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Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill is
a town in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of
the Greater Toronto Area.
Flag of the Town of Richmond Hill |
Map showing Richmond Hill's location in York Region |
Recent growth and future population
projections
Richmond Hill is
now one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, with a large and
multicultural population. It had 132,030 residents according to the 2001
Census, and the population has been estimated to be 171,499 as of March
2006, representing 30% growth in 5 years. The town's population is projected
to exceed 200,000 by the year 2015.
Affluent suburb status
Richmond Hill
is sometimes called "Rich Man's Hill", referring to the large
population of upper-middle class to upper-class families living in the
area, other locals refer to it as just "the Hill." Prices for
homes in the area are between $400,000 and $5,000,000 Canadian.
The average family
income in Richmond Hill is $100,900, among the highest in Canada.
There was a significant
influx of wealthy Chinese from Hong Kong in the early and mid-1990s. These
Chinese immigrants were worried about the pending handover of Hong Kong
to the People's Republic of China and Canada was a preferred location,
in part because investment visas were significantly easier to obtain than
visas to the United States. Many of these wealthy immigrants chose to
settle in Richmond Hill and now people of Chinese ancestry make up of
about one-fifth of Richmond Hill's population.
Regions
Southern Richmond
Hill is home to the town's and industrial region housing most of the town's
hotels, the town's "Chinatown" is also located there. The northern
part of town is considered to be Old Richmond Hill as it is a historical
area. Central Richmond Hill is a very commercial area, housing multiple
malls, plaza's and entertainment buildings, such as theatres and restaurants.
The northern most part of the town is mostly farm land, though it is slowly
being developed.
Mill Pond
Mill Pond is a park located
in southern Richmond Hill, it is based around an old mill pond. The park
has numerous trails, and is home to a variety of wildlife, such as swans,
beavers and snakes. The park is usually host to a multitude of events
ranging from a winter carnival to concerts and flower shows.
Oak Ridges
Oak Ridges is a largely
residential area in northern Richmond Hill, which was amalgamated into
the town in 1971.
Yonge Street
"Downtown"
Richmond Hill is considered the strip of Yonge Street between Major Mackenzie
in the south and Richmond Heights in the north. For years this street
was infamous for equal numbers of churches and strip clubs/adults only
stores. Directly across from the community center was the bright pink
"Fantasia" strip club. Not far down the street stood Richmond
Hill's oldest church. Fantasia burnt under suspicious circumstances although
no allegations were ever made by the authorities. Most of the "Adult
Only" stores are now closed and are replaced by more civic-oriented
structures.
Transportation
Road networks
The town of Richmond Hill
is very well serviced in terms of transportation facilities for a community
of its size. The eastern border of the town is Highway 404, a major highway
which leads directly into the downtown core of the City of Toronto via
the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) followed by the Gardiner Expressway. It also
intersects Highway 401 which is one of the most traversed highways on
the planet and is the principal east/west route in the Greater Toronto
Area (GTA). The town's southern border is defined by the former Ontario
provincial highway 7 (named Highway 7) and a parallel expressway, Highway
407. The latter is a toll route (the only currently existing in the province)
and was designed as a bypass for the 401. The combined effect of these
highways ensures that Richmond Hill is well integrated into Ontario’s
road network and has easy access for all road vehicles. It is worth noting
that the ease of accessing the town is threatened by increasing traffic
due to growth in the region as the resulting exhaustive commutes (sometimes
several hours in the winter) greatly diminish the usefulness of the road
network.
Public transit
Public transit within the
town of Richmond Hill is on buses co-ordinated by York Region Transit
(YRT). In September 2005, YRT unveiled a new rapid transit initiative
entitled VIVA which provides enhanced bus service on major routes using
vehicles capable of speeding up traffic lights to lessen the time they
idle. YRT also operates several feeder routes on secondary streets in
the town. While reaction to the VIVA program has been very positive and
the funding provided considerable, there hasn’t been as large an
increase in commuter use as was hoped. Commuter train service is provided
to the town by GO Transit on the Richmond Hill line with two stations
in the town, Richmond Hill Station and Langstaff Station. Langstaff Station
is near the new Richmond Hill Centre bus terminal at Highway 7 and Yonge
Street, but is not connected to it.
