Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail News

An Ezine Produced by the Waterfront Regeneration Trust

CIBC* COIPThe Lake Ontario waterfront municipalities, conservation authorities and community groupsThe Eastern Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Waterfront Working Group MapArt* Niagara Freewheelers Bicycle Touring Club* Regional Niagara Bicycling Committee St. Lawrence Cement* Tilley Endurables

July 2006

In this issue:

Waterfront Trust Website Updates
More Trailhead Signs Installed Along the Waterfront Trail
Exciting Plans for Toronto’s Waterfront:
- Port Union Waterfront Park Opening
- Construction Begins on Mimico Waterfront Linear Park
- Quay to the City, Summer 2006

Waterfront Trust Website Updates

We are pleased to announce that we have completed our annual website content update. These updates are performed every year to ensure that users have access to accurate information for planning their trips on the Trail. With the help of our waterfront partners the following sections of the site have been updated:

Events Listings (www.waterfronttrail.org/trail-events.html):
- Event locations, dates and times updated for 2006
- Contact info and web links verified
Community Profiles (www.waterfronttrail.org/trail-profiles.html):
- Route information sent to local partners for updates and sign-off
- Contact info, web links checked for each listing
Web Maps (www.waterfronttrail.org/trail.html)
- All Trail maps have been updated!

If you have new listings that you think should be added, please contact David Arcus at info@wrtrust.com.

In addition we are now able to post notices directly on our web maps to indicate areas of construction or new developments on the Trail. For example, we have notified users of the construction taking place in Clarington to close one of the gaps in the Trail (just north of Wilmot Creek Retirement Community) – on map 3-8 (www.waterfronttrail.org/trail-s-3.html). Be sure to check the maps for new notices or updates before heading on your trip.

Any comments or suggestions about the website content are welcome. Please direct these to David Arcus at (416) 943-8080 or info@wrtrust.com.

More Trailhead Signs Installed Along the Waterfront Trail

The Trust is excited to announce the recent installation of the next set of new trailhead signs. In total, 60 new signs will be installed along the Waterfront Trail. The following is a list of the recent locations to receive signs:

Millenium Square, Pickering
Rotary Park, Ajax
Lakeside Waterfront Park, Ajax
Pickering Beach Road, Ajax
Corner of Front and Brock St, Whitby
Lakeview Park, Oshawa
Cobourg Marina, Cobourg
Wicklow Beack, Alnwick/ Haldimand
Town Hall, Cramahe
Constructed Wetland, Brighton (one more to be installed in Brighton)
Centennial Park, Quinte West
Kiwanis Park, Belleville (two more to be installed in Belleville)
Kingston locations:
- Arthur Lower Park
- King Street West
- West Street
- Fort Henry Tourist Bureau
- Grass Creek Park
- Rotary Park (to be installed)

The Trust would like to thank the waterfront municipalities, Dun-Map and Fontasy Sign & Display for helping to make this signage program a success.

Below is a photo of the unveiling event in Cramahe Township that took place on Monday July 24th.

(From left: Mayor Elie Dekeyser; Rebecca Goddard-Bowman, Cramahe Tourism; Marc Coombs, Apple Route Executive Committee; Nikki Rendle, Waterfront Regeneration Trust)

Exciting Plans for Toronto’s Waterfront

Toronto residents and Waterfront Trail users had a lot to celebrate this month. The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC) has made a number of announcements recently, unveiling the exciting plans they have for increasing public access to Toronto’s waterfront:

Port Union Waterfront Park Opening

This September, Waterfront Trail users will find a new Trail extension and a host of new amenities along the Scarborough waterfront. On September 24, 2006, the TWRC in partnership with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority will celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of the Port Union Waterfront Improvement Project. This project involves the revitalization of the stretch of waterfront from Highland Creek to the Rouge River in Scarborough. Phase 1 includes the construction of the Pedestrian Node at the foot of Port Union Road, more than half of the proposed 3.6 km Waterfront Trail system, five cobble beaches and a bridge at the mouth of Highland Creek.

Phase II will involve the completion of the headland beach system and Waterfront Trail. This phase will begin construction in 2007 and will be open to the public in 2008.

Members of the public are invited to celebrate the opening of Port Union Waterfront Park- Phase 1 on September 24th from 1-3 pm. For details, call 416-661-6600 x 5305 or visit www.trca.on.ca/events/calendar.

For updates on the Port Union Project and to read the Summer 2006 Community Newsletter, visit www.towaterfront.ca and click on Current Projects.

Construction Begins on Mimico Waterfront Linear Park

On July 24th, the TWRC, in partnership with the TRCA, celebrated the start of construction on Mimico Waterfront Linear Park in Toronto’s west end. The project is designed to give residents safe and easy access to this section of the Lake Ontario shoreline, which is currently unavailable to them. It will include the creation of a number of amenities, among them a pedestrian boardwalk and a brand new section of the Waterfront Trail. The creation of a new section of Trail in this area is great news for Trail users, especially as it will open part of the stretch of waterfront west of Mimico Creek that is currently one of the gaps in the Waterfront Trail.

Phase 1 of the Mimico Project is scheduled to be completed and opened to the public in 2008. For more information and to read the Summer 2006 Community Newsletter, visit www.towaterfront.ca and click on Current Projects.

Quay to the City, Summer 2006

For ten days in August, Toronto residents will be able to experience traveling across Toronto’s central waterfront on a continuous section of trail. On August 11-20 the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp is hosting Quay to the City, an event celebrating the proposed new design of Toronto’s central waterfront. Queens Quay on the south side of the TTC tracks between Spadina and York will be transformed into a linear lawn, flower garden and extension of Toronto’s section of Waterfront Trail. The on-street trail will in fact run from Spadina to Richardson (just east of Jarvis) where the existing Trail picks up again in the east.

The event has been designed so that residents of Toronto can begin to experience the benefits of a proposed new design for Queens Quay and the central waterfront water’s edge promenade. For more details on the event or to view the winning design proposal from the Central Waterfront Innovative Design Competition, visit www.towaterfront.ca.

The Mimico, Port Union and Queen’s Quay projects are among the many revitalization projects currently being undertaken by the TWRC. The TWRC was established in 2002 with a goal of creating a safe and accessible waterfront that connects Toronto from east to west. Their projects along the waterfront are making big leaps towards realizing the dream of a continuous Waterfront Trail in Toronto.

Cheers!

Vicki Barron, Executive Director;
Marlaine Koehler, Program Director;
Nikki Rendle, Project Manager;
and David Arcus, Editor Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail News

The Waterfront Regeneration Trust
372 Richmond Street West, Suite 308
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1X6
Tel: 416-943-8080
Fax: 416-943-8068
Email: nr@wrtrust.com
www.waterfronttrail.org

Visit www.waterfronttrail.org to download 90 online colour maps of the Waterfront Trail, from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Brockville!

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