Bank Street (Ottawa)

Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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Bank Street near the intersection with Laurier Avenue in downtown Ottawa Heading North through The Glebe

Bank Street (French: Rue Bank) is the major commercial north–south street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs south from Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, south through the neighbourhoods of Centretown, The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Alta Vista, Hunt Club, and then through the villages of Blossom Park, Leitrim, South Gloucester, Greely, Metcalfe, Spring Hill, and Vernon before ending at the city limit at Belmeade Road, becoming Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry county highway 31.

Bank Street made up much of Highway 31 before it was downloaded in 1998 (all of it south of Heron Road).[1][2] Currently it is also known as Ottawa Road #31.

## Features

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Bank Street bridge in 2014

Between Wellington Street and Gladstone Avenue in downtown, Bank Street is a shopping and business development district officially known as the "Bank Street Promenade" and the street is lined with common signage affixed to streetlights and street-level advertising billboards showing this distinction.

The area between Somerset Street West and Gladstone Avenue (within the Bank Street Promenade) is considered the centre of Ottawa's burgeoning gay village, characterized by a small concentration of businesses targeted to Ottawa's LGBT community. In 2011, the city officially unveiled signs identifying the neighbourhood as Ottawa's gay village, at the intersections of Somerset, James and Nepean Streets with Bank Street.[3]

Travelling south, there exists a shopping district in The Glebe running exclusively along Bank Street from approximately the Queensway to Holmwood Avenue. Bank Street is home to Lansdowne Park where the Ottawa 67's and Ottawa RedBlacks play. Even further south, after the road passes over the Rideau Canal on the Bank Street Bridge, Bank Street is home to the Billings Bridge Plaza and eventually, the South Keys Shopping Centre.

Bank Street north of Billings Bridge is an historic urban arterial road, often with many more pedestrians than vehicular traffic and significant parking issues, hence the flow is generally quite slow. South of Billings Bridge to Leitrim Road, the street turns into a more modern four-lane (or five-lane) urban arterial, which flows much better despite the 50 km/h (30 mph) speed limit on the northern half and 60 km/h (about 40 mph) from South Keys southward. South of Leitrim it is a rural two-lane highway with an 80 km/h speed limit until the community of Vernon. Recently, just south of Leitrim Road, Bank Street gives access to a developing neighborhood called Findlay Creek that will become quite significant in the long term, and it will also provide access (after secondary roads are extended) to the community of Riverside South.

Bank Street also serves in some contexts as an unofficial division between "eastern" and "western" Ottawa. For example, prior to the takeover of Maclean-Hunter by Rogers Cable in 1994, the street marked the division between those cable companies' service areas in Ottawa: cable subscribers west of Bank Street were served by Maclean-Hunter, while cable subscribers east of Bank Street were served by Rogers.

## History

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### Name of the street

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Contrary to popular belief, the street is not named after the Bank of Canada headquarters at the corner of Bank Street and Wellington Street. The street name dates back to the 19th century, whereas the bank was founded in 1934. It's believed that the road was named this because it originally went from the "bank" of the Ottawa River at its northern end to that of the Rideau River to the south. However, the road was originally called Esther Street in honour of Colonel By's wife.[4] Bank Street officially ends at Wellington Street and the portion of the street running closest to the actual riverbank is federal Crown land for the Parliamentary Precinct of the Parliament of Canada. South of the Rideau River the road was previously named "Prescott Road".[5]

### As a Provincial Highway

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Main article: Ontario Highway 31

Highway 31 was formed in 1927, and started at the junction of Highway 2 in Morrisburg, Ontario. It travelled north through the town of Winchester, and eventually into Ottawa. The road was paved in stages, but was fully paved by 1936. The road's designation of Highway 31 was extended from the Dundas-Stormont-Glengary/Russell-Prescott county line into Ottawa later that same year. While maintaining its alignment along Bank Street for its entire history, the road was re-aligned along Canal Drive (now today's Queen Elizabeth Driveway). From here, it became less clear where the northern terminus of the road was located, as Ottawa posted Highway 31 as a scenic route within its limits along Heron Road and Bronson Avenue (concurrent with Highway 16) before terminating in downtown, while the Ministry of Transportation noted no changes in road length (78 km / 48.8 mi). This is presumed to be a connecting link between Highway 31 and The Queensway (Highway 417), but these scenic routes/connecting links were all decommissioned by 1960. The road was also re-aligned along the Winchester Bypass, when it was completed and opened in 1974, but no other changes were made to the road since then, until being fully decommissioned as a provincial highway, in 1998.

