Island Park Drive
Island Park Drive is a short, but important and scenic, north-south street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is one of several parkways in Ottawa administered by the National Capital Commission providing scenic routes throughout Canada's capital region.
This street is lined with luxury homes and several embassies. The north end links up with the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway and the Champlain Bridge, which crosses the Ottawa River into Gatineau, Quebec. The road is named for Bate Island, the largest island crossed by the Champlain Bridge, which has a small park with road access. The south end leads to the Central Experimental Farm, where it turns into the NCC Driveway.
Island Park Drive has a northbound offramp from the westbound Queensway and no other ramps. Hampton Park is north of the Queensway and borders Island Park Drive. Diplomats and other Island Park residents can frequently be seen in the park walking their dogs.
During the summer of 2007, the Highway 417 overpass was replaced using a rapid replacement technology technique which uses heavy lift and rolling equipment. This involved lifting out the old bridges and replacing them with new bridges that were built nearby. The full operation, which took about 15 hours, took place during the night of August 11 to August 12, 2007, and it is the first time in Canada that this method was used although it was previously used in other countries in the past including in the United States. It was the first of two similar operations in the 417 corridors, the other being at a future date near the Carling Avenue area.
Commercial vehicles are prohibited from Island Park Drive, which is a two-lane minor arterial road with a 40 km/h (25 mph) speed limit due to the residential nature and frequent sharp corners.