5 Difficult to Access Public Places in Mississauga
Published May 2, 2017 at 3:33 am
While the modern foundations of Mississauga were centred on the use of the automobile, there are actually some public places that, because they are primarily located around one way streets or for some other reason, are rather difficult to drive into or drive out from. There is seemingly only one direction you can enter or exit. If you were walking to these places, then there’s really no problem, but there is no question that most of us will still access these places via the automobile.
With that in mind, here’s a sampling of 5 places in Mississauga that you have to know where to turn properly in order to properly gain entry or find the exit:
5) 330 Burnhamthorpe Road East
This strip plaza located at the southwest corner of Burnhamthorpe Road and Central Parkway sat in rather quaint obscurity until Gymify moved in. It probably would not have received more increased visits had the boutique gym not opened up its second location in this same plaza.
But here’s the rub: this plaza can only be accessed if you’re driving along Burnhamthorpe going east towards the intersection with Central Parkway, or going south on Central Parkway into the entrance as soon as you pass the intersection with Burnhamthorpe. There is no way for you to drive into the plaza coming up north along Central Parkway or westbound along Burnhamthorpe (although for the latter you can just turn left on Central Parkway and pull into the entrance immediately to your right).
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It should be noted that the stretch on Burnhamthorpe and Central Parkway intersection where the plaza is located are both one way streets. My guess is Gymify was looking to cater to the growing young population residing in all those existing condo dwellers and incoming ones from those new developments coming in. Those people are going to need a nearby gym, and if they didn’t want to use the one in their condo (if they had one) or Goodlife, there was a convenient third option just down the road from them.
4) John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre, 4300 Cawthra Road
The John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre (JP2PCC) has been in operation since 1994 to preserve and foster the heritage of Canadians of Polish descent as well as to serve the needs of the greater community. The Centre offers various cultural, educational and recreational programs and a range of facilities to hold business, art, sport and social events. I just wish it was a little easier to access if you happen to be coming by automobile.
While it may be along Cawthra Road, if you’re driving up north along Cawthra you cannot actually turn directly left into the Centre itself since it is along a stretch of Cawthra that is, again, a one way street. You’ll have to turn left into a street called Meadows Boulevard in order to access the Centre’s parking lot. The other option is to come in south from Highway 410 or east along Highway 403, entering the exit onto Eastgate Parkway and immediately taking right on Cawthra.
One other thing about the JP2PCC, during the afternoon it gets quite busy because of the rush hours traffic. Cawthra Road is typically jammed up from when becomes Highway 410 because of all the commuters. As such, many drivers actually go into the Centre if they’re coming south along Highway 410 in order to use the parking lot’s connection to Meadows Boulevard as a shortcut to get westbound on Rathburn. It became such an annoyance for the Centre that they barricaded their Cawthra entrance just to prevent vehicles from using their property as a shortcut (they have since taken it down).
3) 2515 Hurontario Street (Popeye’s Plaza)
The following two example’s entrances and exits are not so much restricted from one direction, but it is more likely that you’d have to know where to turn in order to make sure you enter and exit properly. The first one is the plaza as shown in the map at the intersection of Hurontario and King Street in Cooksville. In order to enter this particular plaza, you’d have to turn into King Street from the left if you’re coming south along Hurontario (or right if you’re coming in north from Hurontario) and make sure you turn into the first entrance on the left, not the one adjacent because that leads into another plaza.
If you needed to quickly get back onto Hurontario, then you’d take the exit in the parking lot that leads back onto Hurontario Street, but from there it’s mainly one way to go: north. There’s a small concrete island barrier in the middle that prevents you from going down south along Hurontario by turning left; you’re not even able to turn left into that entrance because enough of the concrete island juts out enough to prevent you from doing so.
2) 2325 Hurontario Street (Rabba Plaza)
This location is similar to the previously mentioned one, but the difference is you’re not necessarily prevented from using what is more known as the exit to enter this plaza, which contains a Rabba’s along with restaurants such as Kanda’s Sushi and Palma Pasta. But it does look like a bit of a difficult turn to make; if you’re going south along Hurontario you’d have to make a left turn across three lanes of opposing traffic to get into this plaza. The same issue applies if you were exiting from the same opening because you’d have to make a hell of a wide left turn in order to get southbound on Hurontario.
As with 2515 Hurontario, the safest way to enter this tucked away place of business is to turn left on The Queensway, and then take the first left with the traffic lights. This intersection isn’t linked to another street; it seems the traffic light was installed for the purposes of being able to enter the Rabba plaza as well as a residential complex called Queensway Manor on the right. Turning left will lead you into the parking lot of the plaza.
1) 930 Derry Road East (McDonald’s Location)
As this is an intersection in the vicinity of Pearson International Airport as well as numerous storage facilities, there is a lot of transport truck traffic here. At the intersection of Derry and Tomken Roads, there is a McDonald’s location frequented by many daily commuters as well as truckers stopping by for a quick coffee or sandwich before going about their daily business, but this location has a rather risky entrance that makes getting into it very difficult.
You can enter this McDonald’s if you were going east along Derry; the entrance is just right before the intersection with Tomken Road. Exiting via Tomken Road south is not much of a challenge, and turning left on Tomken to go northbound isn’t that bad either if you get the timing right. However, if you’re coming up northbound on Tomken and looking to turn left into this McDonald’s, that’s when it gets problematic.
The left turn lane that allows you to pull into the McDonald’s if you’re coming up along Tomken…is also the left turn lane at the main intersection of Derry and Tomken. As this is a high traffic area pretty much at all times, you have to make sure you’re in the left turn lane just enough to turn into the McDonald’s…without getting sucked into turning left on Derry like everyone else (there is no entrance to this McDonald’s via left on Derry). This turn gets so risky that sometimes you would have to cross over on the opposite lane, facing oncoming traffic, and find enough of time in a split second to make a left.
BONUS: Little known back entrance to Canada Computers Plaza
I’m sure most people are familiar with the Canada Computers strip mall at 720 Burnhamthorpe Road West, as the the Chatime and Kenzo Ramen are nearby. This mall is actually quite accessible for people coming in at either direction along Burnhamthorpe, but some people who don’t want to go through busy Burnhamthorpe Road try to go around it. One option is to go behind on Central Parkway, turn right then go up along Wolfedale and turn right on Burnhamthorpe so you enter the mall by turning right rather than left.
There is, however, another option to come in up along Mavis Road and to make a left into a very hidden entrance that actually leads into the rear of the Canada Computers plaza, which allows you to take a shortcut and enter from the back. But you have to be careful; there’s two small entrances and one of them leads into an automotive services centre that has no direct vehicular connection to the plaza. You’ll have to turn left from Mavis into the entrance where there is a business named “Torbram Electric Supply,” head in and snake your way around until you reach the other side, which is the plaza facing Burnhamthorpe Road.
Those are just some examples, but does anyone else have a story about a public place that seems rather difficult to drive into or get out from in Mississauga?