Major Mackenzie Drive


Major Mackenzie Drive, often shortened to Major Mac, is a major east-west arterial road in southern York Region, Ontario, Canada, just north of Toronto. It is a York regional road, numbered as York Regional Road 25, and passes through the three cities of southern York Region: Vaughan, Ontario, Richmond Hill, and Markham. It does not continue outside of York Region as an east-west road, but does cross into Brampton as Coleraine Drive which immediately curves sharply at the boundary to head north towards Bolton.

Name

The road is named after Lex MacKenzie, a former local politician and World War I veteran, although the road is officially spelled "Major Mackenzie" with a lowercase K.
The section west of Yonge Street was originally known as Maple Side Road while the portion east of Yonge was Seventeenth Avenue before being named after Lex Mackenzie, although a bypassed cul-de-sac near Warden Avenue is still named Old '17th Avenue'.

History

The road was laid out by early settlers as a concession road across the original York County to divide the land into farms. Most of the farmland has now been developed as residential development expanded northwards in York Region.
In 2020, a new alignment of Major Mackenzie was constructed in tandem with the northward extension of Highway 427 between Huntington Road and York Road 27. The 427 extension opened on September 18, 2021.

Communities

Communities Major Mackenzie Drive passes through as it runs across York Region, listed by municipality:

Vaughan

  • Maple
  • Kleinburg
  • Woodbridge
  • Patterson
  • Thornhill Woods

    Richmond Hill

  • Downtown Richmond Hill
  • Yongehurst
  • Beverley Acres
  • Headford

    Markham

  • Victoria Square
  • Cathedraltown
  • Cachet
  • Berczy Village
  • Wismer Commons
  • Mount Joy
  • Greensborough
  • Cachet

    Road information

  • Transportation: Mainly York Region Transit Routes 4, 6, and 25; Major Mackenzie West Terminal; serving the Viva Blue line

    Road status

  • Zoning: Mainly low-density residential in Vaughan and Markham, some developing, medium-density in Richmond Hill,
  • Speed: Anywhere from 50–80 km/h with 60 km/h being the most common,

    Future

There are plans for a future connection between Major Mackenzie Drive and Mayfield Road in Brampton. The project is part of the Highway 427 Extension Area Transportation Master Plan, which aims to improve traffic flow and connectivity in the area. The new roadway is designated as Arterial A2 in the plan and will be a six-lane north-south connection. However, a specific construction timeline has not been announced yet.

Landmarks

Notable sites along Major Mackenzie from east to west:
LandmarkCross street / locationNotesImage
CPKC Vaughan IntermodalHighway 50Canadian Pacific Kansas City intermodal freight terminal
Kortright Centre for ConservationHumber RiverLarge urban conservation area
Canada's WonderlandHighway 400Canada's largest theme park, opened in 1981
Major Mackenzie West TerminalAmusement DriveYork Region Transit bus terminal
Cortellucci Vaughan HospitalJane Street342 bed hospital, opened in 2021
Vaughan City HallKeele Street
Maple GO stationEast of Keele StreetStation on the GO Transit Barrie Line
Mackenzie Richmond Hill HospitalTrench Street506 bed hospital, formerly York Central Hospital from its opening in 1963 until 2012
Angus Glen Community CentreAngus Glen BoulevardCommunity centre in Markham's Angus Glen neighbourhood
Angus Glen Golf ClubKennedy RoadHosted the Canadian Open in 2002 and 2007 and golf events in the 2015 Pan American Games
Rouge National Urban ParkEasternmost section of street to York-Durham LineUrban national park centred around the Rouge River watershed