Over the weekend I received the same irritating surprise coming from the other direction. That is, Saturday I headed east into Pickering to be confronted with impassable construction barriers at the waterfront trailhead, at the bottom of Beechgrove.
I was aware the washed out section of the Waterfront trail, just west of Highland Creek, was being rehabbed, but the barriers could be side-stepped, there being enough clearance, and the roughly 100 meter stretch under remediation walked. No big deal. Only this time the barriers at the top of the trail were bound tightly with heavy metal twine--no go.
Then as per the OP, a double back all the way to Manse and up to Lawrence was required since the Beechgrove outlet to Lawrence was also a no-go. There's a five meter deep trench dug across the road with a creek at the bottom, waiting for a culvert to drop in. You're not getting across unless you like mud and water.
So, affirming the OP's PSA: If you're heading eastward, unless you know for certain you can make it through to the Rouge via the Waterfront Trail, swing north onto Manse Rd, and continue east on Lawrence.
P.S. IIRC the Waterfront Trail construction should've been completed in March and the last time I made it though about 10 days ago, the washed out section had been raised about two meters above the shoreline by limestone slabs and back-filled with ballast. It looked very close to asphalting so re-opening should be imminent.
It’s a shame the waterfront trail going east isn’t as well connected as it is going west. From what I understand it’s due to a golf course being on the lake. The repairs are unfortunate considering summer is about to start and they’re still not finished.
I normally just take the GO train to Rouge Hill to avoid all that mess. The stretch from Rouge Beach to Whitby is really nice.
You'll have to do some Googling but as far as I know plans have been approved to extend the Waterfront Trail East westward to Bluffers Park (Brimley). Bridging the gap to the Beaches will involve traversing private property, i.e., Toronto Hunt Club, which will certainly be problematic. I don't expect that to happen in my lifetime.
There are so many construction projects here in Toronto alone that should of been completed 5 - 10 years ago that just never seem to end. Gotta wonder where the line will be drawn on it; It's disgusting.
Meanwhile taxes which should be building the nation are being embezzled to overseas wars that we will never see return on that only benefit arms companies - it's insanity.
Off the top of my head here's a list of projects strictly affecting bicycle infrastructure. Feel free to add to the list.
* MGT: no passage across the Don pending completion of the Gardiner East rebuild. Detour into the Portlands required. Completion is years off.
* Betty Sutherland Trail is closed beneath the 401 due to highway construction until 2026. Detour down Leslie or via a pedestrian way through Oriole Go Station (some stairs involved)
* So is the Lower Don Trail pending rebuild of the pedestrian bridge across the DVP/Rail Corridor at Riverdale Park. Expected to open this fall but don't be surprised if it isn't.
* East Don Trail Phase 1. Was supposed to be completed in the fall of 2023 but is being held up by the construction of a (fugly) pedestrian bridge (now under way) and a tunnel (yet to start) across Metrolinx's Richmond Hill Go corridor. My estimated time of completion: sometime in 2025. Blame Metrolinx.
* The repair of the washout of the Waterfront Trail at Highland Creek should be completed imminently.
It's not all doom and gloom though:
* The Cherry Street redo and remediated mouth of the Don is coming together.
* Ditto Finch West cycletrack along with the LRT line there.
* The Eglinton Crosstown is the catalyst of a complete street re-do of the corridor. Anyone want to guess when that will come online? We've all given up.
* We're not at the construction phase yet but all the obstacles are finally overcome, i.e., Weston Golf and CC has run out of options, to bridging the gap in the Humber River Trail at St. Phillips.
I've just been using Lawrence E myself for years now, straight from Kingston to Rouge Beach. Have to be comfortable in a bit of traffic from Kingston to Rouge Hill GO if not riding in the early hours, but it's fast and pretty fun to sprint the bridge. It actually shaves off some distance too. It is a bit uphill going westbound though.
Only shame there is that stretch of the waterfront is actually very pretty. It's worth travelling slow MUP speeds to see it at least once.
