The Need for the Taylor Massey Trail
The Taylor Massey Project

While most of the watercourse improvements and community-engagement activities to be delivered under the TMP will evolve over time, one aspect of the Project that is crucial now, to connect the different reaches and indeed establish more greenspace in the watershed, is the establishment of the Taylor Massey Trail.

For the most part, the Trail requires a series of small infrastructure items, including 2 traffic lights or crosswalks, 2 pedestrian bridges over the Creek, and 2 safe passageways over railroad tracks. An estimated cost for these items (2004) is $700,000.

In addition, the Taylor Massey Trail requires the acquisition by the City of Toronto of the existing Warden Hydro Corridor, which we believe should be transferred by the Province of Ontario to the City and/or the Toronto and Region Conversation Authority for $2.00. Detailed information about the Corridor can be accessed via the Reach Portal.

The construction of path within the Corridor is estimated as costing $125,000. Short-term plantings should be budgeted at $75,000, while community plantings can continue for 20 years. In addition, the Trail will require both interpretive and directional signage, especially so that people can find their way around the Lost Reach between Ellesmere and Lawrence, the Pine Hills Cemetery when the gates are closed, and around the Dentonia Golf Course. Total signage is estimated as costing well under $60,000.

In summary, for under $1,000,000, the City of Toronto will be able to augment a revitalized watercourse with a 16 kilometre Taylor Massey Trail, running from Terraview Willowfield just south of the 401 to the juncture of the Creek with the Don River. The Trail and associated plantings in the Warden Hydro Corridor would increase local outdoor recreation, increase the local forest canopy, increase the public's awareness of the value of the watercourse, and provide a connection to existing greenways that extend to Lake Ontario.

The key infrastructure elements of the Taylor Massey Trail are described below:

1. The acquisition of and the establishment of trail within the Warden Hydro Corridor
   
   
2. A traffic light or crosswalk on Ellesmere Avenue
   
   
3. A railway crossing within the Warden Hydro Corridor, south of Ellesmere
   
   
4. A traffic light or crosswalk on Birchmount Avenue, north of Eglinton
   
   
5. A pedestrian bridge over the Creek North of Eglinton
   
   
6. A pedestrian bridge over the Creek South of Eglinton
   
   
7. A railway crossing south of Eglinton