It’s been a while since I have made a blog post, but I had such an amazing day today, I want to write about it to cement the memory.

The day started cool and misty with a walk with Owen and Bailey. It was a perfect autumn day with a few of the leaves changing colour.

The boys all have the day off school today, which I forgot, when I planned to spend the day cycling in Hamilton with my friend Rani, before picking up Megan for Thanksgiving and Reading Week.

They don’t really mind when I leave them since it means they can do their own thing without me bugging them about spending too much time in front of screens.

Years ago, I used to spend a lot of time cleaning the house and resent it when Michael and the kids made messes.  Michael told me I should lower my standards since no one else cared how messy the house was.  Over the years I have managed to do so.  Apparently, I have been so successful that today, Alun, my 17 year old, vacuumed, dusted and washed the stairs and mopped the kitchen and hallway tiles because the mess was offending him.

I met Rani at Princess Point at 10am.  Here is a link to the route I planned. In June, another friend, Erica, and I spent the day cycling in Hamilton.  That day I planned for us to use the bike trough on the Kenilworth stairs to get our bikes up the mountain, but we missed Kenilworth by a few kilometres, looked at the map and decide to follow the Red Hill trail to Albion Falls, our destination.  It was a beautiful, but tough ride, on a dirt or crushed gravel path with steep hills up and down.  After leaving the falls we returned to the lower city on the Hamilton-Brantford rail trail. It was a lovely gradual decline through the trees along the face of the escarpment and I wanted to try riding up it, which is what we did today.

The mist was lifting just as I arrive at Princess Point where Rani had arrived and was taking pictures.  We unloaded our bikes and set off to discover that Rani, while trying to pump up her tires last night, pretty much completely emptied them.  Neither one of us had a pump so we loaded up the bikes and drove to the Bike Repair station on Locke St.  Unfortunately, the pump only had a Schrader end, not Presta, which is what Rani needed.  So we drove to Pierik’s Bike Shop, nearer to Princess Point than the Bike Repair station on Locke, where a friendly, helpful staff member pumped up Rani’s tires.  Back at Princess Point, we unloaded the bikes again and set off.

We cycled around the bay and then up James Street in search of an independent coffee shop. Last week I found a list of 15 in Hamilton and am determined to try them all.  I couldn’t think of a single one in Brampton.  Sigh.

We stopped at the Mulberry Street Coffee House and had some awesome cappuccino and baked goods to fuel up. I’ve now been to three on the list of 15.

We continued on our way and we very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to climb the mountain on the rail trail.  It was about 100 metres ascent over 8km.  Much easier than riding up any of the street accesses or the Red Hill Trail that Erica and I took.

We briefly used the great Cannon Street cycletrack which has little bicycle shaped insets in the lights for bikes.  We also came across this great new crossing on Limeridge Road East where there are no curbs and pedestrians have the right of way when they are present, but otherwise drivers do not need to stop here.

We’ve just finished the climb and Rani is still smiling.

Here are a couple more pictures of the rail trail.  Much of it was covered by trees and so pleasant to cycle through, but I didn’t take any pictures in that part.

Here we are at Albion Falls.  It was a bit difficult climbing down with the cleats on the bottom of my sandals.

We then cycled along Mountain Brow Boulevard, a street that went on a road diet and became a complete street a couple years ago.  It is residential on one side and a narrow linear park overlooking the lower city on the other.  It used to be a four lane cross section, but is now two, with some parking and a wonderful wide multi-use path.

The views were awesome.  When we couldn’t see over some low bushes Rani climbed up on this wall.  I soon followed.  My family, and my friend Patti, with whom I have been cycling and exploring since Grade 7, usually discourage this type of “risky” behavior.  It was fun having someone else lead the way.

Here’s the view from the top.

Back in April, I did some cycling and exploring of the escarpment staircases which I wrote about here. I talked about Uli, who single-handedly build an escarpment staircase.  We met him tending it today.  What a modest fellow.

