Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail News

An Ezine Produced by the Waterfront Regeneration Trust

CIBC* COIP*The Lake Ontario waterfront municipalities, conservation authorities and community groups*The Eastern Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Waterfront Working Group MapArt* Niagara Freewheelers Bicycle Touring Club* Regional Niagara Bicycling Committee St. Lawrence Cement* Tilley Endurables

January 2006

In this issue:

• Six New Trailhead Signs Installed in Niagara
• Waterfront Trail Updates
  • Whitby Station Gallery
  • Extension of Recreation Paths in Cobourg
  • Tell Us About Regeneration Projects in Your Community
• A Fond Farewell to Three of our Trail Partners
• Proposed Clean Water Act, 2005
• Smart Growth Planning for the Greater Golden Horseshoe
• Trails for All Ontarians Collaborative (TAOC) to Develop Trail Guidelines
• Upcoming Events:
  • Wetland Stomp 2006
  • The 41st Central Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research

SIX NEW TRAILHEAD SIGNS INSTALLED IN NIAGARA

Thanks to the hard work of our partners in Niagara Region as well as Dun-Map and Fontasy Sign & Display, the Trust is excited to announce the recent installation of the first set of Trailhead signs depicting updated trail alignments in various locations throughout Niagara:

o Paradise Grove, Niagara on the Lake
o Richardo Street, Niagara on the Lake
o Charles Ansell Park, St. Catharines
o Charles Daley Park, Lincoln
o Jordan Historical Museum of the Twenty (connection to the Twenty Valley Trail), Jordan
o Elizabeth Street Pumphouse, Grimsby

Click here to see photos of the signs.

The Trust is looking forward to installing 55 more signs along the rest of the Waterfront Trail and will provide updates and more photos in future ezine editions.

WATERFRONT TRAIL UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Whitby Station Gallery

Bob Short from the Town of Whitby has kindly provided this update for us on the recent completion of the Station Gallery in Whitby. The Gallery is a new facility located on the waterfront, immediate to the Waterfront Trail, which was funded entirely by the Town. Named after Whitby’s historic railway station, the gallery maintains its heritage design, while offering new facilities for artists and studio space for art exhibitions, lectures and workshops. It has already been recognized as one of the finest art galleries in Ontario. Waterfront Trail users are invited to visit and enjoy the exciting displays, activities and demonstrations offered at this unique art gallery.

For more information, email the Station Gallery at station@indirect.com.

Extension of Recreation Paths in Cobourg

Cobourg is renowned for its beautiful expanse of beach and lovely Victorian boardwalk—the result of years of planning and brownfield remediation. This incredible transformation is extending westward with the West Harbour and Central Harbour redevelopment projects.

Both the Central and West Harbour projects are part of the Lake Ontario Waterfront Investment COIP Program. The Central Harbour is well underway with the creation of Rotary Park where once stood a contaminated industrial site.

Construction on the West Harbour site in Cobourg has begun. The project will entail extending a walking/bike trail along the waterfront 360 m from Hibernia Street to Ontario Street. This link will add approximately .5 km to Cobourg’s waterfront trail and establish connections to Cobourg’s existing local paths. The path consists of a 3m wide boardwalk. The Town is hoping to extend the boardwalk further west in 2006, which would take it over to Ontario Street. Thank you to Gary Craig from the Town of Cobourg for providing us with this update.

Click here to see photos of the new path.

Tell Us About Regeneration Projects in Your Community

In celebration of the 15th anniversary of Regeneration we’d like to hear about waterfront projects happening in your community. In upcoming issues of the ezine we’ll be profiling examples of how local leaders are implementing the regeneration of Lake Ontario’s waterfront in an effort to share stories with other community leaders and waterfront specialists along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. This information will also be used to compile a catalogue of regeneration accomplishments of waterfront regeneration. Please email your stories and photos to David Arcus at info@wrtrust.com.

A FOND FAREWELL TO THREE OF OUR TRAIL PARTNERS

This month we have to say goodbye to three people who have demonstrated leadership, persistence and vision in their contribution to the goals of waterfront regeneration. Bruce Johnson from the Town of Ajax and John Zandarin from Prince Edward County are moving on to new challenges and Trudy Merrill from Cramahe Township is retiring. We wish them the very best and congratulate them on their many accomplishments on the waterfront. You will be missed.

PROPOSED CLEAN WATER ACT, 2005

On December 5th the provincial government introduced its long-awaited source protection legislation the Clean Water Act. The legislation has been posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry as Number AA05E0001. A summary of the legislation is available at www.ene.gov.on.ca/envregistry/026807ea.htm and comments can be submitted until February 3, 2006. The Trust supports the protection of source water. The clean, healthy watershed tributaries to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River are the cornerstones of Lake Ontario’s regeneration - the principal goal of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust.

Click here to read the Trust’s comments.

Further details on the law's progress will be posted in future editions of the ezine as they become available. For more information on the source water protection initiatives go to www.thewaterhole.ca. This is an excellent website to get background information on the development of this legislation as well as the comments and input of the coalition of Ontario's Environmental NGO’s.

