Help me find neighbourhood pathways and foot-bridges

[adma]

If you're looking for the neighbourhoods with the most extensive pathway systems, they would almost certainly be the L'amoreaux/Milliken areas of north Scarborough. There's a few pedestrian bridges but nothing large or interesting. What is interesting is the sheer quantity of trails, with several creek trails and parks joined by a nearly continuous series of walkways connecting virtually every crescent and cul-de-sac with both each other and with arterial roads. Driving around these neighbourhoods' loopy trails is time consuming, but you can walk almost anywhere in a straight line. These areas are loosely planned on the Don Mills model.

The resemblance compounded, of course, by several Donway-style "circle nodes": Bridletowne, Alton Towers, etc...

 

[scarberiankhatru]

The resemblance compounded, of course, by several Donway-style "circle nodes": Bridletowne, Alton Towers, etc...

It's not just the circle nodes ringed with schools and parks and containing 3/4 apartments and 1/4 plaza + library - though those alone make them direct descendants of Don Mills, not just resemblances. The street curves and the housing stock isn't the same because they were built 20-30 years later, but features like the extensive pedestrian pathways and the presence of industrial/employment lands right next door (Middlefield, Passmore, Gordon Baker, etc.) are explicitly taken from Don Mills. Hell, Bamburgh even has an IBM campus next door, though that is a coincidence...

The pathways in north Scarborough are either 'natural' forest/creek trailways or utilitarian and lighted walkways between houses and so aren't the same species of pathways as the named and landscaped walkways in Don Mills...but it must be noted that Don Mills' residential side streets don't even have sidewalks, so all these pathways do serve different purposes.

 

[junctionist]

I assume you are familiar with the path along the Humber River that runs from north of Weston Road and Lawrence to the Old Mill. A footbridge crosses the river just south of Lawrence Avenue. There is a plaque nearby referring to the effects of Hurricane Hazel, which swept away houses in the immediate vicinity on Raymore Drive. The trail crosses the river again in the "hidden" Lambton Park, just north of Dundas Street (unfortunately a bit tricky to access in the immediate area). Another plaque referencing Hurricane Hazel is found at Bloor Street, almost directly under the subway bridge.

This trail can be used to walk or bike all the way from Steeles Ave. down to south of Bloor Street, running along the Humber River, with only one interruption of a few short blocks just north of Lawrence Avenue, where you detour using Weston Road.

You can go from Steeles to Lake Ontario with three interruptions of the trail system if I recall correctly. The Weston road detour is quite the inconvenience though, especially if cycling and going northbound, since you're not going to want to cross the street to ride on the road, only to have to cross over a few blocks later, and the sidewalk is narrow, especially given the density of apartments there. Why the path isn't continuous is a mystery to me.

There's a break in the trail somewhere south of Bloor, but the detour down some side streets isn't that bad.

 

[Conrad Black]

Cherry Beach to the Beach at Victoria Park is one route. Edwards Gardens to Lakeshore or Edwards Gardens To Victoria Park Ave are two others.

 

[CityTownBoy]

The Scarborough City Centre has a couple good paths an foot bridges.

There is a glass enclosed foot bridge that crosses over McCowan Road just north of Town Centre Court. It then connects with a path to the McCowan RT Station or if you head north there is a tunnel under Progress Avenue that leads to Consilium Place.

There are also a beautiful pathway that leads from Borough Drive to Ellesmere Road it cuts between the east side of the condominium complex (that fronts Brimley Road) and the Ellesmere woodlot.