We found a great place for lunch.

Then continued along to the Chedoke Radial Trail, which I hadn’t explored before.  What a wonderful ride down the mountain it provided. It started under an hydro tower and passed several waterfalls.  It is part of the Bruce Trail.

We looked down over the highway and crossed a bridge.

There was a lovely canopy of trees all the way down.

By following the route clockwise we had gentle inclines going up and fun, steeper rides going down.

It was a perfect autumn day, enhanced by a lovely visit with my daughter on the way back home.

Morning mist banished by sunshine.
Autumn colours.
Cycling in a city that gets it.
New friend with the same passion.
It doesn’t get any better!

This is the second of three blog posts I will make about cycling in, or near, the Dixie Road corridor, and the various cycling facilities, or lack thereof.

1. Dixie Road Cycling Facilities North of Bovaird Drive
2. Bramalea GO Station to Clark Boulevard (Bramalea City Centre) along Dixie Road
3. Clark Boulevard to Bovaird (Chinguacousy Trail)

Dixie Road is a regional road.  The planning and construction is done by Peel Region, rather than by the City of Brampton.  Brampton is responsible for maintenance once construction is complete, for both the road and the sidewalks and multi-use paths.

The Region of Peel is currently engaged in widening Dixie Road to three lanes in each direction.  At the same time they are replacing the sidewalk on the west side, from Clark Boulevard to 400 metres north of Steeles.

The intersections where Dixie Road crosses Steeles Avenue and Bovaird Drive were reconstructed prior to a general road widening to allow for Brampton Transit’s Zum buses to travel in a reserved queue jump lane through intersections. At that time no multi-use path was installed .

I had a conversation with staff at the Region of Peel about the pointlessness of infrastructure that just ends 400 metres north of a major intersection, especially on a road with the volumes of car and especially, truck traffic, that is carried on Dixie.  They agreed to look into the feasibility of continuing the path south to Steeles while construction crews were still on site and I am pleased to report that I have been told that is exactly what will happen.

Victory for advocacy. Thanks to Regional staff for listening and acting.

In April, I attended my first Ontario Bike Summit, courtesy of the City of Brampton.  It was educational to hear what other cities are doing.  One item that was of particular interest to me was that Metrolinx provided funding for the Spur Line trail in Waterloo in order to improve Active Transportation infrastructure leading to GO and Via Trains.

In a board meeting presentation last year Metrolinx explained:

• Designs for station facilities will be guided by both the way travel modes are used today and policies intended reduce dependency on single-occupancy vehicles and towards more sustainable modes.
• While investments will be made across all travel modes, those needed to achieve the shift towards more sustainable modes will be prioritized.

Currently only 1% of riders cycle to GO rail service and I suspect the percentage that cycle to Bramalea GO Station is far lower than that, despite the fact that they have covered bike parking at both the north and south lots. Metrolinx states that, “Incentives to encourage and significantly increase cycling are needed (e.g. improved cycling routes and environment, secure bike parking, bike share, etc.)”.

Watching the Region improve cycling infrastructure along Dixie Road, hearing about Waterloo receiving $1.2M for their Spur Line Trail and knowing the proximity of of Bramalea GO station to the Dixie multi-use trail and one of Brampton’s few legal on-street bike lanes (Birchbank Road) led me to explore how all these elements could be connected. I hope that by writing this blog I can inspire the City of Brampton, the Region of Peel and Metrolinx to work together to create an active transportation connection to Bramalea GO, a station on a very busy road in the middle of industrial lands, but not too far from some residential areas and existing AT infrastructure.

Let’s explore Dixie Road moving south from Clark Boulevard.

Here, the sidewalk has been preserved and a multi-use path added between the curb and sidewalk.  The pole in the foreground is a temporary one, but it is not clear whether or not the multi-use path will continue north to Clark.

