[Northern Light]

Sure, but I think then the Roselawn work is redundant and unnecessary. If it was a longer strip, sure, but in the case of extending the trail I would just do this:

View attachment 551286

And put a Bikeway on the Allen Path on the west side connecting to the new York Beltline Trail extension.

I'm not sure why you would want to force someone to divert off Roselawn, down Marlee, back up to Elm Ridge, same road, for a one block detour? You're making the trip a lot longer than necessary. If one of the 2 segments were not to be built, in the near term, to me, its the Park segment that should be deferred, because its not continuous.

Elsewise, you're also conflating different department's budgets and jurisdictional authorities.

On the subject of the existing N-S path beside the Allen on the west side; it looks like this:

Its not really wide enough for a multi-use trail, even w/zero landscaping, you've got ~3M of width there.

I'm all for upgrading it, in theory, though I'm still holding out for burying the Allen which would make the point moot.

 

[robmausser]

I'm not sure why you would want to force someone to divert off Roselawn, down Marlee, back up to Elm Ridge, same road, for a one block detour? You're making the trip a lot longer than necessary. If one of the 2 segments were not to be built, in the near term, to me, its the Park segment that should be deferred, because its not continuous.

Elsewise, you're also conflating different department's budgets and jurisdictional authorities.

On the subject of the existing N-S path beside the Allen on the west side; it looks like this:

View attachment 551288

Its not really wide enough for a multi-use trail, even w/zero landscaping, you've got ~3M of width there.

I'm all for upgrading it, in theory, though I'm still holding out for burying the Allen which would make the point moot.

Hmm, agree to disagree. There is plenty of room if that fence comes down on the left.

And I am all for removing unnecessary redundancy in the bike network. I don't ascribe to the ideology that "all bike lanes are good bike lanes" We need to spend the budget wisely.

I also prefer any off-road networks wherever possible, its safer, and in this case its possible and its really not that much a detour. its not like there is anything of interest on that section of Roselawn anyways.

 

[Cambry Ardship]

The biggest benefit to putting even a small stub of protected bike lane on Roselawn is that there's actually quite a few apartment buildings on that small stretch with more being built. It's good that they will have high quality protected infrastructure.

 

[Northern Light]

While I was happy at first, I think this is a sign that the city has given up on this last portion of the trail between Marlee and the Allenway.

View attachment 551073
Why build a fully separated bike lane all along Roselawn from the Allen Greenway to Marlee if youre going to use the part labelled "Future York Beltline trail connection"

Seems to me like they aren't going to use it and are just not saying so to not get any negative feedback until this work is done.

Looked into this more for ya.........

The 'Future York Beltline Trail Extension' Marlee to Allen is currently slated for construction next year; with opening in the fall.

 

[Metroscapes]

Was going some research today and stumbled on this nugget. I wonder if this is something Mike and Hydro One will continue working on.

 

[Johnny Au]

Was going some research today and stumbled on this nugget. I wonder if this is something Mike and Hydro One will continue working on.

View attachment 630060

View attachment 630061

There's still that vestigial railway crossing on Roselawn linking 901 Roselawn with the Fairbank Transformer Station. Here's hoping that the vestigial railway crossing be removed in time for the Castlefield bus to come into service once Line 5 opens.

 

[bearcat]

Looked into this more for ya.........

The 'Future York Beltline Trail Extension' Marlee to Allen is currently slated for construction next year; with opening in the fall.

I just looked into this since there is new activity in the thread, and as per https://www.toronto.ca/city-governm...-redevelopment/york-beltline-trail-extension/ it looks like it's not happening until 2026.

It says "Planned construction work for the trail extension project is temporarily paused due to the construction of the Reena Affordable Housing Project at 165 Elm Ridge Dr. Community engagement and design development for the trail extension will continue during this time."

So is the plan 2026 now?

 

[Northern Light]

There's still that vestigial railway crossing on Roselawn linking 901 Roselawn with the Fairbank Transformer Station. Here's hoping that the vestigial railway crossing be removed in time for the Castlefield bus to come into service once Line 5 opens.

For the benefit of others:

 

[bearcat]

For the benefit of others:

View attachment 630078

What is this even for? The gauge looks really wide and It's perpendicular to the Beltline with what to me doesn't look like enough room for it to have curved to join it. Are these rails to just move some specialized heavy machinery across the street?

There does not look to be any connection to the Beltline tracks in this 1965 aerial photo:

Perhaps it's the shortest railway line in Toronto.

 

[Northern Light]

What is this even for? The gauge looks really wide and It's perpendicular to the Beltline with what to me doesn't look like enough room for it to have curved to join it. Are these rails to just move some specialized heavy machinery across the street?

There does not look to be any connection to the Beltline tracks in this 1965 aerial photo:

View attachment 630079

Perhaps it's the shortest railway line in Toronto.

Good question, Can't say I know. Perhaps @Johnny Au might.

@Metroscapes might have something to contribute too.

 

[lenaitch]

What is this even for? The gauge looks really wide and It's perpendicular to the Beltline with what to me doesn't look like enough room for it to have curved to join it. Are these rails to just move some specialized heavy machinery across the street?

There does not look to be any connection to the Beltline tracks in this 1965 aerial photo:

View attachment 630079

Perhaps it's the shortest railway line in Toronto.

It's either the lenses Google Streetview uses or the way the images are stitched together. If you position right on (or very near) the rails and rotation the view the gauge normalizes.

The other question, no clue, but industrial spurs can have some pretty tight radii.

 

[Cambry Ardship]

So is the plan 2026 now?

This is a different project than the Beltline Gap Connections project that will build protected bike lens on the south end of Marlee and a multi-use path from Marlee to the Beltline on Roselawn. The timeline for construction to begin is still listed as Spring 2025.

 

[Metroscapes]

What is this even for? The gauge looks really wide and It's perpendicular to the Beltline with what to me doesn't look like enough room for it to have curved to join it. Are these rails to just move some specialized heavy machinery across the street?

There does not look to be any connection to the Beltline tracks in this 1965 aerial photo:

View attachment 630079

Perhaps it's the shortest railway line in Toronto.

Good question, Can't say I know. Perhaps @Johnny Au might.

@Metroscapes might have something to contribute too.

My guess is it was to deliver transformer equipment to/from the Fairbank TS. I can't pick out too much from historic aerial photos, but the '65 one seems pretty good. It doesn't even look like a typical spur, it looks perpendicular to the siding for the industrial properties south of the TS. Maybe the butt up two cars perpendicular, shifted the equipment from one to the other, and rolled it over? Very bizarre.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Wonder if any of the NIMBYs are against having a 179 CASTLEFIELD bus running parallel next to the Beltline Trail? The route is still subject to change. Originally was to terminate at the KEELESDALE STATION, but was moved to the MOUNT DENNIS STATION.

Anybody notice any 179 bus stop signs put up yet? Won't be used until Line 5 opens. Whenever that will be.

 

[bearcat]

This is a different project than the Beltline Gap Connections project that will build protected bike lens on the south end of Marlee and a multi-use path from Marlee to the Beltline on Roselawn. The timeline for construction to begin is still listed as Spring 2025.

I understand these are two separate projects, but the post I quoted from 2024 was not referring to the Beltline Gap Connections but rather to the York Beltline Trail Extension as far as I understand.