Bank erosion
Just south of the forks of the Don, the river runs through a relatively deserted section of the valley. Apart from a hydro corridor and the Leaside bridge there is not much to see other than the path and the river. This actually makes it a good place to view the river because there is nothing else to distract your attention. The path parallels the river and at times is right beside it. Unfortunately this causes problems when the river decides to do something like move its banks.
Erosion starting to cut into path
Last summer the river started cutting into the bank near a willow tree which was anchoring the bank. This cut became enlarged during a heavy rainstorm. The city put up a fence but it was obvious that the path would start to collapse into the river.
New path is to the left, the old path ran along the fencing. The asphalt has already been removed.
So early this spring a crew came in to close down the path next to the river and move it about 10m away. The detour is very smooth riding but you can't see the river as much in this section.
I took a short video while riding along the new section. Since the audio is not very interesting (wind and traffic noises) I found some 'riding' music and used that instead. The track is from SomaFM, an internet radio station that streams a variety of techno music. This track is from the stream called Groove Salad, one of my favourites.
5 comments:
Good to see 'they" are fixing parts of the trail like this. There are a few other sections which need a little TLC - bad bumps, potholes etc. Is this work done by the TRCA or the City? Is there a person one can contact to report problem areas?
Great blog, by the way!
The city is responsible for trail work. Unfortunately there is no main contact for all the paved trails in the city. Every park has its own supervisor so you need to know who that is in order to do any effective communication, which isn't always easy in the Don where you have sections like this that isn't a standard park. You can always try contacting the councillor in charge. Check the riding boundary map because valleys are often used as boundaries.
Thanks for the video, I'm long overdue to get my bike out of the basement and head over to the Don, even if it IS still looking a bit grey.
( Groove Salad is one of my favourites too, although some days Space Station Soma seems the way to go. )
thanks donwatcher,
me too....taking the first week of april off and that is one of the first things i have planned...a ride on the don trail.
J
Do you know if they are going to plant in the area the dug up area? (where the trail used to be)
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