Concession road
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In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped land to define lots to be developed; the name comes from a Lower Canadian French term for a row of lots. Concession roads are straight, and follow an approximately square grid, usually oriented to a local lakeshore. They are 100 chains or 1.25 miles (2 km) apart, so that two consecutive north-south concession roads and two consecutive east-west roads enclose 1,000 acres (4 km²). These 1,000 acres (4 km²) were then divided into lots according to various plans.
Concession roads were numbered consecutively. For example, in the area which became Toronto, Ontario, the southernmost east-west concession was the 1st concession road (now Queen Street), the next concession to the north was the 2nd concession road (now Bloor Street), and today's St. Clair Avenue was the 3rd concession road, and so on.
In Toronto, land between the first and second concessions was divided into so-called park lots of 100 acres (40 hectares), which extended from the 1st to the 2nd concession, with a frontage of 10 chains (200 m) on each road. North of the 2nd concession the land was divided into farm lots of 200 acres (80 hectares), each extending between concession roads, and with a frontage of 20 chains (400 m) on each concession.
Concession roads which led away from a lake or river were called sidelines or side roads (probably so the numbering did not become confusing), and line frequently appears in Ontario road names as the equivalent of Road. For example, Guelph Line, 12th Line, and Brown's Line are important thoroughfares in and west of Toronto. The sideroad name survives in Clarke Side Road (also known as Clarke Road) in London. The first concession was often known as the baseline, whence, for example, another street in London, Base Line Road (although in London the road grid eventually was based on nearby Commissioners Road, an improved road built to transport troops and supplies during the War of 1812). The first concession was also frequently known as the front, especially when it was on a lakeshore.
Many of the concession roads retain their original names. Less developed areas are often referred to as the back concessions.
Since in Upper Canada this surveying preceded urban development, the larger Ontario municipalities have grid patterns of streets. In cities concession roads tend to be major streets.