The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC) has announced that it will be temporarily closing the Martin Goodman Trail at Cherry Beach. East and westbound cyclists will be directed to a detour which uses the path that runs along Lake Shore Blvd. from Don Roadway to Leslie Street.

TWRC has sent out a map indicating the trail closure and showing a detour route. (Click on the map for a larger image.)

The closure is being done so that soil remediation can be done as explained in the TWRC announcement quoted below.

This is not the only work being done that affects the trail in this area. The Unwin Street Bridge has been closed leaving only a narrow walkway for cyclists to cross, work on Cherry Street bridge has blocked access from downtown forcing cyclists to detour over to the Don Roadway. Also work on a TWRC project, the 'Transition Sports Fields', east of Cherry Beach has resulted in construction fence taking up part of the path.

Construction fence around the TWRC's Transition Sports fields project adds one more obstacle to cyclists trying to navigate the Martin Goodman Trail.

Here is the announcement from the TWRC:

CHERRY BEACH REMEDIATION UPDATE

PORT LANDS ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION UPDATE

Temporary closure of Portions of the Martin Goodman Trail and the East Parking Lot at Cherry Beach

The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC) and the Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO) are now undertaking environmental restoration work in the area of Cherry Beach as part of an overall environmental management strategy for the Port Lands.

From April - May, 2007, portions of the Martin Goodman Trail, as well as the entire east parking lot at Cherry Beach, will be closed so the environmental restoration work can take place.

A temporary fence will be set up in the eastern portion of Cherry Beach, securing the area south-west of the former Safety Kleen facility at 115 Unwin Avenue to Lake Ontario.

The work is necessary to remove contaminants that are floating on the groundwater. Proven technologies are being used to address the contamination. This involves digging trenches and installing a pumping system to pump the contaminated groundwater to a treatment station on the former Safety Kleen site where the contaminants will be screened, filtered, and treated appropriately. The contaminated material will then be securely shipped to a licensed treatment facility on a regular basis.

A remedial action plan outlining this work has been submitted to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) for review.

During this work period, there will be no access to the beach parking lot east of Cherry Street and there will be limited access to the waterfront and a portion of the Martin Goodman Trail (south of Unwin Avenue between Cherry Street and Regatta Road). Visitors to the Port Lands during this time can refer to the alternate trail routes outlined in the attached map and provided on the TWRC website (www.towaterfront.ca)

Safety Kleen site clean-up

Once the Martin Goodman Trail and east parking lot area is re-opened in May, TEDCO will immediately start addressing the issues directly on the Safety Kleen site, using similar technologies. The entire process is likely to take from five to 10 years to complete.

For more information, please contact Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation at 416-214-1344 or info@towaterfront.ca

Hopefully all the work will get done on time and the trail will be open again before summer.