January 13/08 4:55 am - Cycling Centre for Centennial Park: Upcoming Mtg

Posted by Editoress on 01/13/08
 

Cycling Centre for Centennial Park
Courtesy Craig Fagan, Midweek Club

Meeting of Cycling Centre for Centennial Park on Tuesday, January 29th, at 7:30 pm, in a private room at Canadiana Restaurant, 5230 Dundas St. West, Toronto (see directions below)

Combined Needs and Fundraising Committees meeting

Agenda:
- meet and greet
- scope of project
- briefing on "what we need to do" to get federal and provincial funding (by Ihor Wons)
- general discussion
- break out into committees and start working the project. The needs committee will be subdivided into road, mountain, bmx and cyclo-cross working groups

Goal: have this up and running for 2010 cycling season

Please RSVP your intention to attend and which committee you wish to participate on.

For more info, please contact Craig Fagan at cfagan@sympatico.ca

Canadiana Restaurant is donating the use of our meeting room

Directions to Canadiana Restaurant:
Subway: exit Kipling Station and walk to Dundas, turn east and the plaza is on the north side; 5 to 8 minute walk.
From Highway #401/407: exit south on Highway #427 to Dundas Street eastbound and travel eastbound on Dundas exactly six traffic lights to Six Points Plaza which is located just west of Kipling Avenue.
From Q.E.W. Highway: exit northbound on Kipling Avenue and travel north to the "Dundas Street Westbound" ramp. Six Points Plaza is located on right-hand side on Dundas Street.

Repeat of (a) previous communication... a quick reminder

Diagram

Hi All;

Below is the proposal for the Toronto Cycling Training Facility envisioned for Centennial Park, Toronto. Below is a notice of meeting to discuss the Centennial Park Master plan. We need to pack this room with cyclists supporting the attached proposal (or something like it). Please pass this on to as many cyclists as possible.

You will notice that much of the proposed facility utilizes the existing gravel road system with some new path and a BMX track within the hydro right of way, a new climb/descent from the top of the ski hill which also follows existing tails and the extension of the Chalet patio for another 5 m outside of the existing fencing so that we can connect to the north and south side roadways.

Note: Cross-country mountain bike trails need to be added to the proposal but I do not have the practical experience to direct where they should go or how they should appear except to say they need to be wide enough to enable pedestrians and cyclists to pass each other (the problem identified with many existing trails). Utilizing portions of the Etobicoke Creek ravine require approval of the conservation authority. Such approval may be possible but are not part of the new master plan for Centennial Park

Road and Recreation: You will also notice that the roadway system offers choice so that not only can multiple programs occur at the same time but also there is enough option to train on different course each week.

NEW: Mountain Bike... since this communication a mountain bike coach has indicated that the back side of the ski hill may be a perfect place for a "progress mountain bike training facility". We would like to explore fulfilling these needs with the park designers.

Cyclo-Cross: Continue as we currently do except with more lighting in the flats to enable longer and flatter courses.

BMX: A track to UCI standards to be built within the new paved area of the currently unutilized hydro corridor.

Trick BMX: could be added anywhere within the road course, but not currently part of CCA's insurance program and thus may cause liability issues if participants of an OCA sanctioned program utilize it. Also neighbours tend to have mistaken attitudes of Trick BMX athletes.

Track: excluded at this time but may be added in the future after we have proven that these facilities get significant usage to warrant considering taking the financial and usage risk that a track would entail.

Why this side of the park?
- The ski chalet is under-utilized in the non-snow months... cycling would give this 2 level facility additional usage such as classrooms, weight-room and even the patio could be licenced for select races. The absence of a dry lit location is a hindrance to running cycling day camps, the ski chalet is a perfect base of operations/rain-day location for them.
- There is concern by other park users of conflict between fast-moving cyclists and picnickers, soccer, cricket and baseball players. Being over here we don't negatively impact them which means we won't need as many marshals and set-up would be a lot less effort.
- There is nothing environmentally sensitive in this area and our courses can easily manoeuvre around hydro towers and other park users like the community garden plots.
-Washroom and water for bike wash are currently in place and just require minor alteration.

Needs:
- All areas identified by double yellow to be asphalt surfaced with photo-cell street lamps on a timer system to enable evening use of the facility.
- A 250m, 333m or 500m inside diameter 5m to 7m wide paved surface with slightly raised banks circle for both track-cycling training and interval training. Size is determined by whichever size would fit within the width of the hydro right of way. (Note We utilized the model airplane circle for 2 up pursuits as part of our youth cycling program this past May and June, the kids loved it!)
- Adding showers to the ski centre's chalet and exterior access public washrooms
- No un-fenced leash-free dog areas within the course or adjacent to it. As existing programming proves, other park usage is compatible with cycling.

Usage:
- There is no safe place for children to learn how to bike ride; this path system would give them such a place.
- There is no regular-fixed place for cyclists to learn how to race their bicycle.
- 43% of adults ride bicycles on a monthly basis, the vast majority youth 6 to 18 do so on a daily basis. Just as the City has built infrastructure for soccer, baseball, hockey, swimming, cricket to enable people to move from the unstructured neighbourhood empty lots and the rivers and lake to a structured training-playing facility so to does cycling (BMX, road, cross-country mountain biking and cycle cross) need such a facility. The absence of such is a significant hindrance to the growth of the sport. This facility would go a long way to correcting this omission.
- Midweek currently runs Monday and Tuesday evening programming from April to September; we would move our existing programming into the park, other clubs may do likewise. And Midweek would expand its programming to include a summer day program for children and youth.
- This facility would enable a group like Midweek to host Friday night races under the lights from May until Labour Day like is done in major cities around the world.
- Midweek currently runs a Tuesday night cyclo-cross program on the ski hill from September until December (or the ski hill opens whichever comes first). We would expand programming to a second night each week.
- Midweek currently host International Ranked Cyclo-cross races within the facility each November; the goal is to move these up to World Cup status within 5 years. (This year is the 12th year of such races occurring at Centennial.)
- Other cycling disciplines (BMX, mountain and recreational) requires safe, traffic-free space, this would supply it
- It is estimated this facility would be used daily by novices to internationally ranked cyclists to usage levels matching those of Centennial's soccer and baseball fields.

Funding:
- It is estimated the cost to do this work is between $0.75 million and $1.5 million. While it would be nice to do it all at once, phasing-in is possible. Since Midweek has a decade-long track record delivering programming we are eligible for Federal grants and Trillium funds for facility upgrades. Other grants and donations may also be available. Plus we can fundraise to deliver the 1/3rd corporate support ($250,000 to $500,000) needed to access Federal and Trillium dollars. Such corporate funds may seem high, when you consider the corporate funds that enabled the national tennis centre this goal is small potatoes.

For more info, please contact Craig Fagan at cfagan@sympatico.ca

For more information on Centennial Park's New Master Plan, visit www.toronto.ca