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Draft:Derry Road

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Derry Road

Peel Regional Road 5
Halton Regional Road 7
Derry Road near Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga
Route of Derry Road across Halton and Peel Regions (blue line)
NamesakeFormer Derry West hamlet
Maintained byRegion of Peel
Region of Halton
Length44.2[1] km (27.5 mi)
LocationPeel Region (Mississauga), Halton Region (Milton and Burlington)
West end Milburough Line at the Milton, Burlington, and Hamilton tripoint
Major
junctions
East end Highway 427 in Mississauga (continues as Rexdale Boulevard into Toronto)
Nearby arterial roads
Louis St. Laurent Avenue
Britannia Road
Highway 401
Courneypark Drive →

Derry Road is a major arterial road in Peel and Halton Regions in Ontario, Canada, running through the City of Mississauga, in the east, and the Town of Milton and City of Burlington in the west, with the latter two municipalities bordering one another in the road's extreme west.[2] Derry Road is two concession roads north of Eglinton Avenue and Lower Base Line and one concession road south of Steeles Avenue (originally Upper Base Line).[3] It is 44.2 km (27.5 mi) long, starting in the west at Millborough Town Line and ending in the east at Highway 427, where it continues as Rexdale Boulevard into Toronto.[1] Unlike most other roads continuing into Toronto from Mississauga (or Vaughan from Brampton), Rexdale Boulevard does not cross the city, but instead ends at Islington Avenue in the Etobicoke district; with the nearest artery to do so being Finch Avenue, which is accessed from Derry via Highway 427, one interchange to the north.

In Mississauga, Derry Road is divided into "East" and "West" sections, split by Hurontario Street, though there is no such divide in Milton or Burlington. It runs through several neighbourhoods in Mississauga, namely Lisgar, Meadowvale, and Malton. There are also two historic hamlets; Derry West and Meadowvale Village, with the latter well-preserved and bypassed by a newer alignment of the street.

Derry Road is designated as Peel Regional Road 5 in Peel and Halton Regional Road 7 in Halton.

History

[edit]

Derry Road is a concession road, originally known as the 10th Sideroad.[4] It was named after the hamlet of Derry West near Hurontario Street, and was locally named Holderness Street in Malton and Main Street in Meadowvale Village.[5][6]

A short section of Derry west of present Highway 427 was bypassed after the street was interlined with Rexdale Boulevard before the 427 was reconstructed from a road known as Indian Line, and is today named Rexwood Road.[7][8] During the 1980's, the road had a northward jog west of Mississauga Road north of Highway 401 (with the short bypassed section becoming a cul-de-sac named Syntex Court),[9] which had a diagonal course passing near the intersection.[10][11]

Derry Road Bypass

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The east end of the new Derry Road alignment at Mavis Road (looking west) where it arcs to the north to bypass Meadowvale Village
Old Derry Road in Meadowvale Village

The jog at Mississauga Road was eliminated in the early 1990's with a temporary detour as part of the construction a new northerly alignment;[9] a concept dating back to 1972, when the-then Peel County made plans to widen Derry Road to four lanes through Meadowvale Village. This caused an uproar among the hamlet's residents as this would require demolishing historic buildings fronting it. In 1976, a public meeting was held for a study to construct a new alignment of Derry to bypass the still-rural community. Peel Region began construction of the new bypass in the early 1990's, and it opened on November 5, 1994, with then-mayor Hazel McCallion cutting the ceremonial ribbon. The bypass was named the Derry Road West Bypass until May 3, 1996, when the original route was renamed Old Derry Road and the bypass designated as part of Derry Road proper.[12]

Not all of the old route of Derry was retained however. West of Meadowvale Village, the road was truncated at a Canadian Pacific Railway line, which has since been abandoned, by turning south and interlining with Old Creditview Road (a bypass of the north-south Creditview Road). The remaining part west of the tracks either became part of an extension of Syntex Court passing under Mississauga Road, or was closed off and built over, with some becoming a truck access to the new industrial buildings.[13]

Route description

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Derry Road begins in the west as Halton Road 7 at Milburough Line (Halton Road 24) as a two-lane rural road at the western boundary of Halton Region at the tripoint of Hamilton, Burlington, and Milton (passing to the north of the community of Kilbride), forming the limits of the latter two municipalities up until Bell School Road, beyond which it runs solely within Milton.[2] It enters urban Milton and widens to a four-lane thoroughfare, passing under the Canadian National Halton Subdivision before leaving its urban area east of James Snow Parkway in an area undergoing industrial development, though the road remains at four lanes through this rural stretch.

