railpath

West Toronto Railpath: Bridge over Dupont St., and Art Starts mural

Today's Globe & Mail has an article about the possible future extension of the West Toronto Railpath.

A few quotes from the article:

A completed trail “would be amazing,” said Daniel Egan, manager of the city’s cycling infrastructure and programs. “What’s in place now doesn’t really go anywhere, but you can get a sense of what’s possible. ... You don’t need much imagination to understand how important it could be.”

But the completion of the trail into downtown is likely several years off, and still faces significant design and construction hurdles.

But if it is to become more than just a recreational trail, and open up a new commuting route for cyclists, the southern portion of the trail down to King and Strachan needs to be completed. That depends on whether room can be carved out alongside the rail corridor that is being expanded to provide more frequent GO train service and a rail link to the airport.

Metrolinx, the government agency planning the GO expansion, says it will try to make room for the railpath alongside its tracks. The city is willing to pick up the tab for construction costs, and will accommodate the trail on adjacent land or streets in the sections where it can’t be accommodated on rail land. And the grassroots group Friends of West Toronto Railpath, which pushed for years to get the path under way, is lobbying hard and helping with the design of the extended path.

On Saturday February 21 2010, Scott Torrance, the landscape architect behind the design and implementation of the West Toronto Railpath led a walking tour of this wonderful new public space. The walking tour was hosted by the Lost Rivers Committee, Toronto Field Naturalists and the Toronto Green Community.

During this walking tour, Scott Torrance described various aspects of the history, design, and implementation of the Railpath. He provided a great insight into some of the choices made about how the path was landscaped, the materials used, the plant life, and more. I didn't attend this walk, but fortunately someone brought a video camera!

The first video posted here (above) is the short 3-minute summary. If you want to see the whole thing, it's broken up into 3 parts below.

There's more info about Scott Torrance's work on his website, and you can also watch these video on his Youtube channel.

Interested in another walking tour of the Railpath? This Saturday, May 1, there will be a Jane's Walk on the Railpath. It's not hosted by Scott Torrence, but rather by some knowledgeable locals. Check it out if you want to learn more about the current state of the Railpath, and plans for future south/east expansion.

Future Railpath, southbound at Bloor St.

Perhaps one of the most exciting bits of cycling news happening in Toronto (at least for a west-ender like myself) this year is the opening of the first phase of the West Toronto Railpath. This first section of the Railpath will be from Cariboo St., at the West Toronto Diamond (just north of Dupont/Annette/Dundas), down to the Dundas/Sterling/Lansdowne area (map).

A significant portion of the work was completed in 2008, including grading, new fences, bridge upgrades, and new staircases at Bloor and Dupont Streets. Hopefully the paving and landscaping will be finished in time for a big launch party during Bike Week in the spring.

As exciting as the Phase One launch is, it's now time to start pushing for the completion of the south-eastern section of the Railpath which would end close to downtown at around Strachan Ave. and King St. W. It's a bit of a long and detailed story, but the short version is: The City does not yet own any part of the rail corridor south of Dundas St., and they are waiting to purchase it from CP who of course don't want to give it up until issues like the Airport Rail service and GO Transit expansion are sorted out.