LOCATION:
From the Humber River to the west east to Jane. South of Church St and north of Brookhaven
EPICENTRE:
Lawrence Ave and Weston Rd.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:
Santa Clause Parade, UP Express stop that links area to the subway and the airport, Nature trails.
DID YOU KNOW?:
Weston Village runs up Weston Road and its main street intersects Lawrence Ave. Many have compared this neighbourhood to an early Junction because, like the Junction, it used to be a small town that was eventually taken over first by York, and then by the larger Toronto. So, the main street has a bit of a small town feel to it. The surrounding housing stock can be pretty impressive up there with some of the best historical residential architecture like High Park and Roncey.
Though most of the residential neighbourhood of Weston, off the main street, is mostly pretty and appealing, it can be scruffy in parts. Still, there’s a nice park-like ravine nearby with great walking trails along the Humber River. It has a growing community group, a farmer’s market and even its very own Santa Clause parade.
So, why hasn’t every one already moved here? Two reasons. First, there are some drab and grim high rises sprinkled in, though due to community involvement, the crime rate here has dropped significantly since 2009. The main commercial strip has some excellent long-standing businesses, and some new ones, but still there is much room for improvement here. When buyers often go up to explore Weston, they drive along Weston Rd with its large concrete 7os buildings and lose interest. If you want to explore, the best part of Weston can be found off the main street.
The other reason why everyone has not moved here : The distance. It’s further from downtown. This problem, however, has improved greatly since the UP Express added the Weston Station as one of the stops. So, that’s one stop to the airport. Soon, there will be another stop to the south at Mount Dennis and Eglinton West that will connect to the new Eglinton Crosstown. And just south of that, the UP Express connects to Dundas West and Bloor that will soon have a link to the subway. And the next station down will be Union. So, Weston will soon be much more connected than it ever was.
And because of this, there is much more government attention focused on improving the area and encouraging development. A new community centre, heavy on the arts support has just arrived. Developers also continues along Weston Rd with new townhomes. I suspect there will be more attention here in the years to come.