The Downsview Area Secondary Plan Community Meeting on December 8 consisted of about 20 to 30 booths showing plans for housing, transportation (including cycling infrastructure), and green space. Members of the public could roam from booth to booth and ask questions. As a cyclist, one of my objectives is to avoid a north-south link through the Park for automobiles. This is also the objective of City Planners, however, they are also cognizant that long term projections to 2031 show existing arterial roads around the Park will certainly be insufficient to meet traffic volumes. If a north-south link through the Park is required, extending Dufferin Street through the Park may be a preferred option because it can be built with relatively low impact to cycling links.

I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Councillor Howard Moscoe. I put forward my case for building a bike path beside the CN Rail lines all the way down to the Kay Gardiner Beltline trail, just north of Eglinton Avenue. I was pleased to hear from the Councillor that this is also part of his vision for the future of cycling paths in the area. Councillor Moscoe also emphasized a couple of times that he was the Councillor responsible for having pushed to have the Kay Gardiner Beltline trail extended westward all the way to the CN tracks.

City Planners are looking for input on where to build bike paths through the Park - this would be an opportunity for interested cyclists to provide input. You can email commments / suggestions for bike lanes directly to Adam Light, Planner, City of Toronto at alight@toronto.ca.

There will be another Community meeting in March/09 before the Plan goes to Council in June/09.

Sam Bootsma