The Beltline is a mixed use trail that follows the path of the former Toronto Belt Line Railway, which operated for about 70 years. When the Spadina Expressway (now Allan Rd) blasted a massive trench through Midtown in the late 60s, wiping out hundreds of houses and a section of the railway, the Canadian National Railway (CN) decided to shut the unprofitable line and sell the land it had occupied. Public opposition eventually stopped the unpopular Spadina Expressway in 1971, just south of the rail line. That was a project which belonged to the era of wildly destructive car-centric megaprojects, which by that point the public had soured on.

The question was what to do with the now defunct railway. According to Wikipedia the stage was set for "one of the first public battles on biking trails"-- but certainly not the last. Thanks to David Crombie, who was elected mayor a few years later, and others, and over the predictable objections of short-sighted local NIMBYs and the former mayor of Toronto, the land East of the Allan was sold to the city of Toronto and transformed into an unpaved mixed-use trail. In 1988 the land West of Allan also became part of the Beltline Trail as well.

Most of the route is pretty flat, until the trail drops down alongside Mud Creek towards the Don River, ending (more or less) at the Brickworks. I'm a fan of The Beltline both because it's a very pleasant route but also because of the history it belongs to. It's part of the story of the public demanding a city that's not just built for cars and private landowners.

The Beltline is very popular and often crowded in the summer, but it's also a trail that could really use some upgrades. In a few spots trail users are expected to run across some busy streets without a crosswalk in sight. To me it's baffling that a popular, urban and historically significant trail like this is lacking in these ways. Some improvements have been made in recent years (such as the addition of a crosswalk at Caledonia Rd.), with others planned for the near future. These are noted on the map below. This historical trail should be celebrated and given the treatment it deserves.