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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