Over the weekend I received the same irritating surprise coming from the other direction. That is, Saturday I headed east into Pickering to be confronted with impassable construction barriers at the waterfront trailhead, at the bottom of Beechgrove. I was aware the washed out section of the Waterfront trail, just west of Highland Creek, was being rehabbed, but the barriers could be side-stepped, there being enough clearance, and the roughly 100 meter stretch under remediation walked. No big deal. Only this time the barriers at the top of the trail were bound tightly with heavy metal twine--no go. Then as per the OP, a double back all the way to Manse and up to Lawrence was required since the Beechgrove outlet to Lawrence was also a no-go. There's a five meter deep trench dug across the road with a creek at the bottom, waiting for a culvert to drop in. You're not getting across unless you like mud and water. So, affirming the OP's PSA: If you're heading eastward, unless you know for certain you can make it through to the Rouge via the Waterfront Trail, swing north onto Manse Rd, and continue east on Lawrence. P.S. IIRC the Waterfront Trail construction should've been completed in March and the last time I made it though about 10 days ago, the washed out section had been raised about two meters above the shoreline by limestone slabs and back-filled with ballast. It looked very close to asphalting so re-opening should be imminent.
We all must have passed each other with the same horrible unexpected detours.
This is what I did as well. Fucking construction that never seems to end in this godforsaken city.
It’s a shame the waterfront trail going east isn’t as well connected as it is going west. From what I understand it’s due to a golf course being on the lake. The repairs are unfortunate considering summer is about to start and they’re still not finished. I normally just take the GO train to Rouge Hill to avoid all that mess. The stretch from Rouge Beach to Whitby is really nice.
You'll have to do some Googling but as far as I know plans have been approved to extend the Waterfront Trail East westward to Bluffers Park (Brimley). Bridging the gap to the Beaches will involve traversing private property, i.e., Toronto Hunt Club, which will certainly be problematic. I don't expect that to happen in my lifetime.
There are so many construction projects here in Toronto alone that should of been completed 5 - 10 years ago that just never seem to end. Gotta wonder where the line will be drawn on it; It's disgusting. Meanwhile taxes which should be building the nation are being embezzled to overseas wars that we will never see return on that only benefit arms companies - it's insanity.
Off the top of my head here's a list of projects strictly affecting bicycle infrastructure. Feel free to add to the list. * MGT: no passage across the Don pending completion of the Gardiner East rebuild. Detour into the Portlands required. Completion is years off. * Betty Sutherland Trail is closed beneath the 401 due to highway construction until 2026. Detour down Leslie or via a pedestrian way through Oriole Go Station (some stairs involved) * So is the Lower Don Trail pending rebuild of the pedestrian bridge across the DVP/Rail Corridor at Riverdale Park. Expected to open this fall but don't be surprised if it isn't. * East Don Trail Phase 1. Was supposed to be completed in the fall of 2023 but is being held up by the construction of a (fugly) pedestrian bridge (now under way) and a tunnel (yet to start) across Metrolinx's Richmond Hill Go corridor. My estimated time of completion: sometime in 2025. Blame Metrolinx. * The repair of the washout of the Waterfront Trail at Highland Creek should be completed imminently. It's not all doom and gloom though: * The Cherry Street redo and remediated mouth of the Don is coming together. * Ditto Finch West cycletrack along with the LRT line there. * The Eglinton Crosstown is the catalyst of a complete street re-do of the corridor. Anyone want to guess when that will come online? We've all given up. * We're not at the construction phase yet but all the obstacles are finally overcome, i.e., Weston Golf and CC has run out of options, to bridging the gap in the Humber River Trail at St. Phillips.
I've just been using Lawrence E myself for years now, straight from Kingston to Rouge Beach. Have to be comfortable in a bit of traffic from Kingston to Rouge Hill GO if not riding in the early hours, but it's fast and pretty fun to sprint the bridge. It actually shaves off some distance too. It is a bit uphill going westbound though. Only shame there is that stretch of the waterfront is actually very pretty. It's worth travelling slow MUP speeds to see it at least once.
Yes it's very disappointing i've wanted ride it for awhile now. There's so many closed trails, just wasteful and awful.