Princess Street (Kingston)

The downtown area of Princess Street in downtown Kingston

Princess Street is a major arterial road in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Princess Street begins almost at the waterfront (reached by Executive Lane) east of Ontario Street in the downtown and traverses the entire east-west length of the city limits. All of Princess Street formed part of Highway 2. In the outlying western sections of the city, the road was known primarily as "Highway 2", with the Princess Street name gradually adopted as the urban area expanded west. Princess Street is the main retail street of downtown Kingston.

Overview

The street was originally called Store Street due to a large government store at the lower end. It was renamed Princess Street in honour of the birth of the Princess Royal in approximately 1830.

From 1942-74, Princess Street intersected with Bath Road and Concession Street at a traffic circle, which was ultimately removed and replaced with traffic signals as volumes increased and the circle's capacity was exceeded. The general area is still sometimes referred to as the "traffic circle" by long-time residents.

Princess Street operates one-way eastbound from Division Street to Ontario Street.