Nicholas Street is an arterial road

Arterial road

An arterial road, or arterial thoroughfare, is a high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. As such, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature...

 in the central area of 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....

 which connects Highway 417

Highway 417 (Ontario)

King's Highway 417, also known as Highway 417 and the Queensway through Ottawa is a 400-series highways in the Canadian province of Ontario which connects Montreal with Ottawa. It is the backbone of the transportation system in the Ottawa region, where it forms part of the Queensway along with...

 with the downtown core.

The southern section of the road is a freeway between the Queensway

Queensway (Ottawa)

The Queensway is a major controlled-access freeway running through Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from Kanata in the west to Orleans in the east. It is the primary east-west transportation artery in the Ottawa-Gatineau area....

 (Highway 417) interchange and Laurier Avenue

Laurier Avenue (Ottawa)

Laurier Avenue is a central east west street running through Ottawa, Canada. Originally known as "Maria Street" and "Theodore Street" , it was renamed in honour of Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier...

 intersection. Between Laurier and Daly Avenue, Nicholas is a one-way southbound road, while traffic northbound from Laurier is diverted to Waller Street. 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...

 is the northern terminus of Nicholas Street.

Landmarks along this road include the Rideau Centre

Rideau Centre

Rideau Centre is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street , the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie King Bridge, and Nicholas Street....

 shopping centre and the University of Ottawa

University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...

.

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...

 parallels Nicholas Street to the west. Colonel By Drive

Colonel By Drive

Colonel By Drive is an long scenic parkway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs along the Rideau Canal from the end of Sussex Drive at Rideau Street. It then continues south and west to Hog's Back Road, winding through several residential areas and going past Dow's Lake and Carleton University...

 is situated between the Canal and Nicholas. The OC Transpo bus Transitway

Ottawa Rapid Transit

In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the public transit service operated by OC Transpo has two rapid transit systems: the Transitway, a bus rapid transit network, and the O-Train, a diesel-powered light rail transit service operated on one line.-Major routes:...

 is a parallel facility situated to the east for much of Nicholas Street's length.

It is named for Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks (politician)

Nicholas Sparks was an early landholder of Ottawa, Canada who owned most of the lands in the present day commercial core of Downtown Ottawa.Sparks was born in Darrah parish, County Wexford in Ireland and came to Canada in 1816...

, a prominent early citizen of Ottawa.

Major intersections from north to south

• 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...
  
  
• Besserer Street
• Daly Avenue
• Waller Street, access to 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...
  
  
• Laurier Avenue
  Laurier Avenue (Ottawa)
  Laurier Avenue is a central east west street running through Ottawa, Canada. Originally known as "Maria Street" and "Theodore Street" , it was renamed in honour of Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier...
  
  
• Queensway
  Queensway (Ottawa)
  The Queensway is a major controlled-access freeway running through Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from Kanata in the west to Orleans in the east. It is the primary east-west transportation artery in the Ottawa-Gatineau area....
  
   (Highway 417
  Highway 417 (Ontario)
  King's Highway 417, also known as Highway 417 and the Queensway through Ottawa is a 400-series highways in the Canadian province of Ontario which connects Montreal with Ottawa. It is the backbone of the transportation system in the Ottawa region, where it forms part of the Queensway along with...
  
  )