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What is the Railpath project and where did the idea begin?
The Railpath community group was initiated by a committee of West Toronto
residents, cyclists, politicians, activists and environmentalists with
the goal of assisting the City in the creation and stewardship of this
multipurpose linear park. The Railpath idea has been discussed at resident’s
association meetings in Toronto’s West End for years. Finally, in
2001, a group of members of the Roncesvalles Macdonell Resident’s
Association (RMRA),
got together, formed a partnership with the Community Bicycle Network
and Evergreen, and began working actively towards helping make the project
a reality.
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What is the scope of the project?
When completed, the proposed pathway will run diagonally from Cariboo
Avenue (just North of Dupont) south across Bloor, Dundas, Landsdowne,
Brock, Queen and King to a point close to Strachan Avenue near the western
end of Wellington Street bicycle path network.
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What will happen to the trains currently running on the tracks?
Railpath will run along abandoned railway beds which have been out of
use for over 40 years. Because the rail corridor is extremely wide in
this corridor, the Railpath will not interfere with existing train routes
or with the proposed Air-Rail link to Pearson Airport.
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What’s there now? What happens to the existing mature trees,
butterfly and bird habitat?
The abandoned rail lines which run diagonally across the western part
of Toronto have become an incredible sanctuary for bird life, animal life,
native tree and grass species, butterfly and insect life. Railpath is
undertaking to conduct a flora and fauna inventory of the entire site
in order to protect the incredible array of wildlife which exists on the
site. Both CBN and Evergreen are committed to preserving this portion
of Canada’s natural heritage. Please: For your own safety DO NOT
GO ON THE RAILPATH SITE as it runs very close active rail lines. Train
Time Is Anytime!
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What happens east of Strachan Ave? Can the path continue into downtown?
The idea is that Railpath will eventually run all the way to Union Station
allowing active transportation to form part of the intermodal transportation
hub at that location. For now, however, Railpath will terminate at Strachan
Avenue, just North of Exhibition Place a short distance from the Waterfront.
At that point bicycle traffic will then be able to access the Wellington
Street bicycle lane network.
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