Continuing south, you can see the sidewalk has been removed and a wide multi-use path installed from curb to property line.

I prefer the treatment in this section where the “salt strip” or snow storage area is constructed of a different material. I have not been able to get an answer as to why this is done is some places but not others, even along the same path, although it does tend to be at intersections, but sometimes extends quite far from the intersection.

As you can see this section does not use pressed concrete for the salt strip, but expects users to somehow magically understand that the metre adjacent to the curb is not considered part of the multi-use path. In this picture I am standing at the northern end of the Rogers campus at the entrance to the south end of the Esker Lake Trail which is shown in the next image.

This is a nice connection here, and the Esker Lake trail will be getting Brampton’s first Active Transportation-only crossing of Highway 410, when the Franceschini Bridge, between Williams Parkway and Bovaird, which used to be used to access a gravel quarry, is opened later this year.  Unfortunately, the Esker Lake trail leaves much to be desired, but I will address that in another post.

This section differentiates salt strip and path.

I am not sure how this bus stop will be handled.  In the first picture in this blog, you can see that a concrete bus pad was laid on which a shelter could be erected. Something else to note is that about 100 metres south of here is a Tim Hortons/Wendy’s. I hope that signage is installed to indicate that drivers should expect cyclists and not to stop on the path.  When I approached from the south, a driver was stopped on the path and looking north for a gap to turn right into, with never a glance to the south to see if anyone on the path was approaching.  Had I not stopped and waited I am fairly certain I would have been in front of him and crashed into when he turned.  This will be a common occurrence here, as drivers will not be permitted to turn left, and will therefore not look to their right before pulling out.

This image is looking back north towards Orenda Road on the left and Birchbank Road on the right.  There is a legal bike lane on Birchbank.

Continuing south from Orenda toward the Chrysler dealership.

The road was widened enough under the rail bridge for the path to continue and it dips less than the road making it easier to traverse.  A sign should be installed where the material changes to concrete and the width narrows to indicate bikes welcome, but caution needed.  I saw this sign on Castlemore Road.

As one emerges from underneath the bridge the path comes to an end about 400 metres north of Steeles.

This is where, I have been told by Regional staff, they have determined that it is feasible to extend the path to Steeles Avenue.

Now let’s address getting to Bramalea GO Station.

The red line on the map shows the trail gap which the region needs to complete to Steeles.

The blue line shows the route to the south lot bike parking at Bramalea GO. This route is 2km from the Steeles/Dixie intersection (north route).

The green line shows the route to the north lot bike parking at Bramalea GO and runs along Steeles. It is 1.2km from the Steeles/Dixie intersection (south route).

Steeles and Dixie is a very large intersection, with six through lanes of traffic on each road plus left and right turn lanes.

So, there are two options for getting to the GO station. While the route to the north lot along Steeles is shorter, it requires a trip up and over the rail bridge, which which be challenging for some cyclists. The space available for a multi-use path is also more constrained, particularly over the crest of the bridge.  I didn’t take pictures along here, but when I go back to check out the 400m gap north of Steeles I will do so and provide an update.

My preference, and the one I have pictured below, is the route to the south lot via Dixie,  Advance and Alfred Kuehne, which, while longer, is flat and once off Dixie, the road allowances are wide and traffic relatively light.

This is looking north from Advance Boulevard.  If the sidewalk were removed as it has been north of Steeles, a multi-use path could be installed.

In this image I am facing east looking across Dixie at Advance.

On Advance there is a sidewalk  on the north side of the road and nothing on the south.  By observing where the fire hydrant is you can see there is plenty of room for a multi-use path adjacent to the road.  The other possibility here is a bike lane if the curb-to-curb allowance would accommodate it.

Alfred Kuehne also has a sidewalk  on the north side of the road and nothing on the south, with plenty of room for a multi-use path adjacent to the road.

This is the only potential pinch point, but the bridge rails are probably high enough to allow bikes to travel over the sidewalk here with a warning to yield to pedestrians.  If not, they could be replaced.

