John Laurie/McKnight Boulevard
John Laurie Boulevard / McKnight Boulevard is a major east-west arterial road and expressway in north Calgary, Alberta. The two roadways function together as a major crosstown route between the northwest and northeast quadrants and are part of Calgary's Skeletal Road Network.[2][3]
| Length | 22.7 km (14.1 mi)[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Calgary, Alberta |
| John Laurie Boulevard | |
| Length | 10.5 km (6.5 mi)[1] |
| 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 |
| McKnight Boulevard | |
| Former name(s) | 48 Avenue N |
| Length | 12.2 km (7.6 mi)[1] |
| 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 |
| Neighborhoods |
|---|
|
Route description
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.[5]
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.[6] 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.
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] | mi | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | Arbour Lake Road | Continues west | ||
| Arbour Wood Close, Arbour Lake Drive | John Laurie Boulevard western terminus | ||||
| 0.9 | 0.56 | Nose Hill Drive | Traffic signals | ||
| 1.4 | 0.87 | Hawkwood Drive, Ranchero Drive | Traffic signals | ||
| 2.1 | 1.3 | Hawkwood Hill, Ranchlands Boulevard | Traffic signals | ||
| 2.8 | 1.7 | Hawkwood Boulevard | Traffic signals | ||
| 3.1 | 1.9 | Sarcee Trail | Traffic signals | ||
| 4.2 | 2.6 | Edgemont Boulevard, 53 Street NW | Traffic signals | ||
| 4.7 | 2.9 | Edgemont Drive | Traffic signals | ||
| 5.4 | 3.4 | Shaganappi Trail | Traffic signals | ||
| 6.0 | 3.7 | Brenner Drive | |||
| 6.5 | 4.0 | Brisebois Drive | |||
| 7.5 | 4.7 | Charleswood Drive | |||
| 8.4 | 5.2 | 19 Street NW | |||
| 9.3 | 5.8 | 14 Street NW | Single-point urban interchange | ||
| 10.5 0.0 | 6.5 0.0 | 48 Avenue NW | T-intersection | ||
| John Laurie Boulevard eastern terminus • McKnight Boulevard western terminus | |||||
| 0.9 | 0.56 | 4 Street NW | Traffic signals | ||
| 1.5 | 0.93 | Centre Street N | Traffic signals | ||
| 2.1 | 1.3 | 4 Street NE, Edmonton Trail | Traffic signals | ||
| 2.6– 3.4 | 1.6– 2.1 |   Deerfoot Trail (Hwy 2) – Calgary International Airport | Partial cloverleaf interchange; exit 261 on Hwy 2 | ||
| 3.5 | 2.2 | Aviation Boulevard, 12 Street NE | Traffic signals | ||
| 4.1 | 2.5 | Aviation Road | Westbound right-in/right-out | ||
| 5.2 | 3.2 | McCall Way, 19 Street NE | Traffic signals | ||
| 5.9 | 3.7 | Barlow Trail | Traffic signals | ||
| 6.7– 7.9 | 4.2– 4.9 | Métis Trail / 36 Street NE | Cloverleaf interchange | ||
| 8.4 | 5.2 | 47 Street NE | Traffic signals | ||
| 9.0 | 5.6 | Falconridge Boulevard, 52 Street NE | Traffic signals | ||
| 10.6 | 6.6 | 68 Street NE | Traffic signals | ||
| 11.2– 12.2 | 7.0– 7.6 |  Stoney Trail (Hwy 201) | Partial cloverleaf interchange; exit 74 on Hwy 201 | ||
| 12.2 | 7.6 | Township Road 250 | Continues east towards Conrich and CN Intermodal terminal | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- Google (May 2, 2017). "John Laurie Blvd and McKnight Blvd in Calgary, Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- "2016 Average Daily (24hr) Weekday Traffic Volume" (PDF) (Map). City of Calgary. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- Calgary Transportation Plan (Report). City of Calgary. September 2009. p. D-1. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- 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.
- Foran, Max (1987). Citymakers: Calgarians after the frontier. Calgary: Historical Society of Alberta, Chinook Country Chapter. p. 263. ISBN 0-88925-725-6.
- Cole, Yolande (November 10, 2016). "Landmarks honour veterans". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017. Alt URL
- "McKnight Boulevard Transportation Study". Transportation Planning. City of Calgary. December 9, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- Ferguson, Eva (April 15, 2017). "North Haven residents want action on increasingly dangerous northwest intersection". Calgary Herald. Postmedia. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- Tighe, Tony (April 18, 2017). "Northwest Calgary residents want improvements to 'dangerous' intersection". Global News. Corus Entertainment Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2017.