Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail News

An Ezine Produced by the Waterfront Regeneration Trust

May 2004

In this issue:

• Join Us for a Tour of Toronto’s Section of the Waterfront Trail
• Bike Week Celebrations Begin in Toronto
• The Trust Welcomes Maria Labuda to the Team
• The Fast Ferry Arrives in Toronto
• Toronto’s Waterfront to Receive Funding Boost
• Trans Canada Trail Pavilion Re-Opening in Toronto
• Ontario Trails Council Conference

Join Us for a Tour of Toronto’s Section of the Waterfront Trail

In celebration of the City of Toronto’s Bike Week the Trust, in collaboration with the Green Tourism Association, is organizing a guided cycling tour of Toronto’s Waterfront Trail. The ride will take place on Saturday May 29th from 11am to 1pm. The tour will start at the corner of Rees St. and Queens Quay and travel west along the Lake. Bike/helmets will be available to rent from Wheel Excitement. Hope you can join us!

To register call 416-392-1288

Bike Week Celebrations in Toronto

Each year the City of Toronto along with various organizations and community groups organize a week to raise the profile of cycling issues in Toronto and to promote Shifting Gears, the Toronto Bike Plan. Due to the nearly 100 cycling events scheduled for this year’s celebrations, Bike Week has been extended to two weeks, from Monday May 24th to Sunday June 6th. New at this year’s event is the 2004 City of Toronto’s Bike Map outlining available bike routes around the city. The map also includes the Toronto section of the Waterfront Trail and indicates that the route continues both east and west of the city. The map is expected to reach an audience of 80,000 cyclists. The Trust will be actively participating in the Bike Week activities. We have organized a bike tour (see above) and staffed a booth at the recent Lunch Time Cycling Festival and Fair.

The Trust Welcomes Maria Labuda to the Team

We would like to welcome our newest member of the Trust Maria Labuda who has been hired to assist us for the summer with our busy project schedules. Maria is going into her fourth year at McMaster University majoring in History, minoring in Geography. This summer she will be reviewing and updating information for our website redesign including community profiles information, event listings, webmap updates and reorganizing the e-library. We look forward to working with her this summer.

The Fast Ferry Arrives in Toronto

An article in the Toronto Star recently reported that the ferry that will travel on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Rochester, New York pulled into the Port of Toronto last week. Originally the ship was scheduled to begin regular passenger service on May 1st but due to a docking accident in New York City earlier in April launch of the service has been delayed. However, the maiden voyage is scheduled to depart on June 17th .

For more details about the ferry or to make reservations call (585) 227-2287 or visit www.thebreeze.com.

Toronto’s Waterfront to Receive Funding Boost

Last Thursday Priminister Paul Martin announced $125 million in federal money to rebuild Toronto’s derelict docklands. An article published by the Toronto Star last Friday indicated that the list of federal projects include preparation for a United Nations Peace University campus, creation of two significant parks, a dragon boat rowing course, port lands beautification, and assorted sports and recreation facilities.

The funds were intended to kick start work begun in 2000 by the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp (TWRC).

Back in 2000 the three levels of government came together to announce the creation of the TWRC and committed $500,000 each for a total of $1.5 billion for the waterfront. Since that time, the TWRC has only received $40 million and a final legal agreement between the three funding partners has yet to be signed, making progress move very slowly.

For more information the plans for Toronto’s waterfront development visit the Corporation’s website at www.towaterfront.ca/index.php.

Trans Canada Trail Pavilion Re-Opening

The Trust is pleased to be a part of the Trans Canada Trail’s re-launch of the Toronto Pavilion. The ceremony will take place on Saturday June 5th at11am. Valerie Pringle will host the event at the Western Beaches in Toronto to honour new donors and acknowledge the importance of the Waterfront Trail to the Ontario section of the Trans Canada Trail.

Ontario Trail Council Conference

A few weeks ago the Ontario Trails Council hosted its annual Trail conference and general meeting in Peterborough. A wide range of stakeholders in trail issues attended the conference speaking about trail tourism and urban trail development. Nikki Rendle from the Trust gave a presentation on the Waterfront Trail. She highlighted the Trust’s collaborative partnership with our 31 waterfront partners to promote the Trail through initiatives such as our Waterfront Ad, new brochure and upcoming webmaps. The workshop discussion at the conference centered on identifying ways that organizations can increase their trail’s tourism potential.

The Waterfront Trail was recently featured in the 2004 edition of The Ontario Trails Council’s Greenways newsletter. The article named the Trail as “Ontario’s Most Popular Urban Trail” and highlighted the Trail’s wide range of experiences as well as its accessibility to multiple users.

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
www.waterfronttrail.org

Purchase your copy of the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail Mapbook at Mountain Equipment Co-op (400 King Street West) and Sporting Life Stores in Toronto (1-877-772-2262 to find a store location near you).

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 Canadian Ontario Infrastructure Program (COIP) for its generous support of the 51 projects that comprise the Lake Ontario Waterfront Investment Program.