Airport Road (Ontario)

Dufferin County Road 18 Dufferin County City of Brampton Town of Caledon Town of Mono Mulmur Township

• [[File:Peel Regional Road 5.svg|16px]] Derry Road
• [[File:Peel Regional Road 15.svg|16px]] Steeles Avenue
• [[File:Peel Regional Road 107.svg|15px]] Queen Street
• Williams Parkway
• [[File:Peel Regional Road 10.svg|16px]] Bovaird Drive
• Sandalwood Parkway / Humberwest Parkway
• [[File:Peel Regional Road 14.svg|16px]] Mayfield Road
• [[File:Peel Regional Road 9.svg|16px]] King Street
• [[File:Peel Regional Road 12.svg|16px]] Olde Base Line
• [[File:Peel Regional Road 24.svg|16px]] Charleston Sideroad
• [[File:Dufferin Road 7 sign.svg|16px]] Hockley Road
• [[File:Dufferin_Road_17_sign.svg|16px]] 10 Sideroad
• [[File:Dufferin_Road_21_sign.svg|16px]] 25 Sideroad}}

Airport Road is an 81 km (50 mile) major north–south urban and rural thoroughfare in Ontario, Canada, running through the Regional Municipality of Peel and Dufferin County. In combination with its continuation, Simcoe County Road 42, and in turn a portion of Highway 26 north of Stayner, it is a popular non-highway route (as an alternative to Highway 10 and former Highway 24) from the Greater Toronto Area to the Georgian Triangle, in particular the tourist towns of Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, and The Blue Mountains. It is named for Toronto Pearson International Airport, which it passes at its southern terminus.

It is designated Peel Regional Road 7 in Peel and Dufferin County Road 18 in Dufferin. In Peel, it follows the sixth Concession road east of Hurontario Street, and was numbered Sixth Line East. Despite Airport Road transitioning into Simcoe Road 42 and not reaching Stayner, the latter is commonly referred to as part of Airport Road and signage in Stayner indicates Airport Road reaching the intersection where Highway 26 makes a turn.

Route description

From there, the road finally leaves urbanized areas and becomes rural, narrowing down to two lanes, soon after passing through the adjacent communities of Mono Road and Caledon East, through which the Trans-Canada Trail passes. North of Caledon East it enters the Oak Ridges Moraine and the first of the trademark hills that define much of rural Airport Road. At Highway 9, it runs through the rural community of Mono Mills as it leaves Peel Region and enters Dufferin County, where the hills become steeper as it traverses the Niagara Escarpment. Airport Road is notorious for having a high collision rate in this area, and signs advise motorists of that fact.

Airport Road ends at the boundary of Simcoe County where it transitions into Simcoe Road 42, which continues it into the community of Stayner (through which it is named King Street) where Highway 26 continues it in turn after turning into it from the east, forming the continuous route into the aforementioned tourist towns in the Georgian Triangle.

History

In Peel County (now Peel Region), Airport Road served as the north-south dividing line between the original five townships within the county; with Caledon, Chinguacousy, and Toronto (not to be confused with the City of Toronto), to the west, and Albion and Toronto Gore to the east. Airport Road ceased being said divide after the county was restructured into the present regional municipality with the five townships incorporated into the three present lower-tier municipalities (Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon) that each span its width in 1974.

Public transit

Airport Road is served by five bus routes in Mississauga and Brampton: three by Brampton Transit, two by MiWay, and one by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). MiWay's Route 7 Airport (originating at the City Centre Transit Terminal) provides local service along the street from Pearson Airport to Westwood Square Mall. Brampton Transit's 30 Airport Road runs local from Westwood Square Mall north to Mayfield Road in Brampton, and an express route, 115 Airport Express, serves the road from the airport north to Derry Road en route to the Bramalea Terminal. Brampton Transit also operates a bus rapid transit route; 505 Züm Bovaird, along Airport Road from Viscount people mover station at the airport north to Bovaird Drive before turning west to Trinity Common. The TTC's 52 Lawrence West bus has two branches that run west from Lawrence subway station in Toronto via the airport to either McNaughton Avenue or Westwood Square Mall, with the longer "B" branch duplicating the service of the Miway 7 Airport bus along Airport Road. A separate TTC fare is charged (for cash payments) west of the airport if continuing to or from Toronto.

The major routes serving the street are:

Mississauga (MiWay and Toronto Transit Commission):

One TTC route, 52 Lawrence West, has two branches which continue west along Airport Road from Toronto.

Brampton (Brampton Transit):

References

References

1. "Airport Rd. route and length".
2. "Directional signage in Stayner pointing to Airport Road".
3. "South end of Airport Rd in the vicinity of Pearson Airport".
4. "Airport Rd. in the vicinity of Mayfield Rd.".
5. "Hilly stretch of Airport Rd. in Dufferin County".
6. "Photo of sign warning of high collision rate".
7. "Highway 26 (King St.) in Stayner, looking south to the straight continuation of Simcoe Rd. 42".
8. Archives, Region of Peel. (June 30, 2016). "From mud to pavement: the early history of Peel roadways as told by our records".
9. "1960 aerial photo of new Airport Rd. diversion, with the original 6th Line road resuming south of the construction to expand Pearson Airport". City of Toronto Archives (via Eloquent Systems Inc.).
10. "1981 aerial photo of the remaining stub of 6th Line (bottom of photo, right-of-centre)". City of Toronto Archives (via Eloquent Systems Inc.).
11. "1987 aerial photo of the development of the Airport Corporate Centre with the now-closed stub of 6th Line (near top of photo, left-of-centre)". City of Toronto Archives (via Eloquent Systems Inc.).
12. Archives, Region of Peel. (June 30, 2016). "The History of Peel Region, Ontario, Canada".
13. "Ontario's One Fare Program: Frequently Asked Questions". Toronto Transit Commission.
14. (October 28, 2019). "7 Airport". City of Mississauga.
15. "52 Lawrence West". Toronto Transit Commission.
16. "Schedules and Maps: ''Routes Operating''". City of Brampton.