DonValleyRainbow
Senior Member
This is to discuss the three existing segments of the Beltline Trail, any connections, extensions, and improvements to the trail, and the surrounding parkland:
- York
- Bowie Ave/Croham Rd to Beograd Gdns
- Connections to Caledonia Rd, Ronald Ave, Fairbank Ave, Dufferin St, Salinas Ct, Tommy Douglas Gdns, Hopewell Ave
- Within Kay Gardner Beltline Park
- Kay Gardner
- Allen Expressway to Mount Pleasant Rd
- Connections to Elm Ridge Dr, Aldburn Rd, Old Park Rd, Bathurst St, Chaplin Cres, Eglinton Ave, Forest Hill Rd, Avenue Rd, Oriole Pkwy, Lascelles Blvd, Yonge St, Merton St
- Within Kay Gardner Beltline Park
- Mud Creek
- Moore Ave to Bayview Ave
- Connection to Heath St
- Within Moore Park Ravine
- Gaps
- There's no direct connection over the Allen Expressway; users have to go around via Roselawn Ave. Heck, it doesn't even connect to Marlee Ave because the back of 855 Roselawn Ave cuts it off.
- The Mount Pleasant Cemetery is an open connection from dawn to dusk, not sure that being a cut-off in the night is really a pressing problem.
- There's work underway to provide a direct connection to the Lower Don Trail via Bayview, but it is very indirect if you want to go south. I thought I also saw plans for a bridge across from the Brick Works, but am unsure as to when/if that will happen.
- At-grade crossings
- Caledonia Rd, Bathurst St, Avenue Rd, Oriole Pkwy and Moore Ave are busy cross streets, proving to be a barrier to convenient travel.
- Oriole Pkwy received a pedestrian island, and Avenue Rd got a set of traffic lights, improving safety.
- Bathurst still remains a very dangerous and inconvenient crossing. A traffic signal was ruled out due to proximity to the existing signal at Roselawn Ave/Elm Ridge Dr
- The trail has a crazy grade south of Moore Ave
- Erosion/Stormwater Management
- Some sections experience overland flow, which creates puddles and uneven surfaces.
- Lighting
- The trail proves to still be relatively popular at night in some sections, particularly between Lascelles Blvd and Mount Pleasant Rd. Other sections are not lit, preventing it from being a 24-hour public space
- Lights get burnt out from time to time, and my reports to Toronto Hydro go unanswered for long periods