Humber Loop 2.28

Humber Loop is a station and intermediate turning loop for streetcars on the 501 Queen line of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is located between the Gardiner Expressway and The Queensway just west of the Humber River in Toronto. The loop is accessed by a private right-of-way that connects tracks eastbound to The Queensway and westbound to Lake Shore Boulevard.HistoryStreetcar loops serving this area have been sited at several different places since the 1920s. The early loops were on the north side of then Lakeshore Road intersecting Queen Street (near present day Lakeshore Boulevard and Palace Pier Court and near the historic The Palace Pier) that featured a covered wooden shelter structure.With the formation of Metropolitan Toronto the Toronto Transportation Commission was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission in 1954, and all public transportation services, including the acquisition of some independent bus companies, became the responsibility of the municipality. At that time the Humber Loop was on Lake Shore Boulevard and it had to be relocated to the current site in 1957, due to the construction of the Gardiner Expressway.The Humber Loop was the western terminus of the Queen Street route from Neville Park Loop and the eastern terminus of the 507 Long Branch route along Lake Shore Boulevard from Long Branch Loop. It was a fare zone boundary where through passengers were required to transfer between the two routes. Those routes were merged in 1994 to form the 501 Queen line, the longest streetcar line in North America.