York Boulevard (Hamilton, Ontario)

York Boulevard is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Formerly known as Highway 2 and Highway 6, it starts in Burlington, Ontario at Plains Road West as a two-way arterial road that wraps around and over Hamilton Harbour, enters the city of Hamilton in the west end at Dundurn Park, and ends at James Street North. It has a one-way section from Queen Street to Bay Street North, and continues east of James Street North as Wilson Street.)

York Boulevard was part of the military road that connected the chain stations lying between Kingston and the Niagara River, and was the main route to York (Toronto). As a result, it became known as York Street. In 1976, the road was closed for construction, over the protests of residents and businesspeople, widened and renamed York Boulevard on November 29, 1976 at a final cost of $5.5-million.

No street runs parallel with York Boulevard. George Hamilton, a settler and local politician, established a town site in the northern part of Barton Township after the war in 1815. He kept several east-west roads which were originally Indian trails, although the north-south streets were on a regular grid pattern. Streets were designated "East" or "West" if they crossed James Street or Highway 6, and "North" or "South" if they crossed King Street or Highway 8. York Street was originally one of those Indian trails; it cuts through the Strathcona and Central neighbourhoods diagonally.

In 1857, 57 passengers were killed when a train derailed near the Desjardins Canal.

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