This image of the Railpath gives rise to the though of what a great idea the path was and is. In addition is serves as a monument to the greatness of the work of all the people who made it a reality.
At this point in the path route their is a large paved tarmac path as well as an expanse of trees and vegetation.
Oh not to forget the exciting trains to the right!
5 Comments
Cycle on this all the time and love it….
Any ideas on how realistic it is that they actually follow up with the second phase of the path project where it connects to Downtown? What's preventing it, Metrolinx?
Actually, Metrolinx might be the one to make it happen, as part of a package of concessions to communities along the rail corridor for their rail expansion project. Metrolinx is charged with multi-nodal transportation planning in the GTA, which technically includes cycling.
That's why it made sense for cyclists and community members to push Metrolinx to complete the Railpath because the completed trail would be very useful for cyclists. Metrolinx agreed last year, though they said that they could only build to Queen or King at most.
I'm sure the constant barrage of community lawsuits is helping the cause to expand the bike path southwards towards the core. If anything, Metrolinx will probably use the extension as leverage for years to come.
The communities in which the extension will be built aren't actually involved in the lawsuits. Note that Metrolinx also has other leverage like approving the most expensive option for grade separation at Strauchan (lowering the rail corridor), the Weston trench, and upgrades to Weston and Bloor GO stations.
The ultimate challenge I think in this era of passenger rail expansion will be electrification, and it's hard to counter diesel pollution and noise concerns with "but we built this small park and we didn't sever your streets".