Good and bad for Toronto trails

Good and bad for Toronto Mountain bikers

Toronto mountain bikers have both reason to celebrate and lament when it comes to places to ride in the city.

In the plus column, the construction has started for the Sunnyside bike park, near High Park in Toronto’s west end. The park has been through a long planning and approval process, but the City of Toronto has finally announced that construction will begin.

Located between the Gardiner Expressway and Lakeshore Boulevard, between Ellis Avenue and Colborne Lodge Road, the bike park will feature a pump track, a jump line, a short loop table as well as big leafy trees for shade, picnic tables and a building that will offer additional facilities.

The technical features of the park have been designed by Jay Hoots, who has been involved in other bike projects in the city.

“This park has been long coming and I am so pumped we are at this point,” said Hoots, at the unveiling of the plan in early October. “I am impressed with the level of care that riders have and the appreciation for their trails. With this in mind, I think the park will be used a lot!”

The park’s location will also serve as a call out to those who drive into and out of Toronto on a daily basis.

“While commuters inch along the Gardener and Lakeshore they will have no choice but to watch bike riders ‘free’ and having fun – which I hope can only inspire hands off the steering wheel and onto grips, even if only on the weekend,” said Hoots.

Meanwhile, east of downtown in the Don Valley, there has been some strife between the City of Toronto and trailbuilders in the environmentally sensitive Crothers Woods area.

A group of builders who regularly work with the city on numerous projects in the Don took it upon themselves to correct a problem area along one section of trail where an off camber section of trail leads into a blind corner, and the potential to hit a low-hanging tree, or oncoming trail traffic – the area is also used by trail runners, hikers and dog walkers.

To mitigate the situation, builders created a reroute that provides separate climbing and descending lines, and with the goal of providing a better experience for users. Volunteers devised the reroute and did the work, including transplanting trees. Then they notified the City of Toronto staff.

Now city staff have said they will remove the reroute, and restore the trail to its previous condition. It is an unfortunate disagreement between two groups who have built a strong relationship manifested in some great riding in the city.

Mountain bikers are contacting city officials to lobby to have the changes kept in place, but no change of plan has been announced.