Baseline Road (Ottawa)

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Baseline Road (Ottawa Road # 16) is a road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Baseline runs from Richmond Road (almost directly over Highway 416) east in a straight line until it ends at the Heron Road Bridge over the Rideau River and Rideau Canal when it becomes Heron Road. Before the 2001 City of Ottawa amalgamation, Baseline formed the border of the city of Ottawa and Nepean. The street is named for its location as the baseline for Nepean Township. When Nepean Township was surveyed, Baseline formed the northern boundary of Nepean's six north-south concessions. Currently, Baseline is a major east-west street, and in the late 90's it became so busy that Hunt Club Road had to be extended west of the Rideau River to alleviate pressure.

Points of interest on Baseline include the Queensway Carleton Hospital, the Boy Scouts Museum, Algonquin College and the Central Experimental Farm.

Baseline Road is a four-lane principal arterial road for its entire length, the speed limit is 60 km/h (37.5 mph) for most of its length except a short section west of Greenbank Road, where it is 70 km/h (45 mph).

Ramsayville Road in Ottawa also used to be called Baseline Road before 2003. The name had to be changed when the former city of Gloucester amalgamated with the city of Ottawa, to avoid confusion.

In the future, Baseline Road will have bus lanes between Navaho Drive and Prince of Wales Drive to speed up transit service in this stretch (OC Transpo bus route 118) due to constant heavy traffic (or even gridlocks at some intersections).