Freeway vs Parkway: Difference and Comparison

As we know, a highway in each country or city is a major road for the public, and it connects different cities, and a freeway is part of such highways that have two lanes or even more than two and have no tolls.

Key Takeaways

1. Freeways are high-speed roads with multiple lanes, while parkways are roads that pass through parks or scenic areas with lower speed limits.
2. Freeways have limited access points, while parkways have multiple entry and exit points.
3. Freeways are designed for high-speed travel over long distances, while parkways are designed for leisurely driving and scenic enjoyment.

Freeway vs Parkway

Freeway mainly has two or more than two lanes having no tolls through it, and Parkway, on the other hand, the parkway is a decorated road and has traffic signals too.

A freeway is a type of highway but a specific one without any tolls. It is called an expressway, too, in some regions.

While a parkway is also a highway but one that is landscaped and can be natural (through a forest) and artificial (with planted trees). Although, none of these terms is exact and specific as their usage varies with the location and the dialect. 

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Freeway	Parkway
Meaning	Freeway is part of a highway only and without toll, having 2 or more lanes, and is sometimes called an expressway.	Parkway is an essential and significant public road like a decorated highway and has traffic lights. A parkway can also be a part of a highway.
Designed for	It is designed for high-speed vehicular traffic and is the highest-controlled highway class.	They are called city streets because they are narrow as two lanes and have a landscaped median.
Tolls	A freeway has no tolls and is made for mainly high-speed vehicular traffics.	A parkway has no tolls, mainly inside a city or a region.
Other names	Expressway, motorway (in different countries and their parts)	Parkway has no alternate name.
Examples	A toll-free highway	An open landscaped highway.

What is Freeway?

A freeway is basically designed for vehicles with high speed. This is the reason it has no tolls.

A freeway provides travellers with an unhindered traffic flow throughout the way, with no traffic lights or tolls and no intersection.

They are also free of crossing with other roads, railways, and pedestrian parts. Well, eventually, people started to replace the earlier ones’ descriptive names, like the harbour freeway, with the route numbers, although it was called 110 and not 110.

The reason behind “the” is that essentially, “the” in the southern Californian saying that “I drove to the highway way before it was cool.”

What is Parkway?

The term parkway is initially used for the road in a park or highway with borders or connects to a garden. From these roads, trucks and all heavy vehicles are excluded.

Highways and Parkway might sound the same sometimes. Still, the difference between a highway and a parkway is that a highway is a major public road that is paved and, most of the time, maintained by the federal or the local government of the city or the country.

While a parkway has narrow lanes compared to a highway or even a freeway, the Parkway may or may not even require the toll. Initially, these parkways were referred to as the broad roads through the parks.

A little before the Parkway, the driveway came into little use. But unlike the Parkway, the driveway did not refer to where the path was but what the path was for.

Main Differences Between Freeway and Parkway

1. A freeway is designed for vehicles with high speed; this is why it has no tolls, while Parkway is an essential and significant public road like a highway, decorated with traffic lights.
2. A freeway has been termed an expressway in some countries and their parts, but a parkway has no alternate name.
3. Freeway is part of a highway only, and It is without toll, has two or more lanes and is sometimes also called an expressway, but a parkway can be a city road, too, with traffic signals.
4. Parkway is an essential and significant public road, like a highway, decorated with traffic lights. A parkway can also be a part of a highway. They are called city streets because they are narrow as two lanes and have a landscaped median.
5. A highway and Parkway might sound the same sometimes. Still, the difference between a highway and a parkway is that Freeway mainly has two or more lanes with no tolls through it and Parkway, on the other hand, the Parkway is a decorated road with traffic signals too.

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089571770280019X
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019126159800023X