McKnight Boulevard

McKnight Boulevard
Former name(s) 48 Avenue N
Maintained by City of Calgary
Length 12.2 km[1] (7.6 mi)
Location Calgary, Alberta
West end 48 Avenue NW / John Laurie Boulevard
Major
junctions
Centre Street N
Edmonton Trail
Deerfoot Trail (Hwy 2)
Barlow Trail
Métis Trail / 36 Street NE
52 Street NE
Stoney Trail (Hwy 201)
East end Calgary City Limits
John Laurie Boulevard
Maintained by City of Calgary
Length 10.5 km[1] (6.5 mi)
Location Calgary, Alberta
West end Arbour Lake Drive / Arbour Lake Road
Major
junctions
Nose Hill Drive
Sarcee Trail
Shaganappi Trail
14 Street NW
East end 48 Avenue NW / McKnight Boulevard
Neighborhoods

McKnight Boulevard is a major east-west arterial road and expressway in north Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is preceded by John Laurie Boulevard, a major arterial road in the northwest quadrant. The two roadways function together as a major crosstown route between the northwest and northeast quadrants[2] and are part of Calgary's Skeletal Road Network.[3]

Route description

McKnight Boulevard

McKnight Boulevard begins in the northwestern community of North Haven at a T-intersection with John Laurie Boulevard and 48 Avenue NW as a four lane arterial road and continues east, with speed limits ranging between 50 and 60 km/h (31–37 mph). East of Deerfoot Trail (Highway 2), McKnight Boulevard becomes an expressway, with speed limits ranging between 70 and 80 km/h (43–50 mph), to the city limits east of Stoney Trail NE (Highway 201).[4]

It is named for William Lidstone McKnight (1918–1941), a World War II flying ace with the Royal Air Force who had spent much of his childhood in Calgary before disappearing shortly after the Battle of Britain in combat.[5] Prior to the road being renamed in his honour, the portion of the road west of what is now Deerfoot Trail conformed to Calgary's street numbering system, and was known as 48 Avenue N, while the eastern portion was part of Edmonton Trail until the city's road network in the northeast portion of the city was revised in the 1960s.

John Laurie Boulevard

John Laurie Boulevard from the community of Arbour Lake as an arterial road and passes through the communities of Hawkwood and Ranchlands with a speed limit of 60 km/h (37 mph). At Ranchlands Boulevard, it begins to transition to an expressway with the speed limit increasing to 70 km/h (43 mph) and becomes an expressway east of Sarcee Trail. John Laurie Boulevard continues east along the southern edge of Nose Hill Park to its eastern terminus at McKnight Boulevard.[4]

The road is named for John Lee Laurie, a prominent educator and political activist in Calgary, best known for First Nations advocacy.[6]

Future

Increased traffic along John Laurie and McKnight Boulevards has led to increased demands for improvements along the corridor. The City of Calgary has identified the intersection of 12 Street NE, just east of Deerfoot Trail, for a future interchange location; however, no timeline has been set for construction.[7] There has also been renewed demand to improve the John Laurie Boulevard / McKnight Boulevard / 48 Avenue NW intersection; an interchange was proposed in 2005 but ultimately went unfunded.[8][9]

Major intersections

From west to east.[4] The entire route is in Calgary.

km[1]miDestinationsNotes
Continues as Arbour Lake Road
−10.5−6.5Arbour Wood Close, Arbour Lake DriveJohn Laurie Boulevard western terminus
−10.0−6.2200 Crowfoot GateTraffic signals
−9.8−6.1100 Crowfoot GateTraffic signals
−9.6−6.0Nose Hill DriveTraffic signals
−9.1−5.7Hawkwood Drive, Ranchero DriveTraffic signals
−8.4−5.2Hawkwood Hill, Ranchlands BoulevardTraffic signals
−7.7−4.8Hawkwood BoulevardTraffic signals
−7.4−4.6Sarcee TrailTraffic signals
−6.3−3.9Edgemont Boulevard, 53 Street NWTraffic signals
−5.8−3.6Edgemont DriveTraffic signals
−5.1−3.2Shaganappi TrailTraffic signals
−4.5−2.8Brenner Drive
−4.0−2.5Brisebois Drive
−3.0−1.9Charleswood Drive
−2.1−1.319 Street NW
−1.2−0.7514 Street NWSingle-point urban interchange
0.00.048 Avenue NWT-intersection
John Laurie Boulevard eastern terminus • McKnight Boulevard western terminus
0.90.564 Street NWTraffic signals
1.50.93Centre Street NTraffic signals
2.11.34 Street NE, Edmonton TrailTraffic signals
3.01.9 Deerfoot Trail (Hwy 2) Airport terminalPartial cloverleaf interchange (Hwy 2 Exit 261)
3.52.2Aviation Boulevard, 12 Street NETraffic signals
4.12.5Aviation RoadWestbound right-in/right-out
4.3–
4.9
2.7–
3.0
Passes Calgary International Airport
5.23.2McCall Way, 19 Street NETraffic signals
5.93.7Barlow TrailTraffic signals
7.34.5Métis Trail, 36 Street NECloverleaf interchange
8.45.247 Street NETraffic signals
9.05.6Falconridge Boulevard, 52 Street NETraffic signals
10.66.668 Street NETraffic signals
11.77.3 Stoney Trail (Hwy 201)Partial cloverleaf interchange (Hwy 201 Exit 74)
12.27.684 Street NEIntersection permanently closed; Calgary city limits; McKnight Boulevard eastern terminus
Continues as Township Road 250 to Conrich and CN Intermodal terminal
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Google (May 2, 2017). "John Laurie Blvd and McKnight Blvd in Calgary, Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  2. "2016 Average Daily (24hr) Weekday Traffic Volume" (PDF) (Map). City of Calgary. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  3. Calgary Transportation Plan (PDF) (Report). City of Calgary. September 2009. p. D-1. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Sherlock Publishing (2014). Sherlock's Map of Calgary (Map) (16th ed.). Langdon, AB: Sherlock Publishing. pp. 8–9, 17–22. ISBN 1-895229-80-4.
  5. Cole, Yolande (November 10, 2016). "Landmarks honour veterans". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  6. Foran, Max (1987). Citymakers: Calgarians after the frontier. Calgary: Historical Society of Alberta, Chinook Country Chapter. p. 263. ISBN 0-88925-725-6.
  7. "McKnight Boulevard Transportation Study". Transportation Planning. City of Calgary. December 9, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  8. Ferguson, Eva (April 15, 2017). "North Haven residents want action on increasingly dangerous northwest intersection". Calgary Herald. Postmedia. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  9. Tighe, Tony (April 18, 2017). "Northwest Calgary residents want improvements to 'dangerous' intersection". Global News. Corus Entertainment Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
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