The Endless Wait for the Lower Don Trail: Where Did Our Pathways Go?

You know, there’s a certain kind of civic disappointment that just… lingers. It’s that feeling when something wonderful is promised, almost within reach, and then—poof—it vanishes back into the ether of project delays and unforeseen complications. For many Torontonians, especially those who cherish our green spaces and waterfront access, the Lower Don Trail has become precisely that kind of phantom limb; a promised pathway that simply refuses to materialize.

We were all, or at least many of us, looking forward to lacing up our shoes or hopping on our bikes and cruising along this new 1.6-kilometre stretch. The buzz was that it would be open by late 2023, a lovely addition to our city’s trail network, part of something much bigger, grander even. But here we are, well into the next year, and the fences are still up. The signs still proclaim, perhaps with a touch of irony now, “Under Construction.”

So, what’s the holdup? Well, as it turns out, turning a river mouth into a naturalized flood plain—all part of the massive Don Mouth Naturalization and Port Lands Flood Protection Project—is no small feat. It’s a truly monumental undertaking, one that promises to protect a huge swathe of downtown Toronto from the kind of flooding that can devastate communities. But, honestly, even monumental projects can get bogged down.

The folks at Waterfront Toronto, who are spearheading this colossal $1.3 billion effort (a price tag shared by three levels of government, mind you), point to a cocktail of challenges. There’s been the weather, of course—and anyone who lives here knows how fickle our seasons can be, especially when heavy construction is involved. Then you have those ever-present "supply chain disruptions"—a phrase that’s become almost a catch-all for modern-day project woes, hasn't it?

But perhaps the biggest curveball came from beneath the surface. "Unforeseen ground conditions," they call it. This often means discovering old, contaminated soil that requires careful, often slow, excavation and removal. And let’s not forget Lake Ontario’s high water levels, which apparently made dewatering the site a much more complicated affair than anticipated. All these factors, one piling on top of the other, have pushed the completion date further and further back.

For those of us who simply want to enjoy a beautiful, accessible trail, these explanations, while perfectly valid from an engineering perspective, can feel a little… hollow. We’re left wondering when, precisely, "Spring 2024" will actually mean the trail is open. And for once, we just want to walk or cycle along that new river, feeling the city breathe, without a single construction barrier in sight. Is that really too much to ask?