Colonel By Drive
Encyclopedia
Parkway
The term parkway has several distinct principal meanings and numerous synonyms around the world, for either a type of landscaped area or a type of road.Type of landscaped area:...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It runs along the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
from the end of Sussex Drive at Rideau Street. It then continues 8 km (5 mi) south and west to Hog's Back Road
Hog's Back Road
Hog's Back Road is a road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The road connects Meadowlands Drive and Prince of Wales Drive, to Riverside Drive and Brookfield Road. Colonel By Drive also ends in the middle of Hog's Back Road, between the Rideau Canal and the Rideau River. The road is used as the boundary...
, winding through several residential areas and going past Dow's Lake
Dow's Lake
Dow's Lake in Ottawa, 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...
and Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
. To the north, the road passes Department of National Defence Headquarters, the Ottawa Congress Centre and the Westin Hotel before ending at Wellington Street
Wellington Street (Ottawa)
Wellington Street is an important street in Ottawa, Canada most notable for being one of the first two streets laid out in Bytown in 1826 Wellington Street (French: Rue Wellington) is an important street in Ottawa, Canada most notable for being one of the first two streets laid out in Bytown in...
and Rideau Street
Rideau Street
Rideau Street is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier district...
The rear door of the Government Conference Centre
Government Conference Centre
The Government Conference Centre is a government building in downtown Ottawa, Canada, located at 2 Rideau Street. It is situated at the intersection of Wellington Street and the Rideau Canal, just a short distance from the Parliament buildings and Confederation Square, and across the street from...
can be accessed from the street as well, after it passes under the Mackenzie King Bridge
Mackenzie King Bridge
The Mackenzie King Bridge is a bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Just a few blocks away from Parliament Hill, south of the Plaza Bridge, it runs in a generally east-west direction, with the east end at the Rideau Centre and Department of National Defence Headquarters. The west end runs between...
. It is named for Colonel John By
John By
Lieutenant-Colonel John By was a British military engineer, best remembered for supervising the construction of the Rideau Canal and, in the process, founding what would become the city of Ottawa....
, who built the Rideau Canal. The winding two-lane road has a speed limit of 60 km/h (37.3 mph).
For many decades the area east of the canal had held Ottawa's main rail lines connecting to the Ottawa Train Station
Government Conference Centre
The Government Conference Centre is a government building in downtown Ottawa, Canada, located at 2 Rideau Street. It is situated at the intersection of Wellington Street and the Rideau Canal, just a short distance from the Parliament buildings and Confederation Square, and across the street from...
near the northern end of the canal. In the mid-1960s the train station was controversially relocated about 3 km (1.9 mi) southeast in an industrial area in the east end of the city, leaving the area on the eastern bank of the canal open for development. The National Capital Commission
National Capital Commission
The National Capital Commission , is a Canadian Crown corporation that administers the federally owned lands and buildings in Canada's National Capital Region, including Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec.The NCC was created in 1959, replacing the Federal District Commission , which had been...
thus decided to create a scenic parkway. The Queen Elizabeth Driveway
Queen Elizabeth Driveway
Queen Elizabeth Driveway is a scenic parkway in Ottawa, Canada that runs along the western edge of the Rideau Canal. It runs from Laurier Avenue in the north to Dow's Lake where it turns into Prince of Wales Drive...
, another scenic Canadian parkway, already served the same purpose on the other side of the canal.
Like the adjacent Queen Elizabeth Driveway on the other side of the canal, pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
s and bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s are a common sight on the paths running alongside Colonel By. Every Sunday, during the summer months, Colonel By is closed to motor vehicle traffic so that bicycles and pedestrians can have the road to themselves.