The road network in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

is a

grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Space partitioning * Regular grid, a tessellation of space with translational symmetry, typically formed from parallelograms or higher-dimensional analogs ** Grid graph, a graph structure with nodes connec ...

system with elongated blocks, generally aligned with the

Detroit River The Detroit River is an List of international river borders, international river in North America. The river, which forms part of the border between the U.S. state of Michigan and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ont ...

, with East-West roads running

parallel Parallel may refer to: Mathematics * Parallel (geometry), two lines in the Euclidean plane which never intersect * Parallel (operator), mathematical operation named after the composition of electrical resistance in parallel circuits Science a ...

to it, and North-South streets running

perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

(90 Degrees) to it. This is an adoption from when

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

settlers first built

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

s and streets in the area. Many streets have

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

names in result, such as

Lauzon Parkway The road network in Windsor, Ontario is a Grid plan, grid system with elongated blocks, generally aligned with the Detroit River, with East-West roads running Parallel (geometry), parallel to it, and North-South streets running perpendicular (90 D ...

, Marentette Avenue (a quiet residential street),

Ouellette Avenue Ouellette Avenue (most commonly pronounced by English speakers as 'Oh-Let' and by French-speakers as 'Well-et') is one of the main Roads in Windsor, Ontario#Main North-South Roads, North-South Roads in Windsor, Ontario, and acts as its Main Str ...

(considered by many Windsorites to be its " Main Street"), and Pelissier Street. The current street system of Windsor (grid with elongated blocks) reflects the

method of

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

land division where the

s were long and narrow, fronting along the river (this originates from French methods of

tax collection A revenue service, revenue agency or taxation authority is a government agency responsible for the intake of government revenue, including taxes and sometimes non-tax revenue. Depending on the jurisdiction, revenue services may be charged with ...

, with more

taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

being paid by

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

owner Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''title'', which may be separated and held by diffe ...

s with waterfront properties, thus why

riverfront A riverfront is a region along a river. Often in larger cities that are traversed or bordered by one or more rivers. The riverfronts are mostly lined with marinas, docks, cafes, museums, parks, or minor attractions. Today many riverfronts are a s ...

lots were usually narrow).

Introduction

Most of the city is uniform in its grid, but a few

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

have their own system. Forest Glade and The Villages of Riverside were built recently (in the 1960s and 1970s, and have circular patterns, while

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

has its own grid roughly 45 degrees off from the rest of the city, in a

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

from

Huron Church Road King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the northern shoreline of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which travels from ...

and the Detroit River, south to

Tecumseh Road The road network in Windsor, Ontario is a grid system with elongated blocks, generally aligned with the Detroit River, with East-West roads running parallel to it, and North-South streets running perpendicular (90 Degrees) to it. This is an adopt ...

and Prince Road. This is due to the river turning southwest-ward just west of the

Ambassador Bridge The Ambassador Bridge is an international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, the toll bridge is the busiest international border cros ...

. Another major part of the city where the streets "jog" across Tecumseh Road is Fountain Bleu, when Tecumseh Road was the former city limit with the former Township of Sandwich South until the 1960s.

Expressways

Windsor has two

freeways 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 ...

, the E. C. Row Expressway and the

Dougall Parkway Dougall Parkway is a municipal expressway in Windsor, Ontario. The expressway acts as an extension of Dougall Avenue and serves traffic heading towards the Windsor city-centre and the Detroit–Windsor tunnel. The road is named for former may ...

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...

skirts the City Limits from Provincial Rd (exit 14). to Cabana West/Todd Lane (exit 6), and enters the city in the far west end to Ojibway Pkwy. (exit 1).

is a former spur of Highway 401 and is a limited access freeway between the 401 and Howard Avenue. Just north of Howard Avenue before it becomes Dougall Avenue. There are a few other divided highways/ dual carriageways with varying levels of development, access, and intersections, such as Ojibway Parkway,

, and

Main East-West Roads

These main East-West

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...

s are listed from the Detroit River, heading towards the south: * Riverside Drive * University Avenue * Wyandotte Street * Tecumseh Road * Eugenie Street (short, but very busy connector) * E. C. Row Expressway * Cabana Road/ Division Road

Other East-West Roads

* Erie Street * Giles Boulevard * Ottawa Street *Shepherd Street * Grand Marais Road/ West Grand Boulevard * Plymouth Road (originally built to direct traffic from the now-demolished Pillette Road Van plant away from residential areas to the north and east) *

(leads to

Ontario Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access 400-series hig ...

, serves South Windsor and Southwood Lakes

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

) *North Talbot Road * Totten Street * College Avenue (a busy truck route) * Prince Road (continuation of Totten Street, meets up with Tecumseh Road) * Forest Glade Drive * Wildwood Drive

Main North-South Roads

These main North-South arteries are listed from west to east: * Sandwich Street * Matchette Road * Malden Road *

(extremely busy connector linking Ontario Highway 401 to

and

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

) * Campbell Avenue/Dominion Boulevard (originally intended to become a freeway in the 1970s as a spur route from E.C. Row into downtown, anti-freeway sentiments by downtown and west side residents and businesses killed it) *

Dougall Avenue Dougall Avenue is a busy four-lane urban arterial road, linking Downtown Windsor, with South Windsor and Highway 401. The road is a minimum of four lanes for its entire length, and is among Windsor's busiest, with an Average Annual Daily Traffic ...

* McDougall Avenue * Howard Avenue * Provincial Road *

Walker Road Walker Road is one of the busiest roads in Windsor, Ontario. It has an average annual daily traffic (AADT) level of 32,000 cars per day at the CP Rail crossing. History The road is named after Hiram Walker, distillery baron. The CP Rail crossin ...

* Central Avenue * Pillette Road * Jefferson Boulevard * Lauzon Road/Lauzon Parkway * Banwell Road

Other North-South Roads

These other North-South routes tend to be short, but busy, as they serve heavily built-up areas in Downtown and other areas: * Victoria Avenue (notable for having some of the oldest houses in the city along it. It is a quiet downtown residential street otherwise) * Drouillard Road/Chrysler Centre Many of these roads in Windsor pass by Big Three

Automaker The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, repairing, and modification of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries ...

plants, such as

Ford Motor Company of Canada Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited (Canadian French, French: ''Ford du Canada Limitée'') was founded on August 17, 1904, for the purpose of manufacturing and selling Ford cars in Canada. It was originally known as the Walkerville Wagon Works a ...

General Motors Canada General Motors of Canada Company (), commonly known as GM Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of US-based company General Motors. It is headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. After the 2008 financial crisis, GM Canada received a combined loan ...

and

Chrysler Canada Stellantis Canada (formerly, FCA Canada, Inc. and Chrysler Canada) is the wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis through its North American division operating in Canada. Incorporated in 1925, the Chrysler Corporation of Canada acquired a Maxwell ...

, which is why they are so busy.

References

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