Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), in partnership with the City of Toronto, has undertaken bank stabilization and minor trail re-alignment works at two sites (Site 1 and Site 2) in the north end of West Deane Park.
The purpose of these works will be to protect the multi-use trail and municipal infrastructure from the erosive forces of Mimico Creek.
Project Location
Project Background
Erosion issues have been a concern at Site 1 for some time, especially since the west edge of the multi-use trail washed into Mimico Creek (see Figure 1). In February 2016, the City of Toronto contacted TRCA to help address the issues at Site 1 as well as find a short-term solution from bank erosion at Site 2 (Figure 2) caused by the eastward migration of the watercourse.
Public Consultation
VIEW THE NOTICE OF PROJECT COMMENCEMENT.
Project Updates
Week of May 29, 2017 (final entry)
Thank you to those who participated in the planting event on Sunday. The site looks great! Minor deficiencies will be addressed in the coming weeks.
Community Planting Event – May 28, 2017!
VIEW THE EVENT INFORMATION.
Week of May 22, 2017
The trail is now open to the public!! Thank you for your patience!
The brick rubble access road was removed from the site this week and the blue fence panels are being removed off-site today.
Seeding, sodding and minor deficiency corrections will be completed in the coming weeks while the orange safety fence and the green silt socks will remain in place until the vegetation can establish.
Where possible, please stay on the trail so as to avoid stepping on the newly seeded and planted areas.
Week of May 15, 2017
Don’t forget to sign up for the community planting event at the link above!
Pavers have been on-site all week and should be done by the end of day. They’ll touch up the sides next Tuesday after which the brick rubble access road and fencing will be removed and come down, respectively.
Once the fencing is down, the site will be open to the public. Another contractor will come in once the access road is removed to seed this area similar to how the seeding was applied at Site 1 and 2.
Week of May 7, 2017
Despite the heavy rains, crews have worked hard to prepare the base for the new trail at Site 2 and the site is now in good shape for paving and restoration works in the coming weeks.
Week of April 24, 2017
All material has been disposed of off-site and the base of the new trail is complete at Site 1 (see photo below).
Crews will now be removing the asphalt at Site 2 and laying out the new location of the trail further away from the watercourse.
All the asphalt along that trail where used for construction activities will be removed and the trail re-paved by the end of May.
Week of April 17, 2017
Granular stone for the new trail location was placed, compacted and tested and will be ready for the asphalt application closer to the end of the project. On-site materials continued to be trucked off-site.
Week of April 10, 2017
The armourstone wall alongside the east edge of the path is complete.
The placement of this wall was necessary due to the required cutback into the slope and, because of the hill and grade changes, required two stones at the south end to be level and aesthetically pleasing.
Disposal of on-site materials, including the old asphalt trail, will be underway next week so, a gentle reminder to stay out of the enclosed area as there’ll be heavy equipment moving along the access road.
Week of March 27, 2017
Throughout the week, crews worked to remove the large number of metre bags from Site 1 and prep it for the upcoming placement of the armourstone wall.
Week of March 20, 2017
Over the past couple weeks, crews completed Phase 2 of the vegetated rock buttress and removed the metrebag cofferdam marking the end of the in-water works.
Next week, work on the top of bank will start and will include placing an armourstone wall on the east side of the trail, minor trail re-alignment and the installation of a chain link and post-and-paddle fence.
On March 20-21, City of Toronto staff were on-site to reinstate the booms in the water at the end of the concrete channel and at the outfall after they had been removed. These will act to prevent the deleterious substance, witnessed at the time, from moving downstream of the area.
Week of March 6, 2017
Phase 1 is now complete (see picture below) and crews have moved the metre bags over to isolate the work area for Phase 2.
After a fish rescue and the water is pumped down, work on the vegetated rock buttress at Phase 2 will start.
Week of February 27, 2017
Construction of the vegetated rock buttress at Phase 1 continues with stones being placed along the bottom portion of the bank.
A friendly reminder that stone and other materials continue to be delivered to the site so it’s prudent to comply with all posted signage and stay clear of the work site.
Week of February 20, 2017
Heavy-duty geotextile bags known as metre bags have been filled with gravel and placed into the watercourse to isolate the work area from the watercourse and reduce sediment release when the bank is excavated.
TRCA staff from the Environmental Monitoring and Data Management group were on site to remove any fish within the cell as part of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) permit requirements.
This cell marks the beginning of Phase 1 for the construction of the vegetated rock buttress which consists of the placement of of differently sized, large stones and dormant willow stakes.
Week of January 30, 2017
All fencing and erosion and sediment control measures have been erected and installed.
The trees that were cleared through the Ravine and Natural Feature permitting process have been removed to accommodate construction activities and the alignment of the new trail at Site 1.
Metre bags that will be used for in-water isolation measures are being filled in the parking lot and will be placed in the watercourse early next week.
Week of January 23, 2017
Site set-up is currently underway and includes the installation of 6 foot high construction fencing to isolate the work area and erosion and sediment control measures.