Steeles Avenue facts for kids

Steeles Avenue, near its joining with Warden Avenue.

Steeles Avenue West, viewed from the railway bridge which crosses above the road.

Steeles Avenue is a major street in Ontario, Canada. It runs from west to east. This road forms the northern edge of Toronto. It also forms the southern edge of York Region.

Steeles Avenue is about 38.75 kilometers long within Toronto. It stretches between Albion Road and the border of Scarborough and Pickering. West of Albion Road, Steeles Avenue continues into Peel Region. Here, it is also known as Peel Regional Road 15. It goes through Brampton and into Halton Region in Milton. The road stops at Appleby Line because of the Crawford Lake Conservation Area. It then starts again east of Guelph Line. It continues until the Milborough Townline, which is on the border of Milton and Hamilton. East of the Toronto-Pickering border, Steeles Avenue changes its name to Taunton Road.

How Steeles Avenue Got Its Name

Steeles Avenue is named after a person called J. C. Steele. He owned a tavern, which is like an old-fashioned inn or pub. This tavern was located on the street where it meets Yonge Street.

Once Called Ontario's Worst Road

In October 2006, the CAA said Steeles Avenue was the worst road in Ontario. A year later, in October 2007, it was listed as the fifth worst. Then, in October 2008, it was again named the worst road in Ontario.

The main reasons for this were many potholes and the poor quality of the road. After the CAA's report, some parts of the road were fixed. These repairs happened between Dufferin Street and Bayview Avenue.

Cool Places Along Steeles Avenue

Many interesting places are located along Steeles Avenue. Here are some of them, listed from west to east:

Landmark	Cross street	Notes	Image
Crawford Lake Conservation Area	Guelph Line	A beautiful nature area with a rare meromictic lake.
Toronto Premium Outlets	Trafalgar Road	The first Premium Outlets shopping center in Canada.
Sheridan College-Davis Campus	McLaughlin Road	Sheridan’s biggest campus, with nearly 8,000 students.
Shoppers World Brampton	Hurontario Street	A large shopping mall in Brampton.
Wet 'n' Wild Toronto	Finch Avenue West	One of Canada's largest waterparks, great for summer fun!
Black Creek Pioneer Village	Jane Street	A living history museum showing what life was like in the 1800s.
Pioneer Village station	Northwest Gate	A subway station on the Toronto subway system.
York University	Keele Street, Founders Road, Murray Ross Parkway	Toronto's second largest university.
Centerpoint Mall	Yonge Street	A shopping mall located at a busy intersection.
Pacific Mall	Kennedy Road	The largest indoor Chinese Asian mall in North America.
Splendid China Mall	Kennedy Road, Redlea Avenue	Another large Asian shopping mall.
Milliken GO Station	Old Kennedy Road, Silverstar Boulevard	A GO Transit train station for commuters.

Images for kids

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  The Green Bush Inn at Yonge and Steeles; circa 1920

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  Steeles Ave. in Brampton

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  Highway 404 southbound approaching interchange with Steeles Avenue, circa 2007.