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Waterfront Trail and Greenway News
An Ezine Produced by the Waterfront Regeneration Trust
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The waterfront municipalities
of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, Conservation Authorities and
community groups* MapArt* DunMap* Niagara Region Integrated Community
Planning Department* MMM Group* Heart and Stroke Foundation* Mountain
Equipment Co-op*
Holcium (formerly St. Lawrence Cement)
April 2010
In this issue:
• Parks and Recreation Ontario awards Waterfront Regeneration Trust the President's Award of Distinction
•Great Waterfront Trail Adventure (GWTA) Update
oRegistration
oMayor Jim McDonell, Township of South Glengarry Honorary Tour Director
oMedia
• Ontario Planning Journal article celebrates Waterfront Regeneration
•Share the Road releases Green Paper: When Ontario Bikes Ontario Benefits
• Upcoming Events:
o The Complete Streets Forum
o Trailhead Ontario conference
PARKS & RECREATION ONTARIO AWARDS WRT PRESIDENT'S AWARD
OF DISTINCTION
Parks and Recreation Ontario has awarded the Waterfront Regeneration Trust
the prestigious President's Award of Distinction in recognition of the
“tremendous accomplishments of the Trust through its long history.
The PRO Board applauded David Crombie's leadership in guiding the Royal
Commission that led to the establishment of the Trust and his on-going
advocacy to protect Ontario's shoreline. It commended the Waterfront Trail
as a provincial asset that "provides millions of Ontario residents
and international visitors access to beautiful natural spaces for recreation
and relaxation.”
GREAT WATERFRONT TRAIL ADVENTURE (GWTA) UPDATES
Registration--Only 90 some days before the launch, the
2010 GWTA is filling fast. We have 165 registrants ranging in age from
7 to 78. They are coming from the Northwest Territories, Alberta, California,
Vermont, Quebec and New Zealand. Communities have assembled a wonderful
itinerary for the participants. Our first rest stop in St. Catharines
will be at Club la Salle, a French social club right on the waterfront.
This will be our first bilingual-themed rest stop—and a special
welcome to our francophone riders.
Honourary Tour Director--Mayor Jim McDonell will serve as our first honorary tour director in the 2010 GWTA. In the past two years, cycling with mayors and councilors, MPs and MPPs has been an important part of what makes the GWTA fun for participants. Ajax Mayor Steve Parish, Kingston Councillor Vicki Schmolka, Cobourg Mayor Peter Delanty and Pickering Councillor Jennifer O'Connell are all GWTA end to enders and have enjoyed, meeting and riding with many other mayors and councilors along the way. In 2010 we created the Honorary Tour Director position. As Honorary Tour Director, Mayor McDonell will ride the entire GWTA, and as he visits the waterfront communities, he will collect municipal pins at each of the rest stops to pin onto a special Waterfront Trail sash. At the end of the GWTA, the sash will serve as a unique chain of office that represents the partnership of communities and their collective accomplishment in creating the Waterfront Trail. Waterfront Mayors and Councillors, MPs and MPPs will receive an invitation from the Trust to ride with Mayor McDonell while the Tour visits their communities in the next few weeks.
Media--We have a commitment from a Toronto Star
journalist to ride the GWTA 2010 end to end. This spring Canadian
Geographic will include the GWTA as part of an iissue featuring
how to enjoy Canadian waterways. One of our veteran Adventurers convinced
the editor to consider cycling along with kayaking and canoeing.
MONTREAL BIKE SHOW (EXPODIUM)
We enjoyed another great year at the Montreal Bike Show in February. This
year we shared our booth with the Bike Train (Transportation Options)
and presented to Montrealers an exciting cycling holiday opportunity in
Ontario. Thank you to the three Great Waterfront Trail Adventure veterans
from Quebec who came down to Montreal to help at the booth. Alain and
Sylvie Gauthier and Edith Fortier enthusiastically introduced the GWTA
and the Waterfront Trail hundreds who visited the booth. Edith also writes
a blog on cycling and featured her experience in the 2009 GWTA.
