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 2007

In this issue:

• Exciting Developments along the Waterfront Trail’s Eastern Extension
  • Partnership Expands--Why drive from Niagara to Quebec when you can walk/cycle
  • Trust Unveils New Maps and Community Profiles on Website
  • 17 New Trailhead Signs to be Installed Along Seaway Valley
• Port Hope-Cobourg Off-Road Connection
• COIP Update: Bridge Construction in Clarington Complete
• Trust Welcomes New Staff Member

Upcoming Conferences and Community Events:

• 8th Annual Stewardship Forum
  

EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE WATERFRONT TRAIL’S EASTERN EXTENSION

As many of you may know, this summer the Trust will celebrate the official launch of the newest stretch of Waterfront Trail, which extends from Brockville along the St. Lawrence to the Quebec border. As we prepare for this event, there’s a lot of activity and excitement along this eastern stretch of the Trail. Here’s an update on some of the most recent developments:

PARTNERSHIP EXPANDS- WHY DRIVE FROM NIAGARA TO QUEBEC CITY WHEN YOU CAN WALK/CYCLE

On January 25th the Trust and Velo Quebec co-hosted a meeting with 50 municipal, provincial and federal representatives to discuss the creation of a seamless inter-provincial connection between the Waterfront Trail and La Route verte at the Quebec/Ontario border.
The meeting was a resounding success with participants (now partners) expressing enthusiastic support for the connection. A number of projects will be undertaken to establish the link. On the Ontario side of the border these include:

• installation of a welcome/information kiosk displaying trailhead maps for the Waterfront Trail and La Route verte. A site in the United Counties of Stormont Dundas and Glengarry (SDG) has been identified and potential design options are being explored. This project will be pursued in the short-term.
• Installation of signage alerting travelers of the start point of the next system. For example in SDG signs informing people that it is 6km to the start of La Route verte will be installed. Similarly, signs will be posted in Riviere-Beaudette telling people the distance to the start of the Waterfront Trail.
• In June the Trust will co-lead a tour with Steve Bauer tours from Cornwall to Montreal. As part of the itinerary, a celebration of the connection will be held.
• In the longer term, SDG will install a 12km off-road bike path that runs parallel to the service road (the current alignment of the trail).
• Ministry of Transportation in Quebec will be renovating a highway rest stop on the Quebec side. This will have washrooms and parking. It will be connected to La Route verte by a 3 km path. The rest stop will serve as an excellent staging point for both trail systems.

Jim Brownell, MPP for Stormont-Dundas-Charlottenburgh and Parliamentary Assistant to Tourism Minister Jim Bradley attended and will be following up with the Trust on our progress.


TRUST UNVEILS NEW MAPS AND COMMUNITY PROFILES ON WEBSITE

This month, the Trust unveiled a new set of webmaps and community profiles on our website covering the eastern extension of the Waterfront Trail from Brockville to the Quebec border along the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The 7 new maps cover 147 km of Trail in full colour and high detail. Like all of our maps, they can be downloaded in PDF format directly from our website. The new maps can be found at www.waterfronttrail.org/trail-s-7.html.

For those who aren’t familiar with this stretch of Trail, our community profiles are a great resource for planning your journey along the Trail. In them, you’ll find overviews of trail conditions, local attractions and events, as well as listings for accommodations, tourism centres, and more. The new profiles can be found at www.waterfronttrail.org/trail-profiles.html.

Just a reminder that our new full-colour mapbook containing all of our webmaps, including those for the eastern extension, is available at www.dunmap.com/people-order-wt-mapbook.html.

17 NEW TRAILHEAD SIGNS TO BE INSTALLED ALONG SEAWAY VALLEY

The Trust is pleased to announce the upcoming installation of 17 new trailhead signs along the Waterfront Trail between Brockville and the Quebec border. These signs will direct trail-users along the newest stretch of
Waterfront Trail and are expected to be in place in the coming months. These new signs will join the over 60 other trailhead signs that have been installed along the Waterfront Trail to date.

The Trust would like to thank Dunmap, Spectralite and our partners along the St Lawrence for their efforts and support of the Waterfront Trail signage program.

PORT HOPE COBOURG OFF-ROAD CONNECTION

The Board of Directors of the Trust has released funds to the Port Hope/Cobourg Waterfront Committee to support that group's work to establish an off-road connection between the two communities. Currently the trail runs along a wide shoulder on HWY2 but the community has always envisioned an off-road connection at the water's edge. These contributions will be used to fund studies needed to explore options and establish a phased approach to achieving this long-term objective.

COIP UPDATE: BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION IN CLARINGTON COMPLETE

The Municipality of Clarington recently completed construction on a pedestrian bridge over Bowmanville Creek, linking the East and West Beach portions of the Bowmanville Harbour Conservation Area. The new bridge is great new amenity and will provide Trail users with an alternative to crossing along West Beach Rd.

As part of this project, the Municipality of Clarington will also construct a new off-road section of Waterfront Trail between West Beach Rd and Port Darlington Rd, which is expected to be complete in the next couple of months.

The Trail and bridge construction in Clarington are among the 52 projects that comprise the Trust’s Lake Ontario Waterfront Investment Program. Canada-Ontario Infrastructure Program will contribute $9.2 million towards the 52 projects, which will be complete by March 2007.

TRUST WELCOMES NEW STAFF MEMBER

The Trust was very pleased to welcome a new staff member to our team this month. Petrina Tulissi has joined the Trust as Manager of Promotions and Events. In the coming months she’ll be working on a number of projects including preparations for the Waterfront Trail display at the Toronto Bike Show and the development of a new Trail promotion for kids “The Great Waterfront Trail Adventure.” We’re very pleased to have her on board and look forward to working with her.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND COMMUNITY EVENTS

8TH ANNUAL STEWARDSHIP FORUM

Thanks to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) for providing us with the following announcement:

The City of Toronto and the TRCA are hosting the 8th Annual Stewardship Forum this February. This year's theme is Back to Basics: Stewardship 101.

Activities will include hands-on workshops, lectures and tours that will help you build your stewardship toolbox.

Date: Saturday, February 17, 2007
Location: Kortright Centre for Conservation, 9550 Pine Valley Drive in Woodbridge
Registration: Mid-January
For more information about the 2007 Stewardship Forum and for registration please email greentoronto@toronto.ca


Cheers!

Marlaine Koehler, Executive Director;
Vicki Barron, Director of Administration and Special Projects;
Petrina Tulissi, Manager of Promotions and Events;
and David Arcus, Project Coordinator, 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: info@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.