According to a Globe and Mail article on Wednesday September 19, 2001, there is a group proposing to put a golf course just north of Cherry Beach (officially known as Clarke Beach). The Martin Goodman Trail runs along the waterfront here from the bridge on Unwin Avenue to Cherry Street and is used by thousands of cyclists. According to the article this is just a preliminary proposal and there there will be public consultations in the fall about what will be done in the portlands and along the waterfront.

This is just one of many proposals for this area. The 2008 Olympics bid envisioned the Athletes Village being built there. Transport Canada has been considering constructing port facilities in the bay (officially called the 'Outer Harbour') which is bounded by the Leslie Street Spit on the south east and the waterfront adjacent to Cherry Beach on the north west. There was a consultation conducted last year on this issue. There is a report on the consultations posted on Transport Canada's web site along with slides from a presentation that was made. Of particular interest to cyclists are the option proposing moving the Port of Toronto to a location between the Leslie Spit and Cherry Beach (see slides for Option 3: Scheme 1 , and, Scheme 2 and 3) which if implemented would cut the Martin Goodman Trail in two or force it to divert away from its present course along the waterfront. In spite of all these plans it seems no one really knows what will happen on these lands. The Olympics are not coming here now, I have heard nothing else regarding the status of the plan to move the Port of Toronto, the Waterfront Revitalization Corporation has been established and it will take stewardship of the area. There are many plans for the same piece of land and it doesn't appear that the interests of one of the major user groups of the lands, cyclists, have been taken into account.

The Toronto Cycling Committee has asked to have official stakeholder status on the committee responsible for the redevelopment of the waterfront in order to represent the interests of cyclists who travel in this area and make use of the parks and beaches in the area. A motion to that effect was made at the July meeting of the TCC and we are awaiting a response.

Martin Koob
tcc-rep@tbn.ca