as I walk Toronto

below: The southwestern end of the Meadoway is at Thomson Memorial Park – it exits the park at McCowan just north of Lawrence and runs 16 km through Scarborough.  The goal is form one continuous linear urban park from downtown to the Rouge River.

below: The steeple of St. Andrews Bendale Church is just visible through the trees.  This church is adjacent to Thomson Memorial Park

below:   Springfield Farm House is also at McCowan and Lawrence.   It is the oldest brick house in Scarborough, built in 1840 by James Thomson.

below: The Meadoway follows the Gatineau Corridor, a swath of land under hydro transmission lines.

below: Large sections are in the process of being “naturalized”, i.e. meadow restoration is underway.

below: from left to right – New England Aster, Little Blue Stem, Common Milkweed, Switch Grass, Cup Plant, Bergamot, Big Blue Stem and False Sunflower.

below: The Meadoway as it crosses Bellamy Road

below: school access

below: Daventry Garden plots with highrises on Markham Road in the background.

There is a large gap from Scarborough Golf Club Road to Conlins (just east of Morningside). The Gatineau Corridor transmission lines cross the Highland Creek and the 401 where there is no path beneath the wires. The city has tried to make continuous bike routes and now Conlins, which runs north-south has bike lanes and crosses the 401.

The northeast end of the Meadoway is still a bit bleak but at least the potential is there…. being November doesn’t help!

below: The Meadoway crosses diagonally through the intersection of Sheppard Ave East and Dean Park (just west of Meadowvale).

below: Looking southwest from near Sheppard and Dean Park

The trail ends shortly after at Meadowvale Road which is just beyond the Sheppard Transformer Station.

below: Spindleberry tree (Euonymus europaeus)

Development of the Meadoway is led by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority with help from the city, Hydro One, the Weston Family Foundation, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Foundation.

For more information – Meadoway website
Some of these photos were taken in 2020.