TRAFx post

 

Location: Tommy Thompson Park

Date photo taken: 8 May 2021

Where I work, May is Data & Analytics month. In honour of that, I present this post. This particular one is located in Tommy Thompson Park, but it is just one of many installed by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to collect usage data for their trails. The post contains a TRAFx trail counter. As the sign on the post is careful to point out, it doesn't contain a camera. What it does have is a special sensor designed to count people using the trail. The sensor works by detecting the infrared wavelength that people emit. So if you see a post like this the next time you're out enjoying one of Toronto's many trails (the city provides maps to help you find a trail near you), know that your presence has been noted.

The Doris McCarthy Trail

Location: Between Kingston Rd. and the lake, Scarborough
Date photo taken: 9 September 2013

The Doris McCarthy Trail is one of those magical places in Toronto that let you forget for a moment that you’re in the big city. It’s green, it runs beside a lovely little stream, and it leads you to the shores of the lake. Perfect for a brief summer escape.

Doris McCarthy was a Canadian artist who lived on the Scarborough Bluffs. In 1986 she donated a piece of land on the east side of her property to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. It is through this land that the trail now runs. Her home, Fool’s Paradise, was donated over a decade later to the Ontario Heritage Trust and is now run as an artist-in-residence centre.

The entrance to the trail is just south of Kingston road off Bellehaven Crescent in the Cliffcrest part of Scarborough. From here it runs down through Gates Gully to the lake where it joins the waterfront trail. It’s a bit steep in places but generally easy to manage.

David A. Balfour Park

Location: Access off of Mount Pleasant Rd., south of St. Clair Ave. E.

Date photo taken: 19 Sep 2013

Itching for the great outdoors but can't afford the time or expense of a cottage getaway? Why not spend some time exploring some of Toronto's parks? This descent into greenery is an access point for David A. Balfour Park, a 20.5 hectare park running roughly north to south along Yellow Creek, near Yonge and St. Clair. In addition to a number of wooded trails, the park also includes the large grassy expanse of the Rosehill Reservoir and if you follow the main trail to the south it leads you to Craigleigh Gardens, a gated garden space. The park is easily accessed by transit, and if you decide you want to keep on hiking, you can easily turn your stroll into a longer circuit by adding the Beltline Trail through Evergreen Brick Works, Moore Park Ravine and Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Wilket Creek Park

Location: Trail in Wilket Creek Park
Date photo taken: 5 October 2014

The weather is glorious and the leaves are brilliant. If you want to get out there and enjoy it without leaving the city, there are lots of options. One that I discovered recently is Wilket Creek Park. Running in a long strip between Eglinton and Lawrence, the park is 44 hectares of wilderness in the city and it's part of a much larger interconnected park system that includes Edwards Gardens to the north, Sunnybrook park to the west, and Serena Gundy Park and the Don Valley trails to the south. All together, you can walk for hours on these trails, admiring the fall colours and the sound of the river.