| Rockcliffe–Smythe | |
| Settlement Type: | Neighbourhood |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada Toronto |
| Pushpin Label Position: | none |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within Toronto |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 275 |
| Coordinates: | 43.6753°N -79.4886°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Ontario |
| Subdivision Type2: | City |
| Subdivision Name2: | Toronto |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1850 (York Township) |
| Established Title1: | Changed municipality |
| Established Date1: | 1998 Toronto from York |
| Leader Title: | MP |
| Leader Name: | Ahmed Hussen (York South—Weston) |
| Leader Title1: | MPP |
| Leader Name1: | Michael Ford (York South—Weston) |
| Leader Title2: | Councillor |
| Leader Name2: | Frances Nunziata (Ward 11 York South-Weston) |
Rockcliffe–Smythe is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed after World War II as part of the urbanization of the former suburb of York Township. It is in Ward 5 (York-South Weston) in the City of Toronto.
As with many neighbourhoods defined by the city, there are often more traditional names for pockets of the city. Directly north-east of Jane Street and St. Clair West is an area called Syme, named after George Syme Reeve of York West. Further to the east (beyond Hilldale road) is another pocket called Harwood. Harwood is bordered by creek in almost all directions.
The area is predominately residential in nature, mostly made up of single-family detached homes. There are apartment buildings along Jane Street, Scarlett Road, and Humber Boulevard. Rockcliffe–Smythe is known for having large amounts of green space including the centrally located Smythe Park. The entire western boundary is green space which includes Lambton Park and Scarlett Woods golf courses. Black Creek meets the Humber in the neighbourhood. The Black Creek enters the neighbourhood from the north-east, travelling through a concrete culvert in the center of Humber Boulevard and through concrete through parks and to the Humber.
In December 2016, Airbnb listed it sixth in its top 17 neighbourhoods to visit in 2017,[1] based on a 497 per cent increase in bookings in 2016. In April, 2015, Toronto Life listed Rockcliffe–Smythe as one of the top three neighbourhoods in Toronto for first time home buyers. “In the last 10 years there have been significant changes.” New retail development, like the Stockyards outdoor mall at the neighbourhood's southeastern corner, has revived some formerly barren lots, and the Junction's hot retail strip is just a short walk south.[2]
Zigzagging from the north-west corner, where the Humber River and Eglinton Avenue West intersect:
The area is centered by Jane Street, a north–south four-lane arterial road. To the west, Scarlett Road is another arterial road running northwest from Dundas Street to Eglinton, the northwest corner of the neighbourhood. The central east–west artery from Jane to Weston is Alliance Avenue and Lambton Avenue. To the east, Weston Road is a major four-lane arterial road that runs northwest.
Rockcliffe–Smythe was mostly farm land during the 1800s. One of the first large-scale developments in the area was the opening of the Smythe gravel pit in the 1920s, by Conn Smythe. After World War II the gravel pit was used up. This led to the residential development of the surrounding area. Smythe made homes available to returning servicemen and families, losing money on each. The neighbourhood has retained the Smythe name ever since. Smythe Park exists today on the site of the pit and is the site of the Smythe Park Recreation and Community Centre.More recently, Rockcliffe Smythe is re-asserting itself with a spate of new infrastructure developments. The northern part of the area will be within walking distance to Mount Dennis station on the Eglinton Crosstown [3] and the proposed SmartTrack Line.[4] To the east of the neighbourhood is the York Community Centre, opened in 2017. The centre features a double gymnasium, a running/walking track, a six-lane 25-metre indoor training pool, an indoor leisure pool, two multi-purpose rooms, and weight, aerobic and dance rooms.[5]
In 2016 there was a total population of 22,246 people. Of which 51.7% were female and 48.3% were male; having an average age of 41.1 years.:[6]
The top 11 languages used at home by residents of Rockcliffe–Smythe were:[6]
50%
17.4%
12.5%
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is an English secular public school board that serves the City of Toronto, as well as the Rockcliffe–Smythe. The school board operates a number of institutions that provides primary and secondary education in the area including:
The Toronto District Catholic School Board (TDCSB) is a public English separate school board that serves the City of Toronto, as well as the Rockcliffe–Smythe. The school board operates a number of institutions that provides primary and secondary education in the area including:
In addition to TDSB and TDCSB, two French public school boards also operate in the city. The Conseil scolaire Viamonde is a secular French public school board; and the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud is a French separate public school board. However, the two French school boards operate a school in the Rockcliffe–Smythe neighbourhood.
The area is served by Toronto Transit Commission bus lines that connect to the Bloor-Danforth subway line. Main routes include the Route 35 along Jane Street to Jane subway station, route 71 and 79 Scarlett Road along Runnymede Road, and the Route 89 Weston bus line that runs along Weston Road to Keele subway station. Lastly, the 161 Rogers Road loops within the neighbourhood and goes to the east, meeting the subway at Ossington subway station.
New light rail transit routes are planned for both Jane and Eglinton.[8] The area will also be within reach of the Mount Dennis and Smart Track subway line at Weston and Eglinton. The subway line will connect to Line 5 Eglinton at Mount Dennis where there will be transportation along Eglinton to Pearson International Airport and south to Union Station.[9] [10]