Iqaluit - Transportation

Transportation

Iqaluit has the distinction of being the smallest Canadian capital in terms of population and the only capital that is not connected to other settlements by a highway. Located on an island remote from the Canadian highway system, Iqaluit is generally only accessible by aircraft and, subject to ice conditions, by boat. Iqaluit Airport is a fully modern facility whose originally Second World War era runway is more than long enough for most classes of modern jet. A persistent rumour that Iqaluit was an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle is false. Iqaluit Airport was a centre for cold-weather testing of new aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 in February 2006. Both Canadian North and First Air serve Iqaluit from Ottawa and Yellowknife as well as multiple communities in Nunavut. Air Canada Jazz also provided daily service to Iqaluit from Ottawa between March 28, 2010 and July 31, 2011. CBC reports the Air Canada service was cancelled due to rising fuel costs, among other issues, which prevented the route from being profitable. Locally based airlines include Air Nunavut, Canadian Helicopters, Nunasi Helicopters and Unaalik Aviation. All provide air charters and Air Nunavut and Kivalliq Air provide MEDIVAC/air ambulance service.

In the middle of summer, a few ships — generally no larger than a Liberty class vessel — transport bulk and heavy goods to the city. Cargo is off-loaded onto barges as the harbour is not deep enough. The city is currently planning a deepwater port. Experienced locals also cross the Hudson Strait from the Canadian mainland when it freezes over, either on foot or by dog sled or snowmobile, a distance of over 100 km (62 mi).

Iqaluit has a local road system only stretching from the nearby community of Apex to the Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park Reserve, 1 km (0.62 mi) west of town. Iqaluit currently has no public transportation, although there is city-wide taxi service. (There was bus service in the city before, but the service was cancelled due to low ridership.) Motor cars are increasing in number, to the extent of causing occasional traffic jams known locally as "the rush minute." However, the cost of shipping automobiles and the wear-and-tear of the harsh Arctic climate combined with its notoriously rough roadways mean that snowmobiles remain the preferred form of personal transportation. All-terrain vehicles are also increasingly common in most of the Canadian Arctic. Snowmobiles are used to travel both within the city and in the surrounding area. In winter, dog sleds are still used, but primarily for recreation. In winter, the nearby Qaummaarviit Territorial Historic Park and the more remote Katannilik Territorial Park Reserve are only accessible by snowmobile, dog sled or foot. In the summer, both are accessible by boat.

Both residents and businesses identify their locations mostly by building number, and occasionally by the name of a prominent structure. Residents know where in the city certain series of building numbers are located; numbers tend to be aggregated in blocks, so someone might say that they live in the 2600s. Around 2003, street names were developed, although there were delays in finalizing them and posting the signs. Street numbers have not been assigned, and building numbers continue to be used. Iqaluit is the only Canadian capital city not to have traffic signals.