Ghost Bike Visits the Don

A 'ghost bike' chained to the railing near the accident location


The hill where the accident occurred

Just south of Pottery Road on the Lower Don Trail, the path rises over a small hill and then descends down a fairly steep slope going underneath a disused railway bridge. It was here on October 20 that a man was killed in a head-on bicycle-bicycle crash.

You can get going pretty fast along this stretch and it can be difficult to pass someone at speed. This accident can be chalked up to carelessness. A memorial ghost bike has been chained to the railing to mark the spot of the accident.

Prince Charles Visits Brick Works

Prince Charles visits the Don

This picture is actually from 1991 when Prince Charles attended one of the earliest Task Force to Bring Back the Don events in Riverdale Park. I include it here because I wasn't able to see him when I went to the Don Valley Brick Works yesterday where he was attending an event. It turned out to be an invitation only event and members of the public weren't allowed in. This little piece of information wasn't well communicated which may tarnish Evergreen's public opinion somewhat on a day when it was the host to what was in all respects a successful day.


A few royal watchers wait in vain for a glimpse of royal couple from the Belt Line Trail.

The closest I could get was viewing the entrance from the Belt Line trail. Even from there I only caught a brief glance of the motorcade as it sped into Evergreen Brick Works compound. This disappointed the dozen or so people who came by foot to see the Prince. According to the cop at the front entrance many people who came by car were also turned away.

Oh well. At least I got to see the park which I haven't visited much this summer. Here are a few pics.


Muskrat Pond in fall


Buttonbush Pond at the Brick Works

Public Meeting on Taylor Creek Park

Councillor Janet Davis speaks to the audience

I attended a meeting on Taylor Creek Park which is the lower reach of Taylor-Massey Creek. City Councillor Janet Davis hosted the meeting to let members of the public know what is happening with the park. Other speakers included Adele Freeman from the TRCA, Janette Harvey from the Parks & Forestry Department, Tracy Manolalakis and Joanne di Caro from Toronto Water.

Some updates were provided on current projects such as the Coxwell sewer diversion and the ongoing testing of sewer outfalls but there was nothing new to report. About 60 people attended so there appeared to be a lot of interest on what was a miserable drizzly night.

One good aspect of the meeting was that instead of a Q&A following the presentations, Davis said that participants could ask questions from staff who had setup information tables around the room. This prevented anyone from holding the meeting hostage while they ranted about a personal issue.

While nothing new was presented it's good to give the impression that the city at least cares about these places. Kudos to the Councillor Davis for making this special effort.


Aerial maps of the valley provided a good place to make comments of suggestions.


Booths setup at one side of the room allowed people to ask questions or pickup pamphlets.

New Trail in East Don

Trails in the East Don
Red = Existing trails
Green = Trail under construction
Yellow = Bridge locations

Since the summer the city has been busy creating a new trail in the East Don. The new trail will link a park known locally as Milne Hollow which is accessible from Lawrence Ave. East just east of the Don Valley Parkway and an unnamed park at the north end of the Wynford Park neighbourhood. So far they have completed clearing the trail (see green line). There is a plan to place a bridge at location #1 (see map) that will cross the river and create the link.


Sign detailing trail construction plans

What is not in the plan but makes sense to me is a similar link to Moccasin Trail Park. That trail would link to the southeast corner of the Don Mills neighbourhood which would be a easier access than through Milne Hollow which doesn't actually exit anywhere. So far there aren't any bridges crossing the river so you can't (legally) cross the river. I'll let you know when they do install a bridge which will make this trail much more usable.

The sign says that the eventual plan is to have the trail link up all the way south to the Forks of the Don although it may be a little tricky finding space south of Eglinton Ave. East since there is little wiggle room past the Flemingdon Park Golf Course. Here a few pix from the new trail.


Trail just south of Milne Hollow lined with limestone gravel

A little farther south the path lining changes to wood chips

The path as it goes under the CPR main line just north of Wynford Park

Found Objects III: Multi-coloured Feather

Bird feather

One day in late August I picked up this feather in the Don Valley. I kept it because it has such an unusual colouration. However, I put it away and only recently remembered it.

The feather has a white tip, long black feathers on one side and short blue-black feathers on the other side. Its length from tip to tip is 9.5cm. I am no expert on bird physiology but my guess is that the short blue-black feathers are the ones that show up on the outside of the bird's body with the black feathers lining its skin.

I did some searching but couldn't find any good source on how to identify birds based on feathers. Anybody out there who knows what type of bird it belongs to?

Found Objects II: Crash the Diamond

Self-published novel: Crash the Diamond

One day this summer I was caught in a sudden downpour and sought shelter underneath a bridge. While waiting out the storm, I crawled onto a ledge to sit down and discovered a heap of books scattered on the ground. They were all copies of one book called Crash the Diamond: Free Democracy by Cheng Wan.

I picked one up and leafed through it. It appeared to be a self-published novel. It doesn't appear to have been edited as the language is quite atrocious. For example, the novel summary on the back cover reads:

The once newcomer, then new Canadian, Fox One had been stuggling (sic) for surviving while Kruel (CSIS agant) and Fantianlo (police) had been pressing him at the bottom of society.

I tried to read a page pages but gave up. The poorly written text makes it almost incomprehensible but it appears to be some sort of conspiracy suspense thriller. It's possible that it is a poor translation from Chinese but I couldn't make heads or tails of the story.

The publisher is listed as One Publisher in downtown Toronto. Their website lists a series of comic books and books on Chinese cuisine but this book is not to be found.


Books scattered about, free for the taking. But, alas, park staff has picked them all up and put them in the trash.