London endured a long debate about in-city freeway connections through the city and west to Sarnia, through the 1960s. Repeated debates moved the links into and out of the city limits, and considered numerous options that either cut through existing neighbourhoods or were routed further out from the city center. The road would connect to Highway 401 in the south and join up with Highway 402 in the west. This plan, however, never came to fruition due to city council's reluctance to fund an urban freeway. When city council became more united in opposition to Highway 402 being routed through London, the highway now known as Veterans Memorial Parkway was conceived by the Ontario government as a compromise: a spur highway that would run along the eastern parts of London.