Macleod Trail (Calgary)

Macleod Trail

Macleod Trail in downtown Calgary, 2011
Part of	Hwy 2A
Maintained by	City of Calgary, Alberta Transportation
Length	27.7 km (17.2 mi)
Location	Calgary, Alberta
North end	Riverfront Avenue
Major junctions	Glenmore Trail Anderson Road Stoney Trail
South end	Deerfoot Trail (Hwy 2)

Macleod Trail is a major road in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a six- to eight-lane principal arterial road extending from downtown Calgary to the south of the city, where it merges into Highway 2. South of Anderson Road, Macleod Trail is an expressway and is slated to be upgraded to a freeway in the future. It is named for its destination to the south, Fort Macleod.

The road effectively divides the south-west and the south-east quadrants of the city, and many communities (inner city as well as suburban) were developed along its course. Macleod Trail (along with Crowchild Trail-Glenmore Trail-14 Street S and Anderson Road) constitutes one of the four major north-south corridors of the city.

In the downtown section, the road passes by Calgary City Hall, Olympic Plaza, the Calgary Public Library, and the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts. South of downtown, it defines the western edge of the Calgary Stampede grounds, as it passes through the Beltline district, then provides access to Talisman Centre as it runs between the historic inner city communities of Mission and Ramsay. South of Elbow River, Macleod Trail becomes a two-way road and has various motels established on its sides, and Chinook Centre faces the road as it passes between the communities of Meadowlark Park, Kingsland and Fairview. Macleod Trail is lined with commercial developments on both sides for its entire length between Erlton and Lake Bonavista, including strip malls, auto malls, big-box stores and shopping centres such as Southcentre Mall, and Calgary's largest suburban office complex at Southland Park. The southern leg of the C-Train LRT system (Route 201) is also developed along Macleod Trail.