Newmarket is ramping up towards new trail construction in the northwest quadrant of town near the Environmental Park.
The town is preparing to go to tender for approximately 1.05 kilometres of trial to come in the northwest corner of town as part of the fifth phase of trail enhancement in the area, with a finalized design in place. The trail will connect Clifford Perry Place and Art West Avenue to previous phases of the trail and Environmental Park. Town staff and consultants discussed the design and next steps at a virtual public information centre on May 24.
Stantec Consulting landscape architect Emily Andreae said this work would include bridges and a paved pathway with armourstone and guard rails.
The “design is to connect with nature to provide physical and mental health benefits,” she said. “To minimize disturbance to the natural environment and to maximize accessibility for all those that use the space.”
The new trail is part of a bigger system and has been in the works for several years, with the last public info session in 2020. The pathway will be three metres wide, and the municipality expects to open it to the public in the summer 2024.
Andreae went over the final design of the project. She said it would include switchbacks at the Clifford Perry and Art West entrances to allow for easier accessibility to get to a gentler slope of the path.
The project will also include restoration planting at the water’s edge, site furniture such as recycling bins and trail signage.
The project has garnered environmental-related concerns, with frequently asked questions about an environmental assessment and some expressing a desire to keep the area as is rather than adding an asphalt path. The town said in 2020 that an EA was not required, but Andreae said “the requirements for an environmental assessment were followed for this project,” along with other studies and consultation.
The project will also require the removal of approximately 1.5 per cent of trees in the northwest quadrant forest, but Andreae added that this project phase “has quite an extensive planting portion” to help compensate.
Residents have also raised whether existing dirt trails would be harmed, with one biker on heynewmarket.ca saying that many bikers prefer using them over asphalt trails. Andreae said the new trial would intersect with existing, informal paths, but the town has indicated it would not destroy those older paths.
One attendee asked about consideration for the impact on traffic, with more potentially parking and accessing the trail system. But capital projects parks development coordinator Mike Ashworth said it is an extension of an existing trail system, with parking available at Environment Park and no extra advertising of the new trail entrances.
Andreae said the town has also identified Clifford Perry Place as an area for a parkette, and staff is exploring feasibility.
Tree removal is expected to start this winter, with construction and grading beginning in spring 2023. You can find more project information at heynewmarket.ca/trail-improvements-nwq.
