Bank Street (Ottawa)
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Bank Street is the major north-south road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs south from Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, and runs south through the neighbourhoods of Centretown, The Glebe, Ottawa South, Alta Vista, Hunt Club, and then through the villages of Blossom Park, Leitrim, South Gloucester, Greely, Spring Hill, and Vernon before exiting the city limits at Belmeade Road.
Bank Street made up much of Ontario provincial highway 31 before it was downloaded in 1998 (all of it south of Heron Road). Currently it is also known as Regional Road 31. Bank Street is also known as Metcalfe Road south of its junction with Conroy Road.
Between Wellington Street and Gladstone Avenue in downtown, Bank Street is a shopping district officially known as the "Bank Street Promenade" and the street is lined with markers showing this distinction. There is also a shopping district in The Glebe on Bank Street from Powell Avenue to Holmwood Avenue. Bank Street is home to Lansdowne Park where the Ottawa 67's play and where the defunct Ottawa Renegades used to play. Further south, Bank Street is home to the Billings Bridge Plaza and the South Keys shopping centre. The area along Bank Street between Somerset Street West and Gladstone Avenue is considered the centre of Ottawa's burgeoning gay village. It is characterized by a small concentration of businesses targeted to Ottawa's gay community. Barrymore's, which was one of the largest live music nightclubs in Ottawa is also located in this area.
Bank Street north of Riverside Drive is a historic urban arterial road, with many pedestrians and significant parking issues, hence the flow is generally quite slow. South of Riverside to north of Leitrim Road, Bank 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 in the hamlet of Blossom Park, it is a rural two-lane highway with an 80km/h speed limit until the community of Vernon. Recently just south of Leitrim Road, Bank Street gives access to a developping neighborhood that will be become quite important in the long range.
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.
A portion of Bank Street underwent major reconstruction recently. The City of Ottawa is also holding public consultations for a major redevelopment of Bank Street between Wellington Street and the Rideau Canal. (["From Downtown to Lansdowne"]) Consultations for the area between Laurier Avenue West and Gladstone Avenue took place February 15th, 2006. This meeting saw a significant turn out from members of the gay community and discussions were dominated by requests that redevelopement between Nepean Street and Gladstone Avenue visibly reflect the concentration of gays and lesbians living in the area. Other suggestions included developing a more developed arts and entertainment district in the same area. The arts are generally considered to be neglected in Ottawa. Bank Street redevelopement will likely occur over a number of years.
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