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.
Metrolinx and GO Transit are currently seeking feedback for the Georgetown South Service Expansion project, which includes the installation of several new sets of railway tracks throughout this corridor. To many peoples' dismay, the Metrolinx staff at these consultations seemed to be completely unaware of the existing Railpath construction and future plans to expand south-eastward, and have not properly considered leaving room for the Railpath.
Now, it's true that a rail corridor's primary purpose should be for the movement of trains, but if planned properly, this extremely wide piece of railway land should easily be able to accommodate a few metres of space along the edge for the Railpath. Approximately 4m is all the space required to squeeze the Railpath through.
The Metrolinx "Open House" meetings in Toronto have all finished, but there is still time to let them know that the Railpath is in high demand. You can leave comments in their Virtual Open House, email them at info@metrolinx.com, or call 1-866-658-9890.
It would also be a good idea to send your comments to your City Councillors and MPPs.
Due date for comments is Monday March 16th.
If you ever want to see the Railpath completed in its full glory, now is the time to contact Metrolinx, your councillors, and MPPs to make sure they reserve some space for cycling and walking in this corridor.
Comments
Ed (not verified)
Railpath model needs to be all over the city
Sat, 02/21/2009 - 09:45I hope that Railpath goes ahead, although I currently have no particular use for it.
I'm aware of another bike-path-in-rail-corridor idea in south Etobicoke, There's a rail line paralleling Kipling on the west. A bike path has been proposed, from Horner to Queensway or North Queen. This will simplify riding, especially between Evans and Horner where the alternatives are roundabout, stop-sign-infested local streets. Railpaths are an excellent solution in industrial neighbourhoods where roads may be sparse, with lots of dead-ends and closed loops, with truck-pounded pavement.
Bike paths in rail corridors and hydro rights-of-ways may really help encourage cycling in the suburban/industrial parts of the city.
tt (not verified)
Railpathalooza
Sat, 02/21/2009 - 14:14Thanks for the post, Vic. And great comment, Ed.
Ed, I'd like to know more about this rail path being proposed you describe. It sounds like it would be along the CN line but may not have been part of the City commissioned corridor trail inventory. Looks like a great route.
Please email me if you know more about this proposed south Etobicoke railpath at tammy@dandyhorse.com
A.R. (not verified)
Tell them about Railpath
Sat, 02/21/2009 - 16:36I've sent my message, and I encourage all cyclists to do the same because this path has a lot of potential and could be a great example for new routes throughout the city once completed.
hamish (not verified)
what is the highest best use of this corridor?
Mon, 02/23/2009 - 19:06I hope people know that I really want better biking, but the highest and best use of this corridor is for public transit, and regrettably, the Rail Trail may need to be lower down on the list, but it is ahead of the Blue 22 proposal though.
The proposal to greatly expand the rail traffic - four new tracks - through this corridor means intense competition for this scarce land and this is before the competition with the just-brought back Downtown Relief Line proposal for the TTC using perhaps Front St. (there's a facebook site apparently).
We especially need the routing south from Bloor St. for local, and public transit and maybe we have enough space to do the Rail Path, but maybe it needs to be atop the transit - leveraging a roof to keep switches working.
And if it has to be dug out/redone, it's only been $3.6M.
I'd suggest Bloor bike lanes would actually be more useful in this area given the paucity of other options for safe east-west travel, and the lack of connectivity of the Rail Path.
A.R. (not verified)
It is a good use of the rail corridor
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 01:54Railpath is supposed to connect at important arterials like Queen and King. By providing an expressway type route for cyclists through a dense area will surely be an appropriate use of space. Considering that the corridor itself is quite wide and rather underutilized, lots of capacity can still be added for rail transit. Metrolinx has also not displayed much interest in the rail corridor alignment for the DRL.
Kevin Love
There should be enough room for every use
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 09:26This is a wide corridor. And the great thing about trains is that they stay on the track and cannot swerve to hit the innocent cyclist. The only real rail planning issue is to ensure that the bike route is next to the freight line and not next to a dedicated high-speed passenger line.
GO trains currently run at track speeds up to 135 km/hr, and that may increase when the lines are electrified. This causes air displacement that can be unsafe for cycling up to three metres from the train. The much lower speeds of freight trains do not result in the same issue.
geoffrey (not verified)
not wide enough
Sat, 02/28/2009 - 13:01After consultation with "parties of interest" it was determined this would be a "linear park" as opposed to the 4+ M wide bikeway proposed. My understanding is cyclists are to consider themselves fortunate to have a bi-directional 2 M shared facility complete with dogs and park benches. Nothing wrong with this it is just that it certainly won't be the cycleway proposed.