Bathurst station and Exhibition Loop north–south along Bathurst Street in mixed traffic, ...
streetcar routes, the 174 Ontario Place-Exhibition, and the 307 Blue Night Bathurst bus routes. Exhibition Loop serves Exhibition Place,
Coca-Cola Coliseum Coca-Cola Coliseum is an arena at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, used for agricultural displays, ice hockey, and trade shows. It was built for the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (the Roya ...
, BMO Field and connects with GO Transit at the Exhibition GO Station.


Description

Exhibition Loop is located on the north side of Manitoba Drive, near Exhibition GO Station, under the
Gardiner Expressway The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, commonly known as the Gardiner Expressway or simply the Gardiner, is a partially at grade and elevated municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running close to the shore of Lake Ontario, it extends ...
. Streetcar platforms are located on the south side of the loop, which can support unloading passengers at one platform while loading at another. The platform area can operate as a fare-paid zone. The loop has streetcar storage capacity to handle large crowds after a major event.


History


Infrastructure

Today's Exhibition Loop was the third to serve Exhibition Place with streetcars arriving from Bathurst Street. The first Exhibition Loop opened on August 25, 1916; streetcars connected to the loop between Bathurst Street and Strachan Avenue by passing through Fort York. By August 20, 1923, the loop facility was modified to an inner-outer loop configuration, whereby streetcars could enter either the inner or outer loop upon arrival. If entering the inner loop, the streetcar could make one lap around before being forced onto the outer loop. Streetcars on the outer loop could not access the inner loop. In 1931, access to Exhibition Loop from Bathurst Street was shifted to Fleet Street instead of via Fort York. On July 31, 1933, the second Exhibition Loop opened at the site of today's Enercare Centre. The second Exhibition Loop provided more streetcar storage capacity to handle CNE crowds. By July 15, 1982, a double crossover was added to the loop. Also by this date, the Fleet Loop had been modified to allow streetcars from Exhibition Loop to turn back. Thus, after a streetcar discharged passengers at Exhibition Loop, it could go to the loop's storage tracks after turning at Fleet Loop. The second loop was closed to build the National Trade Centre (today's Enercare Centre) on its site. It was replaced by the current loop which opened on June 11, 1996. When it opened, the current loop was designed to store 16
Articulated Light Rail Vehicle The Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) and Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV) were types of streetcars used by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) from the late 1970s until the late 2010s. They were built following the TTC's decision to r ...
s and 30 buses. On busy days, the loop was expected to handle 60,000 customer trips per day with 6,500 trips at the peak hour. The loop cost about $12.3 million to build.


Service

Initially from 1916, streetcar service to Exhibition Loop was operated during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) season or for special events at Exhibition Place. On June 22, 1931, after replacing the Fort York tracks with tracks on Fleet Street, the Toronto Transportation Commission started the "Fleet" streetcar route (renamed to "Fort" after one month). The Fort route initially ran from Wolseley Loop via Bathurst Street and Fleet Street to Fleet Loop. During World War II, the Fort route was extended to Exhibition Loop to serve military personnel billeted at Exhibition Place (which had formerly been part of the grounds of
New Fort York New Fort York, later the Stanley Barracks, is a former British and Canadian military base in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It was built in 1840–1841 to replace Toronto's original Fort York at the mouth of Ga ...
). On February 26, 1966, the Bloor–Danforth subway (today Line 2 Bloor–Danforth) opened, and the Fort route was replaced by the Bathurst streetcar (today's
511 Bathurst The 511 Bathurst is a Toronto streetcar route operated by the Toronto Transit Commission in Ontario, Canada. Route The 511 Bathurst operates between Bathurst station and Exhibition Loop north–south along Bathurst Street in mixed traffic, ...
) running south from Bathurst station to Exhibition Loop. On July 21, 2000, a second streetcar route,
509 Harbourfront 509 Harbourfront is a Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission and connecting Union Station with Exhibition Loop. History 1990–2012 The 509 Harbourfront began service in 1990 as the "604 Harbourf ...
, started to serve Exhibition Loop running from Union station via Queens Quay. It shares the tracks on Fleet Street with 511 Bathurst. The last seasonal streetcar route to serve the CNE at Exhibition Loop was the
521 Exhibition East 521 Exhibition East was a streetcar route in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission from the 1960s to 1986 and briefly again in 1995 and 2013. History The 521 Exhibition East is the last surviving streetcar route t ...
. The 521 route was to be discontinued after the 1999 CNE due to declining CNE attendance and the upcoming opening of the 509 Harbourfront route. However, the last 521 runs were during the 2013 CNE season when the 509 route was shut down for track repairs. At that time, the 521 route ran from an on-street loop near Church and King streets, via King to Bathurst Street, Fleet Street and Exhibition Loop.


Future

In April 2019, the
City of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
decided to proceed with procurement and construction for a streetcar connection between Exhibition Loop and Dufferin Gate Loop to serve as the first part of a future
Waterfront West LRT The Waterfront West LRT (WWLRT) is a proposed streetcar line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The WWLRT is currently part of a City project called the Waterfront Transit Reset which also includes the East Bayfront LRT. The WWLRT was initially propose ...
(a proposed streetcar route). At Exhibition Loop, the TTC proposed to: * Change the direction of the inner siding on the south side of the present loop from eastbound to westbound. * Build a new westbound track to run diagonally from the north side of the loop to its south side. * Build new tracks at the south-west side of the loop, extending westward to Dufferin Street and then north to Dufferin Gate Loop.


Bus connections

The following bus routes serve, or pass by, Exhibition Loop: * 29C Dufferin between Wilson station and
Princes' Gates The Princes' Gates is a triumphal arch and a monumental gateway at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Made out of cement and stone, the triumphal arch is flanked by colonnades on both of its sides, with curved pylons at both ends. The ...
* 174 Ontario Place-Exhibition to Ontario Place * 307 Bathurst ( Blue Night) to Steeles Avenue


See also

*
Toronto streetcar system loops Turning loops of the Toronto streetcar system serve as termini and turnback points for streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The single-ended streetcars require track loops in order to reverse direction. Besides short off-street track lo ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Exhibition Loop Toronto streetcar loops