Compiled by Pete Coulman
See Also
Wilson Avenue began life as a concession road drawn between the roads that became Lawrence Avenue and Sheppard. At the west end, it began at Weston Road, with further progress west blocked by the Humber River valley. Weston Road and Albion Road, cut through the terrain between the villages of Weston and Woodbridge, handled far more traffic. In the east, Wilson Avenue ended at or near Yonge Boulevard, its progress east blocked by the Don River valley. Through the early part of the 20th century, the street was primarily a country road, but by the 1940s, early residential and industrial development began to take root.
The street was entirely located within the township of North York, so when the township looked to provide transit service, it contracted out the service. The Danforth Bus Lines began operating service in 1945, connecting Wilson Avenue to TTC streetcars operating on Weston Road. Then, in 1946, the township contacted the TTC about providing rush hour service along the length of Wilson Avenue, from Weston to Yonge.
May 20, 1946
Service begins on a new TTC bus line operating along Wilson Avenue from Weston Road to Yonge Street. Buses operate from Weston Road & Humber via north on Weston, east on Wilson, south on Bathurst and east on Melrose, looping via south on Jedburgh, east on Deloraine, north on Yonge and west on Melrose. Service operates under contract with the Township of North York. during rush hours only, including Saturdays.
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W I L S O N |
W E S T O N |
Monday to Saturday, rush hours only | |
March 31, 1947
Last day of T.T.C. operation.
The experiment with TTC service on Wilson Avenue was short lived, but transit service did not end on that day. The Danforth Bus Lines continued to provide bus services along Wilson Avenue, and it soon extended service between Weston Road and Yonge Street. This operation continued until July 1, 1954, when the TTC took over the Danforth Bus Lines operations as part of its expanded mandate to provide bus services within the boundaries of the newly created municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. Thus the modern version of the 96 WILSON bus began.