The driveway to the south GO parking lot is wide and could probably accommodate a bike lane.

And, there is already a nice covered bike shelter awaiting cyclists.

The City of Brampton is currently undertaking an exercise to create an Active Transportation Master Plan and will not want to make any significant investments in the 18 months it will take to complete.  However, I would argue that this is a project that could be undertaken in the meantime and that by partnering with Peel Region and Metrolinx the cost could be shared and manageable.

I started my day with breakfast in bed served by Owen, aged 11. About 11am I headed out for a 35km cycle, the last 15km of which were in the rain and wind which began shortly after I left Starbucks having refreshed myself with a cappuccino and a chocolate chip cookie.

When I got home the last thing I wanted to do was go for a walk in the rain, but the forecast promised clearing so I had a quick, warming shower and we headed out enticed by Stephen Caulfield‘s humourous description for the Jane’s Walk entitled The Dross Walk that he is leading.  We drove down the 410 to Mississauga under gray skies entirely appropriate for the subject walk.

“Okay, enough with the suburban revisionism and the relentless positivity. Time to walk the dross. People, we’re gonna get you in touch with rage and depression, boredom and awe as we pass extractive industries, a species graveyard and a wingless aeroplane… Bring Tylenol. Get a tetanus shot.”

As we crossed into Mississauga, Highway 410 slowed to a crawl.  The concrete barriers had been moved closer to the centre to reveal and a new lane, and, apparently the change was enough to slow traffic.  Either that or induced demand is already at work.

I snapped a picture (from the passenger seat) and tweeted that we were on a new bit of Hwy 410 on our way to The Dross Walk. A few minutes later a Twitter contact pointed out that the walk is next Sunday, not today.  Oops.

So we decided create our own personal Jane’s Walk starting with a walk around Kariya Gardens, south of Square One, since we were there and no longer had anything to do. Unfortunately, the cherry trees are not out yet and the garden was rather barren.  Just north of the garden was an area long vacant with dross-like qualities.

We parked on the top of a multi-storey lot at Square One where the weather continued to threaten wet and windy conditions.  Down the stairs, across City Centre Drive and this great view of Absolute Towers juxtaposed interestingly with the Mississauga Manneken Pis.

We headed down this desire line, the most efficient way to a light-controlled intersection where we could cross to the Absolute Towers.

I can never get enough of these towers.  I always admire them from near and afar.

After exploring the little grocery store at the base of the towers we headed east towards a fabulous piece of active transportation infrastructure, over Cookville Creek, on the Burnhamthorpe Trail. Before this bridge was installed the trail was interupted where the road bridge was too narrow to carry it across along with the traffic lanes and a skimpy sidewalk.  Well done Mississauga.

We turned onto Robert Speck Parkway and discovered this great picnic table at the entrance to a park that led to Cooksville Creek.

Even though this area is getting very built up there is some nice green space. We followed the path along the edge of a parking garage on one side and some low rise office buildings on the other.

As we approached the turn in the path we could hear water and came upon this great view.

The glass office buildings almost disappeared into the sky, reflecting the conditions around them and made an interesting backdrop to the water and vegetation. I do wish the fence was not placed along the edge of the path.  One can go around the fence at the beginning or end of the path, so it seems rather pointless and creates a visual barrier.

Some attempt was made to create a pleasing space under the Robert Speck Parkway bridge crossing the creek.

At the end of the path, where one is expected to climb up to Robert Speck Parkway, we found another desire line leading to a couple picnic tables where we sat for awhile.

We ended our walk inside Walmart and took a trip up the “rampolator”, the only one I can recall ever encountering, left over from when Woolco was in the space.

I arrive home to a lovely bouquet of flowers from Trystan for Mother’s Day. Megan and Alun gave me Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bars and a huge bag of M&M Peanuts.  I will need to do a lot more walking and cycling to work them off.