Don Valley Parkway

The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway runs through the parklands of the Don River valley, after which it is named. It has a maximum speed limit of for its entire length of . It is six lanes for most of its length, with eight lanes north of York Mills Road and four lanes south of Eastern Avenue. As a municipal road, it is patrolled by the Toronto Police Service. The parkway was the second expressway to be built by Metropolitan Toronto (Metro). Planning began in 1954, the year of Metro's formation. The first section opened during 1961 and the entire route was completed by the end of 1966. South of Bloor Street, the expressway was constructed over existing roadways. North of Bloor Street, it was built on a new alignment through the valley, requiring the removal of several hills, diversion of the Don River and the clearing of woodland. North of Eglinton Avenue, the expressway follows the former Woodbine Avenue right-of-way north to Highway 401. Traffic conditions on the parkway often exceed its intended capacity of 60,000 vehicles per day. Today, some sections carry an average of 100,000 vehicles a day and have bumper-to-bumper traffic conditions during commuting hours. The parkway was planned to be one of two north–south expressways into downtown Toronto. The other was cancelled due to public opposition, leaving the DVP as the sole north–south expressway into downtown. The parkway is also used by regional transit buses which can access designated lanes to pass slow-moving traffic. Locals refer to the parkway as the "Don Valley Parking Lot" due to the bumper-to-bumper traffic. The Don Valley Parkway begins at an interchange with the Gardiner Expressway near the mouth of the Don River in downtown Toronto. From there, it runs northwards on the eastern bank of the valley, between the river and the developed city to the east.