Crowchild Trail

Crowchild Trail
Alberta Highway 1A
Route information
Maintained by City of Calgary
Length:	22.3 km (13.9 mi)
Major junctions
South end:	Linden Drive SW
	Glenmore Trail Bow Trail Memorial Drive 16 Avenue NW Shaganappi Trail Stoney Trail
North end:	Twelve Mile Coulee Road
Location
Major cities:	Calgary
Highway system
Provincial highways in Alberta

Crowchild Trail is a major expressway on the west side of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The segment from 12 Mile Coulee Road to 16 Avenue NE (Trans-Canada Highway) is designated as Highway 1A by Alberta Transportation.

Part of this road was the Morley Trail when it was an actual trail. It was first paved in the 1930s. It then became the main highway to Banff and was the home of Eamon's Bungalow Camp and service station. When the Trans-Canada Highway was created it dropped in importance.^[1]

The road was originally signed as 24th Street SW from North Glenmore Park to the Bow River, 24th Street NW from the Bow to the intersection with 16th Avenue NW (the Trans-Canada Highway, Highway 1), and Highway 1A from 16th Ave NW to the city limits. It was renamed Crowchild Trail in March, 1971 in honour of David Crowchild, Chief of the Tsuu T'ina Nation from 1946 to 1953.

Crowchild Trail's south terminus is located at North Glenmore Park as a minor arterial road. Exiting northbound from the park the road intersects several residential streets within the communities of Lakeview and North Glenmore Park, and several residential dwellings are located on the Trail itself. Continuing northward, its first major intersection is with Glenmore Trail at an interchange that was built in 1981, which is the point at which Crowchild becomes an freeway. After an interchange was completed at 50th Avenue SW in 2003, Crowchild Trail became a true freeway from Glenmore Trail to Kensington Road NW, with overpasses at Flanders Avenue SW, 33 Avenue SW and 17 Avenue SW and interchange intersections with 10 Avenue SW, Bow Trail and Memorial Drive. The speed limit on the freeway sections are 80 km/h (50 mph).

Traffic slows immediately north of the Bow River (dropping to a principal arterial with a 60 km/h (37 mph) limit), with signal-controlled intersections at Kensington Road NW and 5th Avenue NW, and heavy use by football fans and transit users at McMahon Stadium and students of the University of Calgary. After 24th Avenue NW the road veers northwest, and once again becomes an uninterrupted freeway until the Stoney Trail ring road. As of 2012, the interchange was completed at Stoney Trail, which makes Crowchild Trail a freeway nearly to the city limits, at which point (following a signalized intersection with Twelve Mile Coulee Road), Crowchild Trail continues as Bow Valley Trail, eventually linking to the towns of Cochrane and Canmore.

Major intersections

From south to north, the following intersections are observed along Crowchild Trail.^[2] The entire route is in Calgary. All exits are unnumbered.

km[3]	mi	Destinations	Notes
0.0	0.0	Linden Drive / North Glenmore Park	Starts north of Glenmore Reservoir as a minor arterial road
0.4	0.25	66 Avenue SW	At grade; four-way stop
0.7	0.43	63 Avenue SW	At grade; traffic signals
1.0	0.62	Glenmore Trail (Unsigned Hwy 8)	Diamond interchange with signalized intersections on Crowchild Trail. Southbound to eastbound flyover.
		Freeway begins
1.6	0.99	54 Avenue SW	Northbound right-in/right-out
2.1	1.3	50 Avenue SW / Mount Royal Gate – Mount Royal University	Partial cloverleaf interchange
3.0	1.9	Flanders Avenue / Richard Road	Dogbone interchange under construction[4]
3.9	2.4	33 Avenue SW	Diamond interchange
4.6	2.9	17 Avenue SW	Partial cloverleaf interchange
6.2	3.9	Bow Trail – City Centre	Interchange No access from Bow Trail eastbound to Crowchild Trail southbound No access from Crowchild Trail northbound to Bow Trail westbound.
6.4	4.0	12 Avenue SW (via 10 Avenue SW)	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
6.9	4.3	Crowchild Trail Bridge across Bow River
4.6	2.9	Memorial Drive	Interchange
7.3	4.5	Freeway ends, expressway begins
		Kensington Road	At grade; traffic signals
7.5	4.7	2 Avenue SW	Northbound right-in/right-out
7.9	4.9	5 Avenue NW	Traffic signals
8.5	5.3	University Drive – University of Calgary To Hwy 1 (TCH) / 16 Avenue N	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
8.8	5.5	13 Avenue NW (To University Drive)	Southbound exit only
9.0	5.6	Hwy 1 (TCH) / 16 Avenue N – Banff, Medicine Hat	Hwy 1A begins Northbound exit, southbound entrance
9.5	5.9	23 Avenue NW (To Banff Trail) – McMahon Stadium	At grade; traffic signals
9.6	6.0	Banff Trail	At grade No access to southbound Banff Trail (business access only) Connects 16 Avenue NW to northbound Crowchild Trail
9.5	5.9	24 Avenue NW – University of Calgary	At grade; traffic signals Crowchild Trail turns northwest.
		Freeway begins
10.2	6.3	Passes University C-Train Station	No access from Crowchild Trail
11.0	6.8	Charleswood Drive / 32 Avenue NW – University of Calgary	Folded diamond interchange
9.6	6.0	Brentwood Road	Westbound exit only
10.2	6.3	Brisebois Drive / 40 Avenue NW Brentwood C-Train Station	Folded diamond interchange
12.6	7.8	Northland Drive	Diamond interchange
13.3	8.3	Shaganappi Trail	Split diamond interchange
14.6	9.1	53 Street NW Dalhousie C-Train Station	Diamond interchange
15.7	9.8	Sarcee Trail / Silver Springs Gate	Folded diamond interchange
17.7	11.0	Nose Hill Drive	Diamond interchange
18.0	11.2	Crowfoot Parade Crowfoot C-Train Station	Diamond interchange Use Nose Hill Drive exit ramp.
18.2	11.3	Crowfoot Rise	Westbound right-in/right out Use Nose Hill Drive exit ramp.
19.7	12.2	Hwy 201 / Stoney Trail (Exit 41)	Cloverstack interchange
20.3	12.6	Passes Tuscany C-Train Station	No access from Crowchild Trail
22.3	13.9	Freeway ends
		12 Mile Coulee Road	Traffic signals
Continues as Hwy 1A west (Bow Valley Trail) – Cochrane, Canmore
Incomplete access       Route transition       Unopened

Gallery

• 

  Crowchild Trail at the interchange with Stoney Trail

• 

  Bridge over Bow River

• 

  C-Train tracks along Crowchild Trail

• 

  Looking south just north of 5 Ave NW

See also

• Highway 1A
• Transportation in Calgary

References

1. "Historic Eamon's gas station to be saved". May 7, 2012. Archived from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
2. Sherlock's Map of Calgary (16th ed.). Langdon, Alberta: Sherlock Publishing Ltd. 2014. pp. 7, 8, 17, 18, 26, 34, 40. ISBN 1-895229-80-4.
3. "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
4. "New Crowchild Trail / Flanders Avenue Interchange" (PDF). The City of Calgary. Retrieved 21 April 2016.