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121-638: The Conestoga Parkway , officially the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway , is a controlled-access highway in the Canadian province of Ontario , located entirely within the Regional Municipality of Waterloo . The 20.7-kilometre (12.9 mi) route travels east and then north through the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo , and is connected to Highway 401 via Highway 8 and King Street East . The name Conestoga Parkway

242-663: A dual highway ) in 1932 between Cologne and Bonn . It then rapidly constructed the first nationwide system of such roads. The first North American freeways (known as parkways) opened in the New York City area in the 1920s. Britain, heavily influenced by the railways, did not build its first motorway , the Preston By-pass ( M6 ), until 1958. Most technologically advanced nations feature an extensive network of freeways or motorways to provide high-capacity urban travel, or high-speed rural travel, or both. Many have

363-466: A median separates the opposite directions of traffic. This strip may be as simple as a grassy area, or may include a crash barrier such as a " Jersey barrier " or an "Ontario Tall Wall" to prevent head-on collisions . On some freeways, the two carriageways are built on different alignments; this may be done to make use of available corridors in a mountainous area or to provide narrower corridors through dense urban areas . Control of access relates to

484-1028: A pride parade , drag show , family-friendly pride in the park event, and flag raisings. In November 2021, Stratford-Perth Pride launched its first annual Trans Pride Week - a week of celebrations honouring the trans and nonbinary community. Stratford is also home to the Stratford Pride Community Centre (SPCC). The SPCC is a physical space located in downtown Stratford for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to visit during drop-in hours and attend social events. The SPCC also hosts Stratford's Winter Pride event which takes place in February of each year. Since 2021, Stratford District Secondary School (SDSS) and Stratford Intermediate School (SIS) has been putting their yearly budget toward including 2SLGBTQIA+ community to help those students feel included. Numerous visitors arrive in Stratford each week during

605-567: A barrier between Frederick Street and Lancaster Street began in July 1994. The work, which also included the construction of storm drainage, was completed by the summer of 1995. Construction of a barrier between Homer Watson Boulevard and Frederick Street began in July 1997, and was completed by November. In the early 1990s, the provincial government announced plans to widen the Conestoga Parkway and Freeport Diversion, as well as to improve

726-561: A class of highways with somewhat less isolation from other traffic. In countries following the Vienna convention , the motorway qualification implies that walking and parking are forbidden. A fully controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals , intersections or property access . They are free of any at-grade crossings with other roads, railways, or pedestrian paths, which are instead carried by overpasses and underpasses . Entrances and exits to

847-651: A cloverleaf and trumpet interchange when it opened in 1937, and until the Second World War , boasted the longest illuminated stretch of roadway built. A decade later, the first section of Highway 401 was opened, based on earlier designs. It has since gone on to become the busiest highway in the world. The word freeway was first used in February 1930 by Edward M. Bassett . Bassett argued that roads should be classified into three basic types: highways, parkways , and freeways. In Bassett's zoning and property law -based system, abutting property owners have

968-479: A continuous four lane expressway in 1962. Construction of the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway began in 1966 with the rebuilding of King Street East into a divided highway. This project also resulted in the construction of the interchange with the future expressway, which was named the Conestoga Parkway in 1967. The northern and western legs were built outwards from this interchange simultaneously over

1089-620: A freeway, specialized pedestrian footbridges or tunnels may also be provided. These structures enable pedestrians and cyclists to cross the freeway at that point without a detour to the nearest road crossing. Access to freeways is typically provided only at grade-separated interchanges , though lower-standard right-in/right-out (left-in/left-out in countries that drive on the left) access can be used for direct connections to side roads. In many cases, sophisticated interchanges allow for smooth, uninterrupted transitions between intersecting freeways and busy arterial roads . However, sometimes it

1210-624: A grade-separation with the northern King Street North, was opened in late August, 1977. As each section of the Conestoga Parkway opened, the DHO moved portions of Highways   7, 8 and 85 onto it. By 1972, the current configuration of the three highways was established. However, in 1980 or 1981, Highway   85 was renumbered as Highway   86. It remained as such until the spring of 2003, when several highways in Ontario were renumbered to improve route number continuity and aid navigation. Among them

1331-434: A larger number of guide signs than other roads, and the signs themselves are physically larger. Guide signs are often mounted on overpasses or overhead gantries so that drivers can see where each lane goes. Exit numbers are commonly derived from the exit's distance in miles or kilometers from the start of the freeway. In some areas, there are public rest areas or service areas on freeways, as well as emergency phones on

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1452-499: A legal status which limits the types of vehicles that can use a highway, as well as a road design that limits the points at which they can access it. Major arterial roads will often have partial access control , meaning that side roads will intersect the main road at grade, instead of using interchanges, but driveways may not connect directly to the main road, and drivers must use intersecting roads to access adjacent land. At arterial junctions with relatively quiet side roads, traffic

1573-527: A milepost system but does not use milepost markers. In Europe and some other countries, motorways typically have similar characteristics such as: Two-lane freeways , often undivided, are sometimes built when traffic volumes are low or right-of-way is limited; they may be designed for easy conversion to one side of a four-lane freeway. (For example, most of the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway in eastern Kentucky

1694-447: A motorway is understood as a public road with dual carriageways and at least two lanes each way. All entrances and exits are signposted and all interchanges are grade separated. Central barrier or median present throughout the road. No crossing is permitted, while stopping is permitted only in an emergency. Restricted access to motor vehicles, prohibited to pedestrians, animals, pedal cycles, mopeds, agricultural vehicles. The minimum speed

