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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
March 2007
In this issue:
- Bike Show Success
- Waterfront Conference
- Waterfront Trail in the News
- The Great Waterfront Trail Adventure
- PPS February Newsletter – Waterfronts Edition
Upcoming Conferences and Community Events:
- Port Credit Cruise for a Cause
BIKE SHOW SUCCESS
This year’s Toronto Bike Show proved to be another successful one
for the Trust. In addition to connecting with Trail users and spreading
the word about the Trail, this year we used the opportunity to unveil
a number of new promotions and products. The newly developed Waterfront
Trail and Greenway Mapbook was unveiled and proved a highly popular item.
We also unveiled a new brochure aimed at children and families entitled
“The Great Waterfront Trail Adventure,” which got a great
response from kids at the show. You can read more about this promotion
below. In addition, the Trust took advantage of the Bike Show to spread
the word about our two upcoming Steve Bauer Tours along the Waterfront
Trail, which will take place this summer (for more info on these, visit
www.waterfronttrail.org/library-ezines-Feb07.html).
As usual, the Trust came prepared with a survey to gather some stats about
cyclists. This year’s survey focused heavily on cycle touring. Here
are some highlights, based on 98 respondents:
- The top two reasons for using the Waterfront Trail are: to enjoy the waterfront (79%) and for exercise (74%)
- 44% of respondents have taken an organized cycling tour
- 55% of respondents said that they would pay for an organized cycling tour of the Waterfront Trail
- 67% like to stay in 2 or 3 star accommodations, 59% enjoy camping
- On cycling trips, 54% of respondents prefer to stop and visit while cycling while 46% prefer to cycle through
- The top two resources for planning trips are: the web (92%) and word of mouth (63%)
Much of the feedback we received at the Bike Show spoke to the importance
of closing the gaps in the Trail, and the gap in Scarborough in particular.
In the Bike Show survey, an overwhelming majority (96%) of respondents
said that they support signing a route using quiet residential streets
and existing trail pieces as an interim solution to closing the Scarborough
gap.
As many of you will be aware, the Trust has been building a portfolio
of capital projects intended to achieve a continuous route and add enhancements
to the Waterfront Trail. If you have projects you wish to have included
in this please contact Marlaine Koehler at mk@wrtrust.com
or (416) 943-8080.
WATERFRONT CONFERENCE
When: September 19-20th, 2007
Where: Palais Royale in Toronto
We are pleased to announce that the 2007 Waterfront Conference will be
taking place on September 19-20, 2007. Mark your calendars! The Trust
is partnering with the Canadian Urban Institute to bring you this event,
to be held at the beautifully restored Palais Royale in Toronto. Many
of you will remember this is where we launched the Trail in 1994.
Through presentations we will introduce participants to leaders that will:
- celebrate what has been accomplished as a partnership and define the need for a continued partnership;
- talk about what is new, exciting in the field of waterfront regeneration in a global context; and
- map out exciting possibilities for the future.
The conference will also provide an opportunity to celebrate the completion
of the 50 projects that comprise the Lake Ontario Waterfront Investment
Program. Canada-Ontario Infrastructure Program (COIP) is contributing
$9.2 million to 50 projects which will be complete in 2007.
Day 2 of the conference will be a tour of the Waterfront Trail in Toronto.
We’re considering the idea of mounting an end to end tour of the
City of Toronto’s Waterfront Trail, a 40 km ride to showcase the
importance of closing the major gap in the Trail. We welcome your feedback
as to whether you’d be up for such a ride.
Registration will begin soon. Stay tuned for more updates
WATERFRONT TRAIL IN THE NEWS
The Waterfront Trail has recently received prominent coverage in three
professional publications. Kate Harries’ articles on the Trail have
appeared in the following journals:
- Municipal World – (Cover Story) March 2007 click here to download a pdf file of the article
- Ontario Planning Journal – January/February 2007 click here to view this article on the OPPI website
- OALA News – December 2006
In composing these articles, Kate drew on her experience cycling with
the Trust on our End-to-End Tour and subsequent interviews.
THE GREAT WATERFRONT TRAIL ADVENTURE
The Great Waterfront Trail Adventure has begun! We revealed the bright
and lively brochure at the Toronto Bike Show at the beginning of March
to rave reviews and have begun to distribute them to tourist centres and
schools across Southern Ontario, as well as an insert in the June edition
of Owl and ChickaDEE magazines. Containing a map of the trail to spark
the interest of children, the pamphlet also lists numerous activities
to participate in, places to explore, and events taking place on the Waterfront
Trail this summer.
To date, brochures have been mailed or dropped off to Ontario Tourism
Centres in:
- Hamilton,
- Oakville,
- Toronto,
- Durham,
- East of Belleville.
They have also been delivered to select elementary schools in:
- Hamilton,
- Toronto,
- Hastings
The rest of the brochures will be distributed through school boards and
tourism centres along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Over 150,000
brochures will be distributed by the end of March, with the remaining
100,000 finding new homes by the end of April.
If you would like a copy of the brochure, or know of an organization or
school who may be interested in receiving the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure
pamphlet please contact Petrina at pt@wrtrust.com.
PPS FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER – WATERFRONTS EDITION
The February edition of Making Places, a newsletter produced by the Project
for Public Spaces, was entirely devoted to waterfronts and featured a
number of insightful and thought-provoking articles on how to develop
waterfronts, what physical features and programs work best, how to avoid
common pitfalls, etc. This is highly recommended reading for anyone with
an interest in waterfronts and public space.
The newsletter can be found at www.pps.org/info/newsletter/february2007.
The Project for Public Spaces is a non-profit organization based in New
York and dedicated to creating and sustaining public spaces that build
communities. For more information, visit www.pps.org.
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND COMMUNITY EVENTS
PORT CREDIT CRUISE FOR A CAUSE
CharterAbility is hosting their 8th fundraising/ awareness cruise out
of Port Credit on May 31st to raise money for accessible boating. Funds
will go towards building a boat for persons with disabilities or mobility
challenges. The ticket cost is a $60 donation per person, which includes
complementary hors d’oeuvres on the pier prior to departure, dinner,
and a 4-hour cruise featuring music by Juno-nominated artist Chuck Jackson.
The cruise departs at 6:30 pm from the Credit Village Marina in Downtown
Port Credit. For more information, call (905) 844-7208 or visit www.charterability.com.
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.
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