Dougall Avenue (Windsor, Ontario)
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Dougall Avenue is a busy four-lane urban
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 r ...
, linking Downtown
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
, with South Windsor and
Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provinc ...
. The road is a minimum of four lanes for its entire length, and is among Windsor's busiest, with an
Average Annual Daily Traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a ...
amount of 35,000 vehicles per day from Eugenie Street to Cabana Road.


History

The road was part of the original alignment of
Highway 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3. For roads numbered 3A, see 3A. International * Asian Highway 3 * Europea ...
from 1917 to 1929, when Highway 3 was re-aligned onto the newly built
Huron Church Road King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the northern shoreline of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which travels from t ...
to serve the also newly constructed
Ambassador Bridge The Ambassador Bridge is a tolled international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, it is the busiest international border crossing in North ...
. Dougall Avenue then became Highway 3A. In 1935, the
provincial highway Numbered highways in Canada are split by province, and a majority are maintained by their province or territory transportation department. All highways in Canada are numbered except for three in the Northwest Territories, one in Alberta, one in O ...
was re-labelled as Highway 3B. In 1962,
Ouellette Avenue Ouellette Avenue (most commonly pronounced Oh-Let, pronounced by French-speakers as 'Wellette') is one of the main North-South Roads in Windsor, Ontario, and acts as its Main Street. The road diverges from Dougall Avenue south of Downtown Win ...
was re-aligned south of Eugenie Street to allow better direct access to and from Dougall Avenue, and to eliminate a short 3-block "jog" east along
Tecumseh Road The road network in Windsor, Ontario is a grid system with elongated blocks, generally aligned with the Detroit River, with East-West roads running parallel to it, and North-South streets running perpendicular (90 Degrees) to it. This is an adopti ...
near downtown. Highway 3B was re-aligned onto Ouelette Place (the "curve" along Ouellette Avenue) and
Ouellette Avenue Ouellette Avenue (most commonly pronounced Oh-Let, pronounced by French-speakers as 'Wellette') is one of the main North-South Roads in Windsor, Ontario, and acts as its Main Street. The road diverges from Dougall Avenue south of Downtown Win ...
, terminating in Downtown Windsor. This curve was finished and opened in 1963. In 1966, the road was also designated as a connecting link. This meant that while Windsor would have more responsibility in maintaining and repairing the road, the
Ministry of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
would still contribute and help. The road's status as a provincial highway was repealed in 1975, but the connecting link agreement was kept, allowing the road to still be signed as Highway 3B, to reduce confusion among motorists. The connecting link was ultimately repealed in 1998.


Route Description


Dougall Parkway to Ouellette Place

The road officially begins at the interchange with Howard Avenue, with a small former alignment in place to serve several homes, named "Dougall Place". The road narrows from a four-lane dual carriageway (speed limit of 80 km/h or 50 mph) to a four-lane undivided urban arterial road, with a speed limit of 60 km/h (40 mph). The roadway is heavily built-up on all sides, with mostly
shopping plaza A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to ref ...
s and businesses, but with houses as well. The largest of plaza is the South Windsor
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
(located south of
E. C. Row Expressway The E. C. Row Expressway is a municipal expressway in the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It divides the city in half as it crosses it between the Ojibway Parkway in the west and Banwell Road in the east, a distance of . It was built between 19 ...
). North of the Walmart and interchange with E.C. Row Expressway, the road becomes a narrowly divided four-lane arterial road, passing under 1 railway overpass, as well as passing next to the Zalev Brothers

Scrap Yard. It is here, that Dougall Road continues north, but all lanes default onto Ouellette Place.


Intersection with Ouelette Place

The intersection of Ouellette Place is very dangerous (among the most dangerous in the entire city), as the shape and angle of the intersection (and the reduced visibility from 1 active and 2 removed
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
overpasses) draws the attention of motorists behind them when trying to continue straight (by making a left-turn) on Dougall Avenue, or to make a left-turn onto Ouellette Place northbound from Dougall Avenue southbound. The road was designed to keep the majority of traffic onto Ouellette Avenue, and this has been the cause of many accidents, such as rear-end collisions. There have been petitions now and then for
Windsor City Council The Windsor City Council is the governing body of Windsor, Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically b ...
to fix the intersection or close off access to Dougall Avenue entirely (and have signs directing motorists that want to access Dougall Avenue to use Eugenie Street).


North of Ouellette Place

North of Ouellette Place, the road is far quieter, though still has a fair amount of traffic around Dorwin Plaza, Superstore and the Cogeco Cable offices. Most of the traffic on this street uses Eugenie Street to get to and from Ouellette Place, and to serve the businesses along it. After crossing the
CP Rail The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
and
Essex Terminal Railway Essex Terminal Railway (often referred to as ETR) is a Canadian shortline terminal railroad, running from the City of Windsor, Ontario through LaSalle, to Amherstburg, Ontario, for a distance of approximately . ETR has direct connections to ...
tracks, the road becomes a two-lane residential collector road with on-street parking, with two-way access terminating at the intersection of
Tecumseh Road The road network in Windsor, Ontario is a grid system with elongated blocks, generally aligned with the Detroit River, with East-West roads running parallel to it, and North-South streets running perpendicular (90 Degrees) to it. This is an adopti ...
. North of this street, the road is southbound-only, and is entirely residential in nature, with very low traffic volumes.


Truck Traffic Issues

In recent months, the ''
Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...
'' has reported that heavy international
transport truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
traffic on the road has tripled (not counting those trucks making deliveries to stores and locations along the road) since trucks were banned by a 2003 city bylaw from using
Wyandotte Street Wyandotte may refer to: People and culture * Wyandotte Nation (also Wyandot), a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma * Wyandot language, the extinct language, now under revitalization efforts, of the Wyandotte Nation United S ...
as a "short cut" to the
Ambassador Bridge The Ambassador Bridge is a tolled international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, it is the busiest international border crossing in North ...
in an attempt to avoid the very-busy
Huron Church Road King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the northern shoreline of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which travels from t ...
.
Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
Drew Dilkens has requested for the bylaw to be extended to include Dougall Avenue between
Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provinc ...
(including
Dougall Parkway King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the northern shoreline of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which travels from ...
) and
E. C. Row Expressway The E. C. Row Expressway is a municipal expressway in the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It divides the city in half as it crosses it between the Ojibway Parkway in the west and Banwell Road in the east, a distance of . It was built between 19 ...
(with exceptions for trucks making local deliveries), citing studies done that show nearly all the trucks on the road use Dougall Avenue to approach
E. C. Row Expressway The E. C. Row Expressway is a municipal expressway in the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It divides the city in half as it crosses it between the Ojibway Parkway in the west and Banwell Road in the east, a distance of . It was built between 19 ...
, then to
Huron Church Road King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the northern shoreline of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which travels from t ...
(public opinion has traditionally been strong on keeping international truck traffic off of E.C. Row) as it already handles a large number of commuter traffic and is the fastest way to cross the city.Thursday, January 3, 2007 issue of the ''
Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...
''


References

{{Roads in Windsor, Ontario Streets in Windsor, Ontario