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Waterfront Trail and Greenway News
An Ezine Produced by the Waterfront Regeneration Trust
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COIP*The waterfront municipalities of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, conservation authorities and community groups* MapArt* Dun-Map*Regional Niagara Bicycling Committee* The MMM Group* Heart and Strok Foundation* Mountain Equipment Co-op* Toronto Cyclists Union* St Lawrence Cement
February 2009
In this issue:
- Waterfront Regeneration Trust Goes to Montreal
- Eastern Gateway to Ontario’s Waterfront Trail Receives Funding
- Improvements Along Toronto’s Waterfront – Updates from Waterfront Toronto
Upcoming Conferences and Community Events:
- Roseneath Spring Festival
WATERFRONT REGENERATION TRUST GOES TO MONTREAL
On February 20 to 22, the Trust joined 4 other exhibits from Ontario to
present Montrealers with Ontario’s cycling offerings! This was the
first time that the popular Salon du Velo Expodium featured Ontario cycling
routes. We were happy to find ourselves side-by-side with representatives
from Cornwall and Seaway Valley Tourism and the Niagara Region, representing
both ends of the Waterfront Trail!
We found that while many of the Bike Show attendees had visited certain
stretches of the Waterfront Trail, particularly in the Cornwall-Kingston
area, Prince Edward County and Niagara, many were unaware of the scope
of the Waterfront Trail and were excited to learn about the connection
with la Route verte in Quebec. We distributed thousands of GWTA post cards,
sold mapbooks and spoke with hundreds of people about the Trail and the
GWTA tour – all in all, a great success!
As always, we came equipped with a survey to find out more about the people
attending the Bike Show. Here are some highlights (127 respondents):
- Only 20% said that they knew about the 730 km Waterfront Trail in Ontario before attending the Bike Show
- 23% said they knew about the connection with La Route verte
- 100% said that exploring the Waterfront Trail was a good reason to visit Ontario
- The thing that most appealed to respondents about visiting the Waterfront Trial was Natural Areas/Lake Ontario (75%), followed by Heritage/Culture (57%); the St Lawrence River (52%) and Communities (30%)
- 44% said they would prefer an organized tour of the Waterfront Trail, as opposed to a self-guided tour (39%)
We would like to give a special thank you to Alain and Sylvie, who generously
donated their time to help out at the show. Merci beaucoup!
EASTERN GATEWAY TO ONTARIO’S WATERFRONT TRAIL RECEIVES FUNDING
Canada Build Funding secured to establish the Waterfront Trail
and Greenway from Lancaster to Curry Hill
Welcome Kiosk at the Border complete
The Township of South Glengarry secured $2.6 million from the Canada
Build program to establish the Waterfront Trail and Greenway from Lancaster
to Curry Hill. With a local contribution of $1.3 million, this amounts
to a total investment of $3.9 million. The project will significantly
improve the safety and quality of the experience for people using Ontario’s
Waterfront Trail and Greenway. Further, since the Waterfront Trail now
connects directly to Quebec’s 4,300 km cycling system, la Route
verte, the County’s project will also greatly enhance Ontario’s
“front door” for visitors arriving from Quebec.
The project involves the full rehabilitation of the road surface and the
installation of generous two-metre bike lanes and signage on both sides
of a 12 km section of the South Service Roadway. With its completion one
of the few remaining gaps in the Waterfront Trail east of Cornwall will
be closed. The project is expected to start in June 2009 and will be completed
in late fall 2009.
Last July the Trust announced funding from the Ministry of Tourism to
install trail signage and construct a welcome kiosk at the border of Ontario
and Quebec. The Township of South Glengarry has completed construction
of the kiosk and trailhead signs will be installed in the structure in
the spring. The funding also included the installation of blue tourism
signs promoting both the Waterfront Trail and la Route verte on the road
at the border of Ontario and Quebec.
Together the two projects —the kiosk and the installation of the bike lanes will provide trail users with a well marked, safe and welcoming eastern gateway to Ontario’s Waterfront Trail.
IMPROVEMENTS ALONG TORONTO’S WATERFRONT - UPDATES FROM WATERFRONT
TORONTO
There’s a lot of activity taking place along Toronto’s waterfront.
Here are some of the latest updates from our friends at Waterfront Toronto:
Storm Water Management System and Parliament WaveDeck
Waterfront Toronto is finalizing plans for an innovative storm water
management system in East Bayfront, that will be incorporated into a wavedeck
at Parliament Street. Part of a series of iconic wavedecks being installed
along the water’s edge, the 3300m2 pedestrian platform at Parliament
Slip is an integration of infrastructure and design and housing a storm
water treatment system within its structure. To help naturalize stormwater,
the deck will feature three holes in its platforms which serve as a ‘Daylighting’
component allowing UV rays to penetrate the water and work with three
underwater storage tanks to disinfect and cleanse. Adjacent to the deck
will be an aquatic habitat creation made up of diverse materials to encourage
a variety of aquatic life. This habitat will run the length of the 1.5
kilometre water’s edge promenade, and will serve as an educational
showcase example of high quality design and infrastructure integration.
Construction is slated to begin in April 2010 and all components of the
storm water management system will be completed in early 2012.
Pedestrian-Oriented Streets to be incorporated into West Don Lands
Waterfront Toronto, with support from the City of Toronto, has developed
an innovative design
for pedestrian-oriented streets within West Don Lands. These pedestrian-oriented
streets introduce a new street typology for the city which erases the
boundary between sidewalk and street, and provides a common public space
shared by pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles.
For more information, please visit http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca.
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND COMMUNITY EVENTS:
ROSENEATH SPRING FESTIVAL
When: May 23rd, 2009 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Roseneath Fair Grounds. (Highway 45 - # 9109), home of
the famous Carousel, in the village of Roseneath (Northumberland County,
Ontario).
Events for the whole family include a pancake breakfast, music and entertainment, environmental and conservation displays, antique farm equipment display and the Northumberland Wood Carvers exhibit. Admission is $2:00 and a door prize will be awarded.
For further information contact Faith Osmond at dfosmond@xplornet.com
or 905-352-2606.
Cheers!
Marlaine Koehler, Executive Director;
Vicki Barron, Director of Administration and Special Projects;
Petrina Tulissi, Manager of Promotions and Events;
Ian Lobb, Tour Director, Great Waterfront Trail Adventure
Tour; and
and David Arcus, Project Coordinator, 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: info@wrtrust.com
Visit http://www.waterfronttrail.org
to download 77 online colour maps of the Waterfront Trail, from Niagara-on-the-Lake
to Brockville!
Thank You to our Supporters!:
- CIBC
- The Lake Ontario waterfront municipalities, conservation authorities and community groups
- The Ontario Trillium Foundation
- The Heart and Stroke Foundation
- The Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion
- MapArt
- Dunmap
- Niagara Freewheelers Bicycle Touring Club
- Regional Niagara Bicycling Committee
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