Terry Fox Drive (Ottawa Road #61) is a major arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario and named for the late Canadian humanitarian, activist, and athlete Terry Fox. Located in the suburb of Kanata in the city's west end, the road is currently the continuation of Kanata Avenue, a collector travelling through the neighbourhood of Kanata Lakes. It heads south past Kanata Centrum, crosses Highway 417 and passes Glen Cairn. It ends at Eagleson Road where it links up with Hope Side Road. Another section of Terry Fox Drive, located in Morgan's Grant in Kanata's north end, exists as the extension of a rustic collector route, Goulbourn Forced Road, and ends at the Kanata North Business Park where it becomes Herzberg Road heading south back towards March Road and Carling Avenue.
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Initially a minor road, Terry Fox Drive became a more important and busier road due to growing communities in Kanata and neighbouring Stittsville. The Kanata Centrum shopping complex, a Holiday Inn, a number of large-scale retail uses and Scotiabank Place (which began as the Palladium in 1996 and was later known as the Corel Centre) are now located along the road. OC Transpo's Terry Fox Station and Park and ride, opened in 2004, are also located near the Centrum.
Terry Fox Drive is also the location of the City Hall of the former city of Kanata.
There have been several expansion and widening projects that occurred over the past years, and more are planned for the future. Mostly a two-lane road between Highway 417 and Hazeldean Road, this section was later widened to four lanes. From 2000 to 2006 it was gradually extended to the south where it crosses Fernbank Road and now continues on to Eagleson Road. It has also been extended to the north towards Kanata Avenue. There are future plans to connect the eastern segment of Terry Fox (at March Rd.) to the main segment.[1]
The first part will expand Terry Fox to four lanes from March to Flamborough and will extend Terry Fox from Flamborough to just past the Second Line (which will be extended to Terry Fox at the same time). As of June 2010, Goulbourn Forced Road has been diverted to Innovation Drive to avoid a 5-way intersection. Work on the rest is to be finished in 2011.
The expansion of Terry Fox Drive is quite controversial,[2] with opposition from the Sierra Club[3], David Suzuki Foundation [4],Greenpeace [5], Robert Bateman [6] and many residents[7] because the road is planned to cut through a provincially significant wetland affecting 20 species at risk in this area:[8] including endangered species such as the Butternut Tree, American Ginseng, and the Blanding's Turtle.
Last remaining section of Terry Fox extension from Second Line to Kanata Ave opened for traffic 21 July , 2011, finally connecting Kanata Lakes to Morgan's Grant. Still some landscaping work ongoing and official opening planned to mid-August. [9]
Speed limit through most of the southern section of Terry Fox is 70 km/h (43 mph), however for a small portion south of Glen Cairn, the speed limit is 80 km/h (50 mph), while near Hazeldean Road it is 60 km/h (37 mph). The Terry Fox section in Morgan's Grant and the Kanata Business Park has a speed limit of 50 km/h (31 mph).
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