London, Ontario

London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada on the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor with a metropolitan area population of about 432,451; the city proper has a population of about 360,000 (2005). London is the seat of Middlesex County, at the forks of the Thames River, almost exactly halfway between Toronto and Detroit. It is located at {{coor dm|43|2|N|81|9|W|}}. London and the surrounding area (roughly, the territory between Kitchener and Chatham) is collectively known as Western Ontario.

Transportation

London is present at the junction of two major highways: the 401 (the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, connecting Windsor to Montreal) and the 402 (connecting London to Sarnia). Also, Highway 403, which diverges from the 401 not far east of London, provides ready access to Brantford, Hamilton, the Golden Horseshoe region and the Niagara Peninsula.

Related Topics:
401 - Macdonald-Cartier Freeway - Windsor - Montreal - 402 - Sarnia - 403 - Brantford - Hamilton - Golden Horseshoe - Niagara Peninsula

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Many smaller 2-lane highways also pass through or near London including Kings Highways 2, 3, 4, 7 and 22. Many of these are "historical" names, however, as provincial downloading in the 80's and 90's put responsibility for most provincial highways onto municipal governments. Nevertheless, these roads continue to provide important access from London to nearby communities and locations in much of Western Ontario including Goderich, Port Stanley and Owen Sound.

Related Topics:
2 - 3 - 4 - 7 - 22 - Western Ontario - Goderich - Port Stanley - Owen Sound

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Within London, as with many cities, traffic tends to congest in certain areas during rush hour. However, the lack of a municipal expressway (either through or around the city) as well as the presence of two signficant railways (each with attendant switching yards and few over/under -passes) contributes heavily to this congestion. These conditions cause travel times to be highly variable with end-to-end (or top-to-bottom) times varying from 20 minutes to over an hour.

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London is the largest city in Ontario not to have an urban expressway serving the urban area. This is despite plans to construct such a road (around the city's periphery) which have existed for decades. Notable in the 1960s and early 1970s was an effort to route, through the north and east sections of the city or in the rural areas beyond, an expressway from Sarnia. The assorted route options (in-city that served users but disrupted neighbourhoods, or out-of-the-city that avoided neighbourhoods but did not serve city users) were fought over, but in the end, city council rejected the expressway, and instead accepted Airport Road to serve the east end.

Related Topics:
Expressway - 1960s - 1970s - Sarnia

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Although there are many factors at play, proponents of the project attribute the lack of progress largely to litigation by environmental lobbies and local home-owners. Nevertheless, the recent doubling (to four lanes) of Airport Road (formerly Highway 100) in the industrialized east end does represent progress toward this goal and significantly aids traffic (largely coming off the 401) in reaching the east, and north ends of the city.

Related Topics:
Airport Road - Highway 100

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Since the 1970s, London has been more successful at urban road realignments that eliminated "jogs" in established traffic patterns over 19th-century street "mis-alignments": the Riverside Drive-Queens Avenue-Dundas Street linkup, the Horton Street Expressway, the Bradley Avenue-Highbury interchange, the Wonderland Road bridge over the Thames River, and the Oxford Street West extension.

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Like most cities of its size or larger, London has several taxi and for-hire limousine services and the London Transit Commission has 32 bus routes throughout the city. London is believed to be the only jurisdiction in North America where executive-class, sedan limousines can accept street-flags and wait for walk-on customers outside bars and restaurants, a popular by-product of the city's controversial and on-going taxi wars.

Related Topics:
Taxi - Limousine - London Transit Commission

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London is on the Canadian National Railway main line between Toronto and Chicago, Illinois (with a secondary main line to Windsor) and the Canadian Pacific Railway main line between Toronto and Detroit. VIA Rail operates passenger service through London station as part of the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, with connections to the United States.

Related Topics:
Canadian National Railway - Chicago, Illinois - Windsor - Canadian Pacific Railway - Detroit - VIA Rail - London station - Quebec City-Windsor Corridor

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London is also an important destination for intercity bus travellers. The Greyhound Canada express services to and from Toronto are heavily travelled, and connecting services radiate from London throughout southwestern Ontario and through Detroit, Michigan to Chicago, Illinois. London International Airport (YXU) is served by airlines such as Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, WestJet and Northwest Airlines and provides flights to popular national and international destinations. Many flights to nearby major airports such as Toronto or Detroit are flown daily.

Related Topics:
Bus - Greyhound Canada - Detroit, Michigan - Chicago, Illinois - London International Airport - YXU - Air Canada - Air Canada Jazz - WestJet - Northwest Airlines

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