Queen Elizabeth Driveway | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Queen Elizabeth Driveway highlighted in red | |||||||
 Looking east along Dow's Lake | |||||||
| Route information | |||||||
| Maintained by National Capital Commission | |||||||
| Length | 5.7 km (3.5 mi) | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| South end | Preston Avenue | ||||||
| North end | Laurier Avenue | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Country | Canada | ||||||
| Province | Ontario | ||||||
| Major cities | Ottawa | ||||||
| Highway system | |||||||
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Queen Elizabeth Driveway is a scenic parkway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The parkway runs along the western edge of the Rideau Canal, from Laurier Avenue in the north to Dow's Lake where it turns into Prince of Wales Drive at Preston Avenue. [1] Along the entire length of the Drive is a multi-use trail as part of the Capital Pathway system.
It is administered and owned by the National Capital Commission (NCC).
The parkway was one of the first projects of the NCC. The NCC replaced the Federal District Commission (FDC), which had been created in 1927, and the even earlier Ottawa Improvement Commission. [2] The two-lane road replaced the industrial buildings and private boathouses that had stood along the canal. The drive was lined with trees and gardens, and a series of large houses were built along it. It was originally known as the Government Driveway but was soon renamed the Rideau Canal Driveway.[ citation needed ] Several decades later it was given its current name. The speed limit for most of its length is 60 km/h (37 mph).
In the 1950s a similar route was created on the eastern edge of the canal, the Colonel By Drive.
Portions of the parkway are regularly closed to vehicular traffic in the summer months for active use such as cycling. This sparked major debate in 2023, with city councilors and Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe calling on the NCC to reopen the parkway to vehicular traffic in whole or in part, citing traffic and safety concerns. City of Ottawa data has shown that the closure of the parkway leads to increased traffic on O'Connor Street. [3] Despite the pushback, the NCC has continued this initiative in 2024 and is exploring the feasibility of installing bicycle lanes on the parkway. [4]
The National Capital Commission is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region, including administering most lands and buildings owned by the Government of Canada in the region.
Bank Street is the major commercial north–south street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs south from Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, south through the neighbourhoods of Centretown, The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Alta Vista, Hunt Club, and then through the villages of Blossom Park, Leitrim, South Gloucester, Greely, Metcalfe, Spring Hill, and Vernon before ending at the city limit at Belmeade Road, becoming Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry county highway 31.
Sussex Drive, also known as Ottawa Regional Road 93, is an arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. It is one of the city's main ceremonial and institutional routes. Travelling roughly parallel to the Ottawa River, Sussex Drive begins as a continuation of Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway at Rideau Gate, at the entrance to Rideau Hall. It travels south to Rideau Street, with the portion south of St. Patrick Street forming the northbound half of a one-way pair with Mackenzie Avenue. Both Mackenzie Avenue and Sussex Drive connect with Colonel By Drive at their southern end, which continues south alongside the Rideau Canal.
The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge, also known as the Alexandra Bridge or Interprovincial Bridge, is a steel truss cantilever bridge spanning the Ottawa River between Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec. In addition to carrying vehicle traffic, a shared use pathway on the bridge for pedestrians and cyclists is maintained by the National Capital Commission.
Laurier Avenue is a central east west street running through Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as "Maria Street" and "Theodore Street", it was renamed in honour of Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Laurier House, the residence of Prime Ministers Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King, is located at the corner of Laurier Avenue East and Chapel Street.
Dow's Lake in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is a small man-made lake on the Rideau Canal, situated two kilometres north of Hog's Back Falls in the middle of Ottawa. It is at the south end of Preston Street, just south of Carling Avenue, and just to the west of Bronson Avenue. At the south end of the lake is Carleton University, and to the west is the Dominion Arboretum, at the edge of the Central Experimental Farm.
King's Highway 417, commonly referred to as Highway 417 and as the Queensway through Ottawa, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It connects Ottawa with Montreal via A-40, and is the backbone of the highway system in the National Capital Region. Within Ottawa, it forms part of the Queensway west from Highway 7 to Ottawa Road 174. Highway 417 extends from the Quebec border, near Hawkesbury, to Arnprior, where it continues westward as Highway 17. Aside from the urban section through Ottawa, Highway 417 passes through farmland that dominates much of the fertile Ottawa Valley.
Colonel By Drive is an 8.1 km (5.0 mi) long scenic parkway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Somerset Street is a street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into Somerset Street East and Somerset Street West by the Rideau Canal.
Downtown Ottawa is the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is sometimes referred to as the Central Business District and contains Ottawa's financial district. It is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal to the east, Gloucester Street to the south and Bronson Avenue to the west. This area and the residential neighbourhood to the south are also known locally as 'Centretown'. The total population of the area is 5,501.
Elgin Street is a street in the Downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally named Biddy's Lane, it was later named after Lord Elgin.
The Kichi Zībī Mīkan, formerly the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, and previously the Ottawa River Parkway, is a four-lane scenic parkway along the Ottawa River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs from Carling Avenue near Connaught Avenue, to Booth Street at the Canadian War Museum and National Holocaust Monument. It is maintained by the National Capital Commission. The speed limit is 60 km/h (37 mph). Bicycles are allowed on the road and on a parallel recreational path along the parkway.
Island Park Drive is a scenic parkway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Confederation Park(French: Parc de la Confédération) is a public park and National Historic Site of Canada, located in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the south by Laurier Avenue and Ottawa City Hall; on the east by the Rideau Canal and National Defence Headquarters; on the north by the Mackenzie King Bridge, the Rideau Centre and the National Arts Centre; and to the west by Elgin Street and the Lord Elgin Hotel.
The Laurier Avenue Bridge is a bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It carries Laurier Avenue over the Rideau Canal and also Colonel By Drive and Queen Elizabeth Driveway. The green steel arches makes the bridge one of the most recognizable in Ottawa. Many of the events of Winterlude are held around the bridge, and it is a common background to pictures of skaters on the canal. The southern entrance to the Department of National Defence Headquarters is located on the eastern portion of the bridge.
Prince of Wales Drive is a road serving Ottawa, Ontario. The northern section is a low-speed street running along the west bank of the Rideau River, while southern portions of the road were formerly Highway 16.
Nicholas Street is an arterial road in the central area of Ottawa, Ontario which connects Highway 417 with the downtown core. Despite being a municipal road, the street is designated as part of Canada's National Highway System, as part of an interconnecting route between Highway 417 and Quebec Autoroute 5 in Gatineau.
The Golden Triangle is a sub-neighbourhood of Centretown in Somerset Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders Elgin Street, at its west, and the Rideau Canal, at its east. The Ottawa City Hall is to its north and the Elgin Street Police Station to its south. According to the 2016 Canada Census, the total population for this area was 5,778.
The Capital Pathway, also known informally as the Bike Path, is a 220-kilometre (140 mi) recreational pathway interlinking many parks, waterways and sites in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec. Most of the pathway is paved, and allows an almost continuous route through the National Capital Region.