Alternative transportation
Richmond Hill is
minimally serviced by other modes of transportation. Its landlocked situation
inhibits any water transportation and it lacks an airport of its own,
though it does border on Markham's Buttonville Airport.
Geography
The predominant
feature of the town's geography, as its name suggests, is its elevation
above surrounding regions. Thousands of years ago during the last ice-age,
glaciers moving in a southerly direction amassed a considerable amount
of earth in front of them which they carried forward as they grew. Gradually,
as the temperature increased the growth of the glaciers lessened and eventually
they began to recede to what is now the polar ice cap. The earth that
had been collected by the glacier's movement however was left in place
and the elevated region that remained comprises modern day Richmond Hill.
The town itself is
at a much greater elevation than other communities within the Greater
Toronto Area (GTA) and with exclusion of areas closely alongside its borders,
the constituent of York region with the greatest height above sea level.
The uneven melting of the glacier that formed the town has led to an extremely
varied geography within the town's own borders, leading to such features
as kettle lakes, minor tributaries and most notably the Oak Ridges Moraine.
Kettle lakes are the
result of glacier water getting caught in water-tight depressions in the
land and are sustained by only rainfall in the immediate area. The Town
of Richmond Hill has many of these water bodies and its three largest
in order of decreasing size are Lake Wilcox, Bond Lake and Philips Lake.
The kettle lakes are predominantly confined to the northern fringes of
the town.
Being elevated above
the surrounding region, precipitation in the town tends to flow outwards
via the multitude of streams and rivers that flow through the town. Principally
water flow is in one of two directions, south to Lake Ontario or north
to Lake Simcoe where they join up with larger tributaries that feed into
the water bodies. Of note, are the Rouge and Don rivers which receive
some of their flow from sources in the town.
Perhaps the most important
geographical feature of the Town of Richmond Hill is the Oak Ridges Moraine.
The moraine is a further elevated region of loose soil and comprises a
significant portion (roughly the northern third) of the land area of the
town. Its porous nature allows the collection and natural filtering of
waters that flow through it which are then fed into multiple underground
aquifers. While the town receives its water from the City of Toronto,
these aquifers are an important source for those with their own wells
in addition to surrounding communities. The ability of the soil to hold
so much water means that despite Richmond Hill's comparatively high elevation,
it has a very high water table which poses some problems to construction.
The moraine is also host to a staggering amount of biodiversity and in
recent years there has been a considerable amount of pressure applied
to government to shield the area from development. Consequently, a considerable
portion of Richmond Hill is subject to the Ontario Government's Greenbelt
(Golden Horseshoe) legislation.
Recreation
Sport clubs
Richmond Hill Aquatic Club
- swimming
Richmond Senators - soccer
Richmond Hill Soccer club
Richmond Hill Baseball club
Richmond Hill Stars - Hockey Club
Richmond Hill Model Airplane Club
Richmond Hill Rowing Club
Richmond Hill Raiders - Basketball Club
Richmond Training Centre - Figure Skating
Town-owned facilities
5 indoor swimming
pools
Richmond Green Sports Centre and Park
Several community centres including fitness amenities and skating arenas
Demographics
Racial groups
59.6% Caucasian
21.8% Chinese
6.2% Other East, South Asians
3.3% West Asian
9.1% Other
Religious groups
30.2% Roman
Catholic
19.1% Protestant
10.0% other Christian
7.7% Jewish
7.5% Muslim
27.5% none, other
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History, Trivia and Facts Pages
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Richmond Hill, Ontario
history, Canadian history, family history and the history of names. Play our
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Ontario
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Ontario
for the discussion of almost any topic that pertains to this hometown and state. The bulletin boards are setup and reviewed daily to ensure
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These forums discuss such topics as school and
government issues as well as genealogy queries, lost and found notices, and more.
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