Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill (2006 population 162,704, 2008 Estimate: 181,000) is a town located in Southern Ontario in the central portion of York Region, Ontario, located just north of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. It is the third most populous municipality in York Region and the 28th most populous municipality in Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area. Once considered the Rose Capital of the World, Richmond Hill has in recent years seen a huge population upsurge, being Canada's fastest-growing community in the 1990s. The town is home to the world-renowned David Dunlap Observatory telescope, and has been rated by the Fraser Institute as the 23rd most affluent city (>100,000 people) in North America and 3rd in Canada. Richmond Hill was incorporated as a village in 1873 and incorporated as a town in 1957. 

Boundaries : North - Bloomington Side Road

                   South - Highway 7

                   West - Bathurst Street

                    East - South End Bayview Avenue and the north end Highway 404

Richmond Hill Real Estate

% of HOUSES SOLD BY PRICE RANGE

MEDIAN PRICES OF HOMES IN RICHMOND HILL 

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Governance

The town is governed by the Richmond Hill Town Council, which operates on a Mayor-Council system with six Ward Councillors and two Regional Councillors, plus the Mayor. The council serves a four year term, after which a new council is elected by qualified electors in Richmond Hill. The current council's term expires November 30, 2010.

The council derives its authority primarily from the Municipal Act, 2001 and the amendments of the Municipal Law Amendment Act, 2006.^[12] Richmond Hill is a lower-tier municipality and has the roles and responsibilities of that position. The municipality has a wide purview relating to the interests of the municipality and its residents to develop and maintain policies, practices and procedures through the issuing of bylaws relating to highways, transportation systems apart from highways, waste management, public utilities, culture, parks, recreation and heritage, drainage and flood control, parking, animals, economic development and the licensing of business. The town in also responsible for maintaining its finances in order to provide relevant services and for maintaining an official plan to guide development.

Recreation

The Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts

Richmond Hill has 166 parks, under the Town of Richmond Hill Parks, Recreation, and Culture department, of which most are small urban parks and 544 hectares of undeveloped natural area for recreation.^[13] The largest such park is Richmond Green Sports Centre and Park which includes several baseball diamonds, a skating rink, a 300-person amphitheatre and a skateboard park.^[14] The Town also has a total of 5 public swimming pools, including Canada's largest indoor Wave Pool. Additionally, each summer, the town features a concert series entitled "Concerts in the Park". Each concert has a specific theme, such as children's music and "The Beach Boys", and all are very popular. These series are held by Mill Pond and the Richmond Green. The Richmond Hill Heritage Centre serves as a museum of the town's history. It also runs a variety of programmes related to the town's history.^[15] The town is also home the Richmond Hill Country Club, which features an 18 Hole championship layout at the Richmond Hill Golf Club, and the Bloomington Downs Golf Course.

Richmond Hill was a winner in the 2003 National Communities in Bloom competition, with a special mention about the town's floral displays.

Richmond Hill Parks

 The Town of Richmond Hill is home to well over 166 parks and 544 hectares of natural, environmental area. Throughout our parks system you can find athletic fields, nature trails, walkways, playgrounds, picnic areas, tennis courts, open space, etc. We are confident that our green spaces offer the residents of Richmond Hill many recreational opportunities.

Neighbourhood and community groups can adopt a natural area park. They can become involved in cleanup, reforestation of sapling planting, wild flower or bulb planting and natural area stewardship. If you would like to see any changes made to current parks, please call the Parks, Recreation & Culture Department at (905) 771-8870.

Demographics

Richmond Hill is now one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, with a large and multicultural population. It had 162,704^[2] residents according to the 2006 Census, representing 23% growth from the 2001 Census^[1] which was more than four times the Canadian average during that period.^[20] Among the forty seven Canadian census subdivisions with populations over 100 000, only Brampton, Vaughan, Whitby, Markham and Barrie had faster growth rates.^[21] In 2001, the town had been recognised as the fasting growing "large" municipality in Canada by Statistics Canada.^[22] The town's population is projected to exceed 200,000 by the year 2015.^[23]

Ethnic and religious groups

In the Canada 2006 Census,^[1] the self-reported visible minority and religious groups in Richmond Hill were:

Education

The York Region District School Board operates 25 public elementary schools in Richmond Hill, with 5 additional elementary schools in the planning stage.^[41] It also operates 5 secondary schools in Richmond Hill: Alexander Mackenzie High School, Bayview Secondary School, Langstaff Secondary School, Christa McAuliffe Secondary School and Richmond Hill High School. Published reviews of the school system rate it favourably, with Richmond Hill High School being rated the number one public institution in Canada by the Fraser Institute. Students in schools in the York Region District School Board have scored above the provincial average on the Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics, Primary Division (Grades 1-3) and Junior Division (Grades 4-6) since their introduction in 2002.^[42] The board's students in academic math streams have performed above the provincial average on the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics every year since its inception in 2002, while those in applied math streams were below the provincial average in 2002-2005, and above the provincial average from 2005-2007. A Fraser Institute report rated Richmond Hill High School as providing the best education among public high schools in Ontario in 2001.^[43]

The York Catholic District School Board operates 13 Catholic elementary schools in Richmond Hill. It also operates 1 Catholic secondary school, St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic High School, with a second, Jean Vanier Catholic High School slated to open in 2009.^[44]

There are also three private primary schools located in Richmond Hill, and three private secondary schools, including Holy Trinity School.^[45]

The only post-secondary school located within Richmond Hill is Seneca College, which maintains a campus in Richmond Hill.^[46] Beyond this, post-secondary education services are provided to the residents of Richmond Hill by other post-secondary educational institutions in Toronto.

Neighbourhoods

Mill Pond

Mill Pond is a park located in the southern region of Richmond Hill that is surrounded by heritage homes. The park surrounds an old mill pond, hence the name Mill Pond. There are many walking trails and the park is home to a variety of wildlife species, including ducks, swans, racoons, geese, and beavers. The park is the venue for various town events ranging from a winter carnival to concerts and flower shows. Every year, Mill Pond is home to the Richmond Hill Winter and Summer Carnivals.

Heritage Estates

Mill Pond is also home to the beautiful Georgian-styled neighbourhood of Heritage Estates, centered around Regent Street. The neighbourhood was built in the early 1980s by a local Toronto developer and is widely recognized by Toronto builders as the "perfect" subdivision. The homes are carefully and artfully situated among the trails and ravines of Mill Pond Park and most overlook parklands, ravines, trails, and ponds. Dubbed in 2009 by the Toronto Star as "Rosedale North"^[47], this upscale enclave of rare Georgian-style homes continues to command high demand and equally high property values.

Yonge Street

The old 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 having an equal amount of churches as there were strip clubs/adults only stores. Directly across from the community centre 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. Due to various community initiatives, most of the "Adult" stores are now closed and are replaced by more civic-oriented structures. In 2007, the former "Fantasia" property was finally levelled, and development of a new exclusive condominium started, adding to a mix of upscale and small town charm that makes up the much improved downtown area.

Downtown Core (East Beaver Creek)

Richmond Hill's current commercial hub is located near Leslie Street and Highway 7, where it borders Markham's AMD headquarters. Built in the early to mid 1990s, the area is serviced by Highway 404, York Region Transit, and Buttonville Airport. Due to high initial vacancy rates, the current Town Hall was moved to that location in 1994. Since then, many of the buildings have become occupied by various banks and service-related industries.

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 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 Terminal of York Region Transit at Highway 7 and Yonge Street, and is connected to it by a pedestrian bridge opened in March 2008.

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