Editing Colonel By Drive

{{Short description|Scenic parkway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada}}{{Infobox road
| province = ON
| type = NCC
| name = Colonel By Drive
| alternate_name = 
| image = Canal-Carleton-may.jpg
| image_notes = Looking north towards [[Heron Road Workers Memorial Bridge]]
| maint = [[National Capital Commission]]
| marker_image = 
| map = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|id=Q5148102|type=line}}
| map_custom = yes
| map_notes = Colonel By Drive highlighted in red
| length_km = 8.1
| direction_a = South
| terminus_a = [[Hog's Back Road]]
| direction_b = North
| terminus_b = [[Sussex Drive (Ottawa)|Sussex Drive]]
| cities = [[Ottawa]]
| history = 
| browse = {{on-exp browse|previous_link= [[Aviation Parkway (Ottawa)|Aviation Parkway]] |route=Colonel By Drive |next_link= [[Island Park Drive]]}}
}}

[[Image:Colonel By Drive.JPG|thumb|Colonel By Drive shown just south of the [[Laurier Avenue Bridge]]]]
'''Colonel By Drive''' ({{langx|fr|Promenade Colonel-By}}) is an {{convert|8.1|km|mi|abbr=on}} long scenic [[parkway]] in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], Canada. 

== Route description ==
The parkway runs along the [[Rideau Canal]] from the end of [[Sussex Drive (Ottawa)|Sussex Drive]] at [[Rideau Street (Ottawa)|Rideau Street]]. It then continues {{convert|8|km|abbr=on}} south and west to [[Hog's Back Road]], winding through several residential areas and going past [[Dow's Lake]] and [[Carleton University]]. To the north, the road passes [[Department of National Defence Headquarters]], the [[Ottawa Congress Centre]] and the [[Westin Hotel]] before ending at [[Rideau Street]]. The rear door of the [[Senate of Canada Building]] can be accessed from the street as well, after it passes under the [[Mackenzie King Bridge]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scenic Parkways |url=https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/parkways |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=NCC-CCN |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}
It is named for Lieutenant-Colonel [[John By]], who supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal. The winding two-lane road had a speed limit of {{convert|60|km/h|abbr=on}} for its entire length, until in 2022 the stretch from [[Bronson Avenue]] to Daly Avenue was reduced to 40 km/h (25 mph).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-15 |title=New speed limit on the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Colonel By Drive |url=https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/news/new-speed-limit-on-the-queen-elizabeth-driveway-and-colonel-by-drive |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=NCC-CCN |language=en}}</ref>

For many decades the area east of the canal had held Ottawa's main rail lines connecting to the [[Government Conference Centre|Ottawa Union Station]] near the northern end of the canal. In 1966, rail service was controversially relocated to the new [[Ottawa station|Ottawa Station]] about {{convert|3|km|abbr=on}} southeast in an industrial area in the east end of the city as part of an [[Greber Plan|urban renewal plan]], leaving the area on the eastern bank of the canal open for development. The Colonel By Drive was built in part on this newly-available rail right-of-way.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Deachman |first=Bruce |date=2015-08-06 |title=Transforming Ottawa: How Jacques Gréber's plan forever changed the capital, for better and worse |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/transforming-ottawa-how-jacques-grebers-plan-forever-changed-the-capital-for-better-and-worse |access-date=2024-05-16 |work=[[The Ottawa Citizen]]}}</ref> The [[Queen Elizabeth Driveway]], another scenic Canadian parkway, already served the same purpose on the other side of the canal.

Historically, like other [[National Capital Commission]] parkways, Colonel By Drive has been periodically closed to motor vehicle traffic and reserved for active transportation use. In 2021, the stretch between Canal Woods Terrace and Daly Avenue was closed from July 2 to September 6 for this reason.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lord |first=Craig |date=2021-04-30 |title=Weekend Bikedays: NCC opens more Ottawa parkways to cyclists, pedestrians |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7823105/ottawa-road-closures-covid-ncc-2021/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}</ref> However, as of 2024, Colonel By Drive is not included in this active transportation program.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-04-23 |title=Ottawa's scenic parkways to close to traffic again this year |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-s-scenic-parkways-to-close-to-traffic-again-this-year-1.7182538 |access-date=2024-05-16 |work=[[CBC News]]}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Ottawa Roads}}

[[Category:Roads in Ottawa]]
[[Category:Bike paths in Ontario]]
[[Category:Parkways in Ontario]]
[[Category:National Capital Commission]]