Bridge Open!

Anyone who uses the Taylor Creek/Seton/Serena Gundy parks, in Toronto, to cycle will be well aware that the bridge linking Taylor Creek and Seton parks had been out of commission for almost a year. This morning I was happy to find the bridge renovation finally completed.

Here are some pictures I took of the bridge:



The original bridge was not removed where it crosses over the railroad tracks, but new aluminum “boards” were installed.



Here’s a view of the tracks, looking west. The bridge in the distance supports the Don Valley Parkway. While I was at the bridge a GO train went by, but I didn’t manage to get a picture of it.



The ramps leading up to the bridge were entirely replaced. The ramp on the west side of the bridge goes under Don Mills Road.



The ramps used to be surfaced with wood slats, which had become quite worn. Asphalt is now used.



This is looking up the ramp that leads to the bridge from the west side.



Someone added a silhouette of a walking person on the footing at the east side.



More graffiti under Don Mills Road.

Taylor Creek Recreational Trail

I recently went for a ride on the Taylor Creek Recreational Trail in Toronto. This is a trail I often use. I haven’t been on it in a while, though, due to a bridge being replaced. This construction has blocked the trail just to the west of where it goes under the Don Valley Parkway. A friend told me that it is possible to make your way through the construction and continue on the trail, but I haven’t tried this.

According to the City of Toronto’s website, the new bridge was supposed to have been completed by April 30. So, on May 1 I decided to see if the bridge was in fact finished. Well, it wasn’t ... At the bridge construction site I asked a worker when he thought the bridge might be finished, and he said it would be “two or three weeks” yet.

I don’t know exactly when construction began on this bridge, but it must have been pushing a year ago. The previous bridge was a well-worn wooden structure that was fun to bike on. It is being replaced with a metal one. The bridge goes over some railway tracks.

It was a beautiful day for a ride—warm and sunny, about 20 degrees. Taylor Creek Recreational Trail has many interesting things to look at. Here are a few of them:



This is a large concrete bridge that supports O’Connor Drive.



There are wetlands along the trail that are being encouraged and protected.



Every square centimetre of this shed used to be covered in graffiti. Workers painted over the building about a year ago. Not surprisingly, it has been tagged again. I wish they had left it as it was. The graffiti that used to be there was much nicer. Perhaps as the shed gradually picks up ever more graffiti, it will eventually regain its former look.