Edmonton Trail

Edmonton Trail is a major north-south arterial road in the northeast quadrant of Calgary, Alberta. The road connects Downtown Calgary from Reconciliation Bridge and the 5th Avenue Flyover at Memorial Drive with north-central Calgary. Between Memorial Drive and 16 Avenue NE, Edmonton Trail is lined with restaurants and retail businesses.

History

The road is the remnant of the southern terminus of the Calgary and Edmonton Trail, a land transport route between the fur trading posts of Fort Edmonton and Fort Calgary, used as far back as the early 1800s. The more modern trail was blazed by John Alexander McDougall in 1873 as far as Morley and extended to Calgary two years later. The northern terminus, called Calgary Trail, is a partial freeway in south Edmonton.
The street lies in the heart of the Italian community of Calgary, being the location of the first Italian lodge and Italian school of Calgary in the 1920s. Many Italian restaurants and stores still line the street.

Route description

The southern terminus is divided from the Bow River and Memorial Drive, with a southbound one-way road along the 4 Street NE alignment, and a northbound one-way road along the 5 Street NE alignment. The spurs re-unite at 3 Avenue NE, and continue as a two-way road northwards between the communities of Bridgeland and Crescent Heights. It then crosses 16 Avenue NE, continues between the communities of Winston Heights and Tuxedo Park. North of the 32 Avenue NE, it passes through a light industrial district, then ends at McKnight Boulevard. It is continued for a short stretch to the north by 4 Street NE into the community of Thorncliffe.

Major intersections

From south to north.