Gunns Loop

Gunns Loop is a station and turning loop at the western terminus of the 512 St. Clair streetcar line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is located at the northwest corner of St. Clair Avenue West and Gunns Road, a block west of Keele Street,^[1] in Toronto.

Gunns Loop
General information
Location	St. Clair Avenue West Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°40′19″N 79°28′17″W
Owned by	Toronto Transit Commission
Platforms	2 - separate area for buses and streetcars
Tracks	1
Connections	TTC buses
Construction
Structure type	Small service building for staff washroom
History
Opened	27 July 1981 (1981-07-27)[1]
Services
Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station Terminus 512 St. Clair Keele Street towards St. Clair Old Stock Yards Eastbound only towards St. Clair

History

PCC streetcar coming from the Keele Loop and turning eastbound

Prior to construction of the dedicated right-of-way, the terminus of the 512 St. Clair route had been at the Keele Loop, just north of St. Clair Avenue where Weston Road merges with Keele Street.^[2]

The loop is named for nearby Gunns Road, which in turn is named after Gunns Limited, a West Toronto abattoir founded by businessman Donald Gunn of Beaverton, Ontario.^[3]

The old loop was closed and service began to the new loop in 1981.^[1] Signs on westbound 512 St. Clair streetcars still indicate Keele as the destination, when they are actually terminating at Gunns.^[4]

Services

A small building provides washroom facilities for TTC operators. There is a platform and upgraded new design shelter^[5] for people waiting for streetcars,^[4] while bus passengers have a regular bus shelter.

As well as being the terminus for the 512 St. Clair streetcar,^[6] the loop is also served by the 189 Stockyards bus route which provides service farther west along St. Clair Avenue to Scarlett Road and south on Keele Street to Keele and High Park subway stations.^[7]

References

1. James Bow. "St. Clair Carries On Alone". Transit Toronto. Retrieved July 1, 2014. On Monday, July 27, 1981, the old Keele Loop was closed, and service began on an additional 1100 feet of double track laid down further west to the new loop on Maybank (now called Gunns) Avenue.
2. James Bow. "A History of the Rogers/Weston Streetcar Loops". Transit Toronto. Retrieved July 1, 2014. Service on St. Clair Avenue continued to push west, crossing the Newmarket and Weston Subs via underpasses in the mid 1920s and terminating at Keele Loop, located just off of Keele Street just north of St. Clair Avenue.
3. "The Stockyard Story". Trainweb.org. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
4. A. Rozumek (25 March 2012). "Transformation at the End of the Line: Placemaking at Gunns Loop". West Toronto. Retrieved July 1, 2014. Through functional and beautiful design, Gunns Loop now has a strong sense of place appropriate for the western terminus of a line in Toronto's iconic streetcar network.
5. "Transit City Implementation – The St. Clair Project Experience" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved September 1, 2014. Enhanced streetscape and urban design features including streetcar shelters, platforms, and public art.
6. "TTC route 512 St. Clair". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
7. "189 Stockyards". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved May 10, 2020.

External links

Media related to Gunns Loop at Wikimedia Commons

• Extend the 512 Streetcar to Jane Street
• "New Addition to Gunn's Loop". Councillor Frances Nunziata. 8 October 2013. Today the TTC completed the installation of a new sign at Gunn's Loop identifying the St. Clair West Village Area. This sign was requested back when the loop was under construction and I am pleased to see that it has finally been installed.