As is our custom, we polled visitors to our booth and learned:
83% did not know about the Waterfront Trail before the Expodium
89% did not know that the Waterfront Trail is connected to La Route Verte
98% agreed with the statement “"exploring the Waterfront
Trail is a good reason to visit Ontario"”
96% agreed that knowing about the Waterfront Trail leads them
to plan a cycling trip to Ontario
43% prefer a self-guided experience; 37% prefer an organized tour and
20% have no preference
77% prefer a multi-day tour either 5 days (34%) or 8 days (35%) or both
(10%)
18% prefer a one-day cycling event
75% signed up for our Shorezine to receive more news about Waterfront
Trail.
TORONTO BIKE SHOW
It was a pleasure to reconnect with many folks at the Toronto Bike Show.
This year we certainly received the impression that this audience knows
the Waterfront Trail and the GWTA well. Only 15% of poll respondents learned
about the Trail at the Toronto Bike Show this year. Sixty-one percent
of the respondents have known the trail for three or more years. (That
signage is paying off!) Overwhelmingly they agree that the Waterfront
Trail is a provincial tourism asset and the GWTA offers a great vacation
to Ontarians. They see the contribution that the GWTA makes in fostering
sustainable and active living. Closing gaps in the trail is a priority
for most; even those who do not currently use the trail. Our poll
results are listed below:
53% agreed that traveling the Waterfront Trail is a “unique opportunity
to see our Provincial waterfront”
38% agreed that it was a “life achievement that would make me proud”
11% had already done it.
99% of respondents see the Waterfront Trail as a tourist attraction
99% either strongly agree (61%) or agree (38%) the GWTA creates
a culture that celebrates active living, healthy environments and community.
92% agree the GWTA is a great summer vacation idea
Most people knew about the GWTA (68%) with 33% not knowing about the event
prior to the show
95% either strongly agree (72.3) or agree (23) that closing gaps in the
Waterfront Trail is important. Even among those who don't use the Trail
(25%) closing gaps is deemed important.
Currently people use the Trail in the following ways: 19% commute; 52%
for fitness; 52% for relaxation and recreation and 25% not at all.
63% have not yet visited www.waterfronttrail.org.
45% prefer a one-day cycling event
25% prefer a 5-day tour
27% prefer an eight day tour and 3% have no preference
57% signed up for the Shorezine.
ONTARIO PLANNING JOURNAL--MAKING A DIFFERENCE ON THE LAKE
ONTARIO AND ST. LAWRENCE WATERFRONTS
The spring cover story of the OPPI's Ontario Planning Journal will be
a feature essay written by Suzanne Barrett and Marlaine Koehler on the
progress the waterfront partnership is making on our legacy regeneration
goals. It is always a pleasure to stop and consider the diverse projects
that together are ensuring an accessible, attractive, connected waterfront
for our children. As is to be expected the number of projects far exceeded
the space limits for the story, so a longer version of the essay will
be posted on the Trust's website.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
The Complete Streets Forum
When: April 23, 2010
Where: Fairmont Royal York, Toronto, Ontario
Organized by the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT),
a project of the Clean
Air Partnership, in partnership with Transportation
Options and the City of Toronto with the generous support
of sponsors.
Learn from leading experts about innovative, creative solutions for designing
and implementing safe and inviting streets for everyone, including pedestrians,
cyclists, public transit users and motorists. Strategize with other stakeholders
about how to effectively address common opportunities and challenges in
balancing the needs of all road users. The Waterfront Regeneration Trust
is presenting at the conference explaining how partnerships made the Trail
possible and how tourism promotes sustainability.
http://www.torontocat.ca/main/completestreetsforum2010
Trailhead Ontario Conference
When: June 21 to June 24 2010
Where: Don Valley Hotel; 1250 Eglinton Avenue East (at the Don Valley
Parkway) Toronto, Ontario
A focus on Ontario's trail economy, the growth of trail tourism, building
out our trail infrastructure and regional economic development, organized
by the Ontario Trails Council. http://www.trailheadontario.ca/
Cheers!
Marlaine Koehler, Executive Director;
Vicki Barron, Director of Administration and Special Projects;
Ian Lobb, Tour Director, Great Waterfront Trail Adventure
Tour
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 Ontario Trillium Foundation
- The Heart and Stroke Foundation
- MapArt
- Dunmap
- Niagara Freewheelers Bicycle Touring Club
- Regional Niagara Bicycling Committee
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