Derry then enters Mississauga (and Peel Region, becoming Peel Road 5), after crossing the tolled Highway 407. It again becomes a suburban artery and is designated as Derry Road West. East of Millcreek Drive, Derry becomes a six-lane road and passes under the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Galt Subdivision (which carries GO Transit's Milton Line trains) and continues as such for the remainder of its length. Just east of the CPKC line, it curves to the north as it begins to follow the aforementioned bypass routing around Meadowvale Village, passing diagonally under Highway 401, but with no interchange, and dips slightly south east of Mississauga Road. East of Mavis Road, Derry returns to its original alignment. It then passes through the former hamlet of Derry West, which consists today of a few remaining rural homes converted to businesses on the south side that are slowly being demolished for development.[14]

East of Hurontario Street, the road becomes Derry Road East. Derry forms part of the northern boundary of Toronto Pearson International Airport and north-south roads between Dixie and Airport Roads (namely Bramalea and Torbram Roads) terminate at Derry due to its presence. At Airport Road in Malton, the street passes under the Metrolinx Weston Subdivision, which carries Kitchener line GO trains, with Malton GO Station being located immediately east of the intersection. Derry Road ends east of Goreway Drive at Mississauga's eastern city limits with Toronto at Highway 427, and becomes Rexdale Boulevard.

Public transit

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Derry Road is served by several local and interregional transit routes.

Mississauga

[edit]

In Mississauga, three Miway routes serve the street. None run along the whole street across the city, but Route #42 Derry serves the longest stretch, travelling between Meadowvale Town Centre and Westwood Square Mall,[15] and the identically-named #18 Derry running between Westwood Square Mall and McLaughlin Road, where it turns north to terminate at the Sheridan College Davis Campus in Brampton.[16] Parts of three other routes serve the outermost sections beyond the two shopping centres; namely Routes #39 Britannia[17] and #90 Terragar-Copenhagen Loop in the west,[18] and #30 Rexdale in the east, a limited-service route which continues into Toronto to serve the entire length of Rexdale Blvd.[19]

Several north-south Brampton Transit routes also run along sections of Derry or cross it at their southern termini.[20]

Future and proposed rapid transit

[edit]

Derry Road will be the northernmost stop on the under-construction Hurontario LRT within Mississauga before the line continues to Brampton Gateway Terminal in Brampton.[21]

A Bus rapid transit line has been proposed to run along Derry Road.[22]

Milton

[edit]

In Milton, two Milton Transit routes serve Derry: Routes #7 Harrison and #8 Willmott serve the street for part of their routings between Savoline Blvd. and Thompson Road; overlapping along it between Bronte Street and Regional Road 25 / Ontario Street.[23]

GO Transit

[edit]

GO Transit's Route #21A commuter bus (running from Milton GO station to Union Station Bus Terminal in Toronto) serves Derry between Thompson Road in Milton to Danton Promenade in Mississauga.[24][25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Google Maps showing the entire length of Derry Rd". Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Bing Map showing municipal boundaries". Bing Maps. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  3. ^ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 7 Dec 1966, p. 11".
  4. ^ "Map of County of Peel, Ontario, Canada. (1937) Derry Rd. shown as 10th Sideroad (number 10 at edge of map at east and west)". Perkins Bull Foundation. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  5. ^ "Plan of the Village of Malton of the County of Peel 1877". Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  6. ^ "Meadowvale: Mills to Millennium. p. 35" (PDF). Hicks, Kathleen. Mississauga Library System. 2004. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  7. ^ "Aerial photo of Derry Rd. and Rexdale Blvd. at the old Indian Line in 1950". City of Toronto Archives (via Eloquent Systems Inc.). Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  8. ^ "Satellite view of Rexwood Rd. divering from Derry Rd" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Satellite imagery showing the construction of the jog elimination on Derry Rd. and the original Syntex Ct. (move slider to 1989 and zoom into the northern boundary of sectors 9 & 11)". Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  10. ^ "Aerial photo of Derry and Mississauga Rds. in 1975 with no jog". City of Toronto Archives (via Eloquent Systems Inc.). Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  11. ^ "New and changed transit routes (Jog shown at upper left of map)". City of Mississauga (via.imgur.com). October 20, 1986. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  12. ^ "Meadowvale: Mills to Millennium. p. 202-203" (PDF). Hicks, Kathleen. Mississauga Library System. 2003. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  13. ^ "Satellite view of the area around Derry and Mississauga Rds. showing the changes to Derry Rd" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  14. ^ "Satellite view of Derry West hamlet area showing development underway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  15. ^ "42 Derry" (PDF). July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  16. ^ "18 Derry" (PDF). MiWay Route Maps. City of Mississauga. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  17. ^ "39 Britannia" (PDF). MiWay Route Maps. City of Mississauga. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  18. ^ "90 Terragar Copenhagen Loop" (PDF). MiWay Route Maps. City of Mississauga. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  19. ^ "30 Rexdale" (PDF). MiWay Route Maps. City of Mississauga. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  20. ^ "Weekday Service Map (Derry Rd. at bottom)" (PDF). Brampton Transit maps. City of Brampton. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  21. ^ "Hazel McCallion Line". www.metrolinx.com. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  22. ^ Finucane, Declan (2025-04-04). "New rapid transit route planned for this busy road in Mississauga | INsauga". INsauga | Ontario Local News Network. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  23. ^ "Milton Transit Ride Guide September 2024" (PDF). Town of Milton. September 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  24. ^ "GO Transit 21 bus". transitapp.com. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  25. ^ "GO bus route 21A plotted on Google Maps" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
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