Kingsway, sometimes called Kingsway Avenue, is an
arterial road
An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...
in central
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada, that runs on a northwest to southeast path, cutting through the city's normal
grid pattern
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogo ...
. It skirts just to the south of
Edmonton City Centre Airport
Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA), also called Blatchford Field as well as Edmonton Municipal Airport, was an airport within the city of Edmonton, in Alberta, Canada.
It was bordered by Yellowhead Trail to the north, Kingsway to the south, ...
, and connects to
Kingsway Mall
Kingsway Mall (formerly Kingsway Garden Mall) is a shopping centre located in central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The mall, constructed in 1976, completed a $70-million redevelopment from 2007–2009. The "Revealing" held the weekend of 13 Novembe ...
and the
Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Until 1939, the road was called Portage Avenue and represented the northern boundary of development. During the
1939 royal tour of Canada
The 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was undertaken in the build-up to World War II as a way to emphasise the links between Britain and Canada. The royal tour lasted from 17 May to 15 June, covering every Canadian ...
, 70,000 people lined the specially constructed
grandstand
A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...
s to see the royal
motorcade
A motorcade, or autocade, is a procession of vehicles.
Etymology
The term ''motorcade'' was coined by Lyle Abbot (in 1912 or 1913 when he was automobile editor of the ''Arizona Republican''), and is formed after ''cavalcade'', playing off of ...
with
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
,
Queen Elizabeth, and
Prime Minister King, the street was renamed in honour of King George VI. In
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
, their daughter, the then
Princess Elizabeth, visited Edmonton, prompting the naming of the adjacent
Princess Elizabeth Avenue
Princess Elizabeth Avenue, is an arterial road in central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that runs on a southwest to northeast path, cutting through the city's normal grid pattern. It skirts just to the south of Blatchford (formerly Edmonton City ...
. It starts as 118 Avenue and turns southeast by 121 Street (where the CN rail line used to be), continues straight to 97 Street and turns east again as it becomes 108A Avenue.
History
Before the completion of
Yellowhead Trail
Yellowhead Trail is a expressway segment of the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16) in northern Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It carries a significant amount of truck traffic to and from the industrial areas of north Edmonton and serves as a key co ...
, Kingsway would stretch from 118 Avenue to
St. Albert Trail, as
Highway 2 would follow 109 Street to Kingsway, turn northwest, and continue to St. Albert Trail.
Neighbourhoods
List of neighbourhoods Kingsway runs through, in order from west to east.
[City of Edmonton map utility](_blank)
/ref>
*Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
* Inglewood
*Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
*Queen Mary Park
Queen Mary Park is a mature residential neighbourhood in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada located just outside the downtown core. The neighbourhood occupies land that was once part of the Hudson's Bay Company reserve.
The community is represented by the ...
* Central McDougall
*Spruce Avenue
Spruce Avenue is an irregular shaped residential neighbourhood in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The neighbourhood is home to Kingsway Mall, the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, the Norwood Extended Care ...
* McCauley
Major intersections
This is a list of major intersections, starting at the west end of Kingsway.
See also
* Transportation in Edmonton The city of Edmonton, Alberta, has a transportation network fairly typical for a Canadian city of its size, involving most modes of transport including, but certainly not limited to, air, rail, road and public transit.
With very few natural barriers ...
References
Roads in Edmonton
{{Edmonton-stub