### Bank Street rehabilitation

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Portions of Bank Street have undergone major reconstruction each year since 2006.[6] The City of Ottawa held public consultations for a major redevelopment of Bank Street between Wellington Street and the Rideau Canal.[7]

## Major intersections (from North to South)

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* Ontario portal

* Ottawa Road 34 (Wellington Street)
* Ottawa Road 48 (Laurier Avenue)
* Ottawa Road 36 (Somerset Street)
* Gladstone Avenue
* Highway 417
* Ottawa Road 19 (Riverside Drive)
* Ottawa Road 16 (Heron Road)
* Ottawa Road 103 (Alta Vista Drive)
* Walkley Road
* Ottawa Road 32 (Hunt Club Road)
* Albion Road
* Ottawa Road 125 (Conroy Road)
* Ottawa Road 14 (Leitrim Road)
* Ottawa Road 8 (Mitch Owens Road)
* Ottawa Road 6 (Snake Island Road)
* Ottawa Road 4 (Dalmeny Road)

## Areas/Communities

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* Downtown Ottawa
* Centretown
* The Glebe
* Ottawa South
* Billings Bridge
* South Keys
* Blossom Park
* Findlay Creek/Leitrim
* Greely
* Metcalfe
* Vernon

## References

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1. ^ King's Highway 31
2. ^ "Report to Transportation Committee". City of Ottawa. 7 September 2004. Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
3. ^ "Village signs get mayoral approval" Archived 2011-11-12 at the Wayback Machine. Capital Xtra!, November 7, 2011.
4. ^ Katerhine Fletcher Capital Walks: Walking Tours of Ottawa, 2004, p. 163.
5. ^ "Billings Bridge Map 1879". Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
6. ^ Gladstone, David (20 April 2007). "Is Centretown really growing?". Archived from the original on 26 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
7. ^ ""From Downtown to Lansdowne"". Archived from the original on 5 March 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2024.

## External links

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KML file (edit • help)

Template:Attached KML/Bank Street (Ottawa)

KML is from Wikidata

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bank Street, Ottawa.

* Bank St Biz[permanent dead link‍]
* City of Ottawa: Transportation Master Plan (see Maps)
* Google Maps: route of Bank Street in Ottawa
* City of Ottawa: Bank Street profile
* Bank Street Promenade Shopping District
* Bank Street Rehabilitation Project
* Highway 31 at OntHighways.com

* v
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Roads in Ottawa

Provincial highways|

* 7
* 416
* 417

Numbered / arterial roads|

* Airport
* Albion
* Alta Vista
* Bank
* Baseline
* Blair
* Bronson
* Carling
* Carp
* Cedarview
* Conroy
* Donnelly
* Dwyer Hill
* Eagleson
* Elgin
* Fourth Line
* Hazeldean
* Heron
* Hunt Club
* Innes
* Kent
* King Edward
* Laurier
* Lees
* Merivale
* Metcalfe
* Mitch Owens
* Montreal
* Nicholas
* O'Connor
* Parkdale
* Preston
* Prince of Wales
* Regional Road 174
* Queen
* Richmond
* Rideau
* River
* Riverside
* Robertson
* Russell
* St. Joseph
* St. Laurent
* Smyth
* Somerset
* Strandherd
* Sussex
* Tenth Line
* Terry Fox
* Trim
* Vanier
* Walkley
* Wellington
* Woodroffe

Collector roads|

* Brookfield
* Gladstone
* Hog's Back
* Meadowlands
* Old Prescott
* Sparks

Federal parkways|

* Aviation
* Colonel By
* Island Park
* Kichi Zibi Mikan
* Queen Elizabeth
* Sir George-Étienne Cartier

Roads in Ontario

* v
* t
* e

Shopping centres in Ottawa-Gatineau

* Bayshore Shopping Centre
* Billings Bridge Shopping Centre
* Carlingwood Mall
* Chapman Mills Marketplace
* College Square
* Elmvale Acres Shopping Centre
* Fairlawn Centre
* Hazeldean Mall
* Herongate Square
* Les Promenades Gatineau
* Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre
* Merivale Mall
* Place d'Orléans
* Rideau Centre
* South Keys Shopping Centre
* Sparks Street Mall
* St. Laurent Centre
* Westgate Shopping Centre

* v
* t
* e

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender topics in Canada

Main articles: LGBTQ rights in Canada, Transgender rights in Canada, Intersex rights in Canada

History

* Timeline of LGBT history in Canada
* First openly LGBT politicians

Persecution|

* Anti-gay purges
* Fruit machine
* Brunswick Four
* Operation Soap
* Sex Garage raid
* Pussy Palace Raid
* 2010–2017 Toronto serial homicides

