McCowan Road

McCowan Road
;
York Regional Road 67
	McCowan Road within Toronto and York Region, road is highlighted in Pink on the map.
Namesake	McCowan Family
Location	Toronto; Markham; Whitchurch-Stouffville; East Gwillimbury; Georgina
South end	Kingston Road; In Toronto (Continues as Cathedral Bluffs Drive)
Major; junctions	St. Clair Avenue; Eglinton Avenue; ——Road Branches——; Lawrence Avenue; Ellesmere Road; Highway 401 ; Sheppard Avenue; Finch Avenue; Steeles Avenue; Highway 407; Highway 7; Major Mackenzie Drive; Elgin Mills Road ; 19th Avenue ; Stouffville Road; Bloomington Road; Aurora Road; St. John’s Sideroad; Vivian Road ; Davis Drive; Herald Road ; Mount Albert Road; Doane Road; Queensville Sideroad; Holborn Road; Boag Road; Ravenshoe Road; Glenwoods Avenue; Mount Pleasant Trail; Old Homestead Road; Country Mile Lane
North end	Baseline Road ; In Georgina
	Nearby arterial roads in Toronto

McCowan Road is a major north-south thoroughfare in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. It runs through the city of Toronto and into the Regional Municipality of York where it ends at the Town of Georgina.

The road was named for the McCowan Family, a Scottish family patriarch who settled in the area in 1833.^[1] The street, the former Lot 22, and later McCowan's Sideroad (officially called McCowan Road by Scarborough Township in 1956), begins at Kingston Road in the City of Toronto and ends at Baseline Road in the Town of Georgina.^[2]

In Scarborough, there is a brief break at the Highland Creek between Lawrence and Eglinton Avenues; Danforth Road carries most of the traffic south-southwest of Lawrence. When the Scarborough Town Centre complex was opened in 1973, interchange access to Highway 401 was opened, with Exit 381. With greater vehicle usage, in that area, the road is now 6 lanes from Ellesmere Road to Sheppard Avenue, and additional exit ramps to/from the 401 have been constructed at nearby Brimley Road. North of Sheppard Avenue, CP Rail's Toronto marshalling yards use McCowan as a western limit, and stretch east of Markham Road.^[3]

Route description

McCowan Road runs from Kingston Road north to Steeles Avenue, where it becomes York Regional Road 67 in York Region. It is interrupted by a brief 375-meter gap north of Eglinton Avenue due to Highland Creek, where McCowan Park and John McCrae Public School are located. During this break, Danforth Road carries through traffic for approximately 1.75 kilometers. Formerly known as 7th Line in Markham, McCowan Road now intersects Highway 401 at the Scarborough Town Centre, built in 1973. The Scarborough Rapid Transit Line, opened in 1985, crosses McCowan on an elevated track at this location. North of Sheppard Avenue, the road borders the western edge of the Canadian Pacific Railway Toronto marshalling yards, which extend east of Markham Road.^[4]

Public transit

McCowan Road is served mainly by TTC Route 129A. Since this is a TTC route running north of Steeles Avenue, passengers must pay another fare when crossing Steeles Avenue. McCowan Road also serves as a temporary terminus for Viva Green lines at McCowan Vivastation at Highway 7 until the Cornell Terminal is completed. Other routes using portions of McCowan Road are YRT Routes 40 (Unionville Local), Route 41 (Markham Local), Route 42 (Breczy South Unionville), Route 45 (Mingay), Route 522(Markham Community Bus) and TTC Route 53B (Steeles East)

The Toronto Transit Commission's Scarborough RT line ends at McCowan Station, but all the connecting buses terminate at the Scarborough Centre Station. These include:

16 McCowan
129 McCowan North
130 Middlefield
131 Nugget
132 Milner
169 Huntingwood
There is 24-hour bus service on McCowan with the 302 Danforth Rd.-McCowan Blue Night bus running from Danforth and Warden Avenues, along Danforth Road and McCowan to Steeles.
The 9 Bellamy (running between Warden and Scarborough Centre) operates along the southern portion of McCowan Road, between Eglinton Avenue and Kingston Road

Landmarks

McCowan Road stretches across Toronto, Markham, Whitchurch-Stouffville, and Georgina. Here are some nearby Landmarks it runs through:

Landmark	Cross street	Notes	Image
Toronto Public Library	Kingston Road
McCowan District	Ellesmere Road
McCowan Park	Danforth Road
Scarborough Health Network - General Hospital	Lawrence Avenue
Scarborough Town Centre	Ellesmere Road/Progress Avenue
Woodside Square	Finch Avenue
Milliken District Park	Steeles Avenue
Markham Sports Dome	14th Avenue
Milne Dame Conservation Park	South Unionville Avenue
CF Markville	Highway 7
Markham Fairgrounds	Elgin Mills Road
Tree Valley Garden Centre	Stouffville Road
Applewood Farm	Stouffville Road
Lemonville Community Centre	McCowan Road
St. Andrew’s East Golf & Country Club	McCowan Road
Patterson-Hall Tract	McCowan Road
Black Equestrian	McCowan Road
Ridgewood Stables	McCowan Road

Road information

Length: 52 km (within York Region)
Transportation: YRT Routes 40, and 41 and TTC Route 53B also uses portions of McCowan.
Attractions: Cresthaven Golf Course, Milne Dam Conservation Park, Markville Mall, Centennial Community Centre and Arena, Williamstown, Markham Fairgrounds, Spring Lakes Golf and Country Club, St. Andrew’s East Golf Club, and Maples of Ballantrae Golf Course
Road status: 4 lane road from its start at Steeles Avenue to Major Mackenzie Drive East. 2 lane road from Major Mackenzie Drive East to Baseline Road.
Zoning: Low density residential Steeles Avenue to Highway 7 and from Carlton Road to Major Mackenzie Drive East. Lots of farmland and forests between from Major Mackenzie to Baseline Road.
Additional information: Once named Concession Road 7, McCowan Road was named for James McCowan, a Scottish family patriarch who settled in the area in 1833. The road begins at Kingston Road in Scarborough. McCowan road is interrupted between Faulkner Avenue and Cherry Street.