Markham portion of Lake to Lake Cycling Route to cost $3M

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 15, 2016
By Amanda Persico

Soon, cyclists will be able to travel from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe on one trail system.

End-to-end, the proposed Lake to Lake Cycling Route is about 121 kilometres, 92 km through York Region and 29 km through Toronto, of which about two-thirds of the route is already built.

“This is not just for commuter cyclists,” said the region’s head of performance and research for transportation services, Angela Gibson during a Markham committee meeting.

“This route is to be user-friendly, for families and commuters alike.”

Markham’s portion stretches from Steeles Avenue to just north of Hwy. 7, connecting to trail systems in Richmond Hill and Toronto.

This 4.2-km stretch will cost more than $3.1 million, shared between the region and the city.

Markham’s portion amounts to more than $1.4-million plus an additional $88,000 in annual maintenance and operations costs, of which the region would absorb about $50,000 as part of its plan to assume operations and maintenance for trails and paths along all regional roads.

The region also received $325,000 from the Ontario Municipal Cycling Infrastructure Fund that will go toward the Lake to Lake project.

“We’ve come a long way in a very short period of time in cycling systems,” Mayor Frank Scarpitti said. “But this shows the province is dedicated to building bicycle systems throughout the GTA for both commuters and recreational cyclists.”

Markham’s $1.4-million portion has been included in the 2017 capital budget process.

Markham’s portion picks up in the German Mills area and continues across John Street and then heads north along Leslie Street past Hwy. 7.

The proposed route consists of about 3 km on a shared boulevard and 1 km on an off-road path.

That means upgrading sidewalks to multi-use paths and gravel paths to paved trails.

The proposal also included a jag of about 500 metres of on-road cycling along Leslie Street, raising a red flag.

“Families have a different experience than commuters,” Scarpitti said.

The on-road section of the route is due in part to right-of-way issues, Gibson said.

“While not uncommon, we do try to minimize the on-road (portion) as much as possible,” she said.

Instead, Scarpitti wants city staff to study this portion of the route to see if a multi-use path can be built or if this section can be transitioned into a multi-use path in future.

The north-south route will connect to several major existing east-west trail systems, including the Greenbelt, Oak Ridges Moraine, Humber River, Rouge Vallley, 407 hydro corridor, Pan Am, Waterfront and Finch hydro corridor trails.

Markham’s main focus will be to enhance north-south routes, feeder trails and the trail system in the Thornhill and Miliken areas as well as install bike parking and route signage.

The region started design work on the path system earlier this spring and is about 30 per cent complete.

Construction is expected to start next spring and is expected to be complete by the summer of 2018.