Toronto West Railpath Winter Riders

Look at all the footprints (and tire tracks). Seems to imply many people use the path. Many people who are paying taxes in this city. Seems like that number of taxpayers ought to be able to travel safely on a path, which would also be better value for money if it were not unusable one quarter of every year. I can see not salting every path (and am not sure I like the volume of salt on the Martin Goodman anyway), but it is not acceptable to forego giving a scraping to the Railpath and Don Valley Path as there is no question they'd get the use to justify it - never mind that losing the paths to winter puts more cyclists on winter streets.

I keep saying the only thing the city will understand is lawsuits...

Lawsuits work in so far as they would effectively close the path during winter months.

Maybe you could offer a solution?

I'm no expert, but there are at least a few obstacles that I see:
1. Where does the excess snow go? The path is essentially enclosed.
2. What equipment would they use to clear the path? I think it is too narrow for typical road clearing vehicles
3. How much will all of this cost? The winter maintenance of the MGT was estimated to cost $150,000.
4. Where is the money coming from? The city is already trying to slash its excessive budget

Don't get me wrong, I would like to see better maintenance of cycling facilities, but I don't think you can simply shake a finger at the city either.

Dundas West, between about Bathurst to west of Ossington, is in horrid condition. It's had the streetcar tracks and the water mains replaced since the last repaving, and the quality of the patches the water folks used is a joke. It's bad enough they leave equipment and steel plates in the road for months on end, but it now looks like we'll wait another 2 years before it's paved, and it's darned hard to ride there.

It'll be even worse with more snow down, as you won't be able to see some of the obstacles.

Because this city needs as many excuses as possible to stop it from becoming in any way enviable. Keep up the Toronto spirit!

I was a bit miffed that the railpath was not cleared.
When you are trying to commute, the path is actually less suitable then the gutters in the street.

How much is it worth for cyclists not having to contend with the Roncesville street car tracks? especially during the winter when they are particularly slick and cars are even less likely to be looking out for us?

150k for snow clearing sounds expensive, however there is either a commitment or their is lip service. The railpath cost $3.8 million so spending 4% to make it useable during the winter seems to be an effective way to protect your investment. If it's not reliable it won't be used.

One bad accident on the uncleared path or in the street as a result of avoiding the path can result in hospital costs equivilent to maintenance.