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Insight

Toronto railpath park

Trail spotting

By Enzo Di Matteo

The newly carved 2-kilometre stretch from Cariboo to the edge of Roncesvalles had its official opening Friday, October 30. On visual offer: towering steel sculptures and wildlife sanctuary. In the steel grey of twilight, the former wasteland on an abandoned rail line takes on a cool industrial-strength glow.

1. Graffiti art long hidden from all except GO train passengers blows new life into the scenery.

2,3. From abandoned wasteland to desirable district – 19th-century industrial slowly gives way to green and condo bloom.

4. John Dickson’s Frontier sculptures create a flickering effect.

5. Painted bollards add a whimsical touch.

6. At the Wallace Street entrance, a place to catch the breath of passing locomotives and contemplate the flow of time.

7. Wayfinding made edgy on rusted steel.

8. Railpath as transport hub: bike posts steps from GO station at Bloor.

NOW | November 3-10, 2009 | VOL 29 NO 10

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Comments

Posted by iSkyscraper on 11/05/2009, 12:51 PM

Well, it's certainly Toronto -- cheap finishes and bare-bones everything. (Hooray, more concrete and asphalt!) I'm grateful that they got the rail path open but the design is way below the standards of similar pathways in other cities.

Posted by Laurie on 11/05/2009, 05:33 PM

ISkyscraper - not sure I get your comment. Cyclists, major users of the path, want concrete or asphalt to ride on. Interlocked brick or flag-stones might be nicely to look at, but not much to ride on! The rail path is no where near as pleasant as the many ravine paths, but it does well in the very constricted space available. It curves a bit left and right, instead of running straight as a die, and there are trees and shrubs, pull-overs, benches and sculpture. I've already seen many cyclists and walkers on the path this summer, and as the plantings mature, I think more and more people will gravitate to it.

Posted by pie on 11/05/2009, 05:46 PM

As a regular user of this space before the asphalt highway was installed (walking the dog, bird & native plant scouting), I am saddened to see much of the wildness paved over. I don't use this space so much anymore.

Posted by Mark on 11/06/2009, 12:10 AM

mazel tov toronto on this nice new piece of the cycling infrastructure. Off street is much safer and encourage users of all ages to feel safe and cycle.

PIE, I hear ya, on the removal of natural regrowth species, but the city was really cool about this, they gathered seeds last year before the site went under construction and those were planted in the finished area along with native species from our ecozone. Wild flowers will return and the area will soon again attract pollinator and birds.

For now, safe rides, and use your lights at night so other bikes can see you coming please.

Posted by Larry on 11/06/2009, 10:27 AM

Edge of Roncesvalles? It stops at Dundas near Sterling Rd, closer to Lansdowne.

Posted by skube on 11/06/2009, 03:50 PM

Hard to please everyone. Nice to have a dedicated route away from cars. Hopefully it will be expanded south more.

Posted by buyingblock on 11/06/2009, 05:41 PM

I think that just getting it done and making it useful to more people is a great start. It's more important to make it live then to wait forever until you have the perfect design. At least now, its on the radar and we see what's possible. I think this will lead to people looking at greater possibilities for similar neglected tracts of land.