On Monday July 1st I noticed construction equipment starting to work at Leslie Street and Lakeshore Blvd. Since the City of Toronto staff are on strike I could not phone and check if this work is for the new boulevard path on the north side of Lakeshore Blvd. I checked back this Friday and a swath had been graded to about halfway between Leslie Street and Coxwell Avenue so I am pretty sure the work for the new addition to the Bikeway Network.

At the last Toronto Cycling Committee meeting we had been told that this section of the trail had been tendered and that the work should start soon. Once the strike started I was not sure if this project would continue but I guess all the t's had been crossed and i's dotted by City staff before the Strike started and the work went to the contractors who are not affected by the work stoppage.

The plan for this path is to have a continuous path from Coxwell Avenue along Lakeshore Boulevard to Don Roadway and over the Don River Via the new Pedestrian/Cycling Bridge(See earlier Article). From there it joins to the Don Trail or you can connect to the Martin Goodman Trail or the Bike Lanes along Queens Quay. This will be an efficient route for cycling to the downtown core from the east end once completed. There is a hold up however. Once the Leslie to Coxwell section is completed there will still be a gap from Carlaw Avenue to Leslie Street. The Don Roadway to Carlaw Avenue section was completed last year.

The reason for the delay in this middle section (Carlaw Avenue to Leslie Street) is soil contamination on the land where the path will run. This contamination is due to industries on the site in the past. Some local residents are not happy with the Works and Emergency services plan to deal with the contaminated soil. They plan to excavate some hotspots and cap most of the site. City Staff feels this is the best way to deal with the situation and that it meets the Ministry of the Environment guidelines and could allow the path to completed this year. Residents want all of the contaminated soil to be removed or technology be used to remediate the soil in place. This is a far more expensive option than what the city is recommending and Staff have raised concerns about the hazards about the possibility that excavating the site could possibly spread the contaminants into the community by windblown dust. The decision on what to do at this location has been referred to the Works Committee of Toronto City Council.

A decision in favour of the Staff suggestion could mean that the last section could be completed this year. This is where the City Strike affects this project. Due to the strike staff are now not available to work on these issues. Also Council Committee meetings are cancelled during the strike. This part of the project will be delayed untill the strike is settled. If you have views on this the person to contact would be Mayor Mel Lastman. You can e-mail him at mayor_lastman@city.toronto.on.ca since he seems to be the only one calling the shots since all elements of local democracy have been apparently suspended during the strike.

I will keep you posted as to the developments on this project. Without access to the city staff it will be hard to get infomation such as the when the current construction will be completed. I guess I will have to keep riding by and taking pictures.