Robertson Road (

Ottawa Road Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau ...

#36) is a

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

in the west end of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario, Canada. It runs approximately between Baseline Road east of

Bells Corners Bells Corners is a suburban neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Robertson Road west of downtown, within Ottawa's western Greenbelt (Ottawa), Greenbelt, in College Ward. As of the 2021 Canadian census, the co ...

and

Eagleson Road Eagleson Road ( Ottawa Road #49) is a northwest–southeast road in Ottawa's west end in Kanata. It starts at Highway 417 and ends at Brophy Drive south of Richmond. North of Highway 417 it becomes March Road. It is a key link, primarily for resi ...

in Kanata where the road continues west as Hazeldean Road. At Baseline Road it continues east as Richmond Road. Robertson Road is a four-lane route along its entire length and the speed limit is except within

where it is . The route west of the old

CP Rail The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, known unt ...

trestle (now the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

) passes through the

Greenbelt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or gree ...

and is designated as a high risk deer collision corridor. Numerous attempts have been made to reduce the risk, including reflective markers along the shoulder on each side of the road. Most recently, these have been removed and lighting installed. Construction was completed in the fall of 2013 around the intersection with Moodie Drive. New storm sewers were installed and Robertson was widened from four lanes to six to ease peak period congestion. As well, the traffic lights at the Moodie Drive intersection were upgraded to have protected left turns for traffic turning from Moodie onto Robertson, as opposed to the unprotected left turns previously installed.

History

Robertson Road was named for John Robertson (1797-1884), an owner of a general store in Bells Corners and "Surveyor of Roads" for the Township of Nepean. Originally built as the concession road leading west to the Hazeldean neighbourhood in neighbouring Goulbourn Township, the road was named Arnprior Road because from there it headed northwest to the town of

Arnprior Arnprior is a town in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Arnprior has experienced significant growth in populations with the widening of the Ontario Highway 417 to four lanes. The town experienced an increase in population by 8.4% from 2011 to 2 ...

. It was known colloquially as " Whiskey Road" for the number of taverns along its route. It later became part of Highway 7 and Highway 15 before the western leg of Highway 417 was completed, after which it was known for a time as "Old Highway 7 & 15". The name Robertson Road was established on September 28, 1983, by a

Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

(RMOC) by-law naming the portion of Highway 7 and 15, west of the now Old Richmond Road turnoff at Bells Corners to Eagleson Road.

Renaming controversy

On 13 April 2011,

City Council voted to rename Robertson Road and a portion of Richmond Road after the late

Cyril Lloyd Francis Cyril Lloyd Francis (March 19, 1920 – January 20, 2007) was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada), speaker of the House of Commons. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Party, he represented Carleton ...

, a land speculator, former Liberal Member of Parliament and former

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons () is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), a speaker is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The speaker's role in pre ...

. The decision would have seen the name of Robertson Road and the portion of Richmond Road between Robertson Road and Baseline Road changed to Lloyd Francis Boulevard so the commercial strip in

would bear a single name for its entire length. The Robertson name was to be preserved as the name of a park. Strong opposition from local residents and business eventually led to

City Council voting to rescind the decision and voting instead to extend the Robertson Road name east to Baseline Road instead, renaming only the portion of Richmond Road in

. The changes came into effect on May 1, 2012.

Major Intersections

The following is a list of major intersections along Robertson Road, from west to east: * Ottawa Road 49 (

) * Westcliffe Road * Fitzgerald Road * Ottawa Road 59 (Moodie Drive) * Vanier Road (not to be confused with

Vanier Parkway Riverside Drive (List of numbered routes in Ottawa, Ottawa Road #19) is a major road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that follows along the eastern bank of the Rideau River. Its northern terminus is at the Transitway (Ottawa), Transitway/Via Rail unde ...

in the east end) * Old Richmond Road (former eastern end of Robertson Road) * Stinson Avenue * Stafford Road & Lynhar Road * Northside Road * Ottawa Road 16 ( Baseline Road) The road alignment continues east as Richmond Road.

Communities

* Lynwood Village * Westcliffe Estates * Bellwood Estates

References

External links