Lakeshore Road (originally Lake Shore Road) is a historic roadway in the Canadian province of Ontario, running through the city of Burlington and the town of Oakville in Halton Region, as well as the city of Mississauga in Peel Region. As its name implies, the road closely follows the shoreline of Lake Ontario, although the lake itself is not visible from the road in most areas. Lakeshore Road was once a key section of the historic Highway 2 (as well as a short section of Highway 20), which traversed the province, but has since been downloaded to local municipalities. Despite this historical role as a major route, however, most of the road is a lower-capacity picturesque residential and historic commercial street with only two through lanes until it becomes a four-lane, higher-volume artery after it enters Mississauga and jogs to the north.
Lakeshore Road historically continued east into Toronto, as far east as the Parkdale neighbourhood, where it tied into Queen Street, but that section was later redesignated as Lake Shore Boulevard as it was gradually extended into the city's downtown during the first half of the 20th century.
Route description
Lakeshore Road begins in Burlington beside the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway (which carries the Queen Elizabeth Way over the canal cut across the sandbar separating Hamilton Harbour from the main body of Lake Ontario) where Eastport Drive continues an offramp from the QEW. The road formerly interlined with Beach Boulevard in Hamilton via the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge (and was formerly a part of Highway 20 through this stretch), but the construction of Eastport Drive in 1982 resulted in that link being severed as the new road was routed over the bridge. Lakeshore proceeds along Burlington Beach as a three-lane road (the third being a centre turning lane), passing the Joseph Brant Hospital. It comes to the intersection of North Shore Boulevard, where it turns right, the former Highway 2 came in from the west to follow its course eastwards, and where Highway 20 terminated.
The road continues east along the downtown Burlington waterfront and passes the Brant Street Pier. East of downtown, Lakeshore enters a long, predominantly wealthy, leafy residential stretch consisting of a mix of lakefront mansions, parklands, and a few apartment buildings, a setting which characterizes the road through most of Halton Region. Upon entering Oakville, the street passes through an area of newer residential developments that were built on the site of a closed oil refinery; the Shell Oakville Refinery. Shortly thereafter, Lakeshore crosses the Bronte Creek and enters the once-independent historic Bronte Village. After passing through more residential areas, it travels through Kerr Village, crosses the Sixteen Mile Creek and comes into downtown Oakville. Further east, the road continues on through the Eastlake neighbourhood before leaving Oakville at Winston Churchill Boulevard.
The posh residential surroundings end abruptly as Lakeshore enters Mississauga (and Peel Region), coming into a semi-rural industrial zone which contains a cement plant and another oil refinery; the Mississauga Lubricants Centre, among other industries. At the refinery, the road bends sharply to the left and turns into Southdown Road, along which it jogs north for until reaching Royal Windsor Drive in Clarkson Village, where it turns right, widens to four lanes, and returns to attractive surroundings once again. East of Clarkson, it passes through Lorne Park, originally a cottage resort community, and Jack Darling Park. Lakeshore then enters another historic district, Port Credit, crosses the Credit River, and intersects Hurontario Street (formerly Highway 10), which is Mississauga's main street and a historic route to Collingwood. Beyond Port Credit, the street traverses older and more typical mixed residential and commercial suburban areas through Lakeview, where the Lakeview Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant decommissioned in 2005, was located. Lakeshore ends at Mississauga's eastern boundary at the Etobicoke Creek beside Marie Curtis Park, where it continues as Toronto's Lake Shore Boulevard.