Kingsway (Vancouver)
Kingsway is a major road that crosses through the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia. Originally called Westminster Road, it was renamed Kingsway in 1913.
While it is a busy commercial city street and not a freeway, it is an official alternate route for the Trans-Canada Highway (as Highway 1A) and the provincial Highway 99 (as Highway 99A). The road runs diagonally from northwest to southeast, emerging from Vancouver's Main Street and becoming 12th Street at the Burnaby-New Westminster border.
Kingsway is one of the longest roads in the Metropolitan Vancouver area and is therefore somewhat difficult to characterize. Many segments of the road offer diverse family-owned and ethnic shopping opportunities and restaurants particularly Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Japanese, South Asian and from other ethnicities. And there are a number of hotels, supermarkets, and freestanding fast-food locations along other portions of its route.
In Burnaby, Metrotown and the central business district are located along Kingsway. SkyTrain is located along a major portion of the Kingsway route and there is a major SkyTrain station at Metrotown. There are numerous bus routes operating along the road and it is the principal route between Metrotown and Downtown Vancouver.