Toronto studying possible 7-km trail under the Gardiner Expressway

A study is underway that brings the city one step closer to implementing a seven-kilometre multi-use trail under the Gardiner Expressway.

The study, which launched in December, is expected to be completed before the end of the year and will inform the planning of the trail, according to Ilana Altman, CEO of The Bentway, a non-profit that works to improve urban public spaces and is working with the city on the project.

“The Gardiner for a long time has been a critical mobility corridor in the city for cars,” she said. “But there's no reason why the space below can't serve our city better.”

The trail is part of the Under-Gardiner Public Realm Plan, which was approved by city council in 2024. The early plan highlights specific areas for green spaces and public sites along the underside of the expressway, Altman said, but establishing the trail is an integral first step. 

“It's really that seven-kilometre spine that links everything up,” she said.

If the plan is carried out, Altman said the trail would serve as an active transit corridor for pedestrians and cyclists.

Early maps show the trail expanding from The Bentway, spanning from Dufferin Street to the Don Valley Parkway, parallel to the water. Parts of the trail would branch off to the north and south, connecting to downtown and the waterfront.

The trail would pass through public spaces as well as private developments, Altman said. So, consulting with property owners and the city will be part of the study.

The study, which The Bentway and the city are working on together, will also be informed by recommendations on wastewater management, trail navigation systems and specific site planning, she said.

Though there is no official timeline for the implementation of the trail, the plan is that the under-Gardiner trail would also include park-like public gathering spaces, said Heather Inglis Baron, project manager with the city’s waterfront secretariat.

Underneath the Gardiner might not be the most desirable place to spend time in the city right now, Inglis Baron said, but revitalization, including improved lighting and planters, could turn it into a destination.  

The Bentway, which helped inspire the idea for the trail and has hosted music and art celebrations under the Gardiner next to Fort York, is an example of this, Inglis Baron said.

“These have become places that people now gravitate towards and they look towards having this type of approachable, friendly spaces beneath the entire corridor,” Inglis Baron said

The Bentway sees tens of thousands of visitors every winter at the skating path, Altman said, and was chosen as the location of the official fan festival zone for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, along with Fort York.