Five City of Toronto parks will soon be linked together via a new multi-use trail spanning over four kilometres.

A community-driven initiative known as the Weston Loop plans to knit together 74 acres of public green spaces along the winding banks of the Humber River via a multi-use trail that will form a new backbone uniting the disconnected public spaces.

What was initially a 1.4 km gap in the Humber River Trail (HRT) near Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West has been narrowed to 800 metres, though it remains a key barrier in the completion of a 65 km Loop Trail that will eventually connect multiple ravines, neighbourhoods and trail systems throughout Toronto.

The Weston Loop project aims to not only close this missing link between key parks in this part of the city, but also improve the existing remainder of the 4.4-kilometre portion of trail running through the area, and local parks' connections to the surrounding community.

The project involves the cooperation of the City and local community groups working with several development firms, collectively forming the Weston Development Group. These companies include Castlepoint Numa, Westhaven Group, Devron Developments, BSaR Group of Companies, Altree Developments and Arkfield Group.

A representative from developer Castlepoint Numa tells blogTO that the project is now underway in Weston Village.

"Thanks to Mayor Chow, Councillor Nunziata, the Weston Residents Association, and the Weston Developer Group, who have made cash-in-lieu commitments, this community-led initiative will link five beloved parks in Weston Village—Crawford Jones Park, Mallaby Park, Weston Lions Park, Memorial Park, and Cruickshank Park—with a 4-km multi-use trail."

Weston Loop

The project team has been out and about in the community to promote the new project, and officially launched the project on October 12 with an information session hosted at a local farmers' market.

 

 

 

 

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The public got a closer look at plans for the project during a design charrette involving stakeholders and community members on October 29.

 

 

 

 

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While the Weston Loop project focuses solely on the 4.4-kilometre stretch through the Weston neighbourhood, the completion of this missing link in the city's trail network would allow pedestrians and cyclists to transit the full length of the Humber's run through Toronto.

This included the five parks mentioned in the project, but also roughly a dozen more elsewhere on the Humber River that would be mutually accessible once this short gap in trail is filled in.