Crowchild Trail

Crowchild Trail is an expressway located on the west side of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Part of this road was the Old Banff Coach Road when it was an actual coach road. It was first paved in the 1930s. It then became the main highway to Banff. It was the home of the famous Eamon's Bungalow Camp and service station. When the Trans-Canada Highway was created it dropped in importance.^[1][2]

The road was originally signed as 24th Street SW from North Glenmore Park to the Bow River, 24th Street NW from the Bow to the intersection with 16th Avenue NW (the Trans-Canada Highway, Highway 1), and Highway 1A from 16th Ave NW to the city limits. It was renamed Crowchild Trail in March, 1971 in honour of David Crowchild, Chief of the Tsuu T'ina Nation from 1946 to 1953.

Crowchild Trail's south terminus is located at North Glenmore Park as a minor arterial road. Exiting northbound from the park the road intersects several residential streets within the communities of Lakeview and North Glenmore Park, and several residential dwellings are located on the Trail itself. Continuing northward, its first major intersection is with Glenmore Trail at an interchange that was built in 1981, which is the point at which Crowchild becomes an freeway. After an interchange was completed at 50th Avenue SW in 2003, Crowchild Trail became a true freeway from Glenmore Trail to Kensington Road NW, with overpasses at Flanders Avenue SW, 33rd Avenue SW and 17th Avenue SW and interchange intersections with 10th Avenue SW, Bow Trail and Memorial Drive. The speed limit on the freeway sections are 80 km/h (50 mph).

Traffic slows immediately north of the Bow River (dropping to a principal arterial with a 60 km/h (40 mph) limit), with signal-controlled intersections at Kensington Road NW and 5th Avenue NW, and heavy use by football fans and transit users at McMahon Stadium and students of the University of Calgary. After 24th Avenue NW the road veers northwest, and once again becomes an uninterrupted freeway until the Stoney Trail ring road. As of 2012, the interchange was completed at Stoney Trail, which makes Crowchild Trail a freeway nearly to the city limits, at which point (following a signalized intersection with Twelve Mile Coulee Road), Crowchild Trail continues as Highway 1A, eventually linking to the towns of Cochrane and Canmore.

Major intersections

From south to north, the following intersections^[3] are observed along Crowchild Trail:

Crowchild Trail Exit list

Entering the City of Calgary Starts north of Glenmore Reservoir as a minor arterial road km 1.0 Highway 8 - Glenmore Trail At-grade intersections on Crowchild Trail; Becomes freeway, speed limit changes to 80 km/h Southbound flyover to Glenmore Trail westbound km 1.6 54th Avenue SW Right-in, right-out on northbound lanes only km 2.1 50th Avenue SW, Mt. Royal Gate SW km 3.0 Flanders Avenue, Caen Avenue, Richard Road km 3.9 33rd Avenue SW km 4.5 24th Street SW to 17th Avenue SW Southbound lanes only km 4.6 Richmond Road, 17th Avenue SW Northbound lanes only km 6.2 Bow Trail No access from Bow Trail eastbound to Crowchild Trail southbound, and from Crowchild Trail northbound to Bow Trail westbound km 6.4 10th Avenue SW SB exit, NB entrance only; Bow Trail westbound uses 10th Avenue SW to access Crowchild Trail northbound km 6.9 Bow River bridge km 7.0 Memorial Drive Access between Memorial and Crowchild limited; Use Kensington Road for most access km 7.3 Kensington Road At-grade intersection, becomes expressway km 7.5 2nd Avenue NW Right-in, right-out on Northbound lanes only km 7.9 5th Avenue NW At-grade intersection km 8.5 University Drive to Trans-Canada Highway, University of Calgary Northbound exit, Southbound entrance km 8.8 13th Avenue NW SB exit, intersects with University Drive km 9.0 Highway 1 - Trans-Canada Highway EB to Calgary, Medicine Hat and WB to Banff SB exit on Crowchild Trail only;Use University Drive exit to access from NB lanes McMahon Stadium access road At-grade intersection km 9.5 23rd Avenue NW east to Banff Trail, west to McMahon Stadium Another access route to Highway 1; At-grade intersection km 9.6 Northbound entrance from Banff Trail, Highway 1A merges onto Crowchild Trail; Southbound access route to McMahon Stadium NB entrance only; use 23rd Avenue for primary access to Banff Trail km 9.9 24th Avenue NW At-grade intersection; becomes freeway again km 11.0 Charleswood Drive km 11.3 Brentwood Road to Brentwood Village Mall Northbound exit only km 11.9 Southbound collector lane merges SB entrance km 11.8 Brisebois Drive Northbound splits into express/collector setup, exits for Northland/Shaganappi or Brisebois Drive/Brentwood Road Brisebois Drive to northbound Crowchild on-ramp crosses collector lanes; Southbound exit to Brisebois Drive km 12.6 Northland Drive km 12.9 Southbound collector lanes exit to Northland Mall, southbound Express to collector lanes exit; Northbound collector to express lanes km 13.3 Shaganappi Trail km 13.4 Collector lanes merge onto main lanes km 14.4 Northbound right-in, right-out to Dalhousie Drive via 53rd Street exit km 14.6 53rd Street NW km 15.7 Sarcee Trail km 17.7 Nose Hill Drive Crowfoot Crescent km 18.3 Crowfoot Rise/Crowfoot Connector Right-in, right-out on NB lanes only km 19.7 Highway 201 - Stoney Trail km 22.3 12 Mile Coulee Road At-grade intersection; Freeway ends km 22.4 Exiting the City of Calgary Continues north-west as Highway 1A towards Cochrane Note: Exits highlighted with yellow are proposed Exits highlighted with blue are under construction Exits highlighted with red are slated to be closed

Gallery

• 

  Crowchild Trail at the interchange with Stoney Trail

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  Bridge over Bow River

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  C-Train tracks along Crowchild Trail

See also

• Highway 1A
• Transportation in Calgary

References