Cootes Drive | |
|---|---|
| Dundas Diversion, Highway 102 | |
 A map of Cootes Drive, in red | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by City of Hamilton | |
| Length | 3.2 km (2.0 mi) |
| Existed | September 11 or 12, 1937[1]–present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | York Street / York Road inDundas |
| East end | Main Street (formerlyHighway 2) |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Major cities | Hamilton |
| Highway system | |
Cootes Drive, formerly known as theDundas Diversion, is a city street inHamilton, Ontario. The route connects York Road and King Street inDundas withMain Street (formerlyHighway 2 andHighway 8) to the southeast, and is considered one of the first divided highways inCanada. Originally constructed as the Dundas Diversion, the route served to bypass several sharp turns along the nearby Highway 8, as well as to demonstrate the new dual highway concept that would soon thereafter evolve into the400-series highway network. Construction began in 1936, and the route opened on the weekend of September 11, 1937.
Cootes Drive continued to be referred to as the Dundas Diversion by the Department of Highways (DHO), predecessor to the modernMinistry of Transportation of Ontario until 1947, though it occasionally appeared in internal documents asHighway 8D andHighway 6D in the early 1940s. By 1948, the route was publicly designated asHighway 102, which it remained as until 1964 before being transferred to the townships ofAncaster andWest Flamborough in 1964. It has since been known as Cootes Drive.
Cootes Drive connects Dundas with the Hamilton neighbourhoods ofAinslie Wood andWestdale, passing primarily through the swampland at the western head of Lake Ontario known asCootes Paradise, for which the route is named. Cootes Paradise is named for Thomas Coote (nephew ofEyre Coote). Coote served as a lieutenant in the8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot from 1776–1781 and later as a captain of the34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot, and spent his free time shooting ducks in the marsh that came to be named for him.[2]
The route begins at the intersection of King Street and York Street / York Road in downtown Dundas, where it forms a thoroughfare withKing Street. The route immediately widens from two to four lanes and briefly travels diagonally through the eastern edge of the town, partially along the former alignment of Baldwin Street. After passing the eastern terminus of the western segment ofDundas Street (formerHighway 99), it exits Dundas and becomes sandwiched between theDesjardins Canal to the north andSpencer Creek as well as the formerHamilton Street Railway—now the Spencer Creek Trail—to the south.[1] Arecreational trail also follows adjacent to the south side of the road east of Dundas Street.[3][4]
Cootes Drive intersects Olympic Drive and passes under severaloverhead power lines that connect to the adjacent Dundas Transformer Station; one of these lines turns east and follows along the south side of the road. Now serving as the southwestern boundary of theRoyal Botanical Gardens, the route begins a long gentle curve to the south, crossing Spencer Creek midway through the curve. As it approaches the end of the curve, the power lines cross to the east and ramps serve Westaway Road, which passes over the road. The east side of the route is now dominated byMcMaster University, while the residential neighbourhood of Ainslie Wood flanks the west side. The recreation trail ends at Sanders Boulevard, which stops short of anintersection with Cootes Drive, but features a traffic signal for pedestrians to cross to the university. After a brief jog eastward, Cootes Drive ends at an intersection withMain Street West. Leland Street continues south of Main Street West as a residential street.[3][4]
The Dundas Diversion was one of the first divideddual-carriageway road built in Canada. As part of a plan to build "dual highways" across southern Ontario, Minister of HighwaysThomas McQuesten had instructed his Deputy Minister,Robert Melville Smith, to research theAutobahns of Germany in 1934 and subsequently used this design to developThe Middle Road. McQuesten also began expanding short sections ofHighway 2 in Windsor, Woodstock, Scarborough, and along what is now theThousand Islands Parkway amongst other places. These sections were built in an effort to entice support amongst taxpayers for his larger plans.[5]The Dundas Diversion was another of these short new highways. It was first publicly announced by the Department of Highways (DHO), predecessor to the modernMinistry of Transportation of Ontario, in late June 1936, and construction began on July 21. The majority of the grading was completed by November before construction was halted for the winter.[1][6]A contract was let for the paving of the graded route in April 1937,[7]and the new road—while not fully completed—was opened to traffic on the weekend of September 11, 1937.[1]
The DHO continued to refer to this route as the Dundas Diversion for several years,[8]before designating it as Highway 8D for the first time in the Annual Report for 1940.[9]It remained as Highway 8D through 1942,[10]before being labelled as Highway 6D the following two years.[11][12]It returned to being labelled as the Dundas Diversion from 1944 to 1947, making it unclear if the route was ever signed with a number.[13][14]However, by 1948, the Dundas Diversion was signed as Highway 102.[15]Highway 102 remained in place until 1964, when responsibility and maintenance over the route was transferred to the townships ofAncaster andWest Flamborough. The portion east of Spencer Creek was transferred to Ancaster on April 1, while the portion to the west of the creek was transferred to West Flamborough on August 14.[16]
By 1969, the former highway was known as Cootes Drive.[17]The Highway 102 designation was reused ona different highway nearThunder Bay by 1972.[18][19][20]In late October 2007,Hamilton City Council voted to assign the commemorative Veterans Memorial Parkway designation to Cootes Drive between East Street / Dundas Street and Main Street West.[21]
The following table lists the major junctions along Cootes Drive, as noted by the City of Hamilton. The entire route is located inHamilton, Ontario.
| km | mi | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | York Road | continues west as King Street | ||
| 0.5 | 0.31 | Dundas Street / East Street | Former eastern terminus ofHighway 99 | ||
| 1.2 | 0.75 | Olympic Drive | |||
| 2.5 | 1.6 | Westaway Road | Access toMcMaster University | ||
| 3.2 | 2.0 |  City Road 8 (Main Street West) | Continues south as Leland Street; formerlyHighway 2 andHighway 8 | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
