No injuries were reported but a parked van and a lamp post were swallowed up as the hole quickly grew in size, stretching the width of the four-lane road.
Authorities pointed to a watermain break as the likely cause, but construction of a subway line in the area was also suspected.
"No city wants to see this kind of a sinkhole, but I can tell you that if you looked back in the last year there's probably a major sink hole in every city at least once a week somewhere in North America or around the world," Mayor Jim Watson told a press conference.