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Woodbridge, Ontario

Encyclopedia : W : WO : WOO : Woodbridge, Ontario

Woodbridge is a large suburban community (2001 pop. 69,460) in the City of Vaughan, just north of Toronto. It was once an independent town before being amalgamated with nearby communities to form the city in 1971. Its traditional downtown core is the Woodbridge Ave. stretch between Islington Avenue and Kipling Avenue north of Highway 7, but its current centre is further east along Highway 7, between Pine Valley and Weston Road. Woodbridge has a large Italian immigrant Population.

Contents

Geography

Situated in hilly terrain at [43°48′N 79°35′W], Woodbridge rests at an average elevation of 200 m.

The geography was made up of farmlands before the onset of suburbanization. Forests were at a width of as far as 500 m along the Humber especially to the north and to the south where forests are common and to the northwest. The east branch of the Humber empties into the Humber 500 m from Woodbridge. Today, much of the area are residential and industrial to the south, the further east and the west.

The streets to the east are alphabetized as A, B and L but discontinued.

Other tributaries include the Rainbow Creek to the west, the former Emerson and Jersey Creeks to the southeast.

History

The community was founded as Burwick and was named after Burr. In the 1850s, it was renamed Woodbridge after a wooden bridge because there was another settlement named Burwick. Construction of Highway 7 began in the 1900s and the Canadian Pacific rail opened three overpasses. Hurricane Hazel in the 1950s ruined a bridge over Highway 7 and devastated much of the community.

In the 1950s, Woodbridge experienced growth from suburban Toronto houses. The suburban expansion began east of the Humber and East Humber and to the northeast. Prior to the expansion, the urban area was up to Kipling Avenue and to the Humber. It later expanded in the west up to Martin Grove Road with a north to south width of about 800 m in the 1960s and to the north and portions of the northeast of Langstaff Road. It later expanded north in the 1970s and the 1980s. The housing developments in the west expanded north to Langstaff and in the central part of Woodbridge including a part which transformed older stores into smaller units of housing in the early-1980s and west to Highway 27 in the late-1980s and in 1992. The houses expanded north to 400 m south of Rutherford Road in the 1980s and east up to Weston Road from Highway 7 to 400 m south of Rutherford Road and south to 200 m north of the present-day Highway 407. The Industrial areas began appear first to the west and then to the southwest and to the east. The housing developments in mid-1990s expanded Martin Grove Road northward. Woodbridge Highlands was formed in the northwest E of Highway 27 in the 1990s. In 1994 housing developments reached to Rutherford and continued until 1996 except for the northeast and the southeastern part. The condominiums began construction and now appear between Woodbridge Avenue and the Humber. Sonoma Heights at Islington and Rutherford and the Vellore area at Weston and Rutherford have been developed. The Vellore area includes Vellore Village developed by builders such as Greenpark Homes, Aspen Ridge Homes and Remington Homes. The Vellore Woods area was developed by Arista Homes and Fieldgate Homes. The most recent developement will take place at Weston Rd and Major Mackenzie where Lormel Homes and Greenpark Homes are currently in development. This area will also include a high performace employment area adjancent to the Residential Area on "Cityview Blvd".

The population was 3,000 until the 1950s, it reached 10,000 in the 1960s, 20,000 in the 1980s, 40,000 in the mid-1980s, 50,000 in the early 1990s, 60,000 in 1997 or 1998, and 70,000 in the 2000s.

Community identity and boundaries

Although Woodbridge is part of the larger City of Vaughan, few people identify with the municipality as a whole, and the community is typically seen by residents and outsiders as a sizeable city in the Greater Toronto Area in and of itself. As such, it has no political boundaries, but is commonly viewed as lying between either Highway 50 or Highway 27 to the west, Steeles Avenue to the south, Highway 400 to the east, and Major Mackenzie Drive to the north. However, new housing subdivisions being built north of Major Mackenzie between Pine Valley and the 400, have been given names like "Woodbridge Retreat" by developers, and will most likely extend the popularly accepted northeast boundary northwards to Teston Road.

Nearest communities

Schools

Greenspaces

Sites of interest

Other

2 water towers

Famous people

References and notes

External links


City of Vaughan Communities         [Edit this list]
Carrville | Coleraine | Concord | Elder Mills | Edgeley | Hope | Kleinburg | Maple | Langstaff | Nashville | Pine Grove | Purpleville | Sherwood | Sunset Corners | Teston | Thornhill | Vellore | Weston Downs | Wilshire | Woodbridge

 

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