You've seen it many times on TV. Strangers show up at the house with no warning with a big cheque in hand promising to renovate the whole place, without showing any plans or drawings. All the homeowner has to do is say yes. The home owner smiles nervously agreeing to take the cheque hoping they will be able to live in the place once the dust settles. That is a little bit like what is happening to the Martin Goodman Trail this year, except we get to see the plans and have a chance to comment on them before shovels hit the dirt.

The makeover programs always start with the embarrassing before pictures. Here is the water's edge in Marilyn Bell Park now.

The cheque bearer is the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC). At a July 13th, 2005 meeting they presented a three phase plan to upgrade Toronto's waterfront trail, from Marilyn Bell Park to Leslie Street. There are sections in this stretch of the trail that have been badly in need of repairs and upgrades for years. The City of Toronto had made some upgrades to the Martin Goodman Trail in the east and west end of the city but the improvements to the central section of the trail had been put off to future years. Plans to upgrade the trail have been around for years. The difference this time is that there is money to do the work, thanks to the TWRC and the time table starts in the very near future with some construction starting this fall. They have just over $5 million to upgrade the Martin Goodman Trail from Marilyn Bell Park to Coronation Park. This work will include twinning the trail through Marilyn Bell Park and improving the trail alignment through Ontario Place and through Coronation Park.

The impetus for this flurry of activity is the 2006 International Dragon Boat Federation World Crew Championships Toronto will be hosting. To host that event the TWRC will be building a 650 m flat water racing course off of Marilyn Bell Park. Western Beaches Water Course Facility. Part of the project includes a new water's edge promenade and an area for viewing stands where the Martin Goodman Trail currently runs now as well as a second trail to the north running through referred to by the TWRC as the Marilyn Bell Park - Bypass "Greenway" Trail. You can see the TWRC's presentation on the designs in the following document from their web site: Martin Goodman Trail Phase 1 Improvements

The new bypass trail would provide a detour during construction phase next year and a higher speed through-way trail for cyclists and skaters who want to avoid the congestion on the new promenade. This twinned trail will also provide a way for trail users to get through the area when the water's edge trail is closed for special events. The construction on this is to start in the fall of 2005 to allow for the construction to proceed subsequently.

The new water's edge promenade is also supposed to be a multi-use trail that cyclists and in-line skaters can use but there are concerns that the new design of the promenade would not accommodate these users and pedestrians. The design that was presented by the TWRC calls for an open 10.5 m wide promenade with no demarcation indicating where cyclists should ride or pedestrians should walk, along with a 2.5 m wide boardwalk right at the water's edge. It seems to be modeled after the promenade that has been built behind Harbour Front (Which the TWRC had earlier stated would "set the design standards for water's edge across the central waterfront"

The design of the Waterfront Promenade along Marilyn Bell Park would be much like the new Water's edge Promenade at Harbourfront, with no demarcation of cycling and pedestrian zones.

This design is fine for around the quays in and around Harbourfront which serve primarily pedestrians but this will not be good for a multi-use recreational trail that the TWRC says the Marilyn Bell Park Promenade is intended to be. The good news is we don't have to wait till the blindfolds come off next year and realize that we won't be able to use this new waterfront trail. There is still time to have a say and hopefully modify the designs before the work begins.

What is needed is that striping or some sort of demarcation be present to indicate which part of the 10.5 m wide area is for cyclists and skaters and which part is for pedestrians. This could be a 4.5 m paved area with the blue and green centre line away from the waters edge with a different surface for the 6 m closest to the water's edge. Different surface treatments are used successfully on the trail behind the motel strip in Etobicoke.

The trail behind the Etobicoke Motel Strip has a concrete strip to indicate different areas for different types of travel.

If you want to have some input into the design of the trail now is the time to do it. You can e-mail comments into the TWRC or there will be a consultation meeting in September 2005 where the designs for the promenades and trail designs will be presented. Contact information is on the following document Martin Goodman Trail TWRC Letter. I will post the date of the September meeting once it is announced.

Overall it is an exciting plan and the renovations are long overdue. A few changes to the design details will make the plan even better and will better serve the users it is intended to.