Activism and milestones|

* Gay Alliance Toward Equality
* Lesbian Organization of Toronto
* We Demand Rally
* Pride Week 1973
* 1990 Gay Games
* 2006 World Outgames
* WorldPride Toronto 2014
* Homosexuality and the United Church of Canada

Law

Same-sex marriage|

* Alberta
* British Columbia
* Manitoba
* New Brunswick
* Newfoundland and Labrador
* Nova Scotia
* Ontario
* Prince Edward Island
* Quebec
* Saskatchewan
* Northwest Territories
* Nunavut
* Yukon

Case law|

* Klippert v The Queen
* Egan v Canada
* Vriend v Alberta
* M v H
* Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v Canada
* Hall v Durham Catholic School Board
* Halpern v Canada (AG)
* Canada (AG) v Mossop

Policy|

* Age of consent reform
* Bill C-16
* Civil Marriage Act
* Declaration of Montreal
* Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act
* Policy 713
* Military policy

Other|

* LGBT parenting in Canada
* LGBT refugees and asylum seekers in Canada

Culture

Pride|

* Calgary Pride
* Capital Pride (Ottawa/Gatineau)
* Edmonton Pride
* Fierté Montréal
* Guelph Pride
* Halifax Pride
* Pride Hamilton
* Pride Toronto
* Pride Winnipeg
* Queen City Pride (Regina)
* Saskatoon Pride
* Simcoe Pride
* Steinbach Pride
* Sudbury Pride
* Thunder Pride
* Tri-Pride (Waterloo Region)
* Vancouver Pride
* Windsor-Essex Pride

Events|

* Black and Blue Festival
* BOLDfest
* Club Quarantine
* Divers/Cité (defunct)
* Fairy Tales (Calgary)
* Fashion Cares (defunct)
* Image+Nation (Montreal)
* Inside Out (Toronto)
* London Lesbian Film Festival
* Making Scenes (Ottawa; defunct)
* Massimadi (Montreal)
* Muskoka Queer Film Festival
* OUTeast Film Festival (Halifax)
* Out North Queer Film Festival (Whitehorse)
* PTP Pink Awards
* Queer Arts Festival (Vancouver)
* Queer City Cinema (Regina)
* Queer North Film Festival (Sudbury)
* Rainbow Reels Queer and Trans Film Festival (Kitchener-Waterloo)
* Rainbow Visions Film Festival (Edmonton)
* Reel Pride (Winnipeg)
* Reelout Queer Film Festival (Kingston)
* Toronto Queer Film Festival
* Vancouver Queer Film Festival

Literature|

* Blue Metropolis Violet Prize
* The Church-Wellesley Review
* Dayne Ogilvie Prize
* Glad Day Bookshop
* Librairie L'Androgyne
* Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium
* Ottawa Trans Library
* Pride Library
* Stubblejumper Press

Media|

| Magazine|

* Amazones d'Hier, Lesbiennes d'Aujourd'hui
* The Body Politic
* fab
* Fugues
* Gay
* J.D.s
* Les Mouches fantastiques
* Out in Canada
* Outlooks
* OutWords
* Perceptions
* Plenitude
* Rites
* SamiYoni
* Siren
* TWO
* Wayves
* YGA

|

Newspaper|

* GO Info
* Pink Triangle Press
* Xtra Magazine
* Xtra Ottawa
* Xtra Vancouver

|

Television|

* Canada's a Drag
* Canada's Drag Race
* vs. the World
* Slaycation
* Maleflixxx
* OutTV
* Programs
* Call Me Mother
* Playmen

|

* CIRR-FM

Other|

* LGBTQ culture in Vancouver

Places and institutions

Gay villages|

* Bank Street (Ottawa)
* Church and Wellesley (Toronto)
* Davie Village (Vancouver)
* Gay Village (Montreal)
* Shaughnessy Village (Montreal)
* Stanley Street (Montreal)

Organizations|

* The ArQuives
* Community One Foundation
* Egale Canada
* Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity
* Fierté Canada Pride
* The 519
* GLBTTQ Community Centre of Ottawa
* Kind Space
* Ottawa Trans Library
* Out On Screen
* Priape
* Pride Library, University of Western Ontario
* Quebec Gay Archives
* Q Hall of Fame
* Qmunity
* Rainbow Railroad
* Transgender Archives, University of Victoria
* Triangle Program

Bars|

* Black Eagle (Montreal)
* Celebrities
* The Junction
* Numbers
* Pumpjack
* Stereo
* Le Stud
* Woody's

Monuments and memorials|

* 18 Shades of Gay
* LGBTQ2+ National Monument
* Statue of Alexander Wood

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