Comments on this Act can be made until February 3, 2006 to:
Sarah O’Keefe, Policy Advisor
Strategic Policy Branch
Ministry of the Environment
135 St. Clair Avenue West, 11th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4V 1P5
Fax (416) 314-2976

SMART GROWTH PLANNING FOR THE GREATER GOLDEN HORSESHOE

In 1995, the Trust and its many partners released the Lake Ontario Greenway Strategy –a comprehensive guide to regenerating Lake Ontario, its waterfront and watershed. To achieve its objectives, the Strategy indicated that comprehensive policy and clear legislative framework were essential. During the past two years, the provincial government has made key changes in how it governs and guides planning decisions. Two of these changes are the Places to Grow Act and the Proposed Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

The Greater Golden Horseshoe Region is one of the fastest growing areas in North America raising concerns that fast growth without sound planning will put intense pressure on existing resources and infrastructures, threatening the loss of valuable green spaces. The Places to Grow Act was established in 2005 to enable the provincial government to consider the big picture and plan for growth in a strategic, co-ordinated way across municipal boundaries. The government will work with communities to create a vision for prosperous, healthy and vibrant places to live. While regional and local official plans will continue to guide local planning decisions, the Act allows the Province to develop growth plans that will ensure municipalities and official plans include issues that extend beyond traditional land use decisions or that have an impact that crosses municipal boundaries.

In order to provide a framework for good planning decisions last November the government released its Proposed Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. This plan is the result of two years of collaboration with municipalities and local stakeholders and focuses on a number of initiatives, including:

• Creating more livable communities where people are close to shops, parks and jobs
• Revitalizing downtown neighbourhoods
• Curbing urban sprawl and preserving valuable greenspaces and agricultural lands
• Reducing traffic gridlock by improving access to a range of transportation choices – planning for pedestrian and cycling networks into new local development.

The Proposed Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe can be downloaded at www.pir.gov.on.ca and questions can be emailed to placestogrow@pir.gov.on.ca.
Our thanks to Tija Dirks, a former staff member of the Trust now with the Ontario Growth Secretariat, who kindly provided us with this update.

TRAILS FOR ALL ONTARIANS COLLABORATIVE (TAOC) TO DEVELOP TRAIL GUIDELINES

A recent issue of Hike Ontario’s Trail Mail announced that the Trails for All Ontarians Collaborative (TAOC) has been awarded an Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant ($97,500) to develop Inclusive Trail Construction and Maintenance Guidelines. The TAOC is a joint endeavour made up of trail groups and accessibility organizations from across Ontario, whose objective is to ensure that all Ontarians, including those with disabilities, have access to a wide range of environmentally sustainable trail experiences. The guidelines will provide information and resources on building and maintaining recreation trails that are accessible to people of all ages and abilities as well as focusing on environmental sustainability and compatibility with the local community.

For more information about the TAOC, please contact the Abilities Centre at (905) 430-4343 or email them at info@abilitiescentre.com.

For more information about Hike Ontario visit www.hikeontario.com.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND COMMUNITY EVENTS:

Wetland Stomp 2006

This is just a reminder that the date of the Wetland Stomp 2006 is coming up on Saturday February 25. This annual fundraising dinner will be raising funds for the construction of the Great Lakes Wetlands Centre at Second Marsh in Oshawa.

Tickets are for the event are $75, and sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, please contact Marilyn Cole, Friends of Second Marsh, at (905) 723-5459 or email campaign.secondmarsh@rogers.com.

The 41st Central Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research

On February 13th and 14th the Canada Centre for Inland Waters will again host to this co-production of the Canadian Association on Water Quality and the National Water Research Institute. This year’s NWRI Distinguished Speaker is Dr. Steve Hrudey, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences in the Department of Public Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. Dr. Hrudey will be presenting the symposium plenary lecture, entitled “From Walkerton to Kashechewan – Is Safe Drinking Water Really So Difficult?”

For more information contact Morgan Boenke at Tel: (905) 336-4678 / E-mail: Morgan.Boenke@ec.gc.ca.

Cheers!

Vicki Barron, Executive Director;
Marlaine Koehler, Program Director;
and Nikki Rendle, Editor Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail News

The Waterfront Regeneration Trust
372 Richmond Street West, Suite 308
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1X6
Tel: 416-943-8080
Fax: 416-943-8068
Email: nr@wrtrust.com

Visit http://www.waterfronttrail.org to download 77 online colour maps of the Waterfront Trail, from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Brockville!

Thank You to our Supporters!:

• CIBC
• The Lake Ontario waterfront municipalities, conservation authorities and community groups
• The Eastern Lake Ontario­St.Lawrence Waterfront Working Group
• MapArt
• Niagara Freewheelers Bicycle Touring Club
• Regional Niagara Bicycling Committee
• St. Lawrence Cement
• Tilley Endurables
• The Trust would also like to thank the Canada-Ontario Infrastructure Program (COIP) for its generous support of the 51 projects that comprise the Lake Ontario Waterfront Investment Program.