1815-777: A national-level or even international-level (e.g. European E route ) system of route numbering . There are several international standards that give some definitions of words such as motorways, but there is no formal definition of the English language words such as freeway , motorway , and expressway , or of the equivalent words in other languages such as autoroute , Autobahn , autostrada , autocesta, autoput , that are accepted worldwide—in most cases these words are defined by local statute or design standards or regional international treaties. Descriptions that are widely used include: One green or blue symbol (like [REDACTED] ) appears at motorway entry in countries that follow

1936-600: A number of patterns. The actual pattern is determined by a number of factors including local topology, traffic density, land cost, building costs, type of road, etc. In some jurisdictions feeder/distributor lanes are common, especially for cloverleaf interchanges ; in others, such as the United Kingdom, where the roundabout interchange is common, feeder/distributor lanes are seldom seen. Motorways in Europe typically differ between exits and junctions. An exit leads out of

2057-399: A pair of at-grade four lane boulevards known as Henry Sturm Boulevard (east–west) and Dryden Boulevard (north–south), for which land was gradually purchased through the 1950s and into the early 1960s. The completion of Highway   401 between Toronto and Highway   8 in 1960 resulted in businesses relocating closer to it; consequently, traffic planners redesigned the boulevards into

2178-624: A park and where intersecting streets crossed over bridges. The Southern State Parkway opened in 1927, while the Long Island Motor Parkway was closed in 1937 and replaced by the Northern State Parkway (opened 1931) and the contiguous Grand Central Parkway (opened 1936). In Germany, construction of the Bonn-Cologne Autobahn began in 1929 and was opened in 1932 by Konrad Adenauer , then

2299-457: A private venture, was the world's first limited-access roadway. It included many modern features, including banked turns , guard rails and reinforced concrete tarmac . Traffic could turn left between the parkway and connectors, crossing oncoming traffic, so it was not a controlled-access highway (or "freeway" as later defined by the federal government's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices ). Modern controlled-access highways originated in

2420-609: A reduction in deaths in a range from 20% to 50% on those sections. Speed, in Europe, is considered to be one of the main contributory factors to collisions. Some countries, such as France and Switzerland, have achieved a death reduction by a better monitoring of speed. Tools used for monitoring speed might be an increase in traffic density; improved speed enforcement and stricter regulation leading to driver license withdrawal; safety cameras; penalty point; and higher fines. Some other countries use automatic time-over-distance cameras (also known as section controls ) to manage speed. Fatigue

2541-541: A separate roadway or altogether eliminates it. In some parts of the world, notably parts of the US , frontage roads form an integral part of the freeway system. These parallel surface roads provide a transition between high-speed "through" traffic and local traffic. Frequent slip-ramps provide access between the freeway and the frontage road, which in turn provides direct access to local roads and businesses. Except on some two-lane freeways (and very rarely on wider freeways),

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2662-510: A similar system of express and local lanes for a maximum width of 21 lanes on a 2-mile (3.2 km) segment between Interstate 805 and California State Route 56 . In Mississauga , Ontario, Highway 401 uses collector-express lanes for a total of 18 lanes through its intersection with Highway 403 / Highway 410 and Highway 427 . These wide freeways may use separate collector and express lanes to separate through traffic from local traffic, or special high-occupancy vehicle lanes , either as

2783-411: A special restriction on the innermost lane or a separate roadway, to encourage carpooling . These HOV lanes , or roadways open to all traffic, can be reversible lanes , providing more capacity in the direction of heavy traffic, and reversing direction before traffic switches. Sometimes a collector/distributor road , a shorter version of a local lane, shifts weaving between closely spaced interchanges to

2904-492: A successful agricultural area and has some auto parts manufacturing, but tourism is still the most significant aspect. According to an estimate by the Conference Board of Canada , it generates $ 140 million in economic activity, $ 65 million in taxes and 3,000 direct and indirect jobs. For the past few years however, the town has been working to attract more technical industries with former Mayor Dan Mathieson spearheading

3025-512: Is 90 kilometres per hour (55 mph) throughout its length. At the Kitchener city limits at Trussler Road the concurrency of Highway   7/8 continues west as a four lane freeway towards Stratford . Within Kitchener, the Conestoga Parkway consistently acts as the boundary for neighbourhoods to either side of it. Initially, it is sandwiched between the suburban residential neighbourhoods of Forest Heights and Laurentian West neighbourhoods, to

3146-677: Is also home to the Stratford Chef School, a prestigious culinary school and the focus of the Food Network Canada series Chef School . Founded in June 2009, the University of Waterloo Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business is part of the faculty of arts , established to provide programs that focus on digital media , digital technologies, content creation and user experience. September 2010 marked

3267-405: Is an interchange. The Conestoga Parkway enters into Waterloo with the suburban neighbourhood of Lincoln Heights to the west and greenfields and Betchel Park to the east. After 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi), it crosses Laurel Creek and encounters an interchange with Regional Road   57 (University Avenue) before curving gradually to the west-northwest. With the neighbourhoods of Lincoln West to

3388-461: Is considered as a risk factor more specific to monotonous roads such as motorways, although such data are not monitored/recorded in many countries. According to Vinci Autoroutes , one third of accidents in French motorways are due to sleepy driving. Stratford, Ontario The area was settled by Europeans in 1832, and the town and river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon , England. Stratford

3509-735: Is controlled mainly by two-way stop signs which do not impose significant interruptions on traffic using the main highway. Roundabouts are often used at busier intersections in Europe because they help minimize interruptions in flow, while traffic signals that create greater interference with traffic are still preferred in North America. There may be occasional interchanges with other major arterial roads. Examples include US 23 between SR 15 's eastern terminus and Delaware, Ohio , along with SR 15 between its eastern terminus and I-75 , US 30 , SR 29 / US 33 , and US 35 in western and central Ohio. This type of road

3630-586: Is governed by an elected city council, with a mayor and ten councilors, elected every four years. Sub-committees of council make recommendations to the standing committees of council that are then forwarded to city council for a final decision. The current mayor is Martin Ritsma. The city is served by the Stratford Police Service. The police board consists of two members of city council, a citizen appointed by council, and two citizens appointed by

3751-696: Is home of the OHA Midwestern Junior B hockey team, the Stratford Warriors . The Warriors have produced notable NHL players such as Ed Olczyk , Craig Hartsburg , Garth Snow , Rob Blake , Chris Pronger , Nelson Emerson , Tim Taylor , Greg de Vries , Jeff Halpern , Rem Murray and Boyd Devereaux and won several Sutherland Cup championships. Stratford hosted Tim Hortons Hockey Day in Canada on January 30, 2010. Stratford used to also have an Intercounty Baseball League Team called

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3872-513: Is located in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo . All exits are unnumbered. Controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway , motorway , and expressway . Other similar terms include throughway or thruway and parkway . Some of these may be limited-access highways , although this term can also refer to

3993-655: Is necessary to exit onto a surface road to transfer from one freeway to another. One example in the United States (notorious for the resulting congestion) is the connection from Interstate 70 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike ( Interstate 70 and Interstate 76 ) through the town of Breezewood, Pennsylvania . Speed limits are generally higher on freeways and are occasionally nonexistent (as on much of Germany's Autobahn network). Because higher speeds reduce decision time, freeways are usually equipped with

4114-577: Is no service on public holidays. Public education in Stratford is provided by the Avon Maitland District School Board and Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board with both boards offering education in English, as well as French immersion up to grade eight (with the public Avon Maitland board also offering both languages through high school). The city has two secondary schools: Stratford District Secondary School, and St. Michael's Catholic Secondary School. Stratford

4235-405: Is not a formal designation, but rather a local name applied to the divided expressway portions of Highway 7 , Highway   8 and Highway 85 through Kitchener and Waterloo. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), which built and maintains the route, refers to it as the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway. Originally conceived as a ring road in the 1940s, the concept evolved into

4356-450: Is not lower than 50 km/h [31 mph] and the maximum speed is not higher than 130 km/h [81 mph] (except Germany where no speed limit is defined). Motorways are designed to carry heavy traffic at high speed with the lowest possible number of accidents. They are also designed to collect long-distance traffic from other roads, so that conflicts between long-distance traffic and local traffic are avoided. According to

4477-561: Is not on a 400-series highway bit is at the junctions of Highways 7 (Ontario St.), 8 (Huron St.), and the former 19 (Now Perth Road 119, Mornington St.) and is connected to Highway 401 by expressways from Kitchener . Greyhound Canada provided daily service between London and Kitchener but the route was cancelled as of July 2011. The owners of Cherrey Bus Lines, Robin Hood Tours provides chartered bus service from Stratford to locations as far as Kincardine and Wingham . Within

4598-431: Is provided with separate carriageways for the two directions of traffic). Principal arterials may cross through urban areas, serving suburban movements. The traffic is characterized by high speeds and full or partial access control (interchanges or junctions controlled by traffic lights). Other roads leading to a principal arterial are connected to it through side collector roads. In this view, CARE's definition stands that

4719-407: Is sometimes called an expressway . Freeways are usually limited to motor vehicles of a minimum power or weight; signs may prohibit cyclists , pedestrians and equestrians and impose a minimum speed. It is possible for non-motorized traffic to use facilities within the same right-of-way, such as sidewalks constructed along freeway-standard bridges and multi-use paths next to freeways such as

4840-480: Is specially sign-posted as a motorway and is reserved for specific categories of road motor vehicles." Urban motorways are also included in this definition. However, the respective national definitions and the type of roads covered may present slight differences in different EU countries. The first version of modern controlled-access highways evolved during the first half of the 20th century. The Long Island Motor Parkway on Long Island , New York , opened in 1908 as

4961-545: Is the result of several changes, including infrastructure safety and road user behavior (speed or seat belt use), while other matters such as vehicle safety and mobility patterns have an impact that has not been quantified. Motorways are the safest roads by design. While accounting for more than one quarter of all kilometres driven, they contributed only 8% of the total number of European road deaths in 2006. Germany's Federal Highway Research Institute provided International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD) statistics for

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5082-403: Is the type of walkable wholesome town Rodgers and Hammerstein might write a musical about." In addition to the festival, several annual events attract visitors. Stratford Summer Music, in its 17th year, runs for about a month. In 2016, the event, run by the town, offered 85 concerts, a third of them free or "pay what you can". The 2016 budget was $ 800,000 with funding provided by agencies such as

5203-408: Is two lanes, but work has begun to make all of it four-lane.) These are often called Super two roads. Several such roads are infamous for a high rate of lethal crashes; an outcome because they were designed for short sight distances (sufficient for freeways without oncoming traffic, but insufficient for the years in service as two-lane road with oncoming traffic). An example of such a "Highway to Hell"

5324-402: Is very high year round. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Stratford had a population of 33,232 living in 14,743 of its 15,388 total private dwellings, a change of 5.6% from its 2016 population of 31,470 . With a land area of 30.02 km (11.59 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,107.0/km (2,867.1/sq mi) in 2021. The city is in

5445-629: The Dartford Crossing (the furthest downstream public crossing of the River Thames ) or where it was not economic to build a motorway alongside the existing road such as the former Cumberland Gap . The A1 is a good example of piece-wise upgrading to motorway standard—as of January 2013, the 639-kilometre-long (397 mi) route had five stretches of motorway (designated as A1(M)), reducing to four stretches in March 2018 with completion of

5566-671: The Goderich-Exeter Railway provide freight links, and Via Rail Canada is the passenger carrier. VIA's rail service in Stratford is based from the Stratford railway station , and is situated on the Toronto–Sarnia segment of the Québec City-Windsor Corridor ; Via serves Stratford with two trains daily (one eastbound to Toronto Union Station , and one westbound to Sarnia via London ). It

5687-831: The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario . Stratford's first constable was hired in 1854. As of 2018, the Police Service has 56 sworn members and 22 civilians. Other areas of Perth County receive services from the Ontario Provincial Police , Perth County Detachment in Sebringville with satellite offices in Listowel and Mitchell. Historically, the city was a railway junction. Today, the Canadian National Railway , and

5808-645: The Stanley Park Conservation Area , with the neighbourhoods of Eastwood to the west, and Stanley Park to the southeast. The parkway follows the former alignment of Edna Street north to Frederick Street, with the neighbourhoods of Auditorium and Central Frederick to the west, and Rosemount to the east. It briefly swerves northwards, passing under Frederick Street, Victoria Street and the Kitchener GO line in quick succession. An interchange serves both Frederick Street and Victoria Street, via

5929-959: The Stratford Nationals , and a soccer team in the Kitchener and District Soccer League. House League sports are also available in the Stratford area. There is the Stratford Rotary Hockey League, Hoops For Fun Basketball, Stratford Minor Baseball, the Stratford Soccer House League and the Stratford Dragon Boat Club. It's the home of the Stratford Sabrecats , and Stratford is also home to the Black Swans rugby club. The Chess Federation of Canada has its administrative office in Stratford. The city

6050-867: The Suncoast Trail along the Suncoast Parkway in Florida . In some US jurisdictions, especially where freeways replace existing roads, non-motorized access on freeways is permitted. Different states of the United States have different laws. Cycling on freeways in Arizona may be prohibited only where there is an alternative route judged equal or better for cycling. Wyoming , the second least densely populated state, allows cycling on all freeways. Oregon allows bicycles except on specific urban freeways in Portland and Medford . In countries such as

6171-568: The Toronto International Film Festival , impacted both the Stratford Film Festival's funding and its audience. The Stratford Summer Music Festival has been held for seven seasons and features indoor and outdoor performances by international, classical, and world music artists as well as young Canadian performers around downtown Stratford. The Stratford Concert Band, a local wind ensemble,

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6292-538: The United Kingdom new motorways require an Act of Parliament to ensure restricted right of way. Since upgrading an existing road (the "King's Highway") to a full motorway will result in extinguishing the right of access of certain groups such as pedestrians, cyclists and slow-moving traffic, many controlled access roads are not full motorways. In some cases motorways are linked by short stretches of road where alternative rights of way are not practicable such as

6413-424: The United Kingdom , do not distinguish between the two, but others make a distinction; for example, Germany uses the words Kreuz ("cross") or Dreieck ("triangle") for the former and Ausfahrt ("exit") for the latter. In all cases one road crosses the other via a bridge or a tunnel, as opposed to an at-grade crossing . The inter-connecting roads, or slip-roads , which link the two roads, can follow any one of

6534-401: The half cloverleaf interchange that would serve the western and northern legs of the expressway system. A ground-breaking ceremony was held in the fall of that year, with dignitaries taking turns driving a bulldozer. In anticipation of the long-term construction, Highway   8 was redirected along Fairway Road, Mill Street (now Vanier Drive) and the short section of Henry Sturm Boulevard that

6655-490: The shoulder at regular intervals. In the United States, mileposts usually start at the southern or westernmost point on the freeway (either its terminus or the state line). California , Ohio and Nevada use postmile systems in which the markers indicate mileage through the state's individual counties. However, Nevada and Ohio also use the standard milepost system concurrently with their respective postmile systems. California numbers its exits off its freeways according to

6776-501: The A1(M) through North Yorkshire . The most frequent way freeways are laid out is by building them from the ground up after obstructions such as forestry or buildings are cleared away. Sometimes they deplete farmland, but other methods have been developed for economic, social and even environmental reasons. Full freeways are sometimes made by converting at-grade expressways or by replacing at-grade intersections with overpasses; however, in

6897-643: The Avon Theatre, the Tom Patterson Theatre (originally Shakespeare 3 Company) and the Studio Theatre. The annual festival now draws hundreds of thousands of theatre goers and tourists to the area each year. Acclaimed actors including Alec Guinness , Christopher Plummer , Dame Maggie Smith , William Hutt, Martha Henry and William Shatner have performed at the festival. The Canadian novelist and playwright Timothy Findley performed in

7018-446: The Conestoga Parkway at Fischer-Hallman Drive. It opened on August   13, 1973, bypassing the community of Baden. To the north, construction of a two lane alignment of Highway 85 to connect the Conestoga Parkway, at the southern intersection of King Street North, with the St. Jacobs Bypass began in 1974. The extension, which featured an at-grade intersection with Northfield Road and

7139-505: The Conestoga Parkway into the early 1970s. On the northern leg, the segment under construction between Frederick Street and Bridgeport Road was completed and opened on October   5 or 6, 1970. Just over a month later, on November   13, the first portion of the expressway within Waterloo was opened ceremoniously by Minister of Highways George Gomme . Construction of this section, through undeveloped farmland between Bridgeport Road and

7260-526: The Conestoga Parkway makes a broad curve to the west to avoid the Grand River and meets Regional Road   29 (Lancaster Street), which features a partial interchange . The median barrier ends immediately after, and a grass median begins. To the south is the neighbourhood of Fairfield, while Bridgeport lies to the north. The route gradually curves back to the north and enters the city of Waterloo at Regional Road   9 (Bridgeport Road), with which there

7381-539: The Freeport Diversion, providing a new divided crossing of the Grand River along Highway 8 . The diversion, connecting with King Street south of the Grand River and at Fergus Street, was completed in 1963. The provincial government reached a funding arrangement with Kitchener and Waterloo to cover 75% of the expected C$ 22 million ($ 211 million in 2023 dollars). cost, and officially announced

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7502-481: The ION LRT line over the route as it travels through an area of light industry. Just prior to the second interchange with King Street North, the Conestoga Parkway exits Waterloo into the township of Woolwich . Both the parkway and Highway   85 end approximately 350 metres (1,150 ft) north of King Street North, after which the four lane freeway narrows and is known as Waterloo Regional Road   85. Although

7623-480: The Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway on May   21, 1964. The province eventually took over authority for the entire project in August 1965. Construction began in February 1966 with the awarding of a C$ 3 million ($ 26.9 million in 2023 dollars). contract to rebuild 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) of King Street into a four lane divided highway from Fairway Road (renamed from Block Line Road in 1965) to Doon Road, including

7744-488: The May to October Festival season. National Geographic Traveler considers the theatres to be "nirvana" and also praises other aspects of the town. "During the festival—which stages everything from Shakespeare to Sondheim to new Canadian plays—you can stay in theater-themed B&Bs, hang out with actors post-show at local bars, go on backstage tours, and attend dozens of other events with other theater-mad folk. Stratford itself

7865-909: The Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund. Smaller event are held in other months, including winter and the Swan Weekend in April, to attract off-season visitors. Fans of Stratford-born musician Justin Bieber frequently visit the town, and Stratford Tourism has produced a "Bieber-iffic Map" showing sites associated with his life in Stratford. In 2018, the Stratford Perth Museum opened "Steps to Stardom," an exhibit documenting Bieber's early career in Stratford. Some town locals are known to refer to Stratford as "the big S", drawing in fans year after year. Stratford

7986-502: The Ontario hydroelectric system), Frederick Banting , Centennial, Pioneer, Grand Valley, Golden Triangle, The Kingsway, and Conestoga. The name, a reference to the Mennonite conestoga wagon used by early settlers, was chosen unanimously by the committee. On the northern leg of the parkway, early works construction along Edna Street, including the removal of several dozen homes, began in 1966, and tenders were called for construction of

8107-669: The Regional Road   28 ( Homer Watson Boulevard) interchange – which provides access to Regional Road 4 (Ottawa Street) – retail and light industry in the Alpine neighbourhood begin to flank the southern side of the Conestoga Parkway. It then crosses over the Canadian National Railways Huron Park spur, the adjacent ION LRT line , and Schneider Creek immediately west of an interchange with Regional Road   53 (Courtland Avenue). Now serving as

8228-466: The Shrew . Young actors during the first four seasons included several who went on to great success in subsequent years, Douglas Campbell , Timothy Findley , Don Harron , William Hutt and Douglas Rain . The new Festival Theatre was dedicated on 30 June 1957, with seating for over 1,800 people; none are more than 65 feet from the thrust stage . Over the years, additional theatrical venues were added:

8349-409: The US, any at-grade intersection that ends a freeway often remains an at-grade intersection. Often, when there is a two-lane undivided freeway or expressway, it is converted by constructing a parallel twin corridor, and leaving a median between the two travel directions. The median-side travel lane of the old two-way corridor becomes a passing lane. Other techniques involve building a new carriageway on

8470-484: The United States, allow for limited exceptions: some movable bridges , for instance the Interstate Bridge on Interstate 5 between Oregon and Washington , do require drivers to stop for ship traffic. The crossing of freeways by other routes is typically achieved with grade separation either in the form of underpasses or overpasses . In addition to sidewalks (pavements) attached to roads that cross

8591-712: The Vienna Convention. Exits are marked with another symbol: [REDACTED] . The definitions of "motorway" from the OECD and PIARC are almost identical. In the European Union , for statistical and safety purposes, some distinction might be made between motorway and expressway . For instance a principal arterial might be considered as: Roads serving long distance and mainly interurban movements. Includes motorways (urban or rural) and expressways (road which does not serve properties bordering on it and which

8712-538: The boundary between the residential neighbourhoods of Rockway to the north and Vanier to the south, the route curves north-northeast to reach an interchange with the Freeport Diversion (also known as the King Street Bypass or Highway   8 expressway). The portion of the Conestoga Parkway that travels perpendicular to King Street East follows alongside Montgomery Creek. Now eight-lanes wide, it passes over Weber Street and then curves north-northwest to avoid

8833-793: The bridge. The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge / Dartford tunnel at London Orbital is an example of this. London Orbital or the M25 is a motorway surrounding London , but at the last River Thames crossing before its mouth, motorway rules do not apply. (At this crossing the London Orbital is labeled A282 instead.) A few of the more common types of junction are shown below: There are many differences between countries in their geography, economy, traffic growth, highway system size, degree of urbanization and motorization, etc.; all of which need to be taken into consideration when comparisons are made. According to some EU papers, safety progress on motorways

8954-643: The city of Kitchener as a freeway from the west, it takes on the name Conestoga Parkway at the Waterloo Regional Road ;70 (Trussler Road) exit at the western edge of the city. The parkway travels east until Highway   8 diverges southeast toward Cambridge . Now carrying only the Highway   7 designation, the Conestoga Parkway curves northward. At the Frederick Street and Victoria Street interchange, Highway   7 exits

9075-403: The city uses a transit-on-demand model in which riders book pickup and dropoff locations by either calling, using an app, or accessing the city's website. There are special school routes in the morning and afternoon that are intended for students at the two local high schools and the intermediate school. The four routes in the morning and the afternoon serve over 400,000 students a year. There

9196-407: The city, Stratford Transit provides the local bus service, which runs every half-hour six days a week. The Stratford Municipal Airport (CYSA) is located just north of the city and provides only general aviation, with the closest full service airports in Waterloo ( Region of Waterloo International Airport ) and London ( London International Airport ). All bus routes in Stratford begin and end at

9317-492: The common European definition, a motorway is defined as "a road, specially designed and built for motor traffic, which does not serve properties bordering on it, and which: (a) is provided, except at special points or temporarily, with separate carriageways for the two directions of traffic, separated from each other, either by a dividing strip not intended for traffic, or exceptionally by other means; (b) does not cross at level with any road, railway or tramway track, or footpath; (c)

9438-502: The concept of a ring road around Kitchener and Waterloo originated from the Kitchener-Waterloo and Suburban Planning Board in 1948, actual consideration was not given to it until it was recommended by a 1961 traffic study. By then, the opening of Highway 401 was attracting business away from the rapidly growing twin cities. Land was gradually purchased over the intervening years and picked up considerably when plans for

9559-517: The early 1920s in response to the rapidly increasing use of the automobile , the demand for faster movement between cities and as a consequence of improvements in paving processes, techniques and materials. These original high-speed roads were referred to as " dual highways " and have been modernized and are still in use today. Italy was the first country in the world to build controlled-access highways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only. The Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"),

9680-471: The effort. The Royal Bank of Canada opened a $ 300 million data centre here, Starwood Hotels is experimenting with a new type of call centre, and the University of Waterloo has opened a satellite campus with about 500 students specializing in digital media and information technology, and as the home of the technology forum Canada 3.0 and various technology companies. The Stratford Shakespeare Festival began in 1953 when, on July 13, actor Alec Guinness spoke

9801-442: The eight lane cross-section freeway. Included with this project was a reconstruction of the bottle-necked interchange of the Conestoga Parkway and Highway   8, including a new flyover ramp from westbound Conestoga Parkway to eastbound Highway   8 to replace one of the two loop ramps, and realignment of the northbound to eastbound ramp. Both were completed and opened on June   11, 2004. Construction began in 2012 to widen

9922-407: The expressway system were first raised in late 1962. The ring road prior to this point had evolved to a proposed pair of east–west and north–south four lane boulevards known as Henry Strum Boulevard and Dryden Boulevard. However, Kitchener planning director Bill Thompson changed this to a single controlled-access highway. The Department of Highways had already begun construction in the fall of 1961 on

10043-485: The first built in the world, connecting Milan to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore , and now parts of the A8 and A9 motorways, was devised by Piero Puricelli and was inaugurated in 1924. This motorway, called autostrada , contained only one lane in each direction and no interchanges. The Bronx River Parkway was the first road in North America to utilize a median strip to separate the opposing lanes, to be constructed through

10164-412: The first half of the 20th century. Italy was the first country in the world to build controlled-access highways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only. Italy opened its first autostrada in 1924, A8 , connecting Milan to Varese . Germany began to build its first controlled-access autobahn without speed limits (30 kilometres [19 mi] on what is now A555 , then referred to as

10285-637: The first lines of the first play produced by the festival. The performances during the first four seasons took place in a concrete amphitheatre covered by giant canvas tent on the banks of the River Avon. The first of many years of Stratford Shakespeare Festival production history started with a six-week season, opening on 13 July 1953, with Richard III and then All's Well That Ends Well both starring Alec Guinness. The 1954 season ran for nine weeks and included Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and two Shakespeare plays, Measure for Measure and The Taming of

10406-543: The first season, and had an ongoing relationship with the festival, eventually moving to Stratford in 1997. From 1956 to 1961 and 1971 to 1976, the Stratford Festival also staged the separate Stratford Film Festival , which was credited as one of the first North American film festivals ever to schedule international films. That festival collapsed after the 1976 launch of the Festival of Festivals, now known as

10527-401: The following five years, opening in sections between 1968 and 1971. At that time, the route extended west to Fischer-Hallman Road and north to the southern interchange with King Street North. Two lane extensions opened in 1973 and 1977 to connect the parkway with New Hamburg and St. Jacobs , respectively. Portions of these were expanded to four lanes in the early 1990s. A series of projects saw

10648-504: The highway are provided at interchanges by slip roads (ramps), which allow for speed changes between the highway and arterials and collector roads . On the controlled-access highway, opposing directions of travel are generally separated by a median strip or central reservation containing a traffic barrier or grass. Elimination of conflicts with other directions of traffic dramatically improves safety, while increasing traffic capacity and speed. Controlled-access highways evolved during

10769-558: The interchange between the two. The project was broken into several phases, and included rebuilding the Ottawa Street and Franklin Street overpasses. Construction began in August or September 1998 to widen the Conestoga Parkway from four to six lanes between Courtland Avenue and King Street, from four to eight lanes between King Street and Ottawa Street, and from four to six lanes between Ottawa Street and Frederick Street. This stage of

10890-507: The major employer for many years, employing 40% of the population. Stratford has a humid continental climate type ( Köppen : Dfb). The highest temperature ever recorded in Stratford was 38.9 °C (102 °F) in July 1936. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −35 °C (−31 °F) in January 1882. Stratford has warm summers that are lengthy by Canadian standards with cool nights and long, cold, and snowy winters. Precipitation

11011-568: The market centre for the eastern Huron Tract began. By 1834 a tavern, sawmill and grist mill had opened, and by 1835 a post office, called Stratford, was operating. The Smith's Canadian Gazetteer of 1846 describes Stratford as follows: "Stratford contains about 200 inhabitants. Post Office, post three times a-week. Professions and Trades.—Two physicians and surgeons, one grist and saw mill, one tannery, three stores, one brewery, one distillery, one ashery, two taverns, two blacksmiths, one saddler, two wheelwrights, three shoemakers, two tailors. Settlement

11132-469: The mayor of Cologne . The German Autobahn became the first nationwide highway system. In Canada , the first precursor with semi-controlled access was The Middle Road between Hamilton and Toronto , which featured a median divider between opposing traffic flow, as well as the nation's first cloverleaf interchange . This highway developed into the Queen Elizabeth Way , which featured

11253-400: The motorway system, whilst a junction is a crossing between motorways or a split/merge of two motorways. The motorway rules end at exits, but not at junctions. However, on some bridges, motorways, without changing appearance, temporarily end between the two exits closest to the bridge (or tunnel), and continue as dual carriageways . This is in order to give slower vehicles a possibility to use

11374-438: The new alignment of this Highway   7 freeway passing through environmentally sensitive lands. In particular, the $ 25 million cost of the interchange between the new freeway and the Conestoga Parkway; the high cost is partly due to land acquisition to accommodate the proposed flyover ramps. This represents a quarter of the projected C$ 100   million budget for the total Highway   7 project. The Victoria Street overpass

11495-482: The north and south respectively, as it travels east to Regional Road   58 (Fischer–Hallman Road). There the median switches from grass to a concrete barrier, and the parkway widens to six lanes. It passes north of the Sunrise Shopping Centre before once again bisecting residential neighbourhoods, namely Forest Hill and Meinzinger Park to the north and Laurentian Hills to the south. Approaching

11616-428: The official opening of the Stratford campus. This location offers undergraduate, graduate and advanced education programs and research opportunities as well as opportunities for research and commercialization. The building was founded in 1963 under the name Stratford Northwestern. The name was changed in 2020 along with Stratford Intermediate School (formerly known as Stratford Central). Founded in 1990, St. Michael

11737-460: The opposing lane head on. Following the death of Laurie Brain on April   8, 1990, a coroners jury on October   9, 1991, recommended several immediate improvements to the parkway, including the installation of a median barrier as well as lowering the speed limit from 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) to 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph). The speed limit was reduced to 90   km/h on January   11, 1994, while construction to install

11858-439: The other. Other methods involve constructing a service drive that shortens the long driveways (typically by less than 100 metres (330 ft)). An interchange or a junction is a highway layout that permits traffic from one controlled-access highway to access another and vice versa, whereas an access point is a highway layout where traffic from a distributor or local road can join a controlled-access highway. Some countries, such as

11979-458: The parallel roads of Regional Road   62 (Edna Street) and Regional Road   61 (Bruce Street); an interchange with Wellington Street follows soon thereafter. Due to the close proximately of these two interchanges, the Conestoga Parkway utilizes a brief local–express system for approximately 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi). Now passing through light industry in the Northward neighbourhood,

12100-465: The parkway and follows Victoria Street east toward Guelph ; the parkway henceforth is signed as Highway   85 to its northern end, which lies approximately 750 metres (820 yd) north of the Waterloo city limits. The Conestoga Parkway is maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), which officially refers to it as the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway. The speed limit on the parkway

12221-455: The parkway completely rebuilt through its central section between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, including a concrete median barrier, additional lanes, and a new flyover ramp at Highway   8. An ongoing but frequently delayed project to construct a new freeway between Kitchener and Guelph will see a new interchange built at the existing Wellington Street interchange, in addition to the numerous bridges that have already been lengthened in

12342-524: The parkway to six lanes from east of Courtland Avenue to west of Fischer-Hallman Road, including the installation of a median barrier. The C$ 130 million project was completed in 2016. Long term plans have called for the construction of a freeway link between Kitchener and Guelph, linking the Conestoga Parkway with the Hanlon Expressway ( Highway 6 ). Although proposed in the 1980s, construction did not begin until 2015. Opposition arose due to

12463-425: The project was completed in July 2000. The expansion of Highway   8 from four lanes to eight lanes between the Conestoga Parkway and Fergus Avenue was originally scheduled to begin in 2001, but was delayed as businesses along Weber Street fought expropriation . Construction instead began in April 2002, which involved shifting one of the retaining walls further north and a new Franklin Street bridge to accommodate

12584-477: The rate is higher than the risk on urban roads. Speeds are higher on rural roads and autobahns than urban roads, increasing the severity potential of a crash. According to ETSC, German motorways without a speed limit, but with a 130 km/h (81 mph) speed recommendation, are 25% more deadly than motorways with a speed limit. Germany also introduced some 130 km/h (81 mph) speed limits on various motorway sections that were not limited. This generated

12705-643: The rights of light , air and access to highways, but not parkways and freeways; the latter two are distinguished in that the purpose of a parkway is recreation, while the purpose of a freeway is movement. Thus, as originally conceived, a freeway is simply a strip of public land devoted to movement to which abutting property owners do not have rights of light, air or access. Freeways, by definition, have no at-grade intersections with other roads, railroads or multi-use trails . Therefore, no traffic signals are needed and through traffic on freeways does not normally need to stop at traffic signals. Some countries, such as

12826-406: The route as far west as Waterloo Regional Road   12 (Queen Street), south of Petersburg, on July   6, 1992, with a planned completion by August 1993. The lack of a median barrier between the opposing lanes of the parkway led to numerous crossover collisions; between May 1990 and July 1993, eight deaths were directly attributed to vehicles crossing the grass median and striking vehicles in

12947-616: The route from King Street to Frederick Street in September. Full construction on the C$ 1.9   million ($ 16.5 million in 2023 dollars). contract began in April 1967. It was completed and opened to traffic on September   19, 1968. Another contract, to build the parkway from Frederick Street and Bridgeport Road, was awarded that month for C$ 5.1   million ($ 42.6 million in 2023 dollars)., with construction beginning in October. On

13068-432: The side of a divided highway that has a lot of private access on one side and sometimes has long driveways on the other side since an easement for widening comes into place, especially in rural areas. When a third carriageway is added, sometimes it can shift a directional carriageway by 20–60 metres (50–200 ft) (or maybe more depending on land availability) as a way to retain private access on one side that favors over

13189-516: The south and Foxhunt to the north, the parkway encounters the first of two interchanges with Regional Road 15 (King Street North); Conestoga Mall lies to the northeast. It becomes parallel to Forwell Creek as it curves back northward, after which the parkway travels parallel to and east of the Waterloo Central Railway for the remainder of its length. An interchange with Regional Road   50 (Northfield Drive) also carries

13310-485: The southern interchange with King Street North, took place beginning in 1969. On the western leg, a section between Courtland Avenue and Fischer-Hallman Drive opened on September   1, 1971, completing the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway project. By this time, construction was underway on a new two lane alignment of Highway   7 /8, first announced in 1963, to connect the New Hamburg Diversion with

13431-491: The transit terminal located on Downie Street, close to the downtown core. The terminal is home to eight bus bays and public washrooms. There are six regular routes that run Monday to Saturday from 08:00 to 22:00. There is an additional industrial route that serves the Wright Business Park in the south end and industrial zones in the east end. There is bus service on Sundays, but there are no set routes. Instead,

13552-423: The vicinity. There is currently no projected timeline for the construction of completion of this project as of 2022. The Conestoga Parkway is a 20.7-kilometre (12.9 mi) controlled-access freeway serving the twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo. The route, which forms the rough shape of a backwards "L", serves as the backbone of the two cities. As the concurrency of Highway   7 and Highway   8 enters

13673-434: The western leg of the parkway, construction began in October 1967 on a C$ 3.6 million ($ 31.2 million in 2023 dollars). contract to build a 2.9-kilometre (1.8 mi) segment of the parkway from King Street to west of Homer Watson Boulevard. This section, which was built along the alignment of Henry Strum Boulevard, was opened to traffic between Courtland Avenue and King Street on November   25, 1968. Work continued on

13794-406: The year 2010, comparing overall fatality rates with motorway rates (regardless of traffic intensity): The German autobahn network illustrates the safety trade-offs of controlled access highways. The injury crash rate is very low on autobahns, while 22 people died per 1,000 injury crashes—although autobahns have a lower rate than the 29 deaths per 1,000 injury accidents on conventional rural roads,

13915-443: Was European route E4 from Gävle to Axmartavlan , Sweden. The high rate of crashes with severe personal injuries on that (and similar) roads did not cease until a median crash barrier was installed, transforming the fatal crashes into non-fatal crashes. Otherwise, freeways typically have at least two lanes in each direction; some busy ones can have as many as 16 or more lanes in total. In San Diego, California , Interstate 5 has

14036-513: Was constructed from Ottawa Street and Highland Road to Mill Street. The reconstruction of King Street was completed and opened in November 1967. The Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway was unofficially renamed the Conestoga Parkway in January 1967 by a joint committee of the two cities. A shortlist of 12 publicly-submitted names was prepared, and included Mackenzie King , John Patrick, Eby-Erb (early Mennonite settlers), Dan Detweiller (a founder of

14157-436: Was demolished overnight on February   23–24, 2018, and was replaced with a new structure that reopened to traffic on October   28; the new bridge is longer and has a higher elevation to accommodate the future ramps between Highway   7 and the Conestoga Parkway. The following table lists the major junctions along the Conestoga Parkway, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario . The entire route

14278-836: Was founded as the Grand Trunk Railway Employees Band, and renamed the Canadian National Railway Employees' Band in 1907. The band performs free outdoor concerts at the Kiwanis Pavilion Bandshell in Upper Queen's Park throughout the summer. Stratford is home to year-round 2SLGBTQIA+ programming and events. Since 2018, Stratford has been home to pride festivities during the month of June (for Pride Month ). Planned and implemented by Stratford-Perth Pride, pride month in Stratford typically includes

14399-529: Was incorporated as a town in 1859 and as a city in 1886. The first mayor was John Corry Wilson Daly . The swan has become a symbol of the city. Each year, twenty-four white swans are released into the Avon River. The town is noted for the Stratford Festival , which performs Shakespearean plays and other genres from May to October. In 1832, the development of an area called "Little Thames" as

14520-509: Was slow until the early 1850s when the railway arrived. Furniture manufacturing and railway locomotive repairs were the most important parts of the local economy by the twentieth century. In 1933 a general strike , started by the furniture workers and led by the Communist Workers' Unity League , marked the last time the army was deployed to break a strike in Canada. The Grand Trunk Railway (later CNR) locomotive repair shops were

14641-440: Was the renumbering of Highway   86 back to Highway   85, restoring the original numbering scheme of the parkway. The two lane segment of Highway 7/8 from Fischer-Hallman Road west to Baden was originally slated to be twinned to four lanes in the 1980s, but the project was put off for a decade. Early works tree clearing got underway in 1991 before being put on hold for archeological excavations